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How to Get Into U Michigan Law School

August 25, 2023
Contents

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Reviewed by:

Former Head of Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University, & Admissions Officer, Brown University

Reviewed: 04/14/23

The University of Michigan Law school is known as one of the world’s finest institutions of legal education. To find out more about how to join this established school, read on!

Aside from having a world-renowned legal curriculum, U Michigan law school is known for having a beautiful campus and offering its students unparalleled resources to prepare them for prosperous legal careers. 

Through these resources, U Michigan has consistently produced leaders in various fields such as law, business, and public service across the globe. Accordingly, U Michigan is a top choice law school for many aspiring law students. 

If it’s also one of your top choices, this guide will cover everything you need to know about how to get into U Michigan law school, including its tuition costs, application deadlines, and more!

How to Get Into the University of Michigan Law School

Before delving into how to get into U Michigan, it’s worth mentioning some of the reasons you should consider applying to this law school! 

Since its creation 150 years ago, U Michigan has been committed to providing students with hands-on experience to ensure they are able to apply their knowledge and have a comprehensive education. 

These experiential learning efforts begin in students’ first year, where they are put in legal writing programs taught by clinical faculty and can join an advocacy clinic working with real clients. Getting hands-on experience in your 1L is rare at any school, so students are sure to have a unique learning experience if they attend U Michigan.

In your second and third year, you’ll be able to pick from an extensive list of clinical programs, practice simulations, pro bono offerings, externships, and internships. U Michigan Law has one of the largest and most comprehensive clinical programs in the nation, with 19 clinics of different specialties. 

Convinced U Michigan is an excellent law school? Here’s what it takes to join it:

A Bachelor’s Degree

Like any other law school, you’ll have to complete a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university in order to apply to U Michigan. 

Luckily, you can apply to U Michigan with absolutely any major! Ensure you pick one that interests you so you can maintain a high GPA; U Michigan will weigh this score heavily in their admission decision. 

Standardized Test Scores

The other score that admissions committees will weigh heavily is your LSAT score. Ensure you take your LSAT early to avoid submitting your application late, as spots will fill up quickly!

Letters of Recommendation

While your GPA and LSAT scores may indicate you have strong academic potential, hearing it from mentors that taught you and have seen your academic performance will substantiate your scores. U Michigan Law requires students to submit one to three letters of recommendation as part of their application.

At least one of these letters of recommendation should be written by a professor. To ensure you have stellar letters of recommendation, you should begin making connections with your professors at the beginning of the school year rather than waiting till the end.

If your professor has not already established a connection with you, it is unlikely they will write a personal letter for you, which the admissions committee will see right through and consider a drawback on your application.

A Personal Statement

Personal statements can truly make or break your law school application. If written correctly, your personal statement can humanize you and impress the committee enough to take you from a maybe to a yes. On the other hand, if your personal statement is cliche, vague, or just plain boring, it can take you from maybe to no. 

Accordingly, you want to ensure you give yourself plenty of time to write and revise your personal statement before submitting it. 

Optional Essays

U Michigan Law School offers several essay topics for students to choose from to write one or two essays to help the committee get to know them better:

  • Essay One:  Say more about your interest in the University of Michigan Law School. What do you believe Michigan has to offer to you and you to Michigan? How do you think getting your JD from Michigan might affect your future career and life?
  • Essay Two: Describe a challenge, failure, or setback you have faced, whether long-term and systemic (e.g., socioeconomic, health, or complex family circumstances) or short-term and discrete (e.g., a workplace scenario or a particularly demanding course). How did you confront or overcome it? What, if anything, might you do differently?  
  • Essay Three: Describe an experience that speaks to the problems and possibilities of diversity in an educational or work setting. As a lawyer, what measures might you take to develop diversity, equity, and inclusion?  
  • Essay Four: Describe a quality or skill you have and discuss how you expect it will help you in your legal career.
  • Essay Five: Tell us about a group that you are or have been a part of and how you contribute(d) to it. 
  • Essay Six: Describe your educational experiences so far. What kinds of learning environments, teaching methods, student cultures, and/or evaluation processes lead you to thrive, or contrariwise, thwart your success?
  • Essay Seven: How might your perspectives and experiences enrich the quality and breadth of the intellectual life of our community or enhance the legal profession?
  • Essay Eight: Think of someone who knows you, but doesn't know you well (i.e., not a family member or a close friend). How would they describe you? Would their description be accurate? Why or why not?
  • Essay Nine: If you could have dinner with any prominent person, who would it be and why? What would you discuss?”

Pick the essay topic(s) you feel most drawn to and ensure you share an experience or trait that will make you stand out as an applicant!

University of Michigan Law School Acceptance Rate

The University of Michigan Law School’s acceptance rate is 10.6%, making it a highly competitive law school!

University of Michigan Law School Admission Requirements

We’ve gone over the general admission requirements you’ll need to apply to U Michigan Law, but here are the specifics to help you create your target scores.

U Michigan Law School LSAT Requirements

The University of Michigan Law School’s LSAT requirements are high. Their median LSAT score is 171, and the typical LSAT score range they accept is 166-172. 

To achieve these high LSAT scores, students must create a comprehensive study schedule, complete several practice tests and consider using prep books. If self-studying doesn’t quite cut it, be sure to enlist the help of experts who know how to boost your score by 12 points!

U Michigan Law School GPA Requirements

Unsurprisingly, U Michigan also has high GPA expectations of its prospective students, with a median GPA of 3.84 and accepted GPAs in the range of 3.61-3.93.

U Michigan Class Profile 

To get a better idea of the types of students there are at U Michigan, here is the 2022 entering class profile:

Source: The University of Michigan

The 2022 class also came from 25 countries and 44 states, proving how diverse the U Michigan community is!

U Michigan Tuition 

U Michigan is the tenth-best law school in the nation. This high ranking is not only reflected in its extraordinary curriculum and resources but also its high tuition costs. In-state tuition costs $64,098 a year whereas out-of-state tuition costs $67,098 a year.

U Michigan Application Timeline

To get a better idea of how long the application process will take, here is an overview of the application timeline:

Table detailing U Michigan Law School Application Timeline
Source: U Michigan Law

Keep track of these important deadlines to ensure there are no delays in your application!

FAQs: University of Michigan Law Schools

If you have any remaining questions about the University of Michigan Law School, read on to find your answers.

1. How Hard Is It to Get Into the University of Michigan Law School?

As a T14 law school, U Michigan is extremely competitive. It has a low acceptance rate of 10.6% and high LSAT and GPA requirements.

2. What GPA Do You Need for the University of Michigan Law?

You should aim to have a GPA of around 3.83 to get into U Michigan Law School. 

3. What LSAT Score Do I Need for the University of Michigan?

An LSAT score of 171 will be considered competitive when applying to U Michigan.

4. How Prestigious Is Michigan Law?

As one of the top ten law schools in the country, U Michigan is extremely prestigious and many students have it as their top choice law school!

5. How Old Are Most U Michigan Students?

The average age of the 2022 entering class was 24.

6. What Is U Michigan Known for?

While U Michigan ranks high in various specialities of law, it ranks the highest in tax law.

Final Thoughts

After reviewing how to get into U Michigan Law School and all it has to offer, you can hopefully decide if this prestigious school is the perfect fit for you to kickstart your legal career!

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