So you’ve decided you want to go to law school. Great! But you need to know what steps you need to take both in deciding which school you’d like to attend, as well as what requirements are needed for admission. It’s not going to be easy; learning all about the law takes hard work and true dedication, but if you’re completely serious about pursuing an education in law school, read on.
The first step is to determine which law school you’d like to apply to. You may want to search around and learn about a variety of schools, and then narrow down your choices to a select few. You’ll need to learn what criteria you must meet in order to apply. You will need to take the Law School Admissions Test (known as the LSAT) and hold at least a Bachelor’s Degree. You will want to apply only to American Bar Association (the ABA) accredited schools, otherwise you will not be allowed to sit for the bar exam. The one exception to this is the state of California. If you apply to a law school in the state of California that is California State Bar accredited, this is also acceptable.
To assist in choosing your school, you will want to check out the tuition fees. You’ll probably need to take out a loan, unless of course you’re independently wealthy, so you’ll need to be prepared for when you go to the bank to apply. You can also inquire as to whether the school offers any sort of payment plan.
You will want to check out the school’s curriculum and see what classes will be required for you each year. Law school is a four year process, often beginning with more simple classes and progressing to the more difficult. If you did well in your pre-law studies, you will likely be prepared to take on the more advanced education. If you did poorly and graduated with a very low GPA, you will more than likely be denied admission. It would be advisable to take a pre-law course again to try and improve your knowledge before moving on to actual law school.
If you require an alternative schedule from a regular college course, such as attending classes at night rather than during the day, see if the school of your choice offers such courses. There are schools that work hard to accommodate everyone who may be interested in attending. With these schools, you can continue to work a day job without worrying about missing any classes. And once you’ve graduated you can kiss that old day job goodbye and move straight in to practicing law.
Looking for law schools in Los Angeles? Pacific Coast University School of Law is there for you!
