Law Career Checklist

Freshman and Sophomore Years

• Select a major in a field that both interests you and allows you to excel.
• Begin to form relationships with professors, lecturers, and TAs so that they will know your work well enough to serve as recommenders in the future. 
• Complete a Student Profile on the Cornell CareerNet system to learn about law-related opportunities. 
• Expand your education by seeking summer jobs or internships in fields of interest. 

• Meet with a prelaw advisor to assess your academic, extracurricular, and work experiences and to discuss the application process.
• Begin preparing for the LSAT; if you are ready, register for the June administration.
• Secure a summer job or internship, if possible, in a law-related field. 
• Research law schools and compile a list of tentative schools.

Senior Year (or Year Before Entering Law School)

• Decide whether to use LSACD to apply, or call/write to law schools or visit their Web sites to request catalogs and application materials.
• Register for the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS).  Have transcripts from all undergraduate institutions you have attended sent to the LSDAS after verifying their accuracy.
• Make sure your LSDAS report is correct.
• Ask potential recommendation writers if they would be willing to write letters on your behalf.  Provide them with forms and sufficient information for detailed letters.
• Make arrangements to have dean's certifications sent to schools which require them.
• Attend Law School Day on September 30 and programs and workshops on the application process.
• Take the LSAT on October 4 if you did not take the test in June.
• Begin drafting and revising your personal statement.
• Meet with a prelaw advisor, who will help you assess the strength of your application in relation to schools you are considering.  Request a critique of your personal statement draft.
• Complete applications by late November.
• Take the LSAT on December 6 if you did not take it previously or are retaking the test.
• Check with schools in December/January to make sure your files are complete.
• Complete the FAFSA and any institutional financial aid applications as soon after January 1 as possible.
• Have financial aid transcripts sent from Cornell to all schools to which you are applying.
• Meet with a prelaw advisor in the spring to assess your options as schools respond to you.
• Take appropriate action on acceptances, wait-list status, and financial aid packages.
• Before leaving campus, have a final transcript sent to the law school you plan to attend and/or to any schools still considering your application.