You Can Find a Spot in Top Law Schools

Gaining acceptance at a top law school is an extraordinary feat because the acceptance rates at these programs are extremely low. Top law schools receive thousands of applications each year.  The intense competition leads to scrutiny of all candidates in order to make selective admission decisions for the limited spots available at the top law schools. Top law schools each assess law school applications differently. Some top law schools may put more of an emphasis on academic achievement while others may give deference to work experience and leadership potential.

What schools are considered top law schools? There are several official and unofficial rankings of the top law schools. The US News and World Report law school rankings are arguably the most popular and respected rankings of top law schools in the country.

Yale Law School has been ranked number one in the U.S. New’s rankings the past two decades. As its top ranking demonstrates, Yale is considered one of the best places to get the intellectual and ethical grounding required to be successful in the legal field. The law school produced the likes of Hillary Clinton, whose career currently stands in the position of the 67th US Secretary of State, as well as Bill Clinton, a former US president. Various supreme justices have also gone through the doors of the law school as well. As with other top law schools, Yale admits around 250 students out of approximately 3,000 applications resulting in an admission rate around 6 – 7% each year.

Harvard Law School is currently ranked number two in the U.S. News’s rankings. The law school is much larger than Yale, and the acceptance rate stays roughly around 10% each year. Other top law schools include Stanford University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, New York University, and University of Michigan-Ann Arbor amongst others. The acceptance statistics at the top law schools demonstrate the importance of maintaining an outstanding GPA, doing well on the LSAT, and having strong recommendations and a persuasive personal statement.

The selection process at a top law school is a thorough and rigorous procedure that carefully considers the strengths of each candidate resulting in a selection of candidates that the selection committee believes is deserving of a spot in their top law school program. No matter how a top law school may assess a law school application, it is possible to influence one’s chances of being accepted in top law schools through strategic methods that have been tried and tested. Although academic achievement is critical for acceptance into a top law school, creating a cohesive law school application that demonstrates your strengths and “soft” attributes outside of the LSAT and GPA numbers is equally critical and will help you stand out and increase your chances of attaining admission into a top law school program.  

Starlett Carter is the author of this article on Law School Admissions. Find more information on ImprovingLaw School Applications here.