Do law schools take participation in Division I athletics into consideration for law school admissions? I am a 3.5 GPA and got a 152 on the LSAT. I didn’t prepare for the LSAT whatsoever and just wanted to get an idea of what it was about. I plan on studying prep books for the October test.
Law Schools will absolutely take your participation in Division I athletics into consideration when evaluating your application.
Extracurricular activities are “soft factors” that law schools consider during the application process. Athletics, particularly highly-competitive Division I athletics, require a significant time commitment. Law schools are likely to view your GPA in the context of this commitment.
Generally, law schools tend to love student athletes. They are often focused, driven, and well-adjusted. As soft factors go, being a student athlete is one of the betters ones. Yes it’s not going to distinguish you as much as, say, being a Rhodes scholar, but as far as relatively common soft factors go, it definitely boosts your attractiveness.
That said, GPA and LSAT scores remain the two most significant factors that law schools consider. For more on this, check out or post How Important Is The LSAT? While participation in Division I athletics does look good, it does very little to explain away a low LSAT score.
Taking the LSAT without preparation was a mistake. The LSAT is a very learnable exam. With proper preparation, one can significantly improve their performance on the LSAT. Many schools, particularly Tier 1 schools, take all LSAT scores into consideration when evaluating a law school application. Therefore, it is always recommended that you wait until you are fully prepared to take the LSAT before you sit for the exam. Check out our numerous posts on how to prepare for the LSAT including this prep schedule.
However, if you are able to significantly increase your score when you retake the exam, T1 schools are well within your reach.
Please take a look at this list of the best LSAT prep books, and make sure to study with many real LSAT preptests. If you study hard and work diligently over the next 3 months, you may be able to submit competitive applications at many T1, and possibly even top 12 law schools.
Furthermore, you may want to begin working on a personal statement that details your athletic achievements and extracurricular commitments. A good personal statement can bring these factors to the forefront of the minds of those reviewing your application package.
