As I’ve mentioned in earlier entries, the Admissions Committee takes into consideration every element when reviewing your application: LSAT, undergraduate and graduate GPA and transcripts, letters of recommendation, resume, work experience, life experience, personal statement and addendum (should you have needed to write one). 

I tell my clients right up front that I cannot and will not guarantee that they will be accepted to a specific law school, nor will I guarantee that they won’t be accepted to a specific school.  I do not have the advantage of serving on the Admissions Committee and being able to read your application along with the other thousands that have been received for the upcoming year. 

In researching law schools, you noticed that each school indicates a range of LSAT scores and a range of GPAs for accepted students.  This range covers the 25th – 75th percentiles, which means the school also accepts above the range and below the range:

• Should your LSAT and GPA fall way above both ranges, I’d say that you have a very, very strong chance of being accepted.  As your consultant, I would not guarantee your acceptance because maybe there is something else going on in your application that I’m not aware of, something you haven’t shared with me.  However, the odds are very much in your favor.
• Should your LSAT and GPA fall way below both ranges, as your consultant, I would tell you that it’s going to be an uphill challenge to get in.  However, maybe there’s some other aspect of your file that you haven’t shared with me that particularly attracts the attention of the Admissions Committee.
• Should your LSAT and GPA fall solidly within the middle or near the top end of the ranges, once again, you have a solid chance of being accepted.
• Should your LSAT and/or GPA fall at the lower end or just below the 25th percentile, then the Admissions Committee looks for some other aspect of your application to help compensate for the lower LSAT/GPA.  If one isn’t as competitive, they look for the other to be more competitive. 

Which brings me to the three decisions awarded by the Admissions Committee:

• Acceptance
• Denial
• Deferral or waitlisted.  The Admissions Committee has fully reviewed your application and determined that there are some aspects of your application that are exactly what they’re looking for, and yet, there are other aspects that are not quite as competitive.   They are unable to accept you at this time, but they also do not wish to turn you away.  As a result, you could be waitlisted or receive a defer decision – both of which mean that a final &yes& or &no& will be determined at a later date, possibly in two weeks, in a month, or two months from now.

As you are learning, applying to law school is very much a hurry-up-and-wait process.  You exert much effort in a short amount of time to take the LSAT, request your letters of recommendation, craft your personal essay, and submit your application.  Now comes the hard part…calling upon your patience as you wait to learn one of the three decisions above.

"What about transferring to another law school after my first year?" It is a very common question posed by my clients.

The Admissions Committee is required to bring in a first-year entering class of a certain size determined by administration) in order to meet budget projections. On the other hand, there is no class size requirement for transfer students. If ten transfer applicants qualify for admission, then the ten will be accepted. If no transfer applicants qualify for admission, then none will be accepted.

The Committee is looking to accept applicants who will enhance its student body; therefore, it is essential to earn strong grades at your current institution. Generally, a transfer applicant must provide the following material to be considered:

» Application

» Letter(s) of recommendation, at least one being from a first-year law school professor

» Certification letter from the law school confirming that you are in good standing and able to continue legal studies there should you choose to do so

» Official LSDAS report

» Final transcripts from all schools attended

» Transcript of first-year law school grades

» Personal statement. Be sure to include your reason for wishing to transfer.

» Application fee

Because it might take awhile for your first-year grades to become available, it is possible that your transfer application will not be reviewed until July. Some schools may allow you to submit copies of your grade reports – or some other documentation indicating your grades – until your official transcript becomes available.

Each law school’s Admissions Committee has set its own transfer application process, such as number of letters of recommendation to submit. Be sure to call each school to learn its specific requirements.

Over the weeks we’ve discussed the various components of the application: the application form itself, the LSAT score, academic history, letters of recommendation and personal statement. This week I’d like to introduce one additional element that some of you may need to submit: the addendum. What is an addendum? Who should write one? What is the objective of an addendum? Keep reading…

While reviewing your application, it is very common for an Admissions Committee member to question something that he/she just read. Most of the time, these questions will center on some aspect of your grades or LSAT. For example, if you’ve taken the LSAT twice, and one score (hopefully your most recent one) is dramatically higher, the Admissions Committee is going to wonder what happened. There is no need to be concerned; you simply need to address the question. And you do so in an addendum. Most likely, you felt that your first score isn’t indicative of your true ability, so in order to make your application more competitive, you retook the test. Maybe the first time you took the test, you weren’t feeling well, or circumstances arose that limited your prep time. Just say so.

The Admissions Committee is going to examine every aspect of your academic transcripts. Perhaps you initially intended to major in mathematics, so a majority of your classes were math related. Then you changed majors to history. The Committee is going to notice the conflicting subject emphasis and wonder what happened. Once again, there is no need to be concerned, but you need to answer the question somewhere in your application. Now here’s the tricky part. Depending on how you frame your personal statement, you may refer to the change in majors there. But if it doesn’t fit in your statement, then you can comment on it in an addendum.

What are your grade trends? Did you start off with a 2.8 your first year, and then earn a 3.5 or higher each subsequent semester? What caused this? Were you homesick? Dealing with a personal issue? Facing an illness? Maybe you drifted your first year and had no direction. It’s ok. Life happens. Know, however, that the Admissions Committee is going to look for an explanation somewhere in your file.

I’ve worked with many clients who transferred schools, and this will be obvious to the Admissions Committee when it comes across multiple transcripts. Why did you transfer? Why did you choose to attend the original school? What attracted you to the school to which you transferred?

If you’ve determined that you need to write an addendum, the next question is how to do so. Whereas the personal statement is just that – personal – the addendum is very straight forward and succinct. You clearly state what issue/problem you wish to address and provide the explanation. If it applies to your situation, emphasize the learning experience and accentuate the positive. Be concise. When you are ready to submit your application, be sure to attach the addendum in addition to your personal statement and resume.

The Admissions Committee offers you the advantageous opportunity to explain any discrepancies in your application by utilizing the option of writing an addendum. If you don’t address the issue, you allow the Admissions Officer to assume, and you want to avoid that at all costs. Take advantage of the addendum. It is definitely worth it.

Ok, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty of writing the personal statement.

Two entries ago, I explained that there are two different types of essays: the open topic vs. specific questions. In this entry, I’d like to further delve into what it takes to develop a first-rate "open topic" essay.

You can be successful in business without an MBA, but you cannot be a lawyer without a law degree. Therefore, the Admissions Committee is not able look at your past legal experience as a predictor for law school success. Instead, the Committee wants to see what successes in the past indicate that you will succeed in law school and beyond, hence, the personal statement.

Very few law schools offer official interviews, so the papers in your file need to stand on their own and reflect why a law school should accept you. It is through your personal statement that the Admissions Committee learns who you are, and what makes you special and different from the other thousands of applicants. This is the place to brag about yourself…the key is to not sound like you’re bragging.

And now we begin to address the personal statement, which is my favorite part of the application. It is through the personal statement that I felt like I got to know you the person, hence, why it is called the personal statement.

My biggest frustration was the applicant who wrote something like: "I’ve always wanted to go to law school. It’s a very prestigious profession, and I want to make the world a better place. To do that I need to be able to change/create policy, and to do that I need a law degree." What’s wrong with these words? Anyone can write them, so in reality, it is a missed opportunity to set yourself apart from all of your fellow applicants.

I look at the personal statement as very valuable real estate. The Admissions Committee is giving you the chance to sell yourself. What makes you special and different than any other applicant? Why should the law school accept you? Few law schools offer official interviews; therefore, it is those pieces of paper in your file that represent who you are. You need to brag about yourself without sounding like you’re bragging about yourself. This can be a challenge for a lot of us because we were taught not to brag.

You are unique. It’s in your hands to tell me how.