No matter what your major is, you can go to the United States to study for a doctor of law. Each law school has different entrance requirements, which are roughly as follows:

1. Law School Admissions Test

LSAT is the abbreviation of Law School Entrance Examination, which is sponsored by LSAC. I'll explain it in detail later.

2. Undergraduate degree

Law school requires applicants to obtain an undergraduate degree before entering law school. It is actually a rumor to see individual websites in China saying that "a degree in literature must be obtained first". As far as I can see, dozens of law schools can apply for application materials, except for a few majors (which law schools think are not suitable because they have not received enough academic training), such as sports (physical education) and even dance music, if not more popular.

3. University transcripts

For graduates from American and some foreign universities accredited by LSAC, it is generally necessary to send university transcripts directly to LSAC, which will make a unified report after evaluation and send it to law school together with LSAT scores.

Law schools have different requirements for foreign students' transcripts, and there are roughly three types:

In the first category, there are often no special requirements for international students.

In the second category, it is expressly stipulated that foreign students send their transcripts directly to law schools.

The third category requires international students to send their transcripts to a neutral American evaluation agency for evaluation (value). For example, world education services are often recommended by law schools. The evaluation fee is generally above $ 100, and the number of copies will be charged after the evaluation report is sent. Schools that require foreign applicants to evaluate their transcripts are generally state universities. In my opinion, most of these schools are not very friendly to foreign students.

4. Letter of recommendation

Law schools have different requirements for letters of recommendation.

Law schools generally require two letters of recommendation, some schools do not require letters of recommendation, and individual schools agree to accept no more than four letters of recommendation. Some law schools provide students with a fixed recommendation form, and referees need to tick it. If the recommender thinks that the applicant has other characteristics than those in the form, he can briefly explain them at the bottom or back of the form. Many law schools also require the applicant to fill out a form to show that he has given up/won't give up a right, that is, the right to read the contents of his recommendation letter after being admitted to the law school. Because the law school requires the recommender to sign the recommendation letter and then give it to the applicant, the applicant can't see the content of the recommendation letter. Some law schools even require applicants to send letters of recommendation directly to the school. In addition, the law school requirements for referees are different, generally speaking, they are professors or employers. So if you apply to several law schools, you may need to prepare according to their different requirements.

5. Dean's certificate.

This is different from applying for law school and other majors.

Because being a lawyer requires good character, law schools attach great importance to students' past records. Dean's certificate, as the name implies, is filled out by the dean, which proves whether the applicant has any bad records such as being punished, dropped out of school, and sentenced. In addition, it also includes academic performance, such as ranking in the class, average score, course difficulty and so on. If he knows you better and wants to comment, there is enough room in the table. Dean's card is not required in all law schools. You can ask other responsible persons who can see your academic performance to fill it out. General schools only require the department heads of undergraduate courses to fill in this form, but some schools also require applicants to provide it in all schools they have attended.

6. Application Form and Personal Statement

It is not much different from other professional applications. Personal statements, some law schools require 250 words, some require less than 2 pages, and some require unlimited space.

7. Application fee

Good schools and some private schools usually cost more than 60 dollars, while state schools are very cheap, and some only cost 20 dollars. If you are in Beijing (or Shanghai), the application fee can also be paid in RMB. The method is as follows:

Go to the school or unit to open a certificate, write "Bank of China" on the head, and just write down the application fee and change it into US dollars. Then go to Yabao Road Sub-branch of Bank of China. The exchange rate is the spot exchange rate of the day. But at present, Beijing stipulates that each person can only exchange 500 dollars. In addition, be sure to bring the original, copy or invalid letter of introduction of the school you want to apply for. Because the bank will put a big red application fee stamp on the materials! In addition, the bank should keep a page with "application fee" at the bottom. Please make copies in advance, and make copies there (A4) for one yuan per page! But now the black market price of foreign exchange is around 8.4, and the difference between RMB and USD is not too big. If you make a draft in cash, I suggest you type it elsewhere, which will be cheaper than Beijing. The reason is that the difference between remittance and cash transfer of China Bank in Beijing is less than 20%, and it is charged according to the actual amount in other places. Of course, if you have a foreign exchange credit card, you can pay directly online, and even save the remittance fee.

8. TOEFL (Test of English as a foreign language)

TOEFL is not a necessary condition for applying to law school. Only about one-third of schools require TOEFL scores. In particular, the top ten schools in the United States, except Duke in the south, do not want TOEFL scores. They think LSAT is enough to measure the English level of applicants. But if you learn from LL. M, you only need TOEFL scores, not LSAT scores.