Applications for Admission

Top Law Schools
    For those of you interested in attending a top tier school, you will need some method to decide which schools are top tier.  U.S. News and World Report publishes a list ranking law schools in "tier" format.  That ranked list can be found at www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/law/lawindex_brief.php.  The previously mentioned site charges a fee for premium content.  To get around the fee, go to the public library.  Public libraries normally keep back issues of magazines available.  If the library doesn't have the relevant magazine issue, then write to U.S. News and World Report, enclosing the pertinent back issue fee, and have the magazine mailed to you. 
    But be mindful of the fact that there exists much debate over the merit of these ranking systems.  Indeed, www.lawschool.com includes on its web page a study covering the validity of the rankings.  Plus, just because a school ranks well on a scale doesn't mean it will be a place where you will be happy, or that will serve your educational needs.  Further, you will need top credentials (that means high LSAT and high GPA) to be admitted to one of these top schools.
    Another method of determining top schools is to use The Official Guide to U.S. Law Schools.  To determine top school status you can look at the schools you're interested in and watch their admitting patterns.  The Guide breaks admissions down into quadrants which will show you admitting patterns.  For those not necessarily interested in attending a top school, the Guide’s break down provides very useful information regarding your chances of admission at all U.S. ABA law schools given your credentials.
    Now that you've created a categorized list of schools you wish to attend or determined which school you're interested in, you need to contact that school or those schools and ask for admissions packets (or apply on-line).  The admission packet will advise you of exactly what that school requires you to submit to be considered for admission.  Further, the packet will articulate the schools deadlines.