Applications for Admission

3-Tiered Application Process
    When contemplating attending law school, many prospective law students create a list that is divided 3 ways.  The first division is the dream schools.  This is the school, or schools, that are your top choice.  Presumably they have high entrance standards and accept only limited applicants.  Next is the middle of the road schools.  These are the schools that aren't on your dream list, but not bottom of the bucket either.  Then comes the third, the if-everything-falls-apart choice or choices.  These are the schools that have liberal admission standards.
    The reason to create a categorized list of schools is so you have a gradient established for when your LSAT scores come in.  So if you end up with top credentials you might apply to two top tier schools and one middle tier school.  The middle tier school is a fall back (sometimes called a “safety school”) school in case you don't get either of your top choices.  If you end up with a high GPA and a mid-level LSAT, you might decide to apply to one top tier school, 2 middle tier schools, and a lower tier school just in case.  Once you read The Official Guide to U.S. Law Schools and go through the application materials, you'll develop a feel for how you should apply given your personal circumstances.
    Some of you know the school you're interested in attending.  And if you can't attend that particular school, you don't want to go to law school.  Usually that school turns out to be the state school in your state.  That kind of focus will be helpful in limiting the amount of work and research you will be putting into the admission process.