Michelle Rahman on Law School Admissions, LSAT Scores, Transfers and Legal Careers

^{Last Updated: September 2026}

What do law school admissions officers actually look for beyond GPA and standardized test scores? How much does an upward academic trend matter? When should an applicant submit an addendum? And what should students consider before transferring to another law school?

Michelle Rahman, former Associate Dean for Admissions at the University of Richmond School of Law, addressed these questions and many others in an extensive interview with Top-Law-Schools.com. Her observations offer useful insight into how admissions professionals may evaluate applicants as complete individuals rather than simply as collections of numerical credentials.

Originally conducted in 2010, the interview also explored waitlists, transfer admissions, legal employment, career services, financial aid, practical legal training, law school rankings, and the importance of finding the right academic environment.

Editor's Note: This interview was originally published in 2010. Michelle Rahman's comments provide historical and general insight into law school admissions and legal education. Admissions policies, testing requirements, scholarships, deadlines, employment outcomes, programs, facilities, and University of Richmond policies may have changed. Applicants should always verify current requirements directly with the law school.

Applicants preparing their materials may also want to review the Top-Law-Schools.com guide to law school personal statements, which explains how applicants can communicate qualities and experiences that may not be apparent from grades and test scores alone.

How Do Law Schools Evaluate Applicants Holistically?

TLS: What should applicants understand about how an admissions committee evaluates a law school application?

Michelle Rahman: At Richmond Law, applications were reviewed holistically. Rather than ranking every individual component, the admissions team looked at the application as a whole.

Factors could include undergraduate GPA, graduate work, LSAT performance, undergraduate institution and major, professional experience, life experience, extracurricular activities, academic trends, geographic background, and other elements of the applicant's record.

Numbers were important, but they were not necessarily the entire application. Admissions officers also wanted to understand an applicant's character, interests, experiences, commitment, and potential contribution to the law school community.

The larger lesson for applicants is that a law school application should work as a coherent whole. Your transcript, résumé, essays, recommendations, explanations, and other materials should collectively help an admissions committee understand who you are and what you may contribute.

Which Matters More in Law School Admissions: LSAT Score or GPA?

TLS: Applicants frequently wonder whether the LSAT or undergraduate GPA matters more. How should they think about these two factors?

Michelle Rahman: Both were significant considerations in the admissions process. A strong result in one area could provide additional context when another part of the academic record was weaker.

For example, an applicant with a relatively lower undergraduate GPA but a strong standardized test result might present a different academic profile from an applicant whose GPA and test performance were both weak.

Applicants should avoid thinking that one number automatically determines the outcome. Admissions committees may consider academic achievement together with the rest of the application.

Because testing policies vary among law schools and can change, applicants should review the current requirements of every school on their list rather than assuming that older testing policies remain in effect.

Does an Upward GPA Trend Help a Law School Application?

TLS: How important is an upward trend in undergraduate grades?

Michelle Rahman: An upward academic trend can be positive because recent grades may provide evidence of a student's current academic ability and development.

A student who struggled early in college but later demonstrated consistently stronger performance may give an admissions committee useful additional context about the overall GPA.

That does not mean an upward trend erases earlier grades. Instead, it becomes another factor in a holistic evaluation.

Applicants with an unusual academic history may want to consider whether a concise explanatory addendum would help the admissions committee understand the circumstances.

Does Undergraduate School Prestige Matter in Law School Admissions?

TLS: How much weight does the prestige of an applicant's undergraduate institution carry?

Michelle Rahman: The undergraduate institution may be considered, but it is only one part of the larger application.

Applicants should therefore focus on the factors they can control: academic performance, the quality of their written application, their experiences, recommendations, professional development, and how clearly they communicate their reasons for pursuing legal education.

The name of an undergraduate institution does not tell an admissions committee everything it needs to know about the applicant.

When Should You Write a Law School Addendum?

TLS: Under what circumstances should an applicant submit an addendum?

Michelle Rahman: An addendum can help explain information that may otherwise leave an admissions committee with unanswered questions.

For example, applicants may use an addendum to provide context for an unusual academic semester, a significant discrepancy in part of the academic record, an interruption in education, or another circumstance that is not adequately explained elsewhere in the application.

The goal is not to create an excuse. A useful addendum provides concise, relevant context.

Applicants should ask themselves: Is there something in my application that an admissions reader is likely to notice and wonder about? If the answer is yes, providing an explanation in your own words may be better than leaving the committee to guess.

Applicants considering school-specific supplemental essays may also find the TLS guide to writing an effective "Why X" addendum useful.

Editor's Note: Addendum requirements and expectations differ by law school. Always follow each school's current application instructions.

Should You Go Straight from College to Law School?

TLS: Is it better to attend law school immediately after college or take time off?

Michelle Rahman: There is no universal answer.

Some students are academically and personally prepared to move directly from undergraduate study into law school. Others benefit from working, saving money, exploring a potential career field, gaining life experience, or simply taking time away from school before beginning another demanding academic program.

Taking one or two years off should not be treated as a strategy merely because an applicant assumes it will automatically make the application stronger.

The more useful question is whether taking time away from school serves a meaningful purpose for that particular student.

Applicants considering a gap period can use it productively by developing professional skills, gaining responsibility, exploring legal or nonlegal work, volunteering, improving financial readiness, or clarifying why they want to attend law school.

How Should Applicants Think About Multiple LSAT Scores?

TLS: How were multiple LSAT scores considered?

Michelle Rahman: At the time of the original interview, Richmond's practice was to focus on an applicant's highest LSAT score.

Because testing policies and admissions practices can evolve, applicants should consult the current admissions requirements of each law school to determine how multiple scores, score discrepancies, the GRE, or other testing options are evaluated.

A significant difference between test scores may also be something an applicant should explain if a particular school requires or permits an addendum.

Do "Soft Factors" Matter in Law School Admissions?

TLS: Are there particular non-numerical factors that can strengthen an application?

Michelle Rahman: Significant service, academic accomplishments, leadership, meaningful professional experience, and programs such as Teach for America, the Peace Corps, or AmeriCorps could provide useful evidence about an applicant's experiences and commitments.

No single activity should be viewed as a guaranteed admissions advantage.

The value of a non-numerical factor often lies in what it reveals about the applicant: leadership, initiative, intellectual ability, service, maturity, perseverance, responsibility, or another quality that may contribute to a law school community.

That is also why an effective law school personal statement matters. It allows applicants to provide context for accomplishments and experiences that numbers alone cannot communicate.

What Should You Do If You Are Waitlisted by a Law School?

TLS: What can applicants do after receiving a waitlist decision?

Michelle Rahman: Applicants who remain genuinely interested in a school should follow its instructions carefully and communicate that interest appropriately.

At the time of the original interview, Rahman encouraged Richmond applicants to remain in contact with admissions and make the school aware of continued interest. Additional developments, such as improved test performance, could also become relevant.

The enduring lesson is that a waitlist is not necessarily the end of the admissions process.

Applicants can consider providing meaningful updates when the school's policies allow them, such as:

A letter of continued interest;
Significant academic achievements;
Updated grades;
New professional accomplishments;
Relevant honors or awards;
New test results; or
Other substantive developments in the application.

The key is to demonstrate genuine interest without overwhelming the admissions office with repetitive communications.

Applicants can also explore the TLS Law School Acceptances, Denials, and Waitlists Forum to read discussions from applicants navigating similar decisions.

Should You Transfer to Another Law School?

TLS: What should law students think about before deciding to transfer?

Michelle Rahman: Transferring is an individual decision that involves more than simply comparing law school rankings.

A student may already have strong faculty relationships, journal opportunities, leadership roles, friendships, scholarships, career connections, and an established reputation at the current institution. Those benefits can be difficult to recreate after transferring.

At the same time, another school may offer geographic, academic, professional, personal, or career advantages that make transferring worthwhile.

Students should therefore consider the complete picture.

Questions to ask include:

What specific opportunity will the transfer provide?
Will I lose scholarship assistance?
How much additional debt will I incur?
Will I give up law review, moot court, leadership, or other opportunities?
How will transferring affect faculty relationships and recommendations?
Does the new school's geographic market better match my career plans?
Will I have access to recruiting opportunities at the new school?
Can transfer students participate fully in journals, clinics, and organizations?
What employment outcomes are relevant to my goals?

LawCrossing's guide, Should You Transfer Law Schools? What the Data and Firms Say, provides additional career-focused considerations for students weighing a transfer.

Students can also read experiences and ask questions in the TLS Transfers Forum.

What Do Law Schools Look for in Transfer Applicants?

TLS: What can students do to improve their chances of transfer admission?

Michelle Rahman: First-year law school performance is particularly significant because it provides admissions officers with direct evidence of how a student has performed in a law school environment.

Strong first-year grades and class rank, where available, can therefore be important.

At the time of the interview, Richmond also reviewed a transfer student's broader academic file rather than examining first-year law school grades in isolation.

Transfer applicants should check the current requirements of each prospective school because policies relating to GPA, class rank, recommendations, credits, deadlines, and application materials vary.

Does Your Undergraduate Record Still Matter When You Transfer Law Schools?

TLS: Do undergraduate GPA and admissions-test results still matter when applying as a transfer student?

Michelle Rahman: In Richmond's process at the time, the applicant's complete record was reviewed, including undergraduate credentials.

However, first-year law school performance provided an important new measure because it demonstrated how the student performed in an actual legal academic environment.

Applicants should remember that different schools may assign different weight to undergraduate records, standardized tests, 1L performance, recommendations, and reasons for transferring.

How Important Is Practical Legal Experience During Law School?

One of the recurring themes in Rahman's discussion of legal employment was the value of practical experience.

Law students should not treat the classroom and career preparation as completely separate activities. Clinics, internships, externships, judicial placements, pro bono projects, research positions, student organizations, and other practical opportunities can help students develop skills while discovering what types of legal work they actually enjoy.

Practical experience may also provide concrete examples to discuss with future employers.

Law students seeking ways to use campus resources more strategically can read LawCrossing's How Law Students Can Use Campus Resources to Accelerate Their Careers.

Students without an established professional network may also benefit from How to Get a Legal Internship Without Connections.

How Important Is a Law School Career Services Office?

TLS: How much should law students rely on their school's career services office?

Michelle Rahman: Rahman emphasized personalized career guidance and close relationships between students and career advisers at Richmond.

The broader lesson remains relevant: students should actively use the professional resources available through their law schools rather than waiting until graduation approaches.

Career offices may provide:

Résumé and cover letter reviews;
Mock interviews;
Employer information;
Job postings;
On-campus interviewing opportunities;
Alumni introductions;
Networking events;
Judicial clerkship guidance;
Career counseling;
Practice-area information; and
Assistance developing a job-search strategy.

At the same time, students should take ownership of their careers. Career services should supplement—not replace—independent networking, employer research, professional relationship building, and targeted job searching.

For more guidance, see LawCrossing's Law Student Career Development: Building Confidence and Direction.

How Can Law Students Prepare for an Uncertain Legal Job Market?

The employment market discussed in the original 2010 interview reflected the economic environment immediately following the financial crisis. Specific observations about that market should therefore be understood in their historical context.

The more durable lesson is that legal markets change.

Students cannot control economic cycles, hiring slowdowns, changes in law firm staffing, technological developments, or shifts in employer demand. They can, however, develop a professional profile that gives them more options.

That includes:

Strong legal research and writing skills;
Practical legal experience;
Professional relationships;
Communication skills;
A clear understanding of potential practice areas;
Geographic flexibility when appropriate;
Strong academic performance;
Interview preparation;
Career planning; and
Willingness to explore several types of legal employers.

LawCrossing's The Law Student Career Framework for Long-Term Success provides additional strategies for building a career profile that can adapt to changing market conditions.

How Should Students Evaluate Law School Scholarships and Financial Aid?

Rahman also discussed Richmond's scholarship programs as they existed at the time of the interview. Because scholarship amounts, eligibility standards, renewal conditions, and financial aid programs can change significantly, applicants should not rely on historical figures when making a current decision.

The broader lesson is extremely important: read every scholarship offer carefully.

Before choosing a school, determine:

Whether the award is guaranteed for all three years;
Whether a minimum GPA is required;
Whether a class-rank requirement applies;
What constitutes good academic standing;
Whether tuition is expected to increase;
What percentage of tuition the scholarship covers;
Whether the scholarship can be reduced or lost;
What the total cost of attendance will be;
How much debt you may need to incur; and
Whether the expected career outcomes justify that financial commitment.

A large scholarship can materially change the economics of choosing a law school, so applicants should compare schools based on net cost rather than sticker tuition alone.

What Should Applicants Consider About Law School Culture?

Rahman's comments about Richmond emphasized a close-knit environment, student organizations, interaction with faculty, campus activities, and relationships among students.

Although specific programs and events change, culture remains an important consideration when choosing a law school.

Prospective students should ask:

How accessible are professors?
Are students collaborative or highly competitive?
What organizations are active?
Are clinics and journals accessible?
How strong is the alumni network?
What kinds of mentoring are available?
Where do students typically live?
What is the surrounding city like?
Does the school provide the type of academic environment in which I perform best?
Can I realistically see myself spending three years there?

Applicants comparing offers can also use the TLS Choosing a Law School Forum to explore discussions about cost, geography, employment, scholarships, and school fit.

Why Do Clinics, Externships, and Experiential Learning Matter?

Rahman highlighted Richmond's clinical and experiential opportunities as an important part of legal education.

The specific clinics and placements available at any law school can change, but applicants should look carefully at opportunities to move beyond doctrinal classroom learning.

Clinical work and externships can help students:

Apply legal research and writing skills;
Work with real or simulated clients;
Observe practicing attorneys;
Understand professional responsibility;
Learn how courts and agencies operate;
Develop relationships with lawyers and judges;
Explore potential practice areas; and
Build experience they can discuss during interviews.

Students should investigate not merely whether a law school advertises clinics, but how accessible those opportunities actually are and whether they align with the student's interests.

Should You Choose a Law School Based on Rankings?

TLS: How much weight should applicants place on law school rankings?

Michelle Rahman: Rahman's central point was that rankings can provide information, but they should not become the sole basis for choosing a law school.

Students should investigate what individual schools actually offer.

That includes visiting when possible, speaking with students and alumni, examining employment data, researching faculty and programs, understanding geographic placement, comparing costs, evaluating career services, and considering where they would be most likely to thrive.

Rankings may be one piece of the decision, but applicants should also examine factors such as:

Total cost and expected debt;
Employment outcomes;
Bar passage;
Geographic placement;
Alumni networks;
Practice-area opportunities;
Faculty accessibility;
Clinics and experiential programs;
Student culture;
Scholarship conditions; and
Personal and professional fit.

A lower-ranked school with significant financial aid and strong placement in a student's desired market may present a very different value proposition from a higher-ranked school requiring substantially more debt.

What Is the Most Important Advice for Law School Applicants?

Perhaps the most useful takeaway from Rahman's interview is that applicants should avoid reducing themselves—or the schools they are considering—to a handful of numbers.

For applicants, GPA and admissions-test performance matter, but so do experiences, judgment, growth, communication, motivation, and the quality of the overall application.

For prospective students choosing among schools, rankings matter in certain contexts, but so do cost, career outcomes, geography, educational opportunities, culture, and personal goals.

And for current law students, grades matter, but practical experience, relationships, skills, career planning, and professional initiative can also shape what happens after graduation.

The strongest decisions are therefore informed decisions. Applicants should research individual schools carefully, verify current policies directly with admissions offices, review current employment and financial disclosures, and think realistically about how each law school fits their personal and professional goals.

Related Top-Law-Schools.com Resources

Related LawCrossing Resources

Related Top-Law-Schools.com Forum Discussions

The TLS forums contain applicant and student discussions that can provide additional perspectives. Forum posts represent individual users' experiences and opinions and should not be treated as official admissions guidance.

Originally published: January 2010

Updated for evergreen relevance: September 2026

Top-Law-Schools.com thanks Michelle Rahman for sharing her perspective on law school admissions, transfers, legal careers, financial considerations, and legal education.