PRELAW HANDBOOK - Choosing the Law School

CHOOSING THE LAW SCHOOL TO ATTEND
TOPICS

Most law schools use LSAT scores and GPAs to partition their applicants into three groups: presumptive admits, presumptive denies, and all the rest. The presumptive admits will generally be accepted barring some very negative information in their file. Similarly, the presumptive denies will generally be rejected barring some very positive information in their file. The applicants in this third group, after being compared to each other, will, in general, be partitioned into three groups: accepted, wait-listed, rejected.

The final step in the law school admission process is choosing the law school to attend. This can gets exciting when one or more of the law schools that wait-listed you are more desirable than the ones that accepted you. In this section, we shall indicate a procedure to follow in this situation.
TOPICS  _.

LINKS _.

DEADLINE ON A LAW SCHOOL ACCEPTANCE _..

SOME RULES OF THE LAW SCHOOL ADMISSION GAME _.

A PROCEDURE FOR GETTING INTO THE MOST
   DESIRABLE LAW SCHOOL THAT ACCEPTS YOU_.
THE CARE AND FEEDING OF LAW SCHOOLS THAT WAIT-LIST YOU _.
DEFERING LAW SCHOOL ADMISSION _.

WHAT TO DO BEFORE LAW SCHOOL BEGINS _.

WHAT TO DO IF APPLICATION REJECTED BY ALL _.

CHOOSING THE LAW SCHOOL TO ATTEND
DEADLINE ON A LAW SCHOOL ACCEPTANCE

The official position of the Law School Admission Council is: Except under early decision plans, no law school should require an enrollment commitment of any kind, binding or non-binding, to an offer of admission or scholarship prior to April 1. Admitted applicants who have submitted a timely financial aid application should not be required to commit to enroll by having to make a nonrefundable financial commitment until notified of financial aid awards that are within the control of the law school.

CHOOSING THE LAW SCHOOL TO ATTEND
SOME RULES OF THE LAW SCHOOL ADMISSION GAME

Inform law schools of your intentions. Once you are certain that you will not be attending a law schools to which you have applied and to which your application has not been rejected, send a letter to this law school's admissions office in order to inform them that you will be attending law school elsewhere; this way your seat can be offered to some other applicant.

Use certified mail/return receipt requested for important mailings. To reserve your seat at a law school that admitted you, you must submit, on or before the deadline indicated, a letter stating that you will be attending that law school. Very likely, you must also submit a seat deposit. To alleviate anxiety about timely receipt of your letter and, if required, seat deposit, use certified mail/return receipt requested (the cost is less than $5.00).

CHOOSING THE LAW SCHOOL TO ATTEND
A PROCEDURE FOR GETTING INTO
THE MOST DESIRABLE LAW SCHOOL
THAT ACCEPTS YOU

Do not feel that accepting admission to a law school is an irrevocable decision. Law schools expect that some applicants who accept admission will later decline admission; in fact, law schools even encourage this practice by accepting wait-listed applicants up until as late as early August. Note that your accepting and then rejecting admission to a law school will probably make two people happy: you and the person who takes your seat at the law school you accepted but later rejected.

The acceptance procedure. Before the deadline set (very likely this deadline will be April 1) by the most appealing law school that has accepted you, notify this law school, using certified mail/return receipt requested, that you are happy to accept their offer and, if required, pay the seat deposit.
     The other law schools that accepted you should be notified that you will be attending another law school
     The law schools that wait-listed you and are not as appealing as the law school whose offer you accepted should be notified that you will be attending another law school.
     For the law schools that wait-listed you and that are more appealing than the law school that you accepted, read the following subsection: The Care and Feeding of the Law Schools That Wait-Listed You. Keep in mind that your interest in a law school that is wait-listing you may decline as time goes on so continue to evaluate your interest in law schools that are wait-listing you.
    This is the end of the admission procedure for you unless, after already accepting admission to a law school, you receive an acceptance letter from a law school (most likely a law school that wait-listed you) more desirable than the law school whose offer you already accepted. What should you do now? This more desirable law school should be notified, using certified mail/return receipt requested, that you are happy to accept their offer (and, if required, pay the seat deposit).
     The law school whose offer you once accepted but are now rejecting should be notified that you will be attending another law school. Since you have nothing to lose, you should ask this law school for a refund on your seat deposit, dorm deposit, etc.. Why do this? Why not? There is no harm in trying.
     The law schools that are still wait-listing you and are not as appealing as the law school whose offer you just accepted should be notified that you will be attending another law school.
     For the law schools that are still wait-listing you and that are more appealing than the new law school that you accepted, continue to read the following subsection: The Care and Feeding of the Law Schools That Wait-Listed You.
     This is the end of the admission procedure for you unless a most appealing law school accepts you. If this happens, by now you should know what to do.
     In short, our procedure is to always accept an offer from the most appealing law school that accepts you and always notify the law schools that are out-of-the- running.
Disadvantage of this procedure. To reserve your seat at a law school that has admitted you, very likely you will be required to submit, on or before a given deadline, a seat deposit (a typical fee may be around $200). Some law schools may require a larger seat deposit circa July 1.These seat deposits are credited to your first-semester tuition but, if you do not register, these deposits may be forfeited or only partially refunded. The preceding procedure for getting into the most desirable law school that accepts you may involve the loss of one or more seat or dorm deposits. Our feeling is that this is a small price to pay for getting into the most desirable law school that eventually accepts you.

CHOOSING THE LAW SCHOOL TO ATTEND
THE CARE AND FEEDING OF LAW SCHOOLS
THAT WAIT-LISTED YOU



The Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools states, "If you have strong qualifications, but you do not quite meet the competition of those currently being admitted at a particular law school, you may be placed on a waiting list for possible admission at a later date. The law school will send you a letter notifying you of its final decision as early as April or as late as July [or even early August].
     In order to come near (over or under) to having a full incoming class, law schools use a waiting list; this waiting list is used when more students than expected decide not to attend.
     A law school that wait-lists you and that is less desirable than at least one law school that accepts you should be sent a letter indicating that you will not be attending their law school.

The Care and Feeding of the Law Schools That Wait-Listed You.
     The law schools that wait-listed you and that are more desirable than all the law schools that have accepted you should be catered to as long as you have an interest in these law schools and these law schools have an interest in you. This catering would involve making sure to:

Express your interest in attending their law school every two or three weeks. Do not overdo this.

If a wait-listed law school is your first choice, let them know that you will attend if an offer is made.

Send good news (e.g. excellent first-semester of senior year GPA, excellent senior year GPA, new honors
    received, improved LSAT score) with verification (e.g. transcript, certificate).

Send bad news only on demand.

Wait-listed applicants may be notified as late as early August so be prepared to act on short notice.

Whenever you lose interest in a law schoo that wait-listed you, write them a letter indicating that you will
    be attending another law school.

Gathering Information about Wait-Listed Applicants. New College of South Florida suggests that candidates wait-listed at a law school that interests them "contact the admissions office [at each of these law schools] and speak with a member of the professional staff to find out exactly what this means. Ask the following questions if they are not answered in the letter [that notified you that you were being wait-listed]:

How long is the wait-list?

What percentage of students on the wait-list are ultimately admitted?

Are wait-list students ranked? If so, ask what is your own ranking.

When are final decisions regarding the wait-list made?
Do not get discouraged even if you are ranked near the bottom of the waiting list. By the summer time, many of the people on the waiting list have already committed themselves (and not just financially) to a law school that has accepted them.

CHOOSING THE LAW SCHOOL TO ATTEND
DEFERING LAW SCHOOL ADMISSION

Applicants accepted to a law school are expected to deposit and register for classes the year (semester) in which they are accepted. It does happen that a deferment is necessary or desirable. The granting of a one-year deferment depends on the law school with responses ranging from almost always granting one to almost always never granting one. Note that if you are admitted from a waiting list, your chances of a deferment will usually not be very good. The granting of a deferment for more that one year is not very likely although some law schools will grant requests for a two-year deferment to someone participating in program that requires a two-year commitment (e.g. Teach For America). Even if a deferral is not granted, there is almost always the option of reapplying for admission at a later date.

CHOOSING THE LAW SCHOOL TO ATTEND
WHAT TO DO BEFORE LAW SCHOOL BEGINS

You may want to read one or both of the books.
Slaying the Law School Dragon: How to Survive--
    And Thrive--In First-Year Law School by George Roth. .
The Complete Law School Companion: How to Excel at
    America's Most Demanding Post-Graduate Curriculum by Jeff Deaver.

CHOOSING THE LAW SCHOOL TO ATTEND
WHAT TO DO IF APPLICATION REJECTED BY ALL

This is a time for soul searching. Ask yourself if it is still your desire to attend law school even if your best shot may involve retaking the LSAT, waiting a year or two, and then attending a law school that is, at best, semi-respectable._.
Many students who do not get into at least one law school on their first attempt do eventually get into a law school. _.
If your LSAT score was not respectable consider RETAKING THE LSAT again but only after great effort in preparing for the test and with practice LSAT test scores several points greater than your latest LSAT test score. _.
You can change your short-term career plans and your long-term career plans. It is more than possible to change career plans and then later decide to apply to law school. _.
The problem might be that you have more ambition than ability. In which case, you need to downsize your expectations. _.
Talk to someone in the prelaw office. _.
Consider obtaining a graduate degree and then reapplying to law school; note that it usually takes two years to obtain a Master's degree including an MBA and and a Masters' of Public Administration (MPA).   _.
A person can increase his/her chances of being accepted into an acceptable law school by working for two or three years. _. .
Many law schools loosen their requirements for students who seek admission at times other than in the fall or who apply to the part-time (four year) program. _.
If you apply to law school again, apply to at least ten law schools and include many "safety" schools.

The Pre-Law Handbook of New College (of Florida) offers some encouraging words for those not admitted to a law school that they want to attend, "[I]t is not the end of the world--you can try again, and schools encourage taking time off after college anyway. But first, examine the reasons why you were not competitive. Was it a bad recommendation letter? A poor LSAT score? Did you apply to too few schools? Attempt to correct any problems before applying a second time and also try to get experience through a law-related job or internship. Don't get overly discouraged--it is not unusual to find well-known lawyers who did not get in the first time they applied!

The University of Michigan Prelaw gives advice to those who have been rejected by all the law schools to which they applied: "You also may want to reevaluate the law schools to which you applied. You may have set your original expectations far to high and in reapplying you may need to set more realistic admission goals. If you are truly interested in studying the law, there is a law school for you and it will give you the skills necessary to pass the state bar exam. Earning a successful living as a lawyer requires many attributes not taught in law school." ... "Some students consider graduate programs to improve their competitiveness for admission to law school. Graduate school grades are not used in the admission process. Rather the degree is another characteristic about you to be weighed in the admission process."

The University of Massachusetts Prelaw Advising gives the following advice on reapplication to law school: "It is not uncommon for individuals to reapply to law school. A couple of reasons why an individual might decide to reapply can be due to the timing of their application or their academic credentials weren't as strong as they could have been. The admissions process to law school is extremely competitive. In order to be successful in reapplying to law school, your application needs to have changed in some significant manner. You will need to demonstrate effort to improve your application by taking classes, retaking the LSAT [and doing better], or gaining more experience. Applications that are resubmitted without any significant change do not fare well in the application process the second time around. It is highly recommended that reapplicants consider taking more than a year in between application processes. This amount of time will allow for the application to grow in its strength and provide the applicant with a better chance at being accepted to law school.

CHOOSING THE LAW SCHOOL TO ATTEND
TRANSFERRING LAW SCHOOLS

During your first year of law school, you may feel that in the garden of law schools you picked a lemon. First make sure that the problem can be solved by attending another law school. If this is the case, attempting to transfer to another law school may seem appealing. As might be guessed, the policy on accepting transfer students does vary from law school to law school. Some research will be required to determine to which law schools you should apply as a transfer student. If you have done very well during your first year, you may even be able to upgrade your law school. Note that even some law schools which only accept beginning law students for the fall semester, may accept transfers for the fall semester and also for the spring semester. Also note that it may be possible to visit another law school for a semester or year.

What if you graduate law school and decide that you do not want to be a lawyer? Check out the Pre-Law Handbook of New College; it offers ALTERNATIVE CAREERS FOR LAWYERS (scroll down to Chapter 9).