BEGINNING THE PRE-LAW YEARS

I am pleased to learn of your interest in attending law school. I hope I can answer your major questions concerning your pre-law school education. If you still have questions after you read this, please write, e-mail or phone me directly, and I will try to answer them. Most of all, I would like to meet with you several times during your years at Texas A&M University at Commerce to insure that you receive the best advice possible about entering the legal profession.

There are four important parts to a successful law school application: (1) Major and Grade Point Average; (2) Choice of a law school that is right for you, (3) the Law School Admission Test (LSAT); and (4) Your Personal Statement that is a part of your law school application.

(1) Major and Grade Point Average. The Texas A&M University at Commerce does not have a specific pre-law major. Most law schools require only a Bachelor’s degree ; major is not crucial. Therefore, you should major in a discipline that interests you—one that would probably be your major even if you were not going to law school later. Study something that interests you and you will excel in it. Your grade point average is important for entry into law school, so study something you will enjoy. Also, learn to read and write well. A logic course may help you with parts of the Law School Admissions Test. There is one key exception: do not major in a performance discipline, such as music performance. It will be very difficult for law school admission committees to evaluate your intellectual abilities if most of your courses are performance courses.

Many pre-law students major in political science. The Political Science Department at Texas A&M University at Commerce offers a number of classes that introduce you to legal concepts and prepare you for law school. Constitutional Law and American Legal Systems give students a basic overview of the legal system and how law school classes are taught. Other undergraduate law courses include Probate and Real Estate Law that introduce you to legal concepts. Attorneys teach many of these classes. The Political Science Department also offers legal internships with several local law and county district attorneys offices.

If you are not sure what form of law you will like to practice (and most of you will not be), you should major in one of the social sciences or humanities, and minor in another. Then, take elective hours in as many other fields as you can. In this manner you will acquire both a breadth of knowledge in many fields and some depth of knowledge in one or two fields.

You MUST maintain a very high grade point average from your first day here. A pre-law major cannot afford the typical freshman party year. If you only buckle down to work in your sophomore year you are already out of contention for most law schools. While there are no guarantees for admission, a 3.50 GPA or above should be your goal.

As an attorney you will spend your professional life trying to persuade people that you are right. Such persuasion requires much skill. You should, therefore, seek out instructors who require extensive written work from you. You will need to sharpen your ability to express yourself in writing. A speech communications course may improve your ability to communicate orally. Ask instructors to criticize, correct and improve your work until you have mastered reading, writing, and oral presentations.

I recommend near fluency in a foreign language. Which foreign language is not as important as speaking a second language and familiarity with the culture. International lawyers need a working knowledge of another language to translate documents. Many district attorneys won't hire prosecutors who don't speak another language. In the South and West, Spanish is essential as a second language. You can take intensive courses that meet your foreign language requirement in a short time, and you can even study a foreign language abroad.

Learn to read and think analytically. Learn to take good notes on every important book or article you read—at least one sentence about each major paragraph. Look at the Table of Contents to see how the book is organized so you can learn how to outline and summarize topics. Avoid the bad habit of underlining or highlighting important material -- write down in note form what is important. Start immediately treating college as a full-time job. Learn word processing while you are here. Such skills can be very important to success in law school and in practice.

In summary, let me suggest a calendar for your undergraduate years at Texas A&M University at Commerce. During your freshman, sophomore and junior years you should take the courses that prepare you for law school and the LSAT. Learn how to read, write, argue, and study. You should participate in activities that help you learn more about being an attorney. Find out what lawyers do and if this is what you want to do. Get to know one or two professors well so that they can write letters of reference on your behalf. They should know you and your abilities well, so do outstanding work for them. In your junior year you should begin the process of selecting a law school that will fit your needs. In the first semester of your senior year you should take the LSAT and prepare your application for law school because most law schools have a Feb.1 deadline for fall classes. In the spring semester of your senior year you should apply for admission to law school.

(2) The choice of the right law school for you can affect your entire legal career. I recommend that you begin with one of the lists of all the law schools in the nation. I have several in my office. The U.S. News and World Report Law School Rankings are found at http://www.usnews.com. You can look at the LSAT scores and average GPA of last years’ entering law school class. You can see if the law school offers joint degree programs in fields that interest you, such as tax or public affairs. You can also see how law schools rate, not only on reputation, but also on placement and drop out rates. And you can price a legal education as well. I recommend that you visit the home pages of various law schools. The home pages list courses, faculty and answer many common questions. I can help arrange a visit to the campuses you are interested in. There are a lot of fine law schools in and out of Texas. How do you choose? You should try to go to the best law school you can get into. But remember there are exceptions to that rule. If you are an exceptional student at a lesser ranked law school you can still get a good job. If you want to practice in a specialty field such as entertainment or sports law go to either coast or where they have a number of professional teams so you work as an intern with a firm while you are in school. If you know you want to live in a certain area look for law schools in that area. Law schools build close relationships with local bar associations. Many judges in Dallas went to Southern Methodist. Likewise, many judges in Houston went to the South Texas College of Law of Law or the University of Houston. Remember, many fine law schools want a diversified student body, and that means northern and western schools are looking for good Texas applicants. Texas A&M University at Commerce graduates have gone to the finest law schools in the nation including Harvard, Yale and the University of Texas. By the time you are ready to apply you should have five schools in mind. Look at the application rates nationwide:

1995 -84,305 1996 - 76,715 1997 – 72,340 1998 – 71,726 1999 – 74,380 2000 – 74,550 2001 – 78,724

Law School Admission Council is projecting a 7.8 percent increase in the total number of applications for the 2001-2001 academic year. (Source: Law Services Report, August 2001, No. 2001-3).

Today, one almost has to apply to multiple schools. Look at the acceptance rates for the following schools:

Yale 7%

Harvard 14.6%

Stanford 10.8%

Univ. of Texas 37.3%

The top ten rated law schools in the nation accept less than 15% of those who apply. The top fifty law schools in the US accept less than 40% of those who apply. Remember, most of those who apply at least think they have a chance at acceptance. The problem is the huge number of applicants. No matter what you do, you may not be accepted to your Number 1 choice. You can find several schools that will meet you needs. You may also find that some may offer you a better financial package.

(3) Your LSAT score is very important, so be ready for the test. The Law School Admission Test is usually taken in the fall prior to your graduation in the spring. Come see me during your junior year for more information about the LSAT and law school applications. I have LSAT booklets in my office and in the Political Science office, Social Science Building Rm. 129. The Texas A&M University at Commerce offers free sample LSAT tests. The LSAT is a very narrowly scored test. One or two points on the test may reflect five or more percentage points of scores. I recommend a logic course to help you with the logic questions that now appear on the test. Please see me for a long list of suggestions before the test. These suggestions include tips like:

Answer the questions to which you know the correct answers first. Usually there are two answers that are close to correct. If you know the answer, answer those questions first. Don't lose time on the questions you don't know. The hardest questions are usually the first and you can get lost. Answer the easy ones first and fast. Then, answer those questions where you know the answer is one or the other. Then, finally, come back and make a guess on the difficult ones. Use your time wisely.

You can take the LSAT again if your score is low. Both scores are reported to law schools. Usually, most people only score one to two points additional when retaking the exam. But, if you do significantly better then, the schools recognize something happened the first time. So, it doesn't hurt to take it twice if you must.

I do not recommend any specific LSAT prep course. I can give you information on various prep courses if you like. The Texas A&M University at Commerce is now offering a LSAT Prep Course. You can order copies of old LSAT tests to help you study.

(4) The Personal Statement is a the part of the law school admission which gives you the opportunity to make your application stand out from the thousands of other applications that top schools see each year. Yes, I said thousands. Law schools are not looking for quantity on the personal statement; they want quality. It is not how many groups you belonged to, but how one group changed your life or changed the world around you. Faculty members often help edit personal statements and prepare letters of recommendation. It is important that you get to know at least one faculty member well enough that he or she can knowledgeably attest to your qualifications. Give some thought to your personal statement as you choose courses and activities in school. Make some time to belong to a group that will make a difference in your life and the lives of others. Ask yourself what you really learned from the activity. Of course, you learned leadership skills, but did you learn that one person can make a difference or that there are several different points of view on an issue? Did you learn to work with others and take orders? Did you fail, and pick yourself up again, then succeed? These are the types of things that will distinguish you from others. Hopefully, these are skills that will make you a better lawyer. Your personal statement should include a powerful and interesting introduction and conclusion. If you can't think of anything that makes you unique ask a friend or relative, as they can offer a different perspective.

Hopefully, I have answered most of your questions about law school. If you have more, plan to come by and meet with me and with some of our faculty members. You will definitely need the help of the pre-law advisor and faculty to navigate the admissions process. I welcome freshmen or those thinking about attending the Texas A&M University at Commerce. I look forward to meeting you.

Dr. Ayo Ogundele

Pre-Law Advisor and Director of the Legal Assistant Program

Department of Political Science

SS149

Texas A&M University at Commerce

Commerce, Texas 75429

Phone (903) 468-3094

E-mail: ayo_ogundele@tamu-commerce.edu.