Take the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT)
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required for admission to all American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law schools. The LSAT is accepted by all ABA-approved law schools, while the GRE is only accepted by a select number of law schools. The LSAT is administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). The LSAT has traditionally been a paper-based exam; however, as of September 2019, the exam has transitioned to a digital format and is now administered on a tablet. There will be nine administrations during the 2019-2020 testing year. Detailed LSAT test information—dates, sites, registration forms, fees, and deadlines—and registration information is available online at https://lsac.org.
Note that LSAT test sites fill quickly, especially in or around major cities. It is advisable to register several months in advance of a test date, so that you can take the test in a convenient location and at a convenient time in relation to your other activities and plans for applying. The LSAT is not offered at Harvard. The optimal time to take the exam is in the summer before the fall in which you apply. However, taking a fall test administration will still allow you enough time to submit your score with your fall applications. Consult individual law school websites to determine if the January test administration will be accepted for the current application cycle. If you decide to take the test and apply in a future cycle, your score will be valid for five years.
The LSAT provides law school admissions committees with a common measure of applicants' aptitude for legal study. The test consists of five multiple-choice sections and one writing section, each 35 minutes in length:
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one reading comprehension section
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one analytical reasoning section
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two logical reasoning sections
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one experimental test question section (not scored)
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a 35-minute writing section (not scored; copies are sent to the schools to which you’ve applied) “It is important to note that the test day will be shorter for test takers because the LSAT Writing will be (as of June 2019) administered separately from the LSAT multiple-choice test sections, online via a secure testing platform.” (see http://www.lsac.org/lsat/taking-lsat/about-digital-lsat)
Your score is computed on a scale of 120 to 180, based on the number of questions you answer correctly; there is no deduction or penalty for incorrect answers, so it is advantageous to guess if you do not have time to answer a question.
Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
The GRE is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). The exam is computer-based, and is offered multiple times throughout the year. The duration of the exam is approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes, and consists of six sections:
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One Analytical Writing section (two separately-timed tasks; 30 minutes each)
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Two Verbal Reasoning sections (30 minutes each)
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Two Quantitative Reasoning sections (35 minutes each)
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Unscored/unidentified section or research section (varies)
The GRE score scale is 130–170 (in one-point increments) for the Verbal Reasoning sections and for the Quantitative Reasoning sections and the score scale for the Analytical Writing section is 0–6 (in half-point increments). Detailed GRE test information–dates, sites, registration forms, fees, and deadlines–and registration information is available online at www.ets.org.
Not all law schools accept GRE scores.[1] Therefore, if you are thinking of applying to multiple law schools or if you are considering other graduate programs, you will want to think about which exam would be the best option for you. For help thinking through your decision, please consult with your House Pre-Law Tutor(s).
The Credential Assembly Service (CAS)
To centralize and standardize objective application information – GPAs and LSAT scores – ABA-approved law schools require applicants to subscribe to the Credential Assembly Service (CAS). The service organizes and analyzes applicant information in a way that allows law schools to compare academic records from undergraduate schools that use different grading systems. Register for the CAS, and then have your transcript from each college or university from which you have earned academic credit sent directly to LSAC.
If you were enrolled in a study abroad program sponsored by another U.S. college or university, in addition to your Harvard transcript, you must have the college or university that sponsored the study abroad program send a transcript directly to the CAS. List the institution when you register for the Credential Assembly Services under “other Institution.”
The Application
You can apply to any ABA-approved law school through the CAS electronic application, which streamlines the process by allowing you to enter common information only once; you then complete each school’s individual application and submit your applications electronically.
Personal Statement
Personal statements are requested by most law schools and provide the opportunity to go beyond the objective aspects of the application to discuss who you are and what is important to you. This personal statement is an invitation to write a limited-length essay about yourself. It is not necessarily asking that you explain your motivation for law school; rather it is providing you an opportunity to explain to the school what distinctive experiences, personality traits, values, academic skills and passions, etc. you would bring to a class. It can be viewed, in essence, as the interview that very few law schools grant. This personal statement should be more mature than the type of essay you may have written for undergraduate admissions. You should begin to compose a personal statement in the early fall, which you can assume will be suitable for all applications UNLESS any of your schools requests a specific topic or style.
Personal statements are typically two double-spaced pages, though you may find that some schools will give more latitude. If schools don’t provide guidelines on length, it’s advisable to submit a statement that is approximately two pages in length. A few schools will limit the number of words permitted and you should abide by their guidelines. House Pre-Law tutors and writing tutors can be a great resource for students who are preparing their statements.
Letters of Recommendation
Most law schools request that one or two letters of recommendation be submitted on behalf of applicants. Admission committees will be seeking information not provided elsewhere in the applications. Recommendation letters should include concrete examples of intellectual strength, judgment, motivation, and leadership, along with an appraisal of communication skills and a comparison to peers.
In early fall, you should plan your recommendation-gathering strategy, or see what recommendations are already in your House file. If you have not made yourself and your law school application plans known to your House Pre-Law Tutor, you should do so.
Two academic letters of recommendation are the usual request in law school applications, but you should be sure to check each application for possible variations. Such letters should be requested early enough so that the writer is not rushed, and can comfortably complete the task in time. Letters can also be requested (and kept in your House file) if you think you will apply in the future but are not doing so immediately. You should also plan to keep in touch with potential recommenders.
When you approach potential recommenders for a letter, it is best not to do so on the fly. After ascertaining that they can write a favorable letter on your behalf, you might make an appointment to discuss the ways in which they know you, perhaps bringing a paper (with comments) written in their class, or a set of class discussion topics in which you participated. They may ask for a resume and your personal statement, and even a transcript. Such documents could help provide writers with a more well-rounded view of you, but, in fact, it is an analysis of your performance in their field of expertise that schools specifically seek.
We strongly suggest that all Harvard candidates use the LOR (Letter of Recommendation Service), a recommendation-collecting and distributing service which is part of CAS.
Resume
Law schools typically require a resume as part of the application. OCS has a resume guide and templates which can be downloaded from the OCS website. Bring a copy of your resume to OCS and have it reviewed before you submit your application.
Dean’s Certifications
A dean’s certification (or letter/clearance) is required by some law schools to confirm that applicants have not been involved in academic or disciplinary transgressions. Please contact your Resident Dean if a school you are applying to requires a letter.
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