How To Be Admitted To A Florida Law SchoolA prospective law student can enroll in a Florida law school that is recognized by the state. There are ten law schools in Florida. An incoming law student can choose to enroll in any of six privately owned law schools in the state or in any of its four public law schools. The four public Florida law schools are the University of Florida Levin College of Law, Florida State University College of Law, Florida A&M University College of Law, and Florida International University College of Law. On the other hand, the other six private Florida law schools are the University Of Miami School Of Law, Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center, Stetson University College of Law, St. Thomas University College of Law, Barry University School of Law and the Florida Coastal School of Law. Except for the Florida A&M University College of Law that has provisional accreditation, the nine remaining Florida law schools are fully accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). A provisional accreditation means that a Florida law school is able to substantially comply with the Standards for Approval of Law Schools set by the ABA and that, the law school is able to submit a three-year plan for it to fully comply with the legal education standards that should be met. Moreover, four of law schools in Florida are among the top 102 law schools in the United States according to the U.S. News & World Report. The Florida law school that ranked the highest is the University of Florida, which is in the 48th position. In choosing a Florida law school to apply to, a prospective law student should make sure that his grade point average (GPA) and Law School Admission Test (LSAT) result is within the acceptable standards of the law school. Extremely selective law schools would automatically deny application requests from incoming law students who have low GPAs and LSAT scores. A Florida law school may also require its applicants to submit recommendation letters from undergraduate faculty. Aside from the requirements previously mentioned, some law schools also ask its applicants for their personal statements. These give admission officials a glimpse of the writing abilities and comprehension skills of their prospective students. Another factor that may be considered by a Florida law school is the extracurricular activities undertaken by an applicant during his undergraduate years. Many law school admission committees appreciate the leadership abilities exhibited by individuals when they took part in these activities. Some law schools also have personal interviews as part of the selection process. These interviews are meant to further evaluate the potential of an applicant to succeed in law school. In order for a law student to be allowed to take the Florida Bar Examination, he should be able to obtain a law degree from a Florida law school that is also accredited by the American Bar Association. Law students who have completed law degree programs are eligible to take the bar examination. Furthermore, graduates of a law school with provisional accreditation are entitled with the same benefits and recognitions as graduates of fully accredited law schools. |