Andrea Kilpatrick Interview: Law School Admissions Strategy, Applications, and Personal Statements

^{Last Updated: September 2026}

Applying to law school involves far more than completing an application and submitting an LSAT score and undergraduate transcript. Applicants must decide where to apply, develop persuasive written materials, select recommenders, present their experiences effectively, and make sure that every part of the application works together.

Top-Law-Schools.com spoke with Andrea Kilpatrick, Director of Law Admissions at Admit Advantage, about the law school application process and the decisions prospective students face when preparing their applications.

Although specific admissions services, prices, technologies, and application requirements can change over time, Kilpatrick's broader observations about planning, realistic school selection, personal statements, application review, and obtaining objective feedback remain useful to prospective law students.

Applicants beginning the process should also review TLS's comprehensive Law School Admissions Strategy guide, which explains how to evaluate credentials, build a balanced school list, prepare application materials, and create meaningful choices among law schools.

What Does a Law School Admissions Consultant Do?

TLS: What does a law school admissions consultant typically help an applicant accomplish?

Andrea Kilpatrick: The purpose of admissions consulting is to help applicants create the strongest overall application they reasonably can. Depending on an applicant's needs, that may involve choosing law schools, developing a personal statement, reviewing a résumé, selecting recommenders, planning application strategy, and reviewing the finished application.

The broader lesson applies even to applicants who do not use a consultant: law school applications should be treated as coordinated packages rather than collections of unrelated documents.

Your LSAT or other accepted test score, undergraduate record, personal statement, résumé, recommendations, supplemental essays, and school-specific materials should collectively communicate a consistent and credible picture of who you are and why you are prepared for law school.

Start With a Law School Application Strategy

TLS: At what point should applicants begin thinking strategically about the application process?

Andrea Kilpatrick: Applicants benefit from planning well before they reach the point of pressing the submit button.

Students who know that law school is a serious goal can begin thinking about their academic performance, experiences, future recommendations, summer opportunities, extracurricular activities, and long-term career interests while they are still undergraduates.

That does not mean every college decision should be made solely to impress a law school admissions committee. It means applicants should recognize that a strong application is usually built over time rather than assembled at the last minute.

Today, applicants can use a structured law school application timeline to coordinate LSAT preparation, transcripts, recommendations, school research, essays, resumes, financial planning, and submission dates.

How Important Are GPA and LSAT Scores?

TLS: Law school admission can depend significantly on an applicant's academic record and standardized-test performance. How should someone approach a school when their numbers make admission particularly difficult?

Andrea Kilpatrick: Applicants should be ambitious, but they should also understand where their credentials place them relative to the schools they are considering.

If an applicant's GPA and LSAT are substantially outside the range normally associated with a particular law school, it may be appropriate to reconsider how much of the application strategy should depend on that school.

This is why developing a balanced list is so important. Applicants can consider schools that appear more attainable alongside schools where admission may be considerably more difficult.

At the same time, numbers do not tell the entire story. Applicants with strong numerical credentials are not automatically admitted everywhere, while applicants whose numbers fall outside a school's typical ranges may sometimes be admitted based on the complete application and the school's evaluation criteria.

The objective should be to make the strongest credible case for admission while maintaining realistic expectations.

Applicants should therefore research recent admissions data rather than basing major decisions on anecdotes from friends, online discussions, or applicants from previous admission cycles.

Build a Balanced List of Law Schools

One of the most important parts of the application process is deciding where to apply.

A useful school list will usually contain different levels of admissions difficulty. These are sometimes described as reach, target, and likely schools, although applicants should remember that no law school admission is truly guaranteed.

A balanced strategy helps avoid two common mistakes: applying almost exclusively to schools where admission would be exceptionally difficult, or applying only to schools where an applicant's credentials appear comfortably competitive and therefore failing to explore potentially stronger opportunities.

Applicants should also consider much more than rankings.

Employment outcomes
Geographic placement
Tuition and total expected cost
Scholarship opportunities
Bar passage outcomes
Academic programs
Clinics and experiential opportunities
Alumni networks
Career services
The legal markets where graduates typically work

Law school selection is ultimately both an admissions decision and a career decision.

Why the Personal Statement Matters

TLS: What parts of the application tend to require the most assistance?

Andrea Kilpatrick: The personal statement is frequently one of the most challenging components because applicants often receive relatively little individualized guidance about how to approach it.

The personal statement gives applicants something that GPA and standardized-test scores cannot: an opportunity to communicate directly with the admissions committee through their own writing.

A successful personal statement should not simply repeat a résumé or attempt to list every accomplishment.

Instead, it should help the reader understand something meaningful about the applicant's experiences, motivations, development, judgment, perspective, or character.

Applicants do not need an extraordinary tragedy, unusual childhood, or dramatic life event to write an effective essay. What matters is the way the applicant interprets an experience and what the writing reveals.

The best topic is generally one that allows an applicant to be specific, thoughtful, authentic, and memorable.

Do Not Treat Every Law School Application as Identical

TLS: Applicants commonly apply to many schools. How much of one application can simply be reused for another?

Andrea Kilpatrick: Applicants should be careful about treating multiple law school applications as a copy-and-paste exercise.

Some materials may remain largely consistent across applications, but different schools can request different essays, supplemental statements, explanations, or school-specific information.

When a law school asks why an applicant wants to attend that particular institution, the answer should demonstrate genuine research and a connection between the applicant's goals and the school's opportunities.

Generic statements about prestige, excellent professors, strong academics, or a desirable location rarely provide the same value as a thoughtful explanation of why a particular program fits an applicant's objectives.

Applicants preparing these supplemental essays can review TLS's guide to writing an effective “Why X” law school essay, including common mistakes and ways to demonstrate genuine interest.

Each application should ultimately respond to the school actually receiving it.

Your Law School Resume Should Support the Overall Application

TLS: What if an applicant needs help with only one specific part of the application?

Andrea Kilpatrick: Applicants often identify one component that deserves additional attention, such as the personal statement or résumé.

The résumé should not be treated as an afterthought. It allows an admissions committee to see an applicant's education, employment, leadership, activities, service, honors, skills, and other experiences in a concise format.

A good law school résumé should be clear, organized, accurate, and tailored to an admissions audience rather than simply copied from a résumé designed for a completely different purpose.

TLS's Law School Resume Guide provides examples, formatting advice, and guidance on what prospective students should include.

Choose Recommendation Writers Carefully

Recommendations are another area where applicants should focus on substance rather than titles.

An impressive job title does not necessarily produce an impressive recommendation.

A recommender who has actually observed an applicant's academic work, writing ability, analytical skills, reliability, intellectual curiosity, leadership, or professional judgment may be able to provide a much more useful letter than a prestigious person who barely knows the applicant.

Applicants should identify potential recommenders well before application deadlines and give them sufficient time to prepare thoughtful letters.

Whenever appropriate, applicants can provide recommenders with a résumé, transcript, personal statement draft, description of their law school goals, or other background that makes writing a detailed recommendation easier.

When Should Applicants Consider an Addendum?

Some applicants have an academic, disciplinary, employment, testing, or personal circumstance that requires explanation.

An addendum can provide useful context when the admissions committee might otherwise misunderstand part of the application.

The purpose of an addendum, however, is generally to explain rather than make excuses.

A strong addendum should be concise, factual, and focused on information necessary for understanding the issue. Applicants should avoid turning a straightforward explanation into a second personal statement.

Not every weakness requires an addendum. Applicants should consider whether the additional information genuinely helps an admissions committee evaluate the file more accurately.

Can Good Application Planning Save Time?

TLS: Can structured application planning make the process more efficient?

Andrea Kilpatrick: Yes. Applicants often move more efficiently when they have established a roadmap and understand what needs to happen next.

Without a timeline, people can spend excessive amounts of time repeatedly revising one document while neglecting other important parts of the application.

A structured plan allows applicants to coordinate school research, test preparation, recommendations, essays, résumé preparation, transcripts, supplemental materials, and final review.

The goal is not to rush the process. It is to prevent avoidable delays and leave sufficient time for thoughtful revision.

Should Applicants Use a Law School Admissions Consultant?

Admissions consulting is not necessary for every applicant.

Some prospective students have strong guidance from pre-law advisors, professors, attorneys, mentors, family members, or others who understand the process. Others are comfortable researching schools and preparing their applications independently.

Applicants considering outside assistance should first identify what kind of help they actually need.

Help developing a realistic school list
Personal statement feedback
Résumé review
Advice about recommenders
Feedback on a particular supplemental essay
Help explaining an unusual academic circumstance
Organization and application planning
A final review before submission

Understanding the specific problem makes it easier to decide whether professional assistance, a pre-law advisor, a trusted mentor, or another knowledgeable reviewer is appropriate.

Get an Objective Review Before You Submit

TLS: If you could give prospective law students one piece of application advice, what would it be?

Andrea Kilpatrick: Have an objective third party review the application before submitting it.

Applicants often spend weeks or months working on their materials. After reading the same essay repeatedly, it can become difficult to identify unclear writing, missing information, inconsistencies, unnecessary repetition, or other weaknesses.

Friends and family may provide valuable encouragement, but they may not always be sufficiently detached from the applicant or familiar with the law school admissions process.

A fresh reader can help answer important questions:

Does the personal statement communicate a clear idea?
Does the résumé reinforce the application?
Are there unexplained gaps or inconsistencies?
Are school-specific questions actually answered?
Does an addendum provide useful context without overexplaining?
Does the overall application create a coherent impression?
Are there typographical or formatting mistakes?
Has the applicant followed every instruction?

The reviewer might be a pre-law advisor, professor, mentor, consultant, attorney, or another knowledgeable person.

What matters is obtaining feedback early enough to make meaningful revisions rather than requesting a review immediately before the deadline.

The Most Important Lesson: Present a Complete Application

One of the strongest themes in Kilpatrick's advice is that successful law school applications should be evaluated as complete packages.

Admissions committees may consider academic credentials, test scores, written materials, recommendations, experiences, accomplishments, and numerous other factors. Applicants therefore benefit from asking not only whether each individual component is strong, but whether those components reinforce one another.

For a more detailed discussion of what admissions committees may consider, LawCrossing's guide to how law schools determine whom to admit provides an overview of academic credentials, recommendations, writing, employment history, activities, motivation, and other application considerations.

Prospective students can also review LawCrossing's guide to preparing for law school, which covers application preparation, personal statements, recommendations, resumes, academics, and planning for legal education.

The goal is not simply to submit an application. It is to present an accurate, persuasive, carefully reviewed picture of your candidacy while applying to a thoughtful range of schools that fit your credentials, career goals, financial considerations, and preferred markets.

Key Law School Admissions Takeaways from Andrea Kilpatrick

Begin preparing well before application deadlines.
Understand how your GPA and admissions-test results compare with recent entering classes.
Build a balanced law school list rather than depending on one or two highly uncertain outcomes.
Research schools based on career outcomes, cost, geography, programs, and fit—not rankings alone.
Use the personal statement to reveal something meaningful that is not obvious elsewhere in your application.
Take school-specific essays seriously.
Make sure your résumé and recommendations add useful information.
Explain unusual circumstances concisely when an addendum is appropriate.
Create an application timeline that allows time for revision.
Have an objective third party review the complete application before submission.
Follow every law school's current instructions carefully because requirements can change from one admissions cycle to another.

For applicants currently planning their applications, TLS's 2026–2027 Law School Application Strategy Guide provides updated guidance on school selection, application timing, LSAT and GPA considerations, essays, recommendations, and admissions planning.

Related Law School Admissions Resources

Top-Law-Schools.com

LawCrossing.com

Related Top Law Schools Forum Discussions

Personal Statement Samples — Review examples and discussions about law school personal statements from TLS forum users.
Importance of Resume vs. LSAT/GPA/Personal Statement — Discussion about how the résumé fits alongside the major quantitative and written parts of a law school application.
How Much Do Letters of Recommendation and Personal Statements Matter? — Applicant discussion about how recommendations and personal statements may complement GPA and LSAT results.
GPA and LSAT Admissions Discussion — TLS forum discussion about how applicants' academic credentials may be evaluated in the admissions process.