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Reviewed by:
Former Head of Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University, & Admissions Officer, Brown University
Reviewed: 9/20/23
Are you interested in joining a law school that’s dedicated to producing the next century of leaders? If you are, read on to learn more about how to get into SMU Law School.
The Southern Methodist University (SMU) Dedman Law School, established almost a century ago, is home to 11 legal clinics, a pro bono legal service requirement, and four academic law journals. If these resources sound like they’d help propel your legal career, this guide will cover all the important admission statistics you need to know about SMU!
The first admission statistic to discuss is the SMU Law School acceptance rate. At 32.7%, this school is moderately difficult to get into.
SMU is moderately selective, with an acceptance rate ranging from 30% to 40%, depending on the year. Getting accepted to Southern Methodist University (SMU) Dedman School of Law requires a strong academic record, a competitive LSAT score, compelling letters of recommendation, a well-written personal statement, and often relevant work or volunteer experience. So, while it's not the most selective law school in the country, it still requires dedication and effort to secure admission.
Depending on how far you are in your legal education, Southern Baptist University offers several degrees to help you advance in your career:
According to US News, SMU's law school is ranked 42nd in the nation.
The other score you’ll need to focus on is your GPA. First-year students had an average GPA of 3.83, which is what you should aim to maintain to be considered a competitive applicant.
Despite having a promising acceptance rate, this school still expects its students to prove their academic potential. The most recent entering class had a median LSAT score of 164, which is close to the 90th percentile!
Although law school is largely a numbers game, your scores won’t be the only requirements influencing the admissions committee’s decision; you’ll also be required to submit all of these application materials:
For an Undergraduate Program:
For Graduate Programs:
A letter of recommendation for law school assesses a student's readiness for legal studies. Typically penned by professors, these letters are approximately one page in length. A good letter of recommendation should compare you to your peers in a distinguishing way while praising your character using evidence.
The aim of a personal statement can include showing your personality, detailing your reasons for pursuing law school, explaining why you want to attend a specific law school, or a combination of these things and more.
A law school interview allows admissions committees to assess if an applicant is a good fit for legal studies based on their personality and motivation.
Possible interview topics may include personal questions, discussion of your resume and college transcript, familiarity with the law school, demonstration of legal reasoning and thinking skills, and your thoughts on current events.
SMU Law School offers in-person interviews as well as interviews via phone or video conference.
Here are some examples of law school interview questions:
Students can expect to pay $63,502 for tuition and fees each year. With additional costs like books and supplies, the total cost to attend SMU is estimated to be over $92,000! The price of attendance is the same for Texas residents and non-residents.
SMU understands the majority of students cannot afford the high costs of tuition on their own, so they offer extensive scholarships, grants, and awards to help cover some of these costs and decrease students’ financial stress.
SMU offers a variety of scholarships to recognize and support the academic achievements, talents, and potential of its students. Whether based on academic merit, financial need, leadership qualities, or specific fields of study, these scholarships aim to make higher education accessible and rewarding for everyone.
The SMU School of Law opens its applications at the beginning of September, and begins processing applications in early November. The regular application deadline in April 1.
It’s not recommended to wait to apply closer to the application deadline; near this time, there will be far fewer spots available and an influx of applicants. As such, your application will be scrutinized even harsher, ultimately decreasing your chances of admission!
The process to apply to SMU is simple: make an LSAC account and submit the majority of your application materials, such as your letters of recommendation, to this portal. Your LSAT scores will automatically appear here for the admissions committee to review.
One of SMU’s main goals is to provide students with the resources and support to excel in their legal careers. But how well do they uphold this promise?
According to their bar passage rate of over 94.7%, the SMU School of Law adheres to its word! This bar passage rate is almost 10% higher than the national rate, meaning SMU provides extraordinary training to its students.
SMU utilizes a comprehensive admissions approach, valuing academic achievement alongside factors such as writing ability, extracurricular involvement, and recommendations.
While academic excellence is important, SMU also considers applicants as individuals, taking into account their talents, characteristics, and life experiences when making admissions decisions. Here are 4 tips to get into SMU Law School:
You should choose a major that is academically challenging. Another way to impress the admissions committee with your transcripts is to take and succeed in courses from various disciplines!
You’ll need to score high on the LSAT to get into this law school. To reach a 164, it’s essential you create an effective study plan, use trusted resources, and learn the most efficient strategies to increase your score.
Juris Education has a team of top-scoring LSAT specialists that can help you reach your target score efficiently. Our services are designed for your success with a comprehensive approach tailored to your needs. Get an individualized study schedule, a dedicated student success manager, and much more! Read about how Juris helped Zachary get into his dream school:
Use your personal statement to showcase your uniqueness. Avoid overly personal details, resume repetition, portraying yourself as an underdog or overachiever, and using false stories or clichés. Your statement should demonstrate strong writing skills and offer genuine insight into your character.
Choose recommenders who have worked closely with you and can attest to the specific attributes that make you the perfect candidate for law school. These attributes should mainly focus on your academic performance, but including non-academic attributes about your character can make these recommendations more personal and unique!
See what our expert consultant Tamar Alexanian has to say about the different types of letters of recommendation:
“Choose recommenders who can provide really specific, concrete examples; their letter should not be able to be used for someone else. We want them to be able to demonstrate their capability as a student or as a professional. It's also really important to select someone who knows you in a professional capacity, or who has taught you before. It's important that your recommender can give the admissions committee a holistic picture of who you are as a candidate and the work that you do under the supervision or guidance of a professor.”
“Make sure your recommender can also write a letter that focuses on quality over quantity; this may be something that you might not have control over. Some recommenders tend to be more long-winded than others, meaning they can write a longer letter. But, I wouldn't be too worried about length. I've seen great recommendation letters that are just one page, and great letters that are two pages. I think what you want is for your recommender to feel like they got all their examples and all of the things they wanted to say on paper about you and feel good about that.”
For any remaining questions about SMU Law School, read on to find your answers.
Yes, SMU is a good and reputable law school. It not only offers extensive in-house learning experiences for students, but is also situated in Dallas, one of the nation’s fastest growing economies.
No, SMU currently only accepts LSAT scores.
No, SMU only has a full-time, three-year JD program.
SMU calls Dallas a “legal laboratory” because of all the opportunity and experimentation it allows! As the second-best location to gain employment at Fortune 500 companies, students can find their niche and gain valuable experience in it!
While you’ll need to submit a stellar application to get into this law school, the experience, support, and connections you’ll gain will be well worth the hard work!
