Hello everyone! Welcome back to The Legal Confidential. Today I’m sharing 5 Tips you NEED to know if you’re in college and considering going to law school!

Major in Something You’re Actually Interested in

People from all different backgrounds end up in law school. You truly can choose any major you want. However, your GPA is very important for law school applications, so make sure you choose a major that you think you can do well in. I majored in Political Science because I love politics and found the courses the most interesting. If I had to do it over again, I would have kept the same major, but I wish I would have added a minor and also taken more philosophy classes to help with the LSAT.

Build Good Relationships With Professors

When you apply to law school, you will need at least one letter of recommendation from a professor, but preferably two. Believe me when I say that a professor that knows you well will write you a significantly better letter of recommendation. Go to office hours, participate in class, let your professor get to know who you really are! I took a constitutional law class in undergrad that initially inspired me to go to law school. I loved that course and the professor, and was confident he knew me pretty well. You want a professor that can write about your qualities as a student and person, not just your grades.

Quality > Quantity When it Comes to Extracurriculars

I know it can be tempting to want to join more clubs in order to pad your resume. But instead, I suggest focus on getting more involved with a few extracurriculars that you are truly passionate about! I worked part-time throughout college and didn’t have time to be in every club on campus, but that ended up being a blessing. I ended up being much more involved in what I was involved in, and was able to mention in my personal statement how those experiences truly shaped me.

Stay Out of Trouble

When you apply to law school, you will have to answer character and fitness questions. This is because you will eventually have to pass the character and fitness component of the bar exam. Making a mistake in college is not the end of the world, but it will make your life easier to stay out of trouble and not have to explain your mistakes.

Be Strategic About When You Take the LSAT

You NEED to be realistic about how much time you can devote to studying for the LSAT. I tried to study for the LSAT while taking 18 credit hours and working, and it was a disaster. If I could go back in time I would definitely change when I studied for and took the LSAT, even if it meant not going straight to law school after college.

Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post and found these tips helpful! I’ll be back soon with more posts, so be sure to sign up for my email list to get notified of new posts.