To attend a law school, you generally must have a four year college degree. Therefore, to become an attorney you will generally need to be accepted to and graduate with a bachelor's degree from a college, which is also known as a university.

Unlike a public high school, which is required to educate you, a college does not have to admit you to its classes. Instead, each specific college will determine, through an application process, whether or not it will admit you. As part of this application process, the college will consider many factors, including your performance in high school, your SAT or ACT scores, your life history and background, and many other factors. In turn, your ability to be admitted to your preferred law school may be partly determined by the quality or ranking of your college.

To ensure that you are admitted to a quality college or university, you must begin to prepare now. The following are some ways to begin your preparation.

Developing Good Study Habits and Making Good Grades

One of the first steps to being accepted by a college is to make good grades in high school. This does not mean that you have to be a straight "A" student in high school to become an attorney or to be admitted to college, but a good rule of thumb is that better grades will always increase your chances of being admitted to a quality college, of receiving a scholarship, and of becoming an attorney.

Similarly, being a successful student at any stage of your educational career depends heavily on developing good study habits. This includes planning your study times and devoting sufficient time to completing homework and preparing for tests. If you are having trouble with your classes now, consider finding a tutor. Your school may have a program where older students provide free tutoring after school in the library. Talk to your parents, teachers, school counselor or school administrators to obtain the help you need to make good grades. They are invested in your future and they will usually help you succeed if you ask for help.

Participate in Extra-Curricular Activities

One way to increase your chances of being accepted into a good college is to become involved in extra-curricular activities. Many colleges look for well-rounded students, so it is important to not only have good grades and good test scores, but also to be involved in different school and community clubs and organizations. Find activities that interest you and devote some of your free time to excelling in them. For example, if you like to talk about current events and debate with your friends, consider joining your school's speech club or debate team. Another example is becoming involved in a high school mock trial competition or a "Trial by Peers" competition. School newspapers are a great way to hone your writing and communication skills-as well as your ability to work on a deadline. Similarly, being a member of your school's sports team, band, or other similar clubs at your high school or in your community will help you learn how to work as part of a team in order to obtain a common goal. Just being involved in something you enjoy and doing it well is an important step in getting colleges to notice you. Just remember, to not compromise good grades in your academic studies by devoting too much time to extra-curricular activities.

Preparing for and taking the SAT or ACT

Another important part of getting into college is performing well on either the SAT or the ACT.

You will take these tests during your junior or senior years in high school. You may have the opportunity to take them more than once in order to improve your score. Often colleges accept either test, but you should check with the college's admission office to determine which test you should take. In addition, there are two separate SAT tests-the Reasoning Test and the Subjects Test-so you should determine which SAT test your college of interest will require you to take.

The SAT and ACT seek to measure a person's verbal and reading skills, as well as a person's knowledge of and reasoning abilities in math. The ACT also includes questions to test a person's knowledge of and reasoning abilities in the natural sciences. The multiple-choice portions of these tests analyze a student's ability to understand and analyze written material, to draw inferences, to differentiate shades of meaning, to draw conclusions and to solve problems. The SAT and ACT also contain an essay question to test a person's writing ability.

You should study and prepare for these tests as much as you can. The more comfortable you are with these tests prior to walking into the testing room, the more likely you are to earn a higher score. Your school may offer a course to help you prepare for taking these tests. If not, there are many other resources available to assist you in preparing for these tests. This includes: enrolling in private classes that prepare you to take the test; studying reference guides and books that you can purchase or checkout at your local library; and using free study aids that are available online.

To prepare for these tests, start by reviewing the SAT and ACT websites: www.collegeboard.com for the SAT and www.actstudent.org for the ACT.

Choosing a College
Preparing for and Choosing a Law School
Paying for College and Law School
About Law School
Obtaining a License to Practice Law
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