Most law schools require letters of recommendation. Most ask for two; some ask for one; a few ask for three. Get three if you can. The more praise you have in your file for your academic abilities, the better off you'll be. Although they appear to be the place where you have the least amount of control, students actually have much more control over the quality of the recommendations than they think they do. Why? You choose the recommenders, you give the recommenders the information from which to write the recommendations, and you can educate the recommenders as to what law schools want.

For guidance in attaining the strongest letter, please contact or visit your pre-law advisor.

Best Bets

• Full professors
• Professors for whom you've performed well
• Professors from whom you've taken more than one course
• Professors who can attest to your ability to do the things law schools value most - think critically, reason logically, read and understand complex text, write well, analyze, and research.
• Courses in which you have done a lot of reading and writing are best, especially if you have produced a written document or documents of particular quality or significance.
• The best students may go so far as to pick and choose recommenders according to the skills required in the professors' classes or according to the professors' disciplines.