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Selecting from the
Top Law Schools

How do you choose from the top law schools to find the school that best matches your own aspirations and requirements? The following checklist details all the factors that you need to consider:

1. Where do you want to study?
2. What are the admission requirements?
3. What is the graduation rate?
4. Is the law school ABA accredited?
5. Does it rank among the top law schools?
6. What student support services are available?

1. Where do you want to study?
One important factor is the geographic location of the law school. Do you want to study nearby or are you able to travel nationally or internationally? This can have a major effect on the cost of your law studies and also on your admission requirements so you do need to choose carefully. At the moment, whilst some of the top law schools have experimented with online delivery methods as part of their existing courses, there are not currently any ABA online accredited law schools in the US.

2. What are the admission requirements?
If you are aiming to be admitted to one of the top law schools, you need to be sure that you can meet the admission requirements. Be honest with yourself and assess what your own abilities are.

We know from feedback from our visitors that one of the most daunting aspects of the admission process is the law school personal statement, particularly for the top law schools, as you need to make the admissions officer or committee aware that you are not just another 'standard' applicant.

To help you with your Personal Statement, LawSchools360.com have teamed up with EssayEdge, The Net's Law School Personal Statement Resource who will ensure that your Law School Personal Statement is unique and memorable and we highly recommend their services.

In addition, the best book available to help you is The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions which is written by Anna Ivey, who earned her law degree at the University of Chicago Law School, where she later served as dean of admissions.

3. What is the graduation rate?
One of your main objectives when choosing to study for a law degree is that you need to be sure that you are going to be able to graduate.

Otherwise, the investment of time and cost will be wasted. Find out from the law schools that you are applying to what their graduation rates are.

If there seem to be a lot of students dropping out or if the graduation rate is very low, find out why. Similarly, if the graduation rate seems very high, ask more questions until you are comfortable with the answers.

• Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools, 2008
• Vault's Law School Surveys

According to the ABA they have currently approved a total of 187 institutions. The accreditation of the law school by the ABA should be a pre-requisite when you are conducting your research. The vast majority of US bar admission authorities rely upon ABA approval of the law school to confirm that individuals have satisfied the necessary educational requirements.

5. Does it rank among the top law schools?
Rankings generate a lot of interest and comprise a subjective assessment of the quality of the school and a collection of objective factors, such as median LSAT scores, as indicators of quality. They are based on questionnaire answers and there are many criticisms of the methodologies used.

However, they do provide another tool to help you to select from the top law schools.

For full details, please click here for Law School Rankings.

Remember that whilst law school ranking is one factor in your overall decision, the best determinant of whether the law school can be considered to be one of the top law schools for you is how it will help you to achieve your goals.

6. What student support services are available?
You need to evaluate the services available to help you reach your own goals. Firstly, what support services are available to you when you are studying and secondly, what support is there in terms of career counseling and advice?

When you are studying is there sufficient support available, such as libraries, computer labs and access to course materials?

Also, how much support will the law school offer to help you land the job or internship that you are aiming for? You will need to know what career services are provided and how successful these have been for previous students and graduates of that particular law school.

Once you have checked the top law schools and decided what law school you are going to apply to, you need to make certain that you are prepared to pass all aspects of the admission process.

For help with this, you can visit the LawSchools360 Pre Law School Information section where you can find help on how to achieve high scores on the LSAT and make your law school personal statement unique and memorable. Alternatively, you can save this page to your favorites just now and come back later.

Click here for a memorable admission essay
that will get you into the top law schools

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