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Do you want to join a law school that has trained excellent lawyers for over a century? If you do, read on to learn more about how to get into Vanderbilt Law School.
There are various perks to attending Vanderbilt Law School: a stimulating learning community, world-class faculty, a rigorous curriculum, and a vibrant city.
As a law school that has been around since 1874, Vanderbilt has consistently produced graduates that are not only high in demand but leaders in the legal field.
If you’re interested in pursuing a legal education at this school to reap its benefits and join its esteemed alumni, this guide will go over how to get into Vanderbilt Law School, its acceptance rate, admission statistics and requirements, important deadlines, and tips to ensure your application stands out!
The first factor to consider when deciding whether this law school is the right match for you is how competitive it is. According to the Vanderbilt Law School acceptance rate, getting into this school will be challenging! With an acceptance rate of only 14.3%, Vanderbilt is highly selective.
Knowing you’ll have to create a stellar application to join this small percentage of accepted students, you may be wondering what scores you should aim for to maximize your chances of admission.
Since your LSAT and GPA will be carefully looked at to assess your candidacy for law school, it’s essential you achieve the following competitive scores:
The LSAT is currently considered to be the most accurate indicator of pre-law students’ potential to do well in the legal field. While this exam doesn’t assess specific legal knowledge, it tests on the reasoning and analytics skills required to be a successful law student and lawyer.
Students hoping to gain admission to Vanderbilt should aim for an LSAT score of around 170, which is the median score of past accepted students.
Since Vanderbilt offers a rigorous JD curriculum, the admissions committee will use your GPA to ascertain your ability to handle and thrive in law school. The competitive GPA average to meet or beat is 3.9.
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While you should focus on maintaining a high GPA and LSAT scores to get into Vanderbilt Law, they aren’t the only factors the admissions committee will consider when reviewing your application.
Here is a comprehensive list of the application materials Vanderbilt requires to gain a more holistic understanding of each applicant:
The first step towards pursuing a legal education at Vanderbilt will be to complete an undergraduate degree from an accredited university. Vanderbilt has no preference over the type of major you pursue, but appreciates when students’ transcripts show diversity.
As previously mentioned, you should do your best to score a 170 on the LSAT to apply to Vanderbilt. This score is considered to be extremely high, and thus difficult to obtain! To give yourself the best shot at reaching this score, you should create a solid study schedule using reliable resources.
These resources may include prep books, prep courses, expert tutors, or a combination of the three. Regardless, you should give yourself enough time to master the LSAT and retake it if need be.
Vanderbilt is interested in more than just your academic qualities. To gain insight into your values, goals, and experiences, the admissions committee requires you to submit a personal statement with your application.
Your personal statement is meant to humanize you and include aspects of yourself that are otherwise missing from your application. You should not use your statement to brag about your undergrad academic performance or try to explain a lower LSAT score.
Share memorable experiences that influenced your decision to attend law school, experiences that confirmed your desire to become a lawyer, and your motivation to continue pursuing this challenging path.
You must submit at least two letters of recommendation through the CAS letter of recommendation service. These letters will have the most influence if they’re written by professors that taught you and worked closely with you.
Your professors should detail specific qualities and skills you have that would make you an ideal candidate for law school. Ensure you ask professors you’ve developed a close relationship with to write your recommendations, as generic or vague letters will score you very few brownies points with the admissions committee!
If you have unique experiences or circumstances that you believe would contribute to the richness at Vanderbilt, you have the option to share this with the admissions committee using a diversity statement.
A suggested, but not mandatory, part of the application process is an admission interview that applicants can request. Vanderbilt highly encourages students to interview, as these interviews can help them in their selection process.
You will be interviewed by Vanderbilt alumni who will report back to the admissions committee.
A surefire way to decrease your chances of admission is missing important deadlines that can create delays in your application. To avoid this, here are the key dates you should keep in mind as you prepare your application:
Applicants must register with LSAC to apply to Vanderbilt. The majority of their application, including their transcripts, letters of recommendation, and LSAT scores will be submitted through this service.
For the remaining application materials, Vanderbilt has its own application portal that students must use.
To fully explore how to get into Vanderbilt Law School, it’s essential to discuss how much you’ll need to invest into your education. Tuition and fees cost $68,816 a year at Vanderbilt.
With other expenses, such as books, housing, and transportation, the total cost to attend Vanderbilt is estimated to be around $98,784 a year.
There are various external scholarships that can help cover the full or partial cost of your tuition. Vanderbilt also offers scholarships and needs-based awards to its students.
Knowing the application materials you’ll need to be eligible for Vanderbilt’s JD program will only get you so far! To give you the extra advantage, here are our top three tips on how to make your application stand out to maximize your chances of acceptance:
Vanderbilt Law School wants to know it’s making the right investment by admitting you into its program. A good way to prove you’ll make an outstanding lawyer is to demonstrate you’ve already begun developing the key skills required to thrive in the legal field.
One such skill is leadership. As an attorney you’ll be a leader in and outside of the courtroom—you will be responsible for advocating for your clients and upholding justice.
Gain considerable leadership experience in your extracurriculars, work, and volunteer endeavours and ensure you have a meaningful impact in all of the opportunities you pursue.
When you write your personal statement in particular, it’s essential you pay attention to the details. This means thoroughly researching Vanderbilt to ensure you aren’t submitting a generic statement or one that’s meant for another school!
You must also edit your statement several times! Lawyers are expected to have impeccable communication and writing skills. Don’t sell yourself short by leaving avoidable grammatical or spelling errors in your statement that can seriously impact your chances of admission.
While the admissions interview is optional, you should definitely do it! Not only does it show you are eager to learn more about Vanderbilt, but it also gives you one last chance to impress the admissions committee.
If you felt your personal statement was too limiting to portray all of your excellent qualities and valuable experiences, this interview can allow you to share these left out details.
We’ve discussed several important admission details in this guide, including the Vanderbilt Law School LSAT median, acceptance rate, and application requirements. For any remaining questions, read on to find your answers.
Yes, Vanderbilt is an excellent law school. It ranks 17th in the nation and is known as a forward-thinking school that produces highly sought after graduates.
You should aim to maintain a GPA of 3.9 to be considered a competitive applicant at Vanderbilt.
An LSAT score of 170 will put you in the competitive range of previous accepted applicants.
Vanderbilt is best known for its Environmental Law program which ranks seventh in the nation.
It’ll cost over $68,000 in tuition and fees to attend Vanderbilt Law School.
Vanderbilt Law School can offer you some of the nation’s finest resources, opportunities, and faculty to prepare you for a prosperous legal career. Follow the tips shared in this guide to ensure you give yourself the best chance of standing out and joining this distinguished law school!
