Applying to Law School
Law School Applications/Forms
Any Law School applications or forms that need to be signed by the Dean of the College or designate can be dropped off at the College of Arts & Sciences, 205 Administration Building. Please allow a week for the forms to be completed and mailed. If you wish to have us include a statement about you, you must include a resume with your form and set up an appointment. If you would like to be notified of the date the forms are sent, please include a note indicating this and attach a phone number or email address.
Law School Application Calendar-Fall Admission
How to Register with the LSAC and LSDAS
The LSDAS provides a means of centralizing and standardizing undergraduate academic records to simplify the law school admission process.
Nearly all ABA-approved law schools (and some non-ABA-approved schools) require that their applicants register for the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS). Canadian law schools do not participate in the LSDAS and do not require its use.
The LSDAS prepares a report for each law school to which you apply. The report contains information that is important in the law school admission process. Your report will include:
- An undergraduate academic summary
- Copies of all undergraduate, graduate, and law/professional school transcripts
- LSAT scores and writing sample copies
- Copies of Letters of Recommendation processed by LSAC
Your LSDAS registration also includes access to electronic applications for all ABA-approved law schools.
Your LSDAS period will extend for five years from your registration date. If you register for a Law School Admission Test (LSAT) at any time during your LSDAS period, the LSDAS period will be extended five years from your latest LSAT registration.
Guidelines for writing the personal statement
The personal statement is an important component of your application packet. The BGSU Learning Commons has specialists available to assist you in the process of constructing effective personal statements. You can also visit the following links to valuable guidelines, tips, and advice.
Top Law Schools.com Advice for Writing Personal Statements
Personal Statement Tips from Long-Time Prelaw Advisors
Taking the LSAT
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is a half-day standardized test required for admission to all ABA–approved law schools, most Canadian law schools, and many non–ABA–approved law schools. It provides a standard measure of acquired reading and verbal reasoning skills that law schools can use as one of several factors in assessing applicants. The test is administered four times a year at hundreds of locations around the world.
Many law schools require that the LSAT be taken by December for admission the following fall. However, taking the test earlier—in June or October—is often advised.
Some schools place greater weight than others on the LSAT; most law schools do evaluate your full range of credentials.
Test Format
The test consists of five 35-minute sections of multiple-choice questions, in three different item types. Four of the five sections contribute to the test taker’s score. The unscored section, commonly referred to as the variable section, typically is used to pretest new test questions or to pre-equate new test forms. The placement of this section will vary. A 35-minute writing sample is administered at the end of the test. LSAC does not score the writing sample, but copies of the writing sample are sent to all law schools to which you apply.
What the Test Measures
The LSAT is designed to measure skills that are considered essential for success in law school: the reading and comprehension of complex texts with accuracy and insight; the organization and management of information and the ability to draw reasonable inferences from it; the ability to think critically; and the analysis and evaluation of the reasoning and arguments of others.
The three multiple-choice question types in the LSAT are:
- Reading Comprehension Questions
These questions measure your ability to read, with understanding and insight, examples of lengthy and complex materials similar to those commonly encountered in law school work. The reading comprehension section contains four sets of reading questions, each consisting of a selection of reading material, followed by five to eight questions that test reading and reasoning abilities. - Analytical Reasoning Questions
These questions are designed to measure your ability to understand a structure of relationships and to draw logical conclusions about that structure. You are asked to make deductions from a set of statements, rules, or conditions that describe relationships among entities such as persons, places, things, or events. They simulate the kinds of detailed analyses of relationships that a law student must perform in solving legal problems. - Logical Reasoning Questions
These questions are designed to evaluate your ability to understand, analyze, criticize, and complete a variety of arguments. Each logical reasoning question requires you to read and comprehend a short passage, then answer one question about it. The questions test a variety of abilities involved in reasoning logically and thinking critically.
Updated: 08/14/2019 10:56AM