LSAT scores, recommendations, perfect grades – these are just a few of the factors pre-law students must consider as they apply to law programs across the country. With a variety of factors impacting admission, students must also face off other qualified candidates in the increasingly competitive applicant pool.
In recent years, Notre Dame's Law School has had one of the most selective admission rates. With the class of 2027 admissions cycle, the Law School reviewed over 2000 applicants for less than 200 first-year seats.
At Notre Dame, there is no official pre-law concentration or major, which is common at many other universities. Ryan Patrick, a career counselor and assistant director for the Meruelo Family Center for Career Development, described how Notre Dame provides ample support to undergraduates interested in pursuing law school in a statement to The Observer.
"When it comes to your undergraduate classes, strong grades, challenging coursework and a passion for your subject typically matter more to law school admissions officers than the specific course of study you follow," Patrick wrote. "The Pre-Law Student Board offers office hours and provides programming throughout the year to students interested in attending law school. We host workshops, provide guidance on the application process and coordinate a mentorship program with the Law School, including a beginning of the year kick off and mid-year check in."
In addition to the variety of available opportunities and advising resources available for Notre Dame students, Patrick advises undergraduates to consider pursuing service opportunities and exploring their interests in law through employment opportunities. Although pursuing specific career pathways in law may be subjective, Patrick emphasized the importance of exploration.
"For many students a year or two of service is a great way to spend their time. Law schools believe lawyers should be leaders in the community and are people who give back, and AmeriCorp, PeaceCorp, ACE, etc. provide great opportunities," Patrick wrote. "If students are interested in specific areas of law, working in that setting will help them be more credible applicants in the future. Policy is just the other side of the legal coin and another great option for most students, but really, whatever they do - they will need to frame that experience as leading them to law school and ultimately becoming a lawyer."
For students still exploring the field of law, Patrick advised a different pathway towards discernment.
"For students who are not 100 percent sure they want to be a lawyer, the most common advice is to encourage them to seek full-time employment first," Patrick wrote. "Law school is too big of an investment of time and treasure to pursue with uncertainty."
Aside from helping students who already have a background in law, Notre Dame simultaneously provides support for students interested in law school that come from less directly related fields. Tonia Murphy, a teaching professor at the Mendoza College of Business, provides one-on-one counseling to Mendoza students who are interested in pursuing law school.
In a written statement, Murphy discussed how the law school community welcomes students from a plethora of different backgrounds, including STEM, liberal arts and business. More importantly, Murphy emphasized the focus on showing personal qualities in the law school application.
"Law schools do expect students to come with critical thinking, problem-solving, and writing skills that will equip them to undertake the study of law," Murphy wrote. "In whatever course of study they pursue at Notre Dame, our students must develop these skills and so are well-prepared to tackle law school. Law schools recognize the rigor and quality of a Notre Dame undergraduate education, whatever the field of study."
Both Patrick and Murphy agreed that the admissions cycle for law school can be stressful and even unpredictable. Especially with this year's increase in applications, both noted some differences in the process, including a more delayed and slower overall process.
"Though there has been a large increase in applicants, for most of the students I have worked with this year has been fairly standard from an admissions acceptance rate and invitations to enroll in top-rated law schools," Patrick wrote. "This is true especially of students who applied early in the cycle before it became apparent this year was an outlier with nearly 11,000 more applicants (to law schools nationwide) than last year. For students who applied in November and later, they have had to wait a bit longer to hear about acceptances, and scholarships. We have also had to navigate 'holds' or 'reserve' application status more often."
As more students seek out ways to stand out amongst the sea of applicants, Patrick and Murphy encouraged students to provide, alongside their academic achievements and pursuits, their personal stories to showcase their drive to becoming a lawyer.
"Show that apart from your GPA and LSAT score, you are a person who has interests and has pursued them deeply during your time at Notre Dame," Murphy wrote. "That can involve any sort of activity. You've been a Bengal Bouts captain. You've sung and toured with the Liturgical Choir. You've tutored at the Robinson Center. You've done an Student International Business Council (SIBC) project. Through these activities, whatever they are, how have they caused you to develop the sorts of skills important for a law career?"
