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BASIC INFORMATION FOR FRESHMAN/ SOPHOMORE STUDENTS INTERESTED IN LAW SCHOOL There are a number of faculty members on this campus who can advise students who think they are interested in attending law school. There is no "pre-law" major as such. Pre-law is, fundamentally, a Bachelor's degree. Look in your Catalog, Prelegal Program, for general information and the names of faculty who can advise you. QUESTIONS PRE-LAW STUDENTS MOST OFTEN ASK
There are basically two factors involved in the law school admissions decision; a student's Grade Point Average and a student's score on the LSAT (Law School Admission Test). Extra-curricular activities may or may not be part of the student's experience at CSUS. Since most of our students work, many do not participate in activities. Moreover, recommendations may be required. However, only in marginal cases do these considerations have a bearing upon law school admission.
The LSAT should be taken either in June after the junior year or in the early fall of the senior year. In general, students seem to perform better after their junior year, and since there is no reason to take it before this time, one should not plan to take it earlier. Moreover, the summer before the October test date may be a convenient time to engage in intensive preparation for the test.
No, not for practice. Whenever any LSAT scores for a person are reported, all scores are reported. Since LSDAS (the Law School Data Assembly Service) averages the scores, a student should plan to take the test only once. There are numerous sources of "practice" tests, including materials that can be purchased from Law Services. The Government Department has information about these. However, recent conversations with law school admissions officials suggest it is O.K. to repeat the LSAT if you believe you scored substantially less than you should have for some good reason.
Neither Law
Services nor the University sponsors or recommends any particular commercial
prep course. They are advertised widely on the campus and the office of
Regional and Continuing Education offers one (923-9833). Students who have
taken such courses point out that the courses do familiarize the test taker
with the format of the test and that taking full advantage of such a If a student chooses to take one of these prep courses, he or she should take it as close to the time of the actual test as possible. LSAT application booklets, which also contain information about the preparation materials available directly from Law Services, are available at the Testing Center office in Lassen Hall.
Basically, within the liberal arts curriculum at CSU Sacramento, it does not matter which major is selected. Law School Admissions Committees do not have "preferred" majors. Students should seek breadth in their undergraduate curriculum with depth in one or more areas (i.e. the major). You should note that majors which require an unusually high number of units will reduce your opportunity to select electives that will broaden your background. In brief, however, a student is free to choose whatever major he or she wishes. Because GPA is so important in admissions to law school, you are encouraged to select a major which you enjoy studying and in which you are therefore likely to do better.
No. A double-major is fine if a student wants to complete one; it is irrelevant in terms of admission.
No. If a student has the desire to study a foreign language, this study can be a tool to sharpen the student's analytical skills and increase the student's understanding of English, but study of a foreign language per se is not necessary for admission to law school.
Again, the
answer is no, not really. As indicated above, a student should seek breadth
in his or her undergraduate program. Some courses that students have found
helpful in the past (but should not be construed as "required" for
law school) are:
Other courses
offered at CSUS that might be of interest to students considering law school
are:
Perhaps more important than specific courses, it is wise to select courses that challenge you taught by faculty who impose high standards and elicit hard work from students. Recent graduates, who have gone on to law school, stress the value of our courses that required a lot of writing.
Though some law schools do not require letters of recommendation, most do require one to three letters, usually two from Professors. Some require a form be filled out by a Dean. In general, recommendations carry little weight unless a student is already a highly qualified candidate for admission, or the student is a marginal candidate and the letter points out some unusual or outstanding fact that is not apparent from examining the student's objective record. A student does not need to prepare a file of letters of recommendation until shortly before applying to law school. In most cases, however, it is only appropriate to ask for a letter from a faculty member who has had an opportunity to learn your work over at least two courses. Keep this in mind when selecting courses. A final word: letters from CSUS faculty members who know the student are basically the only ones which count. Letters from Congressmen, judges, state legislators, ministers and family do not carry any weight and can have a negative impact on admission committees.
In September a year before a student plans to enter law school, the student should do three things: (1) write to law schools to obtain catalogues and application forms; (2) sign up for the September/October LSAT, if he/she did not take the June test; (3) consult with a pre-law adviser. Applications should be completed and sent to the schools to which the student is applying as early as possible in the fall.
One Employment Report released by the National Association for Law Placement showed that 93% of the graduates of American Bar Association approved law schools were employed in law-related jobs within 6 months after graduation. This figure has increased or remained steady over the last ten years. The most popular option was private law practice, chosen by over 14,000 graduates, or over 60% of those reporting. Over one-third of those for whom employment information was available began their careers in non-firm settings. On the other hand, keep in mind that California has more lawyers than anywhere else in the country or the world.
Rules 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10: Learn to think analytically and clearly and to express yourself well in written form; i.e. learn to think and learn to write.
The following was written by a young man who graduated from a prestigious southeastern university (Duke) and received his law degree from the University of Chicago.
Additional information concerning pre-law preparation can be found at the excellent Pre-Law Page of the University of Richmond. In addition, Louisiana State University has an extraordinarily comprehensive list of Legal Resources on the Internet.
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