What law schools look for.

ABA Standard 503 requires every ABA-accredited law school to require applicants to take "a valid and reliable admission test" — and the ABA expressly allows schools to accept the GRE instead of the LSAT (the ABA Council voted in November 2021 to endorse GRE use in admissions, per Inside Higher Ed's report). ETS reported in 2022 that 100 of the 199 ABA-accredited schools accepted the GRE. But the LSAT remains the standard: every ABA school accepts it, and it is the score every school reports in its 509 disclosures. If you take only one test, take the LSAT.

• LSAT, 120–180. Scored on a 120-to-180 scale, with a national median around 151 (PowerScore's LSAT overview). For the August 2026–June 2027 testing year, LSAC charges a $253 registration fee (LSAC). You can retake: LSAC permits up to five tests within the current reportable score period (since July 2021) and seven in a lifetime (LSAC's retake policy). Schools see all your scores — most focus on your highest, so a retake that improves the score is a normal, unremarkable part of the process.
• GPA. Your undergraduate GPA, standardized by LSAC's Credential Assembly Service (CAS). There is no single “right” GPA — schools publish 25th, median, and 75th percentiles for their entering class, and those published medians are your real benchmark, not national averages.
• CAS logistics. Nearly every ABA school requires you to apply through LSAC's Credential Assembly Service, which collects your transcripts, test scores, and letters. For the 2026 cycle, CAS costs a $215 subscription plus $45 per school report (ABA Journal, Aug 2025) — separate from each school's own application fee. Financially under-resourced applicants can apply for an LSAC fee waiver.

Every school's 509 report gives 25th-percentile, median, and 75th-percentile LSAT and GPA for the entering class. Compare your numbers to those bands. Here are three real entering classes from ABA 509 data (Fall 2025) to show how wide the bands run:

• At or above both medians? You're a competitive candidate there — apply, and consider whether you'd negotiate scholarship.
• One number above median, one below 25th? That's a "splitter" or "reverse splitter" file. Schools admit these constantly — the 25th percentiles exist because someone got in with those numbers.
• Both numbers below the 25th? You'll need the rest of your file to do heavy lifting. It happens — but treat the school as a reach, not a target.

• Personal statement. Usually two pages: who you are and why law, in your own voice. Admissions readers read thousands — the ones that work are specific and honest, not grand. Avoid restating your resume; answer the question your transcript can't: what drives you, and why this profession.
• Letters of recommendation. Schools typically ask for two or three, submitted through CAS. Professors who know your work beat famous names who don't. Ask early (a month or more), and give each writer your resume and a note on what you'd like them to address.
• Resume. One to two pages of education, work, service, and leadership. Legal experience is a plus but not required — consistent commitment to anything is more persuasive than a scattered list.
• Optional essays & addenda. Diversity statements, "why this school" essays, and addenda explaining anomalies (a bad semester, a score gap) let you control the narrative on the weak spots in your file. Short, factual addenda beat defensive ones.
• Interviews. Some schools interview; ours is the place to get ready — interview question banks and mock interviews with Eli.

ABA Standard 504 requires law schools to advise every applicant — before matriculation — that admission to the bar has character, fitness, and other qualifications, and to encourage applicants to find out what those requirements are in the state(s) where they intend to practice. This is not a formality: the bar's character-and-fitness review is separate from law school admission, and surprises there can delay or block licensure after three years of school.

• Disclose everything the application asks for. Applications ask about criminal history, academic discipline, and sometimes financial issues. Answer completely and honestly — the thing that ends careers is not the old mistake, it's the failure to disclose it.
• Check your target state's requirements early. Each jurisdiction's board of bar examiners publishes its own character-and-fitness standards; our state-by-state bar guide links every jurisdiction.
• When in doubt, over-disclose to the school. Schools would far rather see a forthright addendum now than discover an omission later.