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Earning a law degree is a big commitment of your time, energy, and money. And it’s tough from the very first step. Getting into law school requires organization and hard work, especially for those aiming for the top tier. So the sooner you can tackle the application process, the better.

Keep reading for an overview and timeline of how law school applications work.

Applying to Law School

When you’re figuring out how to go to law school, the application process alone can feel like quite a journey. In addition to completing an undergraduate degree, the law school application process involves preparing for and taking the LSAT, writing a personal statement, and securing letters of recommendation. With all that on your list, figuring out how to get into law school can feel like a bit of a maze.

After being accepted, you’ll need to pay for your education. This can also require some leg work, such as filling out the grad school FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) or potentially applying for scholarships or private law school loans. Continue reading for a more detailed explanation on the law school application process.

Prep for the LSAT

The LSAT is the only test designed specifically for law school admission. Some law schools in the U.S accept other tests, but the LSAT is the only one accepted by all American Bar Association (ABA)-accredited law schools. It generally takes students three hours to complete and is administered multiple times throughout the year, allowing you to choose a day and time that suits your schedule. Until August 2026, students can take the test online in a live remote-proctored environment or at a test centre. From August 2026, the LSAT will move toward in-center testing for almost all U.S. and international test takers, with limited exceptions for certain medical accommodations or extreme hardship in getting to a testing center.

At a minimum, LSAC recommends taking practice tests under the same time constraints allowed for the actual test. The results could give you some idea of your strengths and areas that need improvement. If you plan to take a practice test and/or sign up for classes, you will want to leave enough time before your LSAT test date.

Your LSAT score (which will range from 120 to 180) and your undergraduate GPA are fundamental for law school admission decisions. Schools consider other factors, but if your LSAT score and GPA are at or above the medians of a school, you have a good chance of being accepted. You can generally find this information on the college’s website.

Recommended: How to Study for the LSAT

LSAT Prep Timeline

You should typically submit your application, including your LSAT score, by November or December in order to be admitted the following fall. However, organizations such as Kaplan, a college admission services company that offers test preparation services and admissions resources, suggest factoring in the law school admissions cycle when selecting your testing date. They note that June, July, and September test dates are generally popular since they allow for plenty of time for students to receive scores.

Be sure to factor in your schedule and workload when deciding when you’ll take the LSAT. Taking the test in June will give you time to retake it if you aren’t happy with your score — but if you’re still in college, you’ll have to prepare while you’re busy with coursework.

If you take the test in October, you’ll have the summer to prepare and you can take the test again in December, if necessary. But your applications may be submitted later than other test takers, and some schools will already have started filling their seats. Some students may choose to take a year off between college and law school to prepare for the LSAT and work on their applications.

Test takers may want to look for some free prep materials online or may decide to sign up for paid online classes, in-person classes, or tutoring sessions.

Register for CAS

LSAC is a not-for-profit organization that offers services and programs to help students manage the law school application process. Creating an account at the LSAC.org website allows applicants to track their progress and manage deadlines as they connect with their selected schools.

CAS, which is provided by LSAC, is required by most ABA-approved law schools. For a fee (currently $45), CAS will generate a report containing your transcripts, LSAT scores, and letters of recommendation.

Submit Your Transcripts and Letters of Recommendation to CAS

Students must contact their college (or colleges) to have transcripts sent to CAS. They must also contact professors they believe will provide positive evaluations of their past and future performance and ask them to send recommendation letters to CAS. It’s a good idea to do this in July or August to allow time for them to be written.

You’ll only have to do this once. Then, when you apply to your chosen law schools, the schools can contact CAS and request a copy of your report.

Search for Law Schools

There are several factors that could affect your school choice. Just as with your undergraduate education, you may want to apply to a mix of “reach” schools, “safety” schools, and a few that land right in the middle.

But the application process can be pricey, so if you’re budgeting for college, you may want to narrow the field. When you’re deciding how many law schools to apply to, here are some things to consider:

•   Location: If you’re hoping to go to a top law school, you’re probably prepared to relocate. If not, you may want to start your search by thinking about where you’ll want to practice law someday. After all, you’ll be building a network with your fellow students, professors, and people you meet in the community.

•   Reputation: As you start your career, fellow attorneys (and potential employers) won’t know much about your skills. Instead, they’ll likely regard you as a “Duke grad” or a “Harvard man/woman,” and judge you by what they know about your law school. That doesn’t mean you have to go to a big, prestigious school, but you may want to look for a respected school.

•   Interests: By attending a school that offers classes that focus on the type of law you think you’ll want to practice (sports and entertainment, criminal, business, health care, etc.), you’ll likely be better prepared for your career. And you’ll probably have an opportunity to find mentors who could help you as a student and in the future.

•   Recruitment, tours, and alumni events: If you have the opportunity, you may want to attend a meet-and-greet event in order to touch base with recruiters, former students, and faculty who can fill you in on what law school and a law career have in store. You also may be able to get an idea if the campus and community are a good fit for you.

•   Let the schools find you: LSAC’s Candidate Referral Service allows law schools to search a database and recruit students based on certain characteristics (LSAT score, GPA, age, geographic background, etc.). Registration is free for anyone with an LSAC JD account.

Recommended: A Guide to Transferring Law Schools

Apply to Law Schools

After you’ve taken the LSAT, set up CAS, and squared away your letters of recommendation, you’ll need to start on your personal statement. LSAT scores and GPAs are important in law school applications, but a personal statement could also tip the balance in your favor. The goal of a personal statement is to explain to the admissions committee why you would be a valuable addition to their student body.

Start early so you have a chance to show your work to others. Advisors, teachers, parents, friends, and any grammar sticklers or professional writers or editors you know might help you fine-tune it. This is your chance to stand out from the crowd, so use your personal statement to explain what makes you, you. And if you’re applying to multiple schools, you may want to take the time to tailor your statement as needed.

When you have everything ready to go, you’ll have the option to apply to as many U.S. law schools as you like through your LSAC account. Make sure all the information on file is accurate and up to date and keep good records of every step in the process.

And be patient: Many schools practice rolling admissions, which means the earlier you get your application in, the sooner you’ll hear back. But there’s no set timetable, so you may have to wait a while.

How Will You Score?

It can be difficult to predict how you’ll score on the LSAT, but taking practice tests can be an indicator of how well you’ll perform on the day of the exam. The questions on the LSAT are all weighted equally and you won’t be penalized for incorrect answers. What matters is the number of questions you answer correctly.

Paying for Law School

Once you’ve cleared the hurdle of applying to law school, you might want to start considering ways to pay for law school. You may be familiar with the financial aid process from applying for undergraduate loans, but graduate students are also eligible for federal student aid.

The requirements of FAFSA are similar for grad students. The form allows you to request federal grants, work-study funds, and federal student loans. If you exhaust all other sources of funding and still have a gap to cover, you may want to look into graduate private student loans. They are generally considered after all other sources of financing have been exhausted because they don’t offer the same borrower protections (such as deferment options) as federal student loans.

Recommended: Smart Ways to Pay for Law School

The Takeaway

Applying to law school requires dedication, time, and preparation. Taking the time to understand the application process could help you get into law school. Plan out your LSAT study schedule so you are prepared for test day, think critically about which law schools are the best fit for your personal and professional goals, and don’t forget to devote enough time to writing, editing, and rewriting your personal statement.

Once you’ve gained admission, you’ll need to figure out how to pay for law school. Law students are eligible for scholarships, grants, and federal student loans.

If you’ve exhausted all federal student aid options, no-fee private student loans from SoFi can help you pay for school. The online application process is easy, and you can see rates and terms in just minutes. Repayment plans are flexible, so you can find an option that works for your financial plan and budget.

FAQ

What is the LSAT?

The LSAT is the only test accepted by all ABA-accredited law schools in the US and Canada. It’s considered a key predictor of first-year law school performance.

How many letters of recommendation do most law schools require?

Most law schools require one to two letters of recommendation, while others allow three to four. Make sure you check the requirements of the schools you are applying to.

How can you pay for law school?

You can pay for law school by applying for scholarships, grants and federal student loans. You can also apply for private student loans, but these do not offer the same borrower protections as federal student loans.

SoFi Private Student Loans
Please borrow responsibly. SoFi Private Student loans are not a substitute for federal loans, grants, and work-study programs. We encourage you to evaluate all your federal student aid options before you consider any private loans, including ours. Read our FAQs.

Terms and conditions apply. SOFI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. SoFi Private Student loans are subject to program terms and restrictions, such as completion of a loan application and self-certification form, verification of application information, the student's at least half-time enrollment in a degree program at a SoFi-participating school, and, if applicable, a co-signer. In addition, borrowers must be U.S. citizens or other eligible status, be residing in the U.S., Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, or American Samoa, and must meet SoFi’s underwriting requirements, including verification of sufficient income to support your ability to repay. Not all repayment options may be available for all loans. Minimum loan amount is $1,000. See SoFi.com/eligibility for more information. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. SoFi reserves the right to modify eligibility criteria at any time. This information is current as of 3/2/2026 and is subject to change. SoFi Private Student loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. NMLS #696891. (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).

SoFi Loan Products
SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., NMLS #696891 (Member FDIC). For additional product-specific legal and licensing information, see SoFi.com/legal. Equal Housing Lender.

SOISL-Q126-033

Depending on your specific financial circumstances, refinancing your student loans could save you money — though how much depends on your credit history, how much you owe, what kind of refinancing plan you choose, and more.

In this article, we’ll walk you through how student loan refinancing works and the various ways in which it may save you money in the long term.

What Is Student Loan Refinancing?

Refinancing your student loans essentially means taking out a new loan to cover the cost of your existing loans and then paying that new loan off instead. You can think of it as trading your old student loan, or loans, for a new one.

Along with saving money, one of the primary reasons people refinance their student loans is to simplify their life and repayment schedule if they have multiple student loans they’re paying each month. Refinancing may allow the borrower to get a lower interest rate or change their loan terms. Keep in mind, though, that refinancing federal student loans with a private lender makes you ineligible for federal benefits, such as income-driven repayment plans and student loan forgiveness.

The money-saving aspect of refinancing student loans can work a couple of different ways. Let’s take a closer look.

How Does Refinancing Student Loans Save You Money?

Student loan refinancing can save you money in a couple of different ways:

•   Refinancing may score you a lower monthly payment, which means you’ll have more income available in your budget each pay period.

•   Depending on your credit score and how it’s shifted since you took out your original loans, refinancing could also result in a lower interest rate, which may help you spend less on your student loans as a whole (as well as potentially lowering your monthly payment amount).

•   Finally, refinancing your student loans may also allow you to repay the loan over a shorter time span (in other words, get a shorter loan term), which can be an easy way to save money in interest over the course of the loan’s overall lifetime and simply help you get out of debt faster.

Of course, all of these various outcomes will depend on your credit history, what kind of refinancing loans you qualify for, and how they stack up compared to your original loan. And keep in mind that lowering your monthly payment might also mean a longer loan term, which means it doesn’t actually save you money in the long run. You may pay more interest over the life of the loan if you refinance with an extended term.

Still, for some, a lower monthly payment is a critical step toward a healthier overall financial life, so it may be worthwhile depending on your circumstances.

The best way to figure out if refinancing your student loans will actually save you money is to use a loan calculator to determine how much you’ll pay over the remaining term of your original loan versus the total amount you’ll pay over the entire lifetime of the new loan.

Whichever loan comes up with a lower overall number is the one that saves you the most, but again, under some circumstances, paying more over the long run may make your present-day financial life easier.

How Much Could You Save by Refinancing Student Loans?

The specific amount you might save by refinancing your student loans depends on many factors, including how much you have left to pay off on your original loan (and its interest rate), your credit history, and your current financial standing.

However, in most cases, if your current loan’s interest rate is 10% or higher, and you have a credit score of 670 or more, chances are you could save some money by refinancing, although you may not be able to take advantage of the lowest interest rates. Let’s look at an example.

Let’s say you have $30,000 in outstanding student loans with eight years left on the loan’s term and a 10% interest rate. Over those eight years, with interest, you’d pay a total of $43,701.59, which means $13,701.59 in interest alone.

Now, say you refinance that loan and instead get a new one for the same amount — $30,000 — but with a five-year loan term and a 5% interest rate. Over the lifetime of that loan, you’d pay a total of $33,968.22, or only $3,968.22 in interest. That’s a pretty substantial savings!

However, your monthly payment would go up over $100 for the second loan, from $455.22 to $566.14, and that’s not including any origination fees or other expenses related to taking out the new loan.

Still, a savings of almost $10,000 in total interest might be worth it for some borrowers.

How Can I Refinance My Student Loans?

Refinancing your student loans is pretty simple these days, thanks to the internet. You’ve already embarked on the first step: research.

Along with researching what it means to refinance your student loans and how doing so might save you money, you should also research different banks and financial institutions that offer student loan refinancing. This allows you to compare and contrast the various programs, including their interest rates, their loan term options, and other features.

Once you’ve found a few companies you feel comfortable with, it may be worth requesting quotes from each of them to learn which will offer the lowest interest rate or monthly payment.

In the majority of cases, you’ll be able to complete the entire application process, from the initial rate quote to the official application, online. You’ll need to provide documentation proving your identity, residence, college graduation (or enrollment), and the loan payoff statements from your current lender.

Other Student Loan Refinancing Tips from SoFi

Ready to take the leap into refinancing for yourself? Here are some tips to help make the process as smooth (and helpful) as possible:

•   Shop around for more than just rates. While low interest rates or monthly payments may be attractive, there are other important factors when choosing who to call your student loan refinancing servicer, such as whether or not you’re able to pay off the loan early without facing penalties.

•   Get as many of your ducks in a row as possible ahead of time. The higher your credit score, the better your employment situation, and the lower your other existing debts, the more money you stand to save by refinancing your student loans. Tackle as many of those projects and save as much money as you can ahead of time before applying.

•   Consider a cosigner. If your credit history could still use some shining up, adding a cosigner to your application could help boost your chances of getting approved, and possibly for a better rate. But proceed with caution: your cosigner is legally responsible for your loan to the same extent you are, and if you fall behind on your payments, it can impact their credit score, too.

The Takeaway

Refinancing your student loans can help you save money by lowering your interest rate, shortening your loan term, or both. Refinancing may also help you make ends meet in the short-term by lowering your monthly payment.

Note that by refinancing federal student loans, you lose access to federal benefits, such as income-driven repayment plans and student loan forgiveness. If you’re using or plan on using these benefits, it’s best to hold off on refinancing.

Looking to lower your monthly student loan payment? Refinancing may be one way to do it — by extending your loan term, getting a lower interest rate than what you currently have, or both. (Please note that refinancing federal loans makes them ineligible for federal forgiveness and protections. Also, lengthening your loan term may mean paying more in interest over the life of the loan.) SoFi student loan refinancing offers flexible terms that fit your budget.

FAQ

What isn’t a good reason to refinance student loans?

Everyone’s financial circumstances and needs are different, but it’s important to keep in mind that if you refinance federal student loans with a private lender, you may lose access to income-driven repayment plans and federal student loan forgiveness programs, which aren’t available to those with private loans. However, some private lenders may offer hardship assistance and deferments.

Does refinancing student loans lower monthly payments?

Refinancing your student loans can lead to many different outcomes depending on your current loans, your credit history, and other factors related to your financial situation. But yes, in some cases, refinancing your student loans can lower your monthly payments. However, lower payments may also mean you end up paying more interest on the loan overall.

How much do you have to make to refinance student loans?

Each bank and lender has its own specific requirements as far as student loan refinance eligibility, and they may or may not specify a minimum income. It’s best to contact the lenders you’re considering and ask them directly what the income requirements are.

Photo credit: iStock/hobo_018

SoFi Student Loan Refinance
Terms and conditions apply. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are private loans. When you refinance federal loans with a SoFi loan, YOU FORFEIT YOUR ELIGIBILITY FOR ALL FEDERAL LOAN BENEFITS, including all flexible federal repayment and forgiveness options that are or may become available to federal student loan borrowers including, but not limited to: Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Income-Based Repayment, Income-Contingent Repayment, extended repayment plans, PAYE or SAVE. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Learn more at SoFi.com/eligibility. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. NMLS #696891 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).

SoFi Loan Products
SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., NMLS #696891 (Member FDIC). For additional product-specific legal and licensing information, see SoFi.com/legal. Equal Housing Lender.