Some law schools will tell you that race is not a factor in their admissions decisions. They will claim to make admission decisions based entirely on numerical law school requirements like UGPA and LSAT. Maybe they’re telling the truth. Maybe they’re not. Here are some general observations, though, about law school requirements for admission and the issue of race.
1. For the most part, law schools are run by people who are inclined to “help minorities.” In the law school context, “helping minorities” means softening the law school requirements for minorities.
2. Public law schools are funded by legislatures. In states where the population is racially diverse, there is a lot of pressure to make sure that the law school has a racial mix that reflects the racial mix of the state’s population, even if achieving the right racial quota requires softening the law school requirements for minorities.
Now, the law school whose requirements you are trying to meet may admit that race is a factor in admission, and the law school may make no such admission. But there tends to be pressure to admit minorities at all law schools, and you need to be smart about that pressure.
The definition of being smart:
1. If you’re Hispanic or African-American, play that fact up in your essays. If there is an inclination to help you for racial reasons in the mind of the admissions officer, you want to give that person every opportunity to relax the law school requirements and thereby admit you. In addition to helping you meet the law school requirements for the school, this may cause the admissions folks to throw you some money as a kicker. The law school requirements are a game. Play to win. Use your race if it helps you.
2. If you’re white or Asian, keep your mouth shut about your race, unless you’re required to answer the question. When I was applying to law school, my top choice had a policy of allowing waitlisted applicants to request an interview. I thought, “Wow, I’ll request an interview, go down there and make the sales pitch, and I’ll be in.” A partner in one of the firms in the town where I was living cautioned me against this. He said, “The reason that they’re interviewing folks on the wait list is that they can’t ask you if you’re white or black, but if you go down there and they now know that you’re white, you’re not helping yourself.” That law school was in the middle of a court case dealing with its racial preference policy. Go figure.
So, the lesson is pretty simple. If you’re a minority and your race helps you meet the law school requirements, talk about it. If your race doesn’t help you, keep your mouth shut.
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