The PLSA's Recent Law School Admissions Seminar

By Martin M. McSherry

Last week, the GW PLSA hosted a free law school admissions seminar featuring a representative from Blueprint LSAT prep. The event is just one example of the ways the PLSA can help students at all points in their college careers determine if they want to go to law school and how to navigate the long, complex application process.

Blueprint’s Natalie Knight laid down some hard facts about applying to law school, the most important of which is that one’s GPA and LSAT score are the major determining factors in admissions. However, a bad freshman year and one or two Cs isn’t the end of the line for an aspiring law student. Using real-life examples, Knight showed that one applicant with a 3.9 GPA and a mediocre LSAT score went to a law school ranked 75th by US News and World Report. Another student with a 3.4 GPA and a 179 on the LSAT ended up at Harvard Law School, which people tell me is a reasonably good institution. Moreover, someone with numbers slightly below his or her dream school’s median statistics shouldn’t give up all hope. Knight offered key strategies for writing a persuasive personal statement, getting the best letters of recommendation and explaining mitigating circumstances in an addendum.

In addition to practical information about law school applications, all students in attendance received a substantial discount on LSAT prep courses from Blueprint. This is just one of many examples of how the PLSA works to help people of all walks of life pursue their goals. Whether your parents are lawyers and can give you all the advice you need about following in their footsteps or you’re a first generation college student, the PLSA offers guidance and community from your freshman orientation to your first acceptance letter.