How do you figure out a timeline for applying to law school?
- First, figure out when you would like to begin your first year of law school (September of which year)
- Second, back up a year to the previous fall, which is when you’ll prepare your application
- Third, back up an additional 7 to 9 months to choose the date when you’ll begin studying for the Law School Admission Test (the LSAT). The rule of thumb is that you need to study for the LSAT 10/15 hours a week for approximately 6 months. (The additional months take into account the dates that tests are offered, the period of time before you receive your score, and breaks or vacations.)
- If you total the number of months, you need to begin seriously thinking about applying to law school approximately 19 – 21 months before you plan to begin your first year.
No one timeline works for all students. You can meet with one of the Piper Center Pre-Law Coaches to figure out a timeline that will work well for you.
The sample timeline below is based on the following assumptions:
- You plan to attend law school in the fall right after you graduate from St. Olaf
- You plan to study for the LSAT during the spring semester of, or summer after, your junior year, with the test scheduled during the months of June to October
- You plan to submit your applications to law school on or about December 1st – the recommended deadline for submission so that you have the best chance of being admitted and receiving financial aid
Fall of Junior Year
- Create an account by logging onto the website of the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). This site includes extensive information about the following topics:
- Choosing and applying to law schools
- Signing up and studying for the Law School Admission Test (the LSAT)
- Using the Credential Assembly Service (CAS), through which LSAC sends copies of your LSAT score, academic transcript, letters of recommendation, and any other required documents to schools to which you’re applying.
- Talk to professors about letters of recommendation
- Decide how you want to study for the LSAT. Study options range from using the free LSAC test prep, to engaging in self-study using LSAT prep materials, to enrolling in a LSAT prep course either online or in person, to working individually with a tutor. When assessing the options, think about how you best study and learn, and what your budget will accommodate.
- Decide when you plan to take the LSAT and register here
Spring of Junior Year
- Start studying for the LSAT. The general rule of thumb is that you will need 10-15 hours/week over a six-month period. Include frequent timed practice tests in which you take the entire test to build your endurance and speed.
- Polish your resume using The Piper Center’s Law Resume template as a guide.
- Explore how to finance your law school education (see the funding section below)
Summer Before Senior Year or Early Fall of Senior Year
- Take the LSAT during the summer, in September or in October
- Decide if you’ll apply Early Decision. Talk with our Pre-Law coaches if you are considering this option
- Begin writing your personal statement – your faculty advisors or our Pre-Law coaches can support you here
September of Senior Year
- Applications open – submit your applications early for the best change of receiving admission and scholarships since schools use rolling admissions
- Explore and apply for external scholarships
October of Senior Year
- Attend recruiting events, law school open houses, law school fairs
- Fill out the FAFSA for need-based financial aid
November of Senior Year
- If you are applying for an Early Decision, submit your application by the deadline
December of Senior Year
- If you are applying for a Regular Decision, aim to submit your application on or around December 1st so that you have the best chance to be admitted and to receive financial aid
- Early Decision applicants start receiving results/scholarships
February of Senior Year
- Schools continue admitting students
- Scholarship negotiation begins
- Schools may be recruiting accepted applicants
March of Senior Year
- Schools continue admitting students
- Preliminary seat deposits (holding your place in a law school’s incoming class) may be due
- Scholarship negotiations continue
- Wait list discussions are starting
- Many students visit schools to help them make their final decision
April of Senior Year
- Applicants and schools are making final decisions
- Applicants must decide where to deposit
June – August After Senior Year
- Schools turn to their waitlists if places in the class open up
Think about your priorities and what’s most important to you about your law school education.
Some criteria to consider:
- Location – where do you hope to practice after graduating? Many graduates end up working in the geographic area where they attended law school.
- Career goals – do you want to work in public service? Then seek out a school that offers courses in that area. Do you want to work at a large law firm? The school’s alumni may be helpful in attaining those positions.
- What are the ranges for GPAs and LSAT scores of admitted students? If your GPA and LSAT score are below the 25th percentile for a particular school, you may have difficulty getting admitted. While ranges for GPAs and LSAT scores offer you actual information about typical students in that school, all law schools do a “holistic review” of all applications, which includes a careful look at your personal statement, resume, and letters of recommendation, as well as your GPA and LSAT score.
- Apply to a range of schools – safety, stretch, and reach. Make decisions based on how well you align with each school’s admissions data.
Many students find it helpful to visit law schools. You may want to visit a school if:
- You don’t know if law school is a good fit for you.
- You’re deciding which law school(s) to apply to.
- You’ve been accepted by a school but you haven’t visited the campus.
When you visit, ask questions that can be answered only in person. Ask if you can sit in on a class and talk with current law students. Reach out to the admissions office of each school to arrange your visit. Attending Law School Fairs and LSAC Forums can also help you explore many schools at one event.
Law School Fair at the University of Minnesota on Wednesday, September 17th.
If you are unable to visit, admissions offices can arrange for you to speak with currently enrolled students, faculty and alumni, who will be able to give you a sense of what it might be like to attend that school.
Most law schools require students to take the Law School Admission Test (the LSAT). Law schools have found the test to be useful in admissions because students who score well on the LSAT typically do well academically during their first year of law school. And students who do well academically during their first year of law school also typically pass the bar exam. Law schools bar passage rates are published, and so it is important for schools to aim to ensure that they admit a class of students with a high likelihood of passing the bar exam.
- Phone: 1-800-336-3982
- E-mail: LSACinfo@LSAC.org
“Official LSAT Prep” program – 4 free full-length LSAT tests
- LSAT Prep Books
- Northfield Library
- Rolvaag Library (St. Olaf)
- Piper Center
Recently, Aspen Publishing has developed JD-Next as an alternative to the LSAT. Pre-law students enroll in JD-Next, which is essentially a course in contract law – a core subject taught during the first year of law school. If students do well on the exam at the end of the JD-Next course, their score is an indicator that they would likely be successful in law school.
As of February 2025, the American Bar Association (the ABA) has granted 63 law schools (of the 198 accredited law schools in the U.S.) a “variance” that permits them to accept a JD-Next score rather than an LSAT score.
Please note, however, that if you take the JD-Next course and test, and if you also take the LSAT, all schools to which you apply, including JD-Next schools, will look at both your LSAT score and your JD-Next score. Thus, if you want to rely only on your JDNext score, you will need to apply only to those schools with a JD-Next variance.
To learn more about JD-Next, click here.
As part of the Ole Career Launcher, St. Olaf is partnering with Aspen Publishing to offer the JD-Next course and test to a small cohort of interested students. We are offering the course for the second time during the fall of 2025. To learn more about St. Olaf and JD-Next, click here.
- Application Fee Waiver Program
Law School Financial Support and Scholarships
Law School Scholarship Databank – Search over 800 carefully curated and vetted scholarship opportunities and writing competitions — totaling more than $3 million in aid.
LSAC Guide on Financial Aid Options– Law school is a major commitment and a significant financial investment. Explore funding options to help you pay.
Applying for Aid – Changes in financial aid rules and regulations are ongoing, and law school policies vary. It is important for you to stay current and to educate yourself about financial aid in much the same way that you research law schools when deciding where to apply.
Changes in federal funding for law school
Federal legislation passed in July 2025 has significantly changed the loans available for law school education. The new legislation takes effect on July 1, 2026, and thus will affect students who begin their graduate education in September 2026.
1. Professional (e.g., law) students
- The limit for professional students (e.g., law) will be $50,000 per year.
- The aggregate or lifetime limit will be $200,000.
2. Graduate students
- The limit for graduate students in non-professional programs will be $20,500 per year.
- The aggregate or lifetime limit will be $100,000.
- This limit does not include loans borrowed for undergraduate education.
3. Borrowers who are both graduate and professional students at different points in their academic careers can borrow up to $200,000 total for their graduate and professional studies.
4. The Grad PLUS loan program, which previously allowed graduate students to borrow up to their school’s cost of attendance (minus other financial aid), will be eliminated for new borrowers starting July 1, 2026.
- Law students who are already enrolled and who have borrowed Grad PLUS loans before July 1, 2026, will be able to continue borrowing under current limits – up to 3 academic years or the remainder of their program, whichever is less.
5. The new rules for funding are tied to the date that you begin law school and not to the date that you’re admitted. Thus, if you are admitted in March 2026 and you take out a loan in April 2026 to pay for law school beginning in September 2026, you will be covered by the new funding rules.
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Financial aid professionals and others who are involved in providing law school funding expect that private lenders (i.e., retail banks and others) will make funds available to help support law school education. We will know more in the coming months as private lenders step into this space.
Law schools are currently looking at their funding to figure out how the new rules are going to affect their programs. They will be assessing the situation at the same time as you’re applying, and so they may not have immediate answers to your questions. Please be patient when contacting them for information.