Planning to Attend Law School?

Law School Application Timeline for Pre-Law Students

Whether you're a freshman eager to embark on the path to law school or a senior just starting to explore, our timeline is flexible to your needs. If you're starting to explore law school later, don't worry — refer to earlier steps and meet with a career coach at Toppel for personalized guidance. Your path to law school is unique, and we're here to support you along the way.

• Freshman Year

  Fall

  • Meet with a pre-law coach at Toppel to discuss law school interests.
  • Join the pre-law community to stay in the know of upcoming pre-law events and opportunities.
  • Sign up for Law Hub to receive access to practice tests, legal research tools, law school databases, and law school application aid.
  • Meet with your academic advisor to share your pre-law interest and develop a 4-year academic plan, infusing your pre-law interest.

  Spring

  • Build connections with campus faculty and staff as they will serve as your primary resource for obtaining letters of recommendation.
  • Take on an internship or paid job of interest (does not need to be related to law) to gain valuable experiences and essential skills such as leadership, communication, critical thinking, and teamwork.

• Sophomore Year

  Fall

  • Meet with your pre-law coach to review your academic plan and ensure you are positioning yourself to be a competitive candidate.
  • Consider joining a pre-law organization and other student organizations.

  Spring

  • Create an LSAC Account to begin registering for the LSAT exam. Your LSAC account allows you to complete Law School Applications, track your application status, manage letters of recommendation, and communicate with law schools.
  • Refer to Law Hub and this LSAT prep courses and materials resource for current test prep materials.

• Junior Year

  Fall

  • Begin researching law programs to build a list of schools you would like to attend. For researching schools, use the Search for Law Schools – LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved JD Programs.
  • Create a spreadsheet using your GPA & LSAT/GRE as a guide to create a “reachable, competitive, and safety schools” list and organize deadlines.
  • Register for LSAT exam via LSAC. Take law school application deadlines into consideration when signing up for an exam date.

  Spring

  • Identify and contact recommenders for letters of recommendation.
  • Review resume and personal statement with a career coach at Toppel.
  • Take LSAT Exam.

  Summer

  • If needed, retake the LSAT exam held in the Summer
  • Revise and update list of schools based on LSAT scores.
  • Follow up with recommenders for the status of your letters of recommendation.
  • Request official transcripts to be sent to LSAC (home, high school, and/or study abroad institutions).
  • Update your resume and personal statement. Stop by the drop-in career coaching hours at Toppel to get it revised.
  • Go to the writing center to proofread your personal statement for grammar, writing style, and spelling feedback.
  • Invite multiple reviewers to proofread your revised personal statement before submitting to law school.
  • Participate in a workshop focusing on financing law school, where you'll be equipped to complete the FAFSA and CSS Profile/School forms. Don't forget to explore AccessLex financial aid resources and workshops for additional support.

• Senior Year

  Fall

  • Meet with pre-law coach at Toppel to finalize application materials.
  • Attend a Law School Forum. Network with law school admissions representatives and gain insight into the application process for different schools. Law schools offer application fee waivers when candidates attend the Law School Forums.
  • Sign up and pay for Credential Assembly Service (CAS). CAS simplifies the law school application process for both candidates and law schools. With CAS, your transcripts, letters of recommendation, and any other documents required for each of your law school applications only need to be sent one time to LSAC and are available for 5 years.
  • Begin submitting Law School applications in the Fall (latest early Spring) when your application is strongest and has been reviewed by multiple supporting coaches and advisors.

  Spring

  • Track your application progress through your LSAC account: Applying to Law School Infographic | LSAC.
  • Discuss waitlist procedures with pre- law coach and develop a plan. This involves understanding what it means to be placed on a waitlist, the potential implications for your application, and strategies for navigating this phase effectively.
  • Visit schools and/or take virtual tours of the schools where you applied.
  • Contact programs where you submitted applications to confirm applications are complete and/or submitted.
  • Submit financial aid paperwork and apply for scholarships/grants. Additionally, exploring scholarship and grant opportunities tailored specifically for law students can significantly alleviate the financial burden associated with pursuing a legal education. This may include scholarships offered by law schools themselves, private organizations, bar associations, or other legal entities.
  • Begin to prepare for possible law school interviews via Big Interview and drop-in career coaching for practice interview sessions.
  • Evaluate law school acceptance offers and financial aid packages carefully to make informed decisions regarding your legal education and financial commitments.
  • Decide where to pay a seat deposit by the deposit deadline (respective to each individual school).

• Social Sciences & Pre-law Career Circle

  Social Sciences & Pre-law Career Circle

  The Social Sciences & Pre-law career circle is for anyone pursuing a degree in the social sciences and interested in a career in law. 

• Applying to Law School Infographic

  Applying to Law School Infographic

  An overview of navigating the law school application process.

• Miami Law Pre-Law Headquarters

  Miami Law Pre-Law Headquarters

  This page provides helpful resources as you decide if attending law school is in your future.

• LSAT Prep Courses and Instructors

  LSAT Prep Courses and Instructors

  This list provides a variety of options as you identify preparation courses that can teach you strategies that will help increase your LSAT scores.

• Toppel Personal Statement Guide

  Toppel Personal Statement Guide

  Our personal statement guide will help get you started in creating this important piece of your application.

• 509 American Bar Association Reports

  509 American Bar Association Reports

  Utilize these reports when researching and comparing law programs, bar passage rates, and employment outcomes for each program graduating class.

• Recommended Cognates for Pre-Law Students

  Recommended Cognates for Pre-Law Students

  A cognate is a group of at least three courses, for at least nine credit hours, that share a theme or focus determined by the faculty. Below is a list of cognates that will provide an overview of the law discipline. The Cognate Search Engine can help you shape a program of learning that is broad, coherent, exciting, substantive, and uniquely your own. This PDF document contains a list of cognates that may be of particular interest to pre-law students.

• Above the Law

  Above the Law

  Pre-law students can use this site to stay on top of trends, news, and insights into the law industry. Additionally, provided articles share tips and strategies for creating your application documents and the law school application process.

• Above the Bar

  Above the Bar

  Above the Bar is a multicultural organization for University of Miami pre-law students to ensure their matriculation into law school. The mission is specifically to educate, elevate, and demonstrate ways to thrive utilizing tools, forums, and platforms. 

• Debate Team

  Debate Team

  It is the mission of the debate program at UM to provide participating students a valuable educational activity with a primary emphasis on intercollegiate debate competition. Public debate experience and community service to middle school, high school and developing college programs are important secondary components of the mission of the UM debate team.

• Ethics Society

  Ethics Society

  The UM Ethics Society endeavors to spread understanding of ethics and critical thinking throughout society – in law, medicine, politics, business, and all other aspects of life. We will delve into these issues mainly through competitive debate, but also through special programs, panel discussions and collaborations with student orgs. 

• Model United Nations

  Model United Nations

  The purpose of the Model United Nations Team is to provide opportunities for students at the University of Miami who are interested in developing leadership, diplomacy, research, and debate skills. The students focus on global issues by actively participating in various activities and attending collegiate conferences throughout the nation.

• Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity

  Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity

  The purpose of Phi Alpha Delta is to provide undergraduate students with opportunities to learn about the law school admissions process, legal institutions, and careers involving law. The goal of Phi Alpha Delta is to present students with sufficient information for them to make informed decisions about applying to law schools and eventually becoming professionals in the field of law.

• Sociology and Criminology Club

  Sociology and Criminology Club

  We offer a positive learning environment for students with an interest in the fields of sociology and criminology. We regularly have guest speakers and are involved in events such as Relay for Life and Walk a Mile in Her Shoes.

• UM Mock Trial

  UM Mock Trial

  UM Mock Trial is a competitive team in the American Mock Trial Association national circuit that works towards fostering interest and growth in the fields of litigation and trial advocacy, as well as providing a unique, learning-through-doing experience.

• University of Miami Summer Legal Academy for Undergraduate Students
• University of California Davis School of Law 
• Cornell University Pre-Law Summer Program
• Duke Law D.C. Summer Institute on Law and Policy
• Yale Law School LaunchPad Scholars

Please visit this site for additional programs and information.

Recommended Courses to Consider

For additional information about pre-law events, email Toppel at toppel@miami.edu.