I usually recommend that law school applicants apply to at least a dozen schools, unless their search is limited to a specific region. However, data from the Law School Admission Council shows that the average law school applicant applies to only seven schools.
In my experience, applicants are quick to name a few reach schools of their dreams. And they’re often able to find a couple of safety schools in cities where they’d be happy to study. However, many have trouble thinking of any schools between these two extremes.
This is a shame because roughly half of the law schools you apply to should fall in the midrange “Goldilocks zone,” where your odds of acceptance are realistic but not assured.
[How to Decide Where to Apply for Law School]
If you don’t like the idea of lowering your sights below your dream school, here’s one way to think about it: Midrange schools are more likely to award you merit-based financial aid than reach schools. Wouldn’t it be great to have a few offers from selective law schools that would allow you to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in tuition?
How can you find these magic midrange schools? Consider these three steps.
Start With Your Stats
First, use law school rankings and statistics to look for schools where your cumulative undergraduate GPA and highest LSAT score fall within range of the schools’ medians. Perhaps one of these factors is at or above the median, while the other is above the 25th percentile.
Of course, these statistics aren’t everything. They don’t account for qualitative factors like the personal statement and resume. Admissions officers aren’t robots and may emphasize different factors in applicants’ profiles.
So, don’t get too hung up on precise numbers here and don’t panic if you’re a “splitter.” Just use the medians to find a few dozen schools that tend to admit candidates with grades and test scores like yours.
Many of these schools will be unknown to you. After all, there are roughly 200 accredited U.S. law schools.
[Read: Should You Apply to Law School Straight From College?]
Begin Research
Now it’s time to level with yourself. Isn’t it arbitrary to choose law schools based on whether you’ve heard of them before? Doesn’t it make more sense to target law schools that will help you achieve your goals?
Narrow down law schools in your range by factors like selectivity, location, class size, bar passage rates and the states their graduates practice in.
You can find this information using public data collected by the American Bar Association, available through LawHub and other sources.
Delve Deeper
If a law school looks like it may be a good fit, review its website to learn more about culture, strengths and specialized offerings like programs and legal clinics.
You might even search online for news stories or other outside views of the school’s culture and reputation, bearing in mind those sources’ credibility and biases.
[READ: When to Expect a Law School Decision.]
If you don’t see many options, widen the geographic scope of your search. You may find a school in a similar city or even a nearby area that serves the legal market where you hope to practice.
Of course, this research takes time, and it isn’t always as fun as fantasizing about attending a dream law school.
However, the more law schools you look into, the more you’ll see that there are plenty out there that offer opportunities that would give you a leg up in your career. You may find a lesser-known school that fits your interests fairly well, even if it isn’t a top choice.
Similar to Goldilocks trying to find the right bed and bowl of porridge in the classic fairy tale, the right law school may not be obvious at first sight, so give yourself some options.
More from U.S. News
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How to Identify Midrange Law Schools to Target originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 03/24/25: This article was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
