Law School
Texas A&M University is a national leader in preparing students for law school. Since 2018, we’ve placed 8th nationally for providing law students. The most successful students plan ahead and take every advantage to enhance their profiles.
Thinking About Law School?
Of all professional programs, the Juris Doctor (J.D.) remains the most flexible and accepting in terms of admission, in part because there are no required courses for admission. In fact, law schools do not favor any major over another; instead, they revel in diversity of everything, from your major, activities, outside interests, and personal history. At Texas A&M, students from every college apply to law school and are successful in both admission and in law school. Therefore, choose the major that suits you, one that you find challenging and engaging, one that prepares you for other career paths.
You do not need to determine exactly which area of law you plan to practice before law school. Instead, learn about the practice of law and whether that is appealing to you. The best piece of advice to follow is to speak with lawyers. Learn about the profession and how individuals came to it and wound up in their niche. Remember, every lawyer went to law school and therefore knows a lot of lawyers in different practice areas. After getting a sense of the profession check out LSAC’s “Your Journey to Law School.”
Where to start:
As you progress through undergraduate studies, take every opportunity to learn more about legal education, law schools and how schools differ from one another. There are currently 196 law schools accredited by the American Bar Association.
One place to start your search is right on campus! Each year, Texas A&M hosts one of the largest law school fairs in the country (Law School Fair), with about half of the accredited schools coming to campus to tell you more about their programs. You do not have to be a law school applicant to benefit from attending. Throughout the year, various law school admission deans are guest speakers at student organization meetings, university events and networking events. Attend every session you can to learn more about legal education.
Online searches:
There are dozens of online “law school rankings” which seek to create a single ranking of law schools that will be appropriate for everyone. These rankings cannot capture elements which are important to you, fit your academic profile and provide the best setting for YOUR legal education. Instead, these rankings tend to imply that schools in “lower tiers” are not worth attending; however, nothing could be further from the truth. Read rankings with a cautionary eye and develop your own list of potential law schools and read what the Law School Admissions Council has to say about them. Another great resource is the The Stern-Wilson Book of Law School Lists. This online book is based on a survey done by prelaw advisors of the U.S. law schools.
How to rank schools:
When making your list of law schools, XploreJD.org helps you not restrict yourself by eliminating private schools or schools in other states. Sometimes private school scholarships make them more affordable than an in-state school. Instead, start listing factors which are important to you, whether it is location, size of student body, clinical programs, employment statistics, admissions profiles and more. Talk to attorneys who attended various schools and learn more about what each school has to offer. Finally, you can visit law schools on your own or with other Aggies. The PreLaw Advisor will announce all trips planned to Texas law schools on the aggie-lawyer listserv. The MSC sponsors the J. Wayne Stark Northeast Trip which tour law and business schools in Chicago, New York, Boston and Philadelphia in January each year.
Core Skills, Values, Knowledge and Experience: Aggies in any major are well-prepared to be successful in law school due to the rigor in all majors and the high expectations of your professors. However, the American Bar Association has prepared a statement about core skills, values, knowledge and experience to guide you in preparing for law school and a legal career. These include:
- Problem solving
- Critical reading
- Writing and editing
- Oral communication and listening
- Research
- Organization and management
- Public service and promotion of justice
- Relationship-building and collaboration
- Background knowledge
- Exposure to the law
You can find the entire prelaw statement in our handouts or on the ABA website. After reading the statement, do a self-analysis on your skills and knowledge levels and make plans to improve them. Doing a self-analysis every semester will ensure that you are ready.
Citizenship: Please note that many of the skills that the law school are looking for are acquired outside the classroom. This is why participating in student activities, service work, internships and leadership positions is crucial to building a strong case for you being admitted to your top law school.
Starting with the August 2024 administration, the three scored sections of the LSAT will include two sections of Logical Reasoning questions and one section of Reading Comprehension questions (the LSAT will no longer include an Analytical Reasoning section). The LSAT will continue to include a fourth, unscored variable section, which enables LSAC to validate new test questions for future use. The LSAT will also continue to include a 10-minute intermission between the second and third sections for all test takers.
Alternative formats (e.g., paper-and-pencil, braille) are available as testing accommodations. Approved paper-based format tests (including braille) for the LSAT multiple-choice sections will be provided only in Prometric test centers and available to candidates located within the United States (including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and Canada.
For the online, live remote-proctored test, all LSAT takers will need to use their computer’s camera and microphone to set up the online, live remote-proctored session. All timing of the test will be implemented within the LawHub interface.
The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is a multiple-choice, computer-based, standardized exam consisting of 3 sections. If possible, take the LSAT or GRE by August the summer before you apply to law school. Confirm the law school(s) you are applying to accept the GRE, before registering to take the test.
Should I take a practice LSAT or GRE? Absolutely, and it’s never too early to take it. You can visit LSAC LawHub to sign up for a free LSAT Prep account and take a free diagnostic test to see the types of questions that are asked. Kaplan offers a free practice GRE online. Magoosh offers a free GRE trial. Graduate & Professional School Advising makes no claims about the efficacy of prep programs, but only provides the names of known providers as a service. After taking the practice exam, you should be able to determine whether you will take a commercial prep course (in-person or on-line), or prepare yourself. Try to take a practice exam before the end of your second year. This should give you sufficient time to decide whether you will do self-prep or take a commercial prep course. Which method to choose is very personal and depends upon your starting score, your goal score, your level of personal responsibility and motivation and the craziness of your schedule. One size does not fit all!
Once you have a timed practice score, the PreLaw advisor is happy to discuss your prep options and help you sift through that decision.
Graduate & Professional School Advising makes no claims about the efficacy of various LSAT prep programs, but provide the names of known providers as a service. If you have already received the LSAC fee waiver before you sign up for an LSAT course you will receive additional assistance from test prep companies.
LSAT Prep
- 7 Sage
- Alphascore
- Blueprint
- Cutts Graduate Reviews
- Kaplan Test Prep
- LSAC LawHub
- LSAC prep books & ebooks
- LSAT Demon
- LSATMax
- Magoosh
- Manhattan Prep
- Powerscore
- Scoreperfect -Texas A&M students should call 800-259-6211 or email from your Texas A&M email address to request a discount. Former students who don’t have access to your Texas A&M account should contact Shawn Archer at [email protected].
- TEES LSAT Test Prep
- Texas Appleseed Diversity Legal Scholars for LSAT prep – various deadlines
- The Princeton Review
GRE Prep
- Baylor University Law – Waco
- St. Mary’s University School of Law – San Antonio
- South Texas College of Law – Houston
- Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law – Dallas
- Texas A&M University School of Law – Fort Worth
- Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law – Houston
- Texas Tech School of Law – Lubbock
- The University of Texas at Austin – Austin
- University of Houston Law Center – Houston
- UNT Dallas College of Law – Dallas
- Baylor Law School (February start date) – Waco, TX
- California Western – San Diego, CA
- Charleston School of Law – Charleston, SC
- University of Illinois Chicago – Chicago, IL
- University of Missouri—Kansas City – Kansas City, MO
- Pace University – White Plains, NY
- Pontifical Catholic University – Ponce, PR
- St. Thomas University – Miami, FL
- South Texas College of Law – Houston,TX
- Thomas M. Cooley Law School – Lansing, MI
- The University of Toledo College of Law – Toledo, OH
- Touro Law Center – Central Islip, NY
- University of Tulsa – Tulsa, OK
- Washburn University – Topeka, KS
Law school applications:
Applications for law schools general consist of 5 parts:
- Academic record
- LSAT score (some law schools accept GRE)
- Resume
- Personal Statement
- Letters of Recommendation
Fortunately, the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) makes the process simple and streamlined by aggregating all application functions on their website. They have created a “Navigating the Application Process” handout. You will register for a free account with LSAC approximately 2 years prior to when you want to apply to law school to take advantage of all the free opportunities available to you, such as: applying for a fee waiver, sign up for LSAC LawHub, create a LSAT study plan, and sign up for LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service (CAS). Following their instructions, you will print a Transcript Request Form for each school you have attended and have the registrar forward an official transcript directly to LSAC. Letters of Recommendation (LORs) are collected and processed at LSAC as well. When you are ready to apply, you will access applications there and submit them electronically.
Graduate & Professional School Advising application workshops
Workshops about the application process and current state of law school admissions are held by the Graduate & Professional School Advising Law School advisor in the spring and summer. Check our Workshops page for dates and registration information.
Financial aid is a great way to help pay for law school. If you are eligible for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you are encouraged to apply the October before you plan to start law school. AccessLex has free workshops, a loan calculator, free personal, confidential financial counseling and more. Since most scholarships are given by the individual law school’s themselves, we suggest contacting programs directly to find out their requirements and how to get an application.
Click on the links below for more information such as qualifications, deadlines and how to submit your application for some scholarships you may be eligible for.
- Nance Presidential Scholarship for Baylor Law School – the application is available in December and is due via email submission no later than noon, Feb. 6, 2026. This is a full-tuition scholarship for all three years of law school, as long as the recipient maintains a 1.90 GPA or above.
- To be eligible to apply for the scholarship, an applicant must:
- Earn a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M-College Station and have completed a substantial portion of their degree requirements at Texas A&M Main campus, which includes only College Station, Galveston, McAllen and Qatar;
- Have applied to Baylor Law School for the fall quarter by scholarship deadline;
- For fall 2026, the cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.7 and a minimum LSAT of 167
- Additional questions may be sent to [email protected]
- To be eligible to apply for the scholarship, an applicant must:
- AccessLex Law Scholarship Databank – various deadlines approximately 800 scholarship opportunities
- Texas Appleseed Diversity Legal Scholars for LSAT prep – various deadlines
- Pipeline to Practice Foundation Scholarships
- Marshall-Motley Scholars Program
- American Bar Association Scholarship
- Texas Aggie Bar Association Scholarship (typically due mid-January)
- Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund (Feb 1 – April 1)
You can also search for more outside scholarships through Texas A&M Scholarships and Financial Aid.
Application Resources
- AccessLex – Provides helpful information about paying for law school and about repaying loans before, during and after law school.
- Discoverlaw – An LSAC resource that gives more information on the types of law programs, fields of law and diversity in law.
- LSAC, Law School Admissions Council – If you are interested in law school, create a login today and stay up-to-date on everything law-related.
- The Stern-Wilson Book of Law School Lists – A compilation of survey results done annually by prelaw advisors of U.S. law schools. Includes joint programs, concentration areas, clinics, study abroad and more.
- Pre-Law Magazine
Important Datasets
- ABA Statement on Preparing for Law School
- ABA Admission Data for Law Schools – All law schools are required to post their “509 Standard” information on their respective websites.
- ABA Employment Summary Data for Law Schools – This is an essential dataset which lists not only how many graduates got jobs, but where they are employed, whether a JD is required, and if it is full-time or part-time.
- NALP – All about law jobs.
Meet with an Advisor
Interested in law school and not sure where to start? The Graduate & Professional School Advising staff is dedicated to providing accurate, personal advice to Texas A&M students and former students.
Watch the Intro to Being a Pre-Law Student at Texas A&M video, then schedule an appointment with your advisor so your first appointment will be more personalized.