The path to becoming an attorney is not as easy as it once was. While it wasn’t exactly easy to get in a few years ago, it’s certainly not getting any easier now. That’s why you need to cast a large net if you want to maximize your chances of success. But… how big should your net be?
In this article, we’ll be discussing how many law schools you should apply to.
So, let’s begin.
Note: our opinion differs from much of the recommended numbers you see online because we don’t look at Law Admissions quite the same way. We don’t believe “how many law schools should you apply to” can be answered with solid numbers alone. The answer is more complex.
Table of Contents
- You’re Looking at Admissions Wrong. It’s Not How Many, But What You Can Handle.
- The 50/30/20 Rule.
- Why Does the 50/30/20 Rule Work for Law School Admissions?
- Risk Assessment is Crucial to Knowing How Many Law Schools You Should Apply to.
- Frequently Asked Questions
You’re Looking at Admissions Wrong. It’s Not How Many, But What You Can Handle.
A few years ago, it wasn’t unusual to apply to 5 to 6 law schools. Today, it’s 10 to 20. Sounds a bit overboard, right? Unfortunately, this is a natural response to an oversaturated marketplace. And, you may need to do the same.
But, everyone is different. Not everyone has the time or stamina to handle a lot of schools. This is why online results are a bit unreliable: Googling “how many colleges should you apply to” yields mixed answers like 10-15, 7-8, etc.
You’re unique. And, the best way to know how many law schools YOU should apply to is to speak with a professional law admissions expert to get a second opinion. They can help craft a plan that maximizes your chances without pouring in unnecessary effort.
As a general rule, you should be applying to as many law schools as you can without compromising on your application quality.
So, let’s say you can handle applying to 20 schools because you have a lot of time on your hands. You can write essays for 20 law schools without having to rush the essays. Then, do 20.
If you can only apply to 5 schools because you have a lot of work and other tasks to handle, do 5. If you want to apply to 6, but you can’t fit that in without having to rush your applications and write poor essays, don’t apply to 6.
In other words… Quality > Quantity.
Maximize your acceptance rate by applying to as many law schools as possible without compromising on essay quality.
But, as a general rule: you should apply to as many schools as you can handle without sacrificing application quality as a result. So, if you can handle 8, do 8. If you can’t handle 15, do 13 or 14. So on and so forth.
The 50/30/20 Rule.
Most applicants are afraid of applying to a lot of prestigious law schools. They believe that because the schools are very selective, applying there can be risky.
And hey, that’s fair. Applying to many prestigious schools risks a lot of rejection letters. No one likes being rejected, and no one likes taking on too much risk.
But, it would be unreasonable not to take risks by applying to no prestigious schools at all. After all, you only live once!
That’s why we made the 50/20/30 rule for hedging risk in law school admissions.
It’s quite simple:
- 50% of the law schools you apply to should be reach schools: schools that are considered more difficult for you to get accepted into.
- Reach law schools are those with high admissions requirements and academic stats (GPA and test scores) that are higher than your own.
- 30% should be target schools: schools that you have an average shot at.
- Target law schools are those whose median academic stats (GPA and test scores) are around or the same as your own.
- 20% should be safety schools: schools you have a decent shot at.
- Safety law schools are those whose median academic stats (GPA and test scores) are lower than your own.
You can always change the percentages depending on your risk tolerance. So, if you want to aim for more competitive schools but don’t care for less prestigious ones, you can have 75% reach schools.
Why Does the 50/30/20 Rule Work for Law School Admissions?
Here’s why the 50/30/20 rule works.
When applying to law schools, most students benefit from increasing the number of reach schools they apply to (increasing risk). This is because most students actually underestimate their chances of success at a prestigious school.
Most law school applicants are actually more qualified than they think. They simply are more pessimistic about their own abilities.
Additionally, aspiring law students (and just about anyone in the college admissions process, really) benefit greatly from taking on more risk.
Why?
Well, the downsides are minimal compared to most other risks.
Take stock portfolios. There are a lot of downsides to taking risks when managing a stock portfolio. Most can barely even beat the market, let alone break even. Not only that, the downside of taking risks in a stock portfolio is that you may end up losing a lot of money. Ouch.
But, in the world of college admissions, the only thing you really lose out on is a bruised ego and a monotone rejection letter. There are little to no downsides at all; and, even then, the greatest negative to increasing risk is the upfront labor costs of applying to more competitive schools.
Of course, we’re not so naive as to say you should only apply to prestigious and difficult schools.
That’s why we recommend the other 30% and 20% to targets and safeties.
You need to have at least some level of safety schools in your application to catch you in case you get rejected from some schools; and, trust us: you will get rejected by at least a few. Having half (30% + 20%) of your schools be targets and reaches gives you enough wiggle room to get accepted into at least one school.
Risk Assessment is Crucial to Knowing How Many Law Schools You Should Apply to.
Here, we’ll show you how to calculate the number of law schools you should apply to. This will give you a more solid and concrete number.
To do this, we will use the law of diminishing returns.
The law of diminishing returns states…
“…adding an additional factor of production results in smaller increases in output.”
Investopedia –Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns: Definition, Example, Use in Economics
Think of the days when you’re studying for a test. You may be able to memorize 20 vocab words in 1 hour; but, during the second hour, you’re more tired and can only memorize 5. Then, 2. Then, little to nothing!
The more work you put in, the more stamina you use; the more stamina you use, the less productive you get over time.
Okay, now let’s apply this to law school admissions!
Let’s say you’re a student who took on an internship for work experience. You look at your calendar and calculate how many hours you have to dedicate toward completing law school essays and applications.
You can complete 8 schools.
However, there are 2 other law schools you want to apply to, making the number 10. Applying to 2 other schools will inevitably require you to rush your applications and essays. As a result, applying to more schools than you can handle yields poor law school essays.
Is that still worth it?
Well, no.
More often than not, the quality of your law school applications and essays is more important than the number of schools you apply to. If you had the choice of applying to a lot of schools with low-quality essays, or a few schools with high-quality essays, the latter would be a better option.
This is why students who apply to multiple prestigious law schools need college admissions consulting and essay services for their law school essays.
Thus, if you want to know how many law schools you should apply to, you should apply to the maximum number of schools whose apps you can complete before the quality of essays begins to diminish. This is called maximizing your ROI (return of investment)
As a more concrete formula…
- Write the total number of hours you have available to dedicate to law school applications.
- List the total number of schools you want.
- Separate them by the 50/30/20 rule.
- Estimate how much time it takes to complete each school.
- Example: 8 for reach schools, 5 for targets, and 3 for safeties.
- Multiply the estimated hours by each school, then add them all together. This is the number of hours needed to apply to all your desired schools.
- Add more schools or subtract from your existing list depending on whether the total number is more or less than the number of hours you have available to work.
Let’s see this in action.
Example:
- Total # of hours available to dedicate to law school apps: 110 (2 hours a day for 55 days)
- You want 20 schools.
- 10 schools are reaches, 6 schools are targets, and 4 are safeties.
- It takes 9 hours per reach, 6 per target, and 3 per safety.
- (10 x 9) + (6 x 6) + (4 x 3) = 138
With the number of schools you have and the number of hours you can dedicate to applications, you need to take a few schools off your list. If not, you’ll sacrifice quality for quantity as per the Law of Diminishing Returns.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can I Apply to Just One Law School? Or, Should I Apply to Many?
Many. Hands down.
In the modern college admissions climate, there’s no predicting which school you’ll get rejected from or accepted into. There are far too many applicants, factors, and extraneous variables that go into the admissions process.
So, to avoid the worst outcome of getting accepted nowhere, you should apply to multiple schools. That way, you can still have options to fall back on in the off-chance you don’t get accepted into your one school.
Some students say that only would apply to law school and attend if they were accepted into one school; and, while that may be a valid point, most students we’ve worked with regret applying only to one school. After the admissions cycle ends, they often wish they had applied to more schools (especially competitive ones.)
Don’t assume you know exactly what you want, and apply to a few other schools just in case!
2. How Many Law Schools is too Many to Apply to?
There’s no solid number. But, the upper end is often 20. Even applying to 15 can certainly secure one’s chances for acceptance.
However, you should apply to as many as possible without sacrificing the quality of your essays.
So, if you can apply to 15, do 15.
If you can do 20, do 20.
Remember to maximize the number of schools you’re applying to; but, don’t thin yourself out so much that the quality of your law school essays dwindles!
3. What if my GPA/LSAT is too Low for Law School?
You can write a GPA or LSAT addendum for law school!
A GPA addendum is essentially a written explanation of any possible red flags in your application. However, you can also write an addendum for other deficiencies such as a low LSAT score, an unusually low grade in one of your classes,
Note that an addendum for law school is not an excuse for low grades or test scores. They serve as an explanation that adds more context to understanding your situation.
Thus, writing a quality addendum is crucial for students who did not perform well.
4. I Don’t Think I Have What It Takes to Apply to the Top Law Schools. Should I Still Apply?
Yes.
It’s a rather straightforward answer; but, here’s why.
Most students UNDERESTIMATE their capabilities. They are far too pessimistic about their ability to get accepted into a great school; and, they severely overestimate how strict colleges will be with their admissions rates.
Chances are, you’re more qualified for elite law schools than you think.
Now, let’s say that your scores and GPA are not near where the median accepted students are. Consider what we’ve mentioned previously: from a risk assessment perspective, you don’t have much to lose.
You have everything to gain in spending the extra time crafting a solid set of law school essays and brushing up your apps for a chance at acceptance into your dream school. And, what you lose out of getting rejected is simply “wasted time” and a bruised ego.
So, the question is not whether you can afford to get rejected. Rather, the question is whether you can afford not to try.
Answer: you can’t. So, try your best!
It’s not easy to know how many law schools you should apply to. In fact, most students underestimate just how many they should apply to. We often hear students regretting that they did not shoot their shots to top colleges for a chance at success, as the chances themselves were worth working for. If you’re lost in the law school process, need help with crafting solid law school essays, or simply would like to have some guidance during these ambiguous admissions times, consider signing up for a free consultation! We’ve been helping aspiring law students such as you get accepted into some of the best schools in the nation!
