[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-201178-en":3,"doc-seo-201178-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":96},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":27,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},201178,8814010472675,"Xiajie","https://avatar.qwps.com/avatar/WGlhamll",4,"Exam","THE CHAPMAN STUDENT'S GUIDE TO THINKING ABOUT LAW SCHOOL - Pre-Law Advising Handbook","Guide for Chapman students planning for law school, covering the full pathway from building an undergraduate academic profile to navigating the law school application and LSAT requirements. Explains how GPA, honors, relevant coursework, and faculty relationships affect application outcomes, and how extracurricular involvement should be authentic and strategic. Details the admissions process via LSAC, offers an LSAT testing timeline and registration timing guidance, and outlines practical test preparation choices and application components like the personal statement and recommendations.","THE CHAPMAN STUDENT'S GUIDE TO THINKING ABOUT LAW SCHOOL  \nby Prof. Ronald Steiner, Pre-Law Advisor  \nTopics:  \nI. While at Chapman  \nII. Extracurricular Activities  \nIII. The LSAT  \nIV. Choosing a Law School  \nV. The Personal Statement  \nVI. Letters of Recommendation  \nVII. Consider Taking \"Time Off\"  \nI. While at Chapman  \nA. GPA  \n1. Remember that your early GPA counts  \n2. For better or worse, GPA counts for a great deal  \na. Based on an index score of LSAT + GPA, law schools divide applicants into “Automatic Yes,” “Automatic No,” and “Maybe” -try not to be an“Automatic No”  \nb. The index score requirements vary based on law school selectivity; there’s probably some law school you can get into (but proceed with your eyes open and don’t take on too much debt for a school with poor income potential)  \nB. Honors and Academic Awards  \n1. You will be asked about these on your law school application; will you have any to report?  \n2. Truman, Fulbright, Marshall, Rhodes, Coro are among the best, BUT...  \n3. Many other significant awards exist (Chapman awards; Departmental awards)  \nC. Courses  \n1. No necessary courses for pre-law sequence, BUT...  \n2. Certain courses let you know what you're in for…  \na. POSC 341, 342, 343 Constitutional Law  \nb. HIST 322 Global History of the U.S. Civil Rights Era  \nc. ECON 200 Principles of Microeconomics  \n3. Certain courses help your abilities…  \na. COM 101/102 Public Speaking; COM 210 Theories of Persuasion  \nb. PHIL 203 Logic, PHIL 300 Symbolic Logic  \nc. PHIL 318 Political and Legal Philosophy, PHIL 324 Philosophy of Law  \nd. HUM 312 Writing in the Legal Context (or other composition courses)  \n4. Common majors  \na. Political Science  \nb. Sociology and/or Criminal Justice  \nc. Psychology  \nd. History  \ne. Busines/Economics  \nf. English  \n5. Consider Independent Study—esp Student Scholar Symposium or other presentation  \na. Enrich your education and add something significant to your profile  \nb. May even lead to a publication or presentation  \nD. Get to know your professors (but don't be a pest )  \n1. Somebody has to write a letter of recommendation  \n2. Academic letters of recommendation are the most important  \nE. Be sure law school is what you really want  \n1. Check with the folks in Career and Professional Development Office  \n2. Consider alternative careers  \nII. Extracurricular Activities  \nA. Involvement matters  \n1. It is important to construct a file that \"looks good\"  \n2. File should represent on paper who you really are  \n3. Make it real-they've seen many who are just faking it for a line on the resume  \nB. On campus involvement  \n1. Peer Conduct Boards, Associated Students  \n2. Greeks, sports, social groups  \n3. Academic interest activities  \n4. Service activities  \na. Peer counseling, tutoring, etc.  \nb. D.O.C., Hillel, MSA, etc.  \nC. Off-campus involvement  \n1. Jobs (even if just to make money it shows something about you)  \n2. Volunteer work (can be anything – whatever motivates you)  \n3. Internships (try to show prolonged engagement and interest)  \na. Juvenile Hall, Orangewood  \nb. Law firms (note: useful but not at all required)  \nc. Political campaigns, government offices  \n(1) Remember local government  \nd. ACLU and similar legal services organizations  \n4. Off-campus coursework  \na. Washington Semester, internship programs (including international)  \nb. Study Abroad or travel courses  \nc. Special courses (mediation training, etc.)  \nD. Get to know somebody who can write a letter of recommendation  \nIII. The Application Process and the LSAT – for official information and an overview, see  \n[https://www.lsac.org/applying-law-school](https://www.lsac.org/applying-law-school)  \nA. Register with the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC), which provides access to the common application and the LSAT  \n1. Register and prepare for the LSAT  \n2. Register for the Credential Assembly Service (CAS)  \n3. Request all required transcripts  \n4. Request letters of recommendation  \n5. Apply","cbCaipaT6ogbwXLu","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipaT6ogbwXLu","pdf",1179877,1,7,"English","en",105,"# Topics Overview\n## While at Chapman\n## Extracurricular Activities\n## The LSAT\n## Choosing a Law School\n## The Personal Statement\n## Letters of Recommendation\n## Consider Taking \"Time Off\"","[{\"question\":\"How does an early GPA affect law school applications?\",\"answer\":\"Early GPA matters because law schools heavily weigh it. Applicants are often placed into outcomes such as “Automatic Yes,” “Automatic No,” or “Maybe,” based on an index score combining LSAT and GPA.\"},{\"question\":\"What extracurricular activities are recommended for a strong application profile?\",\"answer\":\"Involvement should look authentic and reflect who the student truly is. The guide suggests balancing on-campus and off-campus engagement, including service, internships, volunteer work, and activities connected to legal or academic interests.\"},{\"question\":\"When should a student take the LSAT and how should they prepare?\",\"answer\":\"The guide recommends taking the LSAT about 10 months before planned enrollment and warns that January and February can be too late for many schools. It also recommends some form of prep—self-study, online programs, in-person classes, or tutoring—and using multiple practice tests while not taking the real LSAT solely as practice.\"}]","THE CHAPMAN STUDENT'S GUIDE TO THINKING ABOUT LAW SCHOOL - Pre-Law Advising Handbook | PDF",1788526385,18,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":91,"head_meta":93,"extra_data":95,"updated_unix":28},"the-chapman-students-guide-to-thinking-about-law-school-pre-law-advising-handbook","",{"@graph":36,"@context":90},[37,53,73],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,48,51],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":47},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":50},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/",3,{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-chapman-students-guide-to-thinking-about-law-school-pre-law-advising-handbook/201178/",{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":54,"image":55,"author":60,"headline":13,"publisher":62,"fileFormat":65,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":66,"datePublished":67,"encodingFormat":65,"isAccessibleForFree":68,"interactionStatistic":69},"DigitalDocument",{"url":56,"@type":57,"width":58,"height":59},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-chapman-students-guide-to-thinking-about-law-school-pre-law-advising-handbook/201178.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":9,"@type":61},"Person",{"url":41,"name":63,"@type":64},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-11","2026-09-04",true,{"@type":70,"interactionType":71,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":72},"ViewAction",{"@type":74,"mainEntity":75},"FAQPage",[76,82,86],{"name":77,"@type":78,"acceptedAnswer":79},"How does an early GPA affect law school applications?","Question",{"text":80,"@type":81},"Early GPA matters because law schools heavily weigh it. Applicants are often placed into outcomes such as “Automatic Yes,” “Automatic No,” or “Maybe,” based on an index score combining LSAT and GPA.","Answer",{"name":83,"@type":78,"acceptedAnswer":84},"What extracurricular activities are recommended for a strong application profile?",{"text":85,"@type":81},"Involvement should look authentic and reflect who the student truly is. The guide suggests balancing on-campus and off-campus engagement, including service, internships, volunteer work, and activities connected to legal or academic interests.",{"name":87,"@type":78,"acceptedAnswer":88},"When should a student take the LSAT and how should they prepare?",{"text":89,"@type":81},"The guide recommends taking the LSAT about 10 months before planned enrollment and warns that January and February can be too late for many schools. It also recommends some form of prep—self-study, online programs, in-person classes, or tutoring—and using multiple practice tests while not taking the real LSAT solely as practice.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":52,"og:type":92,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":63,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":94,"canonical":52},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":97},[98,102,106,109,114,119,123,128,133,136,140],{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":99,"show_sort_weight":100,"slug":101},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":47,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},70,"exam",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":21,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":127},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":129,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":130,"show_sort_weight":131,"slug":132},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":131,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":134,"show_sort_weight":131,"slug":135},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":137,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":138,"show_sort_weight":137,"slug":139},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":141,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":142,"show_sort_weight":110,"slug":143},19,"General","general"]