How to Prepare for Law School in Undergrad

Prelaw students begin preparing for law school early. Some as far back as high school and middle school. But most don’t start preparing in earnest until their university days, when their professional future and goals are coming into focus. Like many graduate professional programs, law is extremely competitive, academically rigorous and demands a strong spirit. Undergrads who hope to not only get accepted but succeed in the cutthroat world of legal studies need to steel themselves well ahead of time.

To do so requires a balance of cultivating the right skills, pursuing the best opportunities and—as any law school student will tell you—thorough research. 

Develop the “Write” Skills

Being a good lawyer means more than just becoming a brilliant legal mind and rhetorical shark. Those abilities are rooted in specific skillsets law students must develop. Primarily writing and research, but also communication and other soft skills. Critical thinking, analysis, attention to detail and the patience to parse through complex legal documents are all skills that take time and effort to strengthen. Your undergraduate courses will naturally start building on these but make a focused effort to work on the skills you need for law school.

Take courses that require heavy research or long written assignments. Explore research opportunities outside the classroom. Pursue extracurriculars or join clubs that challenge you. For instance, try participating in a debate club or writing contests that puts you in competition with others. Law school will most definitely test your battle skills, too!

Develop the right skills (writing, reading, research, critical thinking, analysis. Take the right courses yes but also pursue the right opportunities, i.e. research, extracurriculars, clubs etc.)

Explore Your Career Paths

There are hundreds of paths within the field of law to choose from, and it is worth thinking about where you want your legal career to take you. Perhaps you already have a destination in mind, or you’re open to exploring the possibilities. 

Whether you have a set career goal in mind or not, it’s worth thinking about why you want to pursue law school. Law school personal statements are powerful tools in your application, and the more engaging your story, the better.

If you’re not sure where to start, many universities have prelaw advisors or prelaw organizations that can help you. This is a prime opportunity to start building relationships with your professors or find a prelaw mentor who can write you a recommendation letter for law school. You’ll also gain access to more opportunities where you can get legal experience, such as summer programs, internships or even volunteering experiences. A prelaw advisor can also point you in the direction of on-campus prelaw clubs or upcoming law forums and events that might interest you.

Connect With Your Major

It might surprise you to learn that law schools don’t have strong preferences for any one undergraduate major. In fact, law schools admit students from almost all backgrounds, and there are actually very few designated “prelaw” undergraduate degrees. 

Some undergrad majors help prepare you for law school of course, such as economics, political science, business and criminology, but there are plenty of law students who come from mathematics, sciences and humanities backgrounds, too. 

The key here is to choose an undergraduate major you can excel in. Law school acceptance rates are hugely competitive, and presenting a high GPA is a must. Law schools want to see that you can handle a rigorous academic courseload, because they won’t take it easy on you. Choosing an undergraduate major that interests you, engages you and challenges you is more likely to mean you are passionate about your learning and earning better grades. This translates better to law school admissions than picking a “law-related” major.

Get to Know the Law

It’s key to research law programs as an undergrad. Not just so you can build a list of schools to apply to, but so you can understand what being a student of the law is like. Law schools encourage potential students to visit and take the campus tour, to connect with current law students and ask questions, and to attend law forums and learn more about the legal profession. All of this research will help solidify for you whether law is the right choice for you, and which programs are your top selections.

Law schools also value applicants who have some experience with the law already. Through internships, job placements or extracurricular activities, you can demonstrate that you have exposure to the profession. Many prelaws find work as paralegals or legal secretaries to gain some experience before applying to law school.

Prepare for the LSAT

If you plan to apply to law school straight after graduating, you should include LSAT prep in your plans. Prelaws often study for and take the LSAT in their final years of undergrad, and the test is not something you can prepare for overnight!

The LSAT, or Law School Admissions Test, is commonly required to attend law school, and is regarded as one of the toughest exams out there. Students can dedicate 4-6 months to LSAT preparation, and this while you need to juggle your studies and keep your grades up. Unless you plan to take a gap year before law school and take the test then, start preparing a solid study plan early.

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How To Prepare For The LSAT Test

If your dream is to defend people in the courtroom and impress judges with your legal knowledge and skills, you have to know the best ways to prepare for the LSAT test.

While law schools look at various extracurricular activities you took part in, your average grade, and some other factors, these institutions place a high importance on your LSAT scores. With high scores, you may have the chance to get a spot in any law school you wish to enter. Fortunately, there are many ways on how to get a good score on LSAT, and one of these is to prepare for by following these tips below:

1. Take A Diagnostic Test Or Prep Courses

Before you start your study regimen, Test Prep Toolkit recommend these LSAT courses. Taking such courses won’t only help you get familiar with the LSAT content and format, but it will also provide you a baseline to measure your progress. If you are planning on retaking, then you are in a much better situation since you already know what to expect and what to focus your studies on. That does not mean you won’t be needing any preparatory books or courses as retaking the LSAT exam can be a different experience every time you take it

Your prep courses must be taken under the real test-taking conditions, and it’s essential to add an experimental section to your test, even if it means borrowing another section from an older test.

2. Start Early

Another way to prepare for the LSAT test is to start early. People who get the best scores are the ones who start early and make more time to study. Cramming the night before the exam date or  studying only several times beforehand may leave you feeling stressed and anxious about the examination. Being unprepared for the LSAT can make you lose your focus and confidence, on top of not having enough knowledge of the subjects being covered.

3. Know The DOs And DON’Ts

It’s a must for you to know the DOs and DON’Ts of preparing for the LSAT to ace the exam, and these may include the following steps:

  • Keep Track Of Your Scores On Each Test – You have to know if your scores are improving and if a section drags you down. If you aren’t seeing any improvement, you should change your method of studying.
  • Follow The Standard Test Preparation Rules – It might seem obvious, but LSAT preparation also involves lots of sleep, stress relief exercises, and eating well, among many others. Oftentimes, students are utterly fixated on achieving high LSAT scores that they already forget about maintaining their mental and physical health.

Panicking and thinking about the future of your law career may depend on the test won’t give you the right mindset for the LSAT. So, if possible, do the best you could, but know that you could always take the LSAT again and consider some qualified law schools that would accept you without a high score.

  • Never Assume That Getting A High Score Once Is Enough – LSAT exams may vary yearly in terms of the level of difficulty of every section. There’s a time that the analytical reasoning section would have the trickiest questions, while the other sections might have easy questions. So, for you to know that you’ll do great in the real LSAT test, you have to see your top scores before you can say that you’re ready.

4.Analyze

Since most of the questions that you might encounter once you take the LSAT would be unfamiliar to you, practicing may help you get accustomed to their format. However, mere practice isn’t enough. After practicing a test, don’t just tabulate the results and record the scores. But, look closely at every question you missed and try discerning what led you to answering it wrong.

Real reviews take time. If you’ve answered some questions wrong and you’re not sure with the other questions but you got them right, it may take at least three to four hours when done properly, which could mean a full day of studying.

5.Prepare For Each Area Separately

The LSAT is composed of various components, which may include logical reasoning, reading comprehension, and analytical reasoning. A lot of students take practice tests and try to study all sections at once, leaving them feeling confused and leading to them getting low scores during the real exam.

Take some time to focus on every component separately. For instance, you can study logical reasoning for this week, and focus on analytical reasoning and reading comprehension on other weeks. 

6.Know The Best Technique For You

Know the best study technique for you before purchasing any study materials. It isn’t a secret that before law schools starts, things can get quite expensive. There are basic paths you may take to learn, and these may include self-studying and taking online courses.

Online courses may be advantageous for somebody who requires accountability of their peers or instructors. However, once you go this way, you’ll need to shell out funds. On the contrary, self-studying requires discipline and time management to stay on point, but it won’t break the bank as much. This is most particularly true if you could find great deals on your books.

Conclusion

Preparing for the LSAT test effectively could mean achieving success for all your efforts. By keeping the above tips in mind and sticking with your study plan, you’ll be able to nail the LSAT and get into your dream law school.

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