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Factors
List for Planning Your Law School Applications
By
Brad Dobeck, Esq.
President,
PrelawAdvisor.com
(formerly Prelaw Advisor, MBNA Career Education Center, Georgetown
University)
October 2001
Do
you know the seven factors and the 54 sub-factors that the
Law School Admission Council is now urging law schools to
consider in reviewing your application? Review of this comprehensive
list may allow you to develop additional arguments for your
applications.
Factor
1—Academic Factors:
1.
LSAT score(s)
2. Undergraduate GPA
3. Any advanced work and/or other degrees
4. Major
5. Difficulty of course work
6. Relevance of course work to law school
7. Grade trends
8. Course loads
9. College(s) attended and quality of competition
10. English your first language?
11. Quality of high school and prior academic experience
12. Other test scores
13. Number of hours worked and other responsibilities during
college
Factor
2—Demographic and Diversity Factors:
14.
Age
15. Gender
16. Ethnic/racial background
17. Geographic residence
18. Socio-economic status (SES)
19. Multi-cultural experiences
Factor
3—Work Experience:
20.
Position
21. Level of responsibility achieved
22. Full-time or part-time work
23. Number of years worked
24. Type of industry or business
25. Evidence of follow-through ability
26. Law-related experience or knowledge
27. Military status
Factor
4—Leadership and Extracurricular Factors:
28.
Undergraduate leadership activities
29. Community leadership and accomplishments
30. Volunteer activities
31. Academic leadership and organizations
32. High school accomplishments
33. Athletic activities
34. Travel; foreign living and service
Factor
5—Accomplishments:
35.
Special skills and talents
36. Debate, music, drama, writing, artistic accomplishments
37. Overcoming/persevering in the face of adversity
38. Significant personal accomplishments of any kind
39. Overcoming substantial discrimination
40. Helping in overcoming discrimination against others
41. Serving under-served communities or peoples
Factor
6—Evidence Supporting Character and Fitness; Personal
Qualities:
42.
Integrity
43. Problem-solving skills
44. Maturity
45. Honesty
46. Compassion
47. Judgment
48. Motivation
49. Perseverance, tenacity
50. Unique perspectives
Factor
7—Skills and Abilities:
51.
Communications skills
52. Planning Ability
53. Analytical skills
54. Advocacy skills
(Source:
Beth Cobb O'Neil, Associate Executive Director, Law School
Admissions Council, in "NAPLA Notes," Summer 1999.)
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