Pre-Law Advising 

Department of Criminal Justice  

Preparing for Law School  

 Office: Chance Academic Center 136 

Phone:  210-486-1313  

Overview Information 

Law schools are looking for great students with analytical and logical reasoning skills—the criminal justice curriculum at San Antonio College is designed to enhance these skills

·       There is no “pre-law” major at San Antonio College or any other college/university.

·       There is no one preferred major for attending law school—in fact a less traditional major (for law school applicants) can be an advantage in terms of distinguishing you from other applicants

·       There are NO required courses for law school—if you are interested in taking law-related classes at SAC there are courses in the criminal justice program that may benefit your understanding of law and legal reasoning

·       The two most important factors in law school admissions are your overall GPA and LSAT (Law School Admission Test) score

·       A double-major can be helpful if it is in two fields that illustrate different skills (i.e. Criminal Justice, Political Science), but is not necessary

  Internships & Work Experience 

·       Internships or work experience in law-related fields are nice, but are not required for law school

·       The quality of an internship or work experience is much more important than the field in which it is conducted—so, a great experience in a law related internship can provide insight into the various career fields

·       You can find out information about internship opportunities from the faulty at the Department of Criminal Justice

  Studying for and taking the LSAT 

·       If you plan to attend law school directly after graduating from a university, you should register to take the LSAT in June after your junior year

·       If you cannot take the LSAT in June for some reason, take the LSAT in October of your senior year

·       Taking the LSAT early will allow you to retake the test if you need to (though do NOT plan on taking the test twice) and still get your applications out early

·       For students planning to take time off between graduation and law school, you can take the test at the time that is best for you; scores are good for five years

·       Some students take a prep class for the LSAT, others study on their own

  Application Process 

·       All other things equal, applying earlier is preferable to applying later

·       More highly ranked schools tend to have earlier deadlines—getting out your applications by Thanksgiving is great, you should shoot for no later than the end of December

  As a freshman, sophomore or first-semester junior, there is nothing in particular you need to be doing to prepare for law school other than take your classes, do well and be involved in on-campus (again quality is likely superior to quantity of activities) or off-campus activities.