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.