TIMETABLE OF THE ADMISSIONS PROCESS BY YEAR

Freshman Year

• Take the courses that interest you. There is no single course of study or major, which will make a significant difference in your attractiveness to law schools.
• Do as well as you can in your courses. If you apply to law school during your senior year, generally schools only have your first 3 years of grades to review.
• Try to get to know your instructors. This is often achieved by being active in class or through contacts with faculty during their office hours. Recommendations from faculty members can be an important admission factor. The more detailed knowledge your instructors have about your academic work, the more detailed and useful your recommendations can be.
• Start to learn about law as a career. Attend Career Services events and other programs. Begin to get a general idea of what people with a legal education actually do and how they use their education in the world of work. Look into the possibility of getting a law-related summer job.

Sophomore Year

• If your grades from freshman year are unimpressive, don't panic. An upward trend in your subsequent grade point average will be more significant than mediocre grades received early in your college career. Freshman year grades are often viewed as the least predictive of your academic performance.
• Take courses that will sharpen your writing and analytical skills; both are very important for law school and the legal profession. Don't necessarily avoid tough courses. Law schools will look at the courses you have taken and will generally be able to discern a difficult from an easy curriculum. If you are still apprehensive about taking a particular course, you might consider taking it on a pass/fail basis. However, law schools may view taking more than a few courses pass/fail unfavorably.
• The choice of a major should be based on your interest in the subject matter. Don't choose a major you think might "look" better to law schools. Law schools are more likely to appreciate your mastery of a subject than the subject itself. At the same time, a demonstrated competency in subjects requiring close reading and analysis is very relevant to admissions committees.

Junior Year

• Continue to explore and learn about the legal profession by reading, researching and talking with lawyers.
• Take part in law-related programs and activities on campus, including Career Services sponsored events.
• Begin to assess your need and the availability of financial aid.
• Take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) in June. June testing seems a good idea as it gives you all summer to examine your scores and plot your admission strategy.
• Prep courses are quite costly, but for some students they might be not only useful but also necessary. 

 Summer Between Junior and Senior Year

• Get your LSAT score (late June/early July).
• If you don't have a good sense of it already, take a look at a "Law School Locator" chart (check out the Links & Resources section of this web site) to find out, based on your LSAT and GPA numbers, which schools are within your admissions reach.
• Based upon your GPA, LSAT score and other factors affecting your selection of the law schools to which you will apply, send away for catalogues, application forms and financial aid information during the latter half of the summer.
• Begin brainstorming ideas for your personal statement/essay.

 Senior Year

• Take advantage of the "rolling admissions" policies of many law schools by completing your applications as early as possible, ideally by October or November.
• Attend law school information meetings sponsored by Career Services during the fall semester.
• Get financial aid materials early in the year and process them in a timely fashion, by the deadlines
• Keep current on pre-law activities through Trinity’s Career Services home page

June/July

·         If possible, take the June LSAT if you are applying the following fall.

·         Otherwise, register and prepare for the October LSAT. Register for LSDAS.

August - October

·         Send your transcript to LSDAS. Request catalogs and applications from law schools.

October/November

·         Take the October LSAT if you haven't already taken the exam.

·         Attend information sessions held by law school representatives.

·         Write your personal statement.

·         Gather your references.

November/December

·         Complete and mail all applications. *

February

·         Send supplementary information, such as fall semester grades, if requested, or potentially helpful.

April/June

·         Receive acceptances and make decisions.

* In general, early applicants tend to fare better in the admission process, especially since most schools have rolling admission policies. Therefore, it is recommended that you complete your application well before published deadlines.