Law School Admissions Advice from Jannell Roberts of Loyola Law School

^{Last Updated: September 2026}

Top-Law-Schools.com spoke with Jannell Roberts, former Associate Dean of Admissions at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, about what law school admissions committees look for, how applicants can strengthen their applications, and what prospective students should consider before choosing a law school.

Although the original interview was conducted in 2009, many of Roberts' observations remain highly relevant to applicants today. Admissions policies, standardized-testing rules, scholarship programs, deadlines, tuition, and employment statistics can change from year to year, so applicants should always confirm current requirements directly with the schools they are considering. The enduring lessons from Roberts' discussion, however, provide useful guidance on presenting a thoughtful, complete, and competitive law school application.

Applicants considering Loyola can also review the Top-Law-Schools.com profile of Loyola Law School, Los Angeles for additional information about the school and its programs.

What Law Schools Consider Beyond GPA and LSAT Scores

Academic performance and standardized test scores are important components of a law school application, but they rarely tell the entire story.

Roberts emphasized that admissions committees also look closely at qualitative materials such as the personal statement, recommendations, résumé, work experience, community involvement, and other accomplishments. These materials help reviewers understand the applicant as an individual rather than simply as a set of numbers.

Professional experience, military service, meaningful community service, campus leadership, volunteer work, and substantial extracurricular commitments may all provide evidence of maturity, motivation, responsibility, and direction.

The strongest applications therefore create a consistent picture. An applicant's academic record, experiences, recommendations, résumé, and essays should collectively help the admissions committee understand what the applicant has accomplished, what has shaped the applicant, and what the applicant may contribute to a law school community.

Applicants should not assume that an unusual background is necessary. Meaningful responsibilities and experiences can be valuable when applicants clearly explain what they learned from them and how those experiences contributed to their development.

How to Prepare Before Applying to Law School

Roberts encouraged prospective students to conduct substantial research before deciding where to apply.

Applicants should evaluate more than a school's name or ranking. Researching curricula, clinics, concentrations, faculty, geographic placement, student organizations, employment outcomes, tuition, scholarships, and experiential opportunities can help applicants create a law school list that reflects their actual career goals.

Prospective students may also benefit from attending law school fairs, information sessions, admissions events, and campus visits. Speaking directly with admissions representatives and current students can reveal differences between schools that may not be obvious from rankings or promotional materials.

Standardized-test preparation should also begin early enough to allow adequate study time and, if necessary, another test date. Current testing policies vary by law school, so applicants should confirm the requirements of every school on their list.

For broader preparation advice, see LawCrossing's Ultimate Guide to Preparing for Law School.

How to Choose the Right Law School

Admission is only the beginning of the decision-making process. Once applicants have offers, they must determine which school provides the best combination of education, opportunity, cost, and career fit.

Roberts identified several factors students should evaluate, including:

Campus culture and learning environment
Faculty accessibility
Financial aid and scholarships
Professional and experiential opportunities
Career services
Geographic location
Alumni connections
Clinics, externships, and practical training
Employment outcomes
Total expected cost and debt

Applicants should also think about where they hope to practice after graduation. A school's geographic placement patterns and alumni network may matter considerably, particularly for students who expect to begin their careers in a specific city or region.

The objective should not simply be to attend the highest-ranked school that offers admission. Instead, applicants should determine which institution provides a realistic path toward their academic, professional, and financial goals.

Law school is a significant investment. Comparing scholarship offers, expected borrowing, employment outcomes, and the types of jobs graduates obtain can provide a more complete picture than looking at tuition or ranking alone.

When Should You Write an LSAT or GPA Addendum?

Applicants sometimes have an academic record or standardized-test history that requires additional context.

Roberts explained that an addendum can be useful when a weakness in an application does not accurately reflect an applicant's academic potential. Examples might include an unusual semester, a significant disruption in an applicant's education, or another circumstance that materially affected academic performance.

An effective addendum should generally be:

Brief
Factual
Direct
Focused on relevant circumstances
Free from unnecessary defensiveness
Clear about what changed, when appropriate

An addendum should provide context rather than become what Roberts described as a "litany of excuses."

Applicants should also avoid writing an addendum merely because a GPA or test score is lower than they would prefer. The document is most valuable when there is genuinely useful information the admissions committee could not otherwise know.

Policies regarding multiple LSAT scores and other standardized tests vary by institution and may change. Applicants should consult each school's current admissions instructions rather than relying on historical practices.

Does Applying Early to Law School Help?

Many law schools review applications on a rolling basis, which means applications may be considered as they are completed throughout the admissions cycle.

Roberts noted that submitting an application earlier in a rolling admissions process can allow a candidate to be evaluated when more seats remain available. That principle can still be relevant, although applicants should verify the specific process at each school.

Applying early should not mean applying before an application is ready.

A polished application submitted somewhat later is generally preferable to an early application weakened by a rushed personal statement, incomplete résumé, poorly selected recommendation letters, or insufficient test preparation.

Applicants whose GPA or test scores are below a school's typical range should pay particular attention to the qualitative portions of their applications. A compelling personal statement, meaningful recommendations, substantial accomplishments, and a carefully prepared résumé may help an admissions committee better understand the candidate's potential.

For more guidance on organizing application materials, see LawCrossing's Developing a Strategy to Fill Out Law School Applications.

How to Write a Strong Law School Personal Statement

Roberts regarded the personal statement as one of the most important qualitative components of an application.

A strong personal statement should give the admissions committee information that cannot simply be obtained by reading the applicant's transcript or résumé.

Rather than listing accomplishments again, applicants should use the essay to reveal something meaningful about their experiences, judgment, motivation, perspective, development, or goals.

A successful statement should generally be:

Focused on a clear idea or story
Reflective rather than merely descriptive
Specific rather than generic
Concise
Carefully edited
Written in the applicant's authentic voice

Applicants do not need an extraordinary hardship or dramatic life event to produce an effective essay. A thoughtful discussion of an ordinary experience can be compelling if it reveals something meaningful about the applicant.

TLS offers an extensive Law School Personal Statements resource center covering topic selection, structure, common mistakes, examples, and revision strategies.

LawCrossing also provides additional guidance in Submitting Your Law School Essays.

Should You Customize Your Personal Statement for Each Law School?

Not every personal statement must be completely rewritten for every school. However, applicants should carefully read each school's prompt and make sure their essay actually answers what that institution asks.

When a school invites applicants to explain why they are interested in attending, a thoughtful school-specific discussion can demonstrate genuine research.

An effective "Why this law school?" discussion might address:

Academic programs
Clinics or externships
Faculty interests
Geographic opportunities
Professional goals
Public-interest programs
Specialized concentrations
Particular aspects of the school's community

Applicants should avoid simply inserting a school's name into a generic paragraph.

Perhaps most importantly, every customized document should be proofread carefully. Roberts identified one particularly damaging mistake: submitting an essay that accidentally names a different law school.

That type of error can suggest carelessness and undermine an otherwise strong application.

Common Personal Statement Mistakes to Avoid

The personal statement is also one of the easiest parts of the application to weaken through preventable mistakes.

Applicants should avoid:

Repeating the résumé in paragraph form
Using generic statements about wanting to "help people"
Making claims without supporting examples
Trying to cover an entire life story
Writing what they think admissions officers want to hear rather than writing authentically
Ignoring the school's prompt
Failing to revise
Submitting grammatical or spelling errors
Using the wrong school's name
Focusing so heavily on another person that the essay reveals little about the applicant

The TLS Law School Personal Statements Guide includes additional examples, writing strategies, and common pitfalls.

Choosing the Right Law School Recommendation Letters

Recommendation letters are most useful when they come from people who know an applicant well enough to provide detailed information about the applicant's abilities.

Roberts advised applicants to choose recommenders who can speak meaningfully about qualities relevant to success in law school.

Depending on the applicant's circumstances, strong recommenders may include:

Professors
Academic advisers
Research supervisors
Employers
Professional supervisors
Other individuals who have directly evaluated the applicant's work

A prestigious title is much less valuable than a substantive relationship.

A detailed letter from a professor who taught and supervised an applicant can often provide more useful information than a generic letter from a prominent person who barely knows the applicant.

Applicants should approach recommenders early. Providing a résumé, personal statement draft, transcript, description of career goals, and sufficient time to prepare the letter can help recommenders write in greater detail.

Roberts also cautioned against letters from relatives or family friends who cannot objectively evaluate the applicant's academic or professional performance.

The strongest letters often contain specific examples and explain how the applicant compares with other students or employees the recommender has supervised.

How Admissions Committees Evaluate Undergraduate Performance

Admissions committees look at more than an applicant's cumulative GPA.

Roberts noted that an upward grade trend can be meaningful. A student who struggled early in college but performed significantly better later may demonstrate increased maturity, stronger academic habits, greater focus, or successful adaptation to difficult coursework.

Admissions reviewers may also consider the broader context of an academic record, including:

Course difficulty
Choice of major
Academic improvement
Employment during college
Family responsibilities
Significant extracurricular commitments
Other relevant circumstances

Applicants should not assume that one particular undergraduate major is required for law school. Students enter legal education from a wide range of academic disciplines.

What matters is whether an applicant has demonstrated the intellectual discipline, communication skills, reasoning ability, and capacity to succeed in demanding academic work.

How Graduate Degrees Affect a Law School Application

Graduate education can strengthen an application by demonstrating additional academic work, subject-matter expertise, maturity, or improved focus.

However, graduate performance generally does not erase the undergraduate academic record.

Applicants with graduate degrees should therefore use their applications to explain how their additional education contributes to their readiness for legal study rather than assuming that a strong graduate GPA automatically replaces weaker undergraduate performance.

Advanced academic work can be especially useful when it supports a coherent professional or intellectual direction.

What Should Applicants Do If They Are Waitlisted?

A law school waitlist is not necessarily the end of the admissions process.

Roberts emphasized the usefulness of providing meaningful new information after being waitlisted. Depending on the school's instructions, this might include:

Updated grades
A significant new accomplishment
A promotion or new position
A brief letter of continued interest
Other substantive information that was unavailable when the application was first reviewed

Applicants should always follow the school's specific waitlist instructions. Sending excessive emails, unnecessary documents, or materials the school has asked applicants not to provide may work against the candidate.

A letter of continued interest should communicate genuine interest while remaining professional and concise.

Advice for Law School Transfer Applicants

Students considering transferring after their first year of law school face a different admissions process from first-year applicants.

First-year law school grades are often among the most important factors because they provide direct evidence of how the applicant performs in a legal academic environment.

Transfer applicants should evaluate more than whether another school has a higher ranking. They should consider:

Career objectives
Geographic goals
Transfer credit policies
Financial consequences
Scholarship implications
Journal eligibility
On-campus interviewing opportunities
Clinics and programs
Academic requirements
Existing professional relationships at their current school

A transfer can make sense when it produces meaningful academic, geographic, professional, or personal advantages, but applicants should evaluate the full consequences before making the decision.

How Much Should Law School Rankings Matter?

Law school rankings inevitably influence many applicants, but they should be treated as one source of information rather than a substitute for individual research.

Ranking methodologies can change, and no single numerical position can capture every factor relevant to a student's education or career.

Applicants should independently evaluate:

Employment outcomes
Bar passage
Cost of attendance
Scholarship terms
Geographic placement
Faculty and curriculum
Clinics and experiential opportunities
Alumni networks
Student culture
Career services
Practice-area strengths

A school that aligns closely with an applicant's professional and financial goals may be a better individual fit than another school that happens to occupy a different position in a ranking.

Loyola Law School and the Los Angeles Legal Market

One of Loyola Law School's defining characteristics is its location in Los Angeles, a large and diverse legal market.

Roberts highlighted the school's emphasis on practical legal education, its alumni network, its commitment to public service, and opportunities for students to gain experience through clinics, externships, and other programs.

Applicants considering Loyola should investigate how the school's offerings correspond with their own interests, whether those interests involve private practice, public interest, government, business, entertainment, litigation, or another legal field.

Because school programs, admissions requirements, tuition, scholarships, and employment data change over time, prospective students should use current sources when evaluating Loyola.

The TLS Loyola Law School, Los Angeles profile provides a starting point for researching the school.

Think About Your Legal Career Before You Enroll

Law school applicants sometimes focus entirely on gaining admission without giving enough attention to what comes afterward.

Career planning should begin before choosing a school.

Prospective students should consider questions such as:

Where do I want to practice?
What types of legal work interest me?
What level of debt can I reasonably manage?
Which schools regularly place graduates in my target market?
What practical experiences are available?
How will I develop relationships with attorneys and employers?
What skills will make me marketable after graduation?

LawCrossing's Law Student Career Framework for Long-Term Success explains how students can integrate academics, experience, networking, skill development, and long-term career planning.

Students can also review The Law Student's Guide to Building a Competitive Career Profile for strategies for developing marketable experience during law school.

Key Takeaways from Jannell Roberts' Admissions Advice

Although law school admissions practices continue to evolve, several principles from Roberts' discussion remain useful for applicants:

Your numbers matter, but they do not tell your entire story. Essays, recommendations, experiences, and accomplishments provide essential context.
Research schools carefully. Choose schools based on career fit, cost, location, programs, outcomes, and environment rather than reputation alone.
Take the personal statement seriously. It should provide insight that is not already available elsewhere in your application.
Choose recommenders who actually know your work. Specific, substantive recommendations are more useful than superficial letters from impressive names.
Provide context when necessary. A concise addendum can explain a genuine weakness or unusual circumstance.
Pay attention to details. Proofreading and following every school's instructions are fundamental.
Consider your career before choosing your law school. Location, employment opportunities, debt, experience, and alumni networks can have long-term consequences.
Use current information. Admissions policies, test requirements, deadlines, scholarships, tuition, and employment statistics can change significantly over time.

A successful law school application is ultimately about presenting an accurate, thoughtful, and coherent picture of who you are and why you are prepared for legal education. Strong applicants combine academic preparation with careful research, compelling application materials, attention to detail, and a realistic understanding of what they hope to accomplish with a law degree.

Additional Top-Law-Schools.com Resources

Related LawCrossing Resources

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Law School Admissions Forum — Discussions about applications, recommendation letters, admissions strategy, and law school decisions.
Law School Personal Statements Forum — Personal statement advice, examples, critiques, and applicant discussions.
Personal Statement Samples and Discussion — Examples and community discussion about law school personal statements.
How Much Do Letters of Recommendation and Personal Statements Matter? — Applicant discussion about qualitative application factors.
LSAT Preparation and Discussion Forum — Community discussion about preparing for the LSAT.
Law School Acceptances, Denials, and Waitlists — Applicant experiences with admissions decisions and waitlists.
Choosing a Law School Forum — Discussions about rankings, tuition, scholarships, location, student life, and choosing among offers.

Editor's Note

Editor's Note: This interview with Jannell Roberts was originally published in 2009. Admissions policies, standardized-testing requirements, tuition, scholarship programs, employment outcomes, and other school-specific information can change. This updated version preserves Roberts' enduring admissions insights while reframing dated material as evergreen guidance. Applicants should confirm current Loyola Law School requirements and statistics through official school and admissions sources.