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University of Texas School of Law J.D. · 2026-27 J.D. applicants (entering fall 2027)

Answers

For every question: which parts of an applicant's background to use, how they connect to what the question tests, and the points to hit - not a script. See it for our sample applicant, or upload your LSAC application and get it for yours.

Make it yours. Upload your LSAC application and get these answers from your own background: which of your stories fit each question, the angle to take and the points to hit.

Get answers from my LSAC application

From your LSAC account, save a PDF of your submitted Texas Law application. If you can't, upload your résumé, personal statement and any optional statements as one PDF. For every question we show you which parts of your application to draw on, how they connect to what the question tests, talking points, and what's missing - not a script to memorize. Nothing is invented. We read your file once and don't keep it. Your guidance is saved to your account, so you can come back to it on any device, and you can upload again anytime to replace it.

Sample applicant: Gabriela. A 2022 political science graduate from Texas State University, applying to Texas Law after four years as a case assistant at a small Austin firm that represents workers in unpaid-wage cases. She grew up in Eagle Pass keeping the books for her father's auto-glass shop. She runs Saturday intake at a volunteer wage clinic and raised her LSAT from 158 to 165 on a second try.

Gabriela is fictional, and so are Calderón & Pike PLLC, the Eastside Wage Clinic, Salinas Auto Glass and San Marcos River Outfitters; the application was written for this sample. Every answer below uses only what's in the application, the way your own will. Read Gabriela's application (PDF).

Recorded video: why law

Why do you want to go to law school? Sample applicant

Based on Gabriela, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your LSAC application to get this from your own background.

Material

Personal statement: the $1,140 Don Rogelio owed from your father's payroll, spring 2020 It's your origin story, but in 30-60 seconds you only need the number and the lesson, not the whole scene.
The 'edge of what I can do' moment at Calderón & Pike, including the client whose two-year limit had run It shows why a case assistant's job isn't enough and you need the lawyer's role. That separates law from a policy degree.
Your 2025 AI tool test: 7 of 30 damages charts wrong, plus the checklist you wrote It's concrete proof that judgment, not arithmetic, is the part you want to learn.

The angle

Dean Le's worry is applicants who really want policy. Your answer is that you already do the paralegal side of wage law and keep hitting a wall: you can't decide which claim to bring, argue employee status, or defend a client's notebook. The interviewer litigated wage cases on both sides, so name lawyer tasks precisely and he'll recognise them.

Talking points

Open with one line: four years building wage claims at Calderón & Pike, about 15 intakes a month
Name the wall: choosing claims, contractor-vs-employee arguments, standing up when the notebook is called invented
Use the AI test briefly: 7 of 30 charts wrong, double-counted overtime. The tool does the math, a lawyer makes the call
Close by tying it back to the $1,140 and Don Rogelio in a single phrase, not a retelling

To think about

Which specific moment did you watch one of the attorneys make a judgment call you couldn't have made yourself?

Avoid: Don't retell the personal statement start to finish; the committee already has it. Also skip the water-break preemption opinion here, because it pulls you toward policy, the exact trap this question tests.

From: Gabriela's application · the question and its sources

What kind of legal work do you hope to do after you graduate?

A preview, based on Gabriela, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your LSAC application to preview your own.

Material

Why Texas statement: wanting to stay in Texas, ideally back near the border It gives you a place-specific goal, and this interviewer recruits in South and West Texas.

The angle

Talking points

Unlock to read the rest, for every question.

Recorded video: your experiences

Tell us about a challenge you faced and how you handled it. Sample applicant

Based on Gabriela, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your LSAC application to get this from your own background.

Material

Running Salinas Auto Glass for six weeks in spring 2020 after her father's heart attack A real pressure situation with decisions she had to make alone, including payroll on Fridays.
The 2025 AI tool test: 30 damages charts checked, 7 with errors, then the two-page review checklist the firm adopted A workplace challenge with a clear action and result, and it isn't the emotional core of her essay, so it adds something new.
Spring 2020 GPA of 2.31, then 3.74 from Fall 2020 on Shows how the challenge played out academically and how she recovered.

The angle

You have two strong options. Your father's shop is the bigger challenge, but your personal statement already tells the Don Rogelio story, so if you use it, spend your time on what you did to keep the shop running and get back on track, not on retelling the $1,140. The AI tool review may be the sharper choice in 30-60 seconds: a clear problem, your judgment, and a fix the firm adopted, which shows exactly the thinking under pressure they are testing.

Talking points

Pick one story before you record: the six weeks running the shop, or the AI tool test at Calderón & Pike
If the shop: name the stakes in one line (two installers to pay, father in hospital, classes moved online), then what you actually juggled day to day
If the AI tool: give the numbers, 30 charts checked and 7 wrong, including a double-counted overtime week
Say what you did about it: the two-page checklist the firm adopted, or how you got from a 2.31 to a 3.74
End on what that changed in how you work now, in one short phrase

To think about

For the shop story, what was the hardest decision in those six weeks besides payroll, and who did you have to ask for help?

Avoid: Don't retell your personal statement word for word, and keep it tight; the shop story can easily eat the whole minute before you reach your actions. Don't claim the AI review stopped a specific loss unless that happened.

From: Gabriela's application · the question and its sources

Tell us something about yourself that isn't in your application.

A preview, based on Gabriela, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your LSAC application to preview your own.

Material

Playing bajo sexto in a weekend conjunto group with coworkers' relatives, booked for quinceañeras Personal, specific, and shows the community you're rooted in outside the office.

The angle

Talking points

Unlock to read the rest, for every question.

Describe a time you took a leadership role or worked in your community.

A preview, based on Gabriela, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your LSAC application to preview your own.

Material

Saturday Intake Coordinator at Eastside Wage Clinic: 8-10 volunteers, trained 12 Formal leadership role in a community setting.

The angle

Talking points

Unlock to read the rest, for every question.

Recorded video: current and political topics

What is your view on a current public issue, and why? Sample applicant

Based on Gabriela, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your LSAC application to get this from your own background.

Material

Personal statement paragraph on the 2023 state law displacing Austin's construction water-break requirement A real public issue you've watched touch the workers whose hours you count, and you already say you want to argue it as law, not feeling.
Senior seminar paper, 'Who Enforces the Paycheck? Wage Claims at the Texas Workforce Commission, 2015-2020' Shows you've studied the policy side, not just reacted to it at a help desk.
Saturday Intake Coordinator role at Eastside Wage Clinic Gives a concrete vantage point for why the issue matters, in one quick detail.

The angle

The test is calm, clear reasoning in under a minute, with respect for the other side. You have an issue you know from the ground up, state preemption of local rules like Austin's water-break ordinance, and you can show you understand why a state wants uniform rules while explaining what you saw change for workers in July heat. Your interviewer defended employers before doing legal aid, so naming the employer-side or uniformity argument fairly will land better than advocacy alone.

Talking points

State your issue in one line: state preemption of city rules, with the 2023 water-break example
Give one ground-level fact from your work: the same construction workers you do intake for, under different rules from one summer to the next
Name the strongest argument on the other side (one statewide standard for employers working across cities) in your own words
Say where you land and why, tied to what you've seen, not a slogan
Close on wanting to argue it as law, as your personal statement says, without repeating its wording

To think about

What do you actually know about the reasons given for the 2023 law, and could you state them fairly in two sentences?

Avoid: Sounding like a rally speech or reciting your personal statement paragraph; also running out the clock on background before stating a view. Lead with the view.

From: Gabriela's application · the question and its sources

How do you think artificial intelligence will change the work of lawyers?

A preview, based on Gabriela, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your LSAC application to preview your own.

Material

2025 AI tool test at Calderón & Pike: 30 damages charts checked, 7 with errors, including double-counted overtime weeks Firsthand evidence of what AI does well and where it fails in legal work, with numbers.

The angle

Talking points

Unlock to read the rest, for every question.

Written response: Why Texas

Why do you want to attend Texas Law? Sample applicant

Based on Gabriela, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your LSAC application to get this from your own background.

Material

Optional 'Why Texas' statement: attorneys at Calderón & Pike who learned to try cases in Texas Law clinics A firsthand, specific reason rooted in people you work with, not a brochure line.
Senior seminar paper on TWC wage claims and the 2023 state law displacing Austin's water-break rule Shows the Texas-specific law you want to study is already your subject.
AI tool test: 7 of 30 damages charts wrong, your two-page review checklist Connects directly to the Texas Law AI Skills Program and AI Innovation and Law Program.

The angle

Your reason for Texas is that your clients, their law and your future practice are all here, and you already know which parts of Texas Law serve that. Keep it tighter and more specific than your optional essay. Name the clinics and the AI programs, and tie each to something you have actually done. The interviewer, a former employment clinic student and legal aid lawyer, will notice whether you name real offerings or speak vaguely.

Talking points

Lead with the goal: representing Texas wage claimants, ideally back near the border
Name the clinic draw and the Calderón & Pike attorneys who trained in Texas Law clinics, then the experiential credits you'd use for wage cases
Tie your AI checklist work to the AI Skills Program or Kevin Frazier's AI Innovation and Law Program
Mention the Mithoff Pro Bono Pledge alongside keeping your Eastside Wage Clinic Saturdays
Have you looked at whether a specific employment or labor clinic exists? If so, name it; if not, don't guess

To think about

Which specific Texas Law clinic or course actually handles employment or wage work, and have you checked by name rather than relying on your coworkers' stories?

Avoid: Pasting your optional essay. Under a character cap, every line must name a Texas offering or a fact about you. Don't invent clinic names. The Immigration Clinic is real, but only cite it if you can honestly link it to your immigrant worker clients.

From: Gabriela's application · the question and its sources

What ties do you have to Texas or Austin?

A preview, based on Gabriela, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your LSAC application to preview your own.

Material

Eagle Pass: bookkeeping for Salinas Auto Glass from age 14, running the shop in spring 2020 Deep family roots in South Texas, which this interviewer specifically cares about.

The angle

Talking points

Unlock to read the rest, for every question.

Live interview with a dean (rare)

So tell me, why UT, and why law? Sample applicant

Based on Gabriela, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your LSAC application to get this from your own background.

Material

Personal statement: the $1,140 owed to Don Rogelio in your father's Eagle Pass shop, spring 2020 Your 'why law' starts here, and in conversation it works as one short story, not the full essay.
Calderón & Pike: the limits you name (deciding which claim to bring, arguing contractor vs. employee) plus the AI tool review (7 of 30 charts wrong) Shows you know exactly which part of the work needs a lawyer, which is the real answer to 'why law'.
Why Texas statement: TWC wage claims, the 2023 state law displacing Austin's water-break rule, attorneys who trained in Texas Law clinics, wanting to practice near the border, Saturdays at Eastside Wage Clinic Gives 'why UT' reasons tied to Texas law and Texas workers, not just geography.

The angle

The dean wants to hear your reasons hold up in plain talk, and yours are unusually concrete: four years doing the math on wage claims and knowing where your job stops and a lawyer's begins. Link the two halves. You want to be a lawyer for Texas workers under Texas rules (TWC, state preemption), and UT is where you can learn that law, carry real cases in a clinic and keep your Saturday desk. An interviewer who has worked both sides of wage cases will notice whether your examples come from real work.

Talking points

Open briefly on the Eagle Pass payroll book and the $1,140. One or two lines, then move on.
Bridge to Calderón & Pike: you can rebuild the hours, but you can't argue the contractor question or defend the notebook. Mention the AI tool's double-counted overtime as proof the judgment part is what matters.
Pivot to Texas: TWC process and the water-break preemption as law you want to argue, not just have feelings about.
Name UT specifics: the clinic experience your attorneys described, and which Texas Law clinic you'd actually want. Have you looked up which ones handle employment or wage work?
Close on staying in Texas, ideally near the border, and keeping your Eastside Wage Clinic Saturdays during school.

To think about

Which specific Texas Law clinic or course would you name for wage and employment work? Your statement says 'a clinic' without naming one. Also, what draws you back to the border: Eagle Pass, your family, or the clients?

Avoid: Don't retell the whole personal statement. The dean has read it, so keep Don Rogelio short and spend your time on why UT. Avoid overclaiming the drywall settlement as your own win; the attorneys settled it. If the conversation turns to the water-break law, give your view as a legal question and respect the other side. Your interviewer once defended employers.

From: Gabriela's application · the question and its sources

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