Law School Application Timeline

Freshman Year

• Make appointment with Pre-Law Advisor early in the year to discuss course selection, majors and extracurricular activities.
• Join the John Jay College Law Society.
• Read, Read, Read. Newspapers such as The New York Times are especially instructive and an excellent way to build vocabulary and hone reading skills.
• Concentrate on maintaining a strong Grade Point Average (GPA) it is extremely difficult to get into any law school if your GPA is under 3.0. Ideally it should be 3.5 or above!

Sophomore Year

• Start the year by making an appointment with your pre-law advisor to review your first year experience and plan for the upcoming academic year.
• Take the practice LSAT exams administered at the College each semester.
• Explore summer internships.
• Develop relationships with professors who will be able to write substantive recommendations in support of your law school application.
• Keep working on your GPA.

Junior Year

• Work very closely with your pre-law advisor throughout this year.
• Pick up LSAT/LSDAS registration packet or order it online at www.lsac.org.
• Register online with LSDAS by June .
• Research law schools you are interested in.
• Attend the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) Forum.
• Start working on your personal statement.
• Ask faculty for letters of recommendation.
• Prepare for the LSAT and sign up for a prep course.
• Register in March for the June LSAT.

Senior Year

• Make an appointment with a Pre-Law Advisor to make sure that all your application material is complete and ready for review by your advisor.
• If necessary, take the October LSAT.
• Complete your personal statement by the summer and have it reviewed by an advisor.
• Submit completed faculty letters of recommendation to LSAC by October.
• Mail completed law school application(s) by November 15th.
• Send updated transcript with fall semester grades to LSDAS.
• Attend the LSAC forum.