This is part of a continuing series of blogs from our team of Admissions Consultants here at Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions, showcasing various facets of a candidate’s law school application. Click here for more information on Admissions Consulting from Kaplan.

In recent weeks, there’s been a whole lot of hoopla over the incorporation of LSAC’s new “evaluation” service. But make no mistake about it: letters of recommendation (LOR’s) are, generally speaking, still the most important third-party references in the law school application process. How – you might ask – should you go about choosing your recommenders?

Call me a worrier, but based on nearly two decades of experience in writing such letters, as well as advising applicants on whom to select, the first thing that I strongly advise is that you create an initial list that contains at least one more recommender than you need. Every year, I hear from applicants who are either surprised when a potential letter writer says “no” to their request or are simply unable to track down or get a response from a chosen recommender. Quite frankly, you never know when you’re going to need a back-up.

Second, it is absolutely critical that you mainly consider individuals who have seen you in action – firsthand. Please don’t do what a student of mine once did and get your letter from one of the world’s leading businessmen – a household name – who had worked closely with his father for twenty years. Trust me. Having read a lot of these recommendations before, I can tell you that “I’ve seen Johnny at the company picnics for the past 10 years, and he’s a smart boy” just doesn’t work. In fact, if the quality of such a letter turns out to be not very good, your LOR strategy could actually backfire as it can indicate a serious case of bad judgment on your part.

My second point relates to the third: Consider individuals who are likely to not only write favorable letters, but strong, detailed letters of support, which include specific examples of your actions that they have seen firsthand. Admissions reviewers expect to read good letters – after all, you, the applicants, are personally choosing your letter writers. So, one would hope that they’re at least supportive. However, if you really want your application to shine, a strong, detailed letter, filled with examples that provide evidence of your strengths is crucial.

Fourth and finally, as you develop your list of recommenders, consider the context in which each potential letter writer has interacted with you. Most applicants who are currently attending a university or who have recently graduated should typically tilt their group of recommenders toward faculty members who have taught them. On the other hand, it is perfectly acceptable for applicants who have been out of school for a few years to weight their mix toward professional recommenders.

Despite these general guidelines, there is “not”— absolutely not – a one size fits all formula for creating your list of recommenders. And please don’t feel that you’ve got to choose recommenders who have all seen you in the same context. I’m especially talking to you, college students and recent graduates! Rather than submit four great letters from faculty, wouldn’t it be even better if you had at least one great letter in the mix from someone – such as, a community service organizer or an internship supervisor – who has seen you in action outside of academia?

By following the above pointers, you should find yourself with a clear path toward choosing the first recommenders for your Law School LOR list. But, wait a minute. Just because you’ve started to create a list – or in fact even if you’ve already created a list – it doesn’t mean that your job of thinking about LOR’s is over. You’ve still got important work to do!

Applicants usually don’t realize this, but the fact is that they can play an active role in the letter of recommendation process. Here are several specific steps that you can take to increase the likelihood of receiving stronger letters:

· Provide your recommenders with ample time – at least four weeks – to write their letters.

· Do not simply ask your supporters to write you “a letter of recommendation,” but instead, ask if each will write you a “strong, detailed letter of recommendation.” If a recommender asks, “What do you mean by strong?” it might be a good idea to look for a substitute.

· Make the process less burdensome for your recommenders by providing them with information about you that will make it easier for them to craft your letters. More specifically, be sure to present each supporter with:

§ A cover letter that briefly explains why you are applying to law school and provides a heartfelt “thank you.”

§ Reminders of courses you’ve taken with them, grades, and even old course papers (with evaluations, if possible) for targeted faculty recommenders, and workplace evaluations for professional recommenders

§ A copy of your resume

§ University transcripts (if they are pertinent and show evidence of your academic abilities)

§ The date by which each letter needs to be submitted (i.e., not a school’s actual deadline date, but ideally a date prior to the day that you will submit your application)

While the content within your LOR’s is ultimately in the hands of your letter writers, the process must be managed by you. Again, letters of recommendation are still an important part of the Law School Admissions decision. So, don’t just ask someone for a letter. Think this process through carefully, lay out a plan, and prepare your recommenders for action.

The law school application process is certainly not easy to navigate. For the last two months, we’ve focused our attention on the personal statement. Now, we turn to letters of recommendation. What are law schools looking to learn about you? Our team of Admissions Consultants here at Kaplan breaks it down.

Ahhhh. It must be spring. A little birdie just flew in my window and told me that at least a few thousand of youwho will be applying to law school this fall are already thinking about whom to ask for letters of recommendation. In the process, I know that many of you are going to be including one or more letters from current and perhaps former employers. Before you do so, you might want to take this short quiz to find out if you’re ready to select and prepare your employerrecommenders for action. Answer the following seven questions, and then check your responses against eachcorresponding answer (located below each question). Note that for several questions, there may be more than one correct response. In those cases, your job is to choose the answer that is “most” correct.

Tally your correct responses, and tell us how you did.

Ø 5 or fewer correct responses: You’re probably not ready to ask for employer LOR’s. You need to spend a lot more time working through the issues involved in recommender selection.

Ø 6 correct responses: You’re nearly there, but you should think things through a bit more.

Ø 7 correct responses: You’re ready to ask your employer for a Law School LOR!

1. Who among the following is likely to carry the most clout among law school admissions reviewers?

a. A high ranking executive at your company who doesn’t know you well, but who has the kind of powerful job title and reputation that might “wow” reviewers

b. A colleague who has the same work responsibilities that you do and will write anything in the letter that you tell him to

c. A direct supervisor who has provided you with your assignments,reviewed your work and seen you carry out your responsibilities firsthand

As tempting as they may be, options “a” and “b,” the high-powered executive who doesn’t know you well and the colleague / friend who will write anything you want are not at the top of the list when it comes to employer recommenders. In fact, more often than not, they’re closer to the bottom. (We won’t even mention the fact that your colleague in this case is not really your employer.) Law School admissions reviewers typically prefer to see a recommendation from a supervisor who has had the opportunity to manage and observe you – the kind of person who understands not only your strengths and accomplishments, but your weaknesses as well.Therefore, answer choice “c” is correct.Note, however, that a supervisor isn’t necessarily the only excellent option when it comes to selecting a recommender from the workplace. Other possibilities include a higher ranking colleaguewho may not have served as your direct supervisor, but who has seen you in action and worked directly with you, and even a vendor who has had a business relationship with you and your company (though strictly speaking, the latter would not be classified as your employer).

2. Which of the following willtypically provide a greater edge in the admissions process?

a. An LOR that endorses your candidacy for law school and focuses primarily on the qualities that you need to improve in order to become more effective

b. A letter that strongly endorses your candidacy for law school andpresents specific examples that highlight your skills, abilities and accomplishments

c. A concise one paragraph letter that saves time for busy application reviewers by getting right to the point indeclaring you to bethe best employee that your recommender has ever supervised

Although a recommender’s letter might be taken more seriously if he or she briefly refers to a weakness of yours after making a strong case for your candidacy, choice “a,” a letter that primarily focuses on your weaknesses is likely to do a lot more harm than good. Just as importantly, while Law School reviewers don’t want to read a 500 page novel, option “c,” a short, one paragraph endorsement, is simply not going to provide reviewers with enough information about your abilities. The best practice for your employerrecommendersis to support their praise with examples that highlight your abilities and accomplishments – answer choice “b.”

3. Which quality or qualities should your employer recommenders highlight?

a. Teamwork

b. Analytical Abilities

c. Research Skills

d. Leadership

e. High Ethical Values

f. Financial Experience

g. Attention to Detail

h. Scientific / Technical Background

i. Communication Skills

j. Ability to Think on Your Feet

k. All of the Above

l. A Select Combination of the Above, and, or Other Potential Qualities

While it is true that core qualities such as research, analytical and communication skills can carry you a long way in the field of law, these abilities don’t represent the only critical strengths that law schools are looking for in prospective applicants. For instance, law school reviewers can be highly impressed by an employerletter that highlights the scientific background of an applicant who is seeking a career in intellectual property law. At the same time, LOR emphasis on strong financial experience can bode well for an applicant seeking a career as an attorney for a Wall Street firm. But just because there are a wide variety of skills which recommenders may choose to focus on doesn’t mean that they should endorse option “k,” “all of the above.”Going that route would simply turn the letter into an unfocused laundry list. Nor should your recommenders present you as a “one trick pony” by focusing on a single quality (answer choices “a” through “j”). Rather, the best practice is for an employer recommender to highlight a select number of qualities, perhaps, two to five key attributes,which may or may not be included in the above list – option “l”. Finally, I should point out that since law schools are looking for applicants who work well with others, and since employer recommenders are usually more likely than faculty recommenders to see their applicants in team-based situations, it would be great if at least one of the qualities highlighted by your employer recommender focused on some aspect of your interpersonal skills.

4. Which of the following statements is most true?

a. My employer recommender should compare me to peers of mine that he or she has supervised or observed.

b. My employer recommender shouldn’t compare me to others he or she has supervised or observedbecause my job is not in the field of law.

c. My recommender shouldn’t compare me to others he or she has supervised or observed– regardless of the nature of my work – because law schools want to know only why I’m a strong candidate, not how I compare to others at my job.

Options “b” and “c” are generally incorrect. The best employer LOR’s will usually compare the applicant to members of his or her peer group (e.g., other assistant analysts, researchers, nurses, associates, summer interns, elementary school teachers, etc.). Therefore, the correct response can be found in answer choice “a.”Such comparisons can provide law school reviewers with important reference points that can help them to better gauge the overall strength of LOR’s.

5. To ensure that your employer recommender is ready to write an effective LOR for you, you should ask him or her for:

a. A letter of recommendation

b. A strong letter of recommendation

c. The strongest letter of support that he or she has ever written

Asking employers for “a letter” of recommendation can have very good results. Keep in mind, however, that in a small, but significant number of cases, when simply asked to write “a letter,” a number of recommenders will just crank out what has been asked for – a supportive, but rather basic endorsement. The problem is that since nearly all Law School LOR’s are supportive (after all, everyone gets to choose their own recommenders), a letter that is simply good will not be enough to separate you from the broader applicant pool. Therefore, it is usually not advisable to ask only for a letter of recommendation, answer choice “a.” That does not mean that you should pressure your recommender to write the best letter that he or she has ever written (choice “c”). It would be unwiseto put unwarranted pressure on your supporters. Moreover, this might cause them to write letters filled with “fluff,” rather than heartfelt prose. Ultimately, requesting a “strong letter of recommendation,” answer choice “b,” is typically your best option. Indeed, some of you might even consider asking for a strong, detailed letter – as long as you let your recommenders knowin advance that you can provide reminders about your work together, lest they become concerned about whether they have the time to recall the necessary detail.

6. If your recommender says that he or she doesn’t have the time to write an LOR and requests that you write it, you should:

a. Say, “thanks, but no thanks,” and immediately begin looking for another recommender

b. Indicate that you won’t be able to write the letter yourself and make clear that you need your recommender to write it on his or her own

c. Give in and write the darned letter

d. Explain why you cannot write the letter and offer to sit down with the recommender over lunch or coffeeto providehelpful information, such as your résumé, copies of past performance reviews and even an outline or set of talking pointsthat will make the recommender’s task of writing the LOR much easier

When requesting an employer LOR, the “you write it, I’ll sign it” issue comes up all the time. In most cases, the issue isn’t that your employer recommender is a poor writer (although if he or she is, this might lead you to consider an alternative option). Rather your employers are extremely busy, a good number of them are not quite sure what goes into an effective Law School LOR, and therefore many find the task to be a great chore. Nevertheless, you need to avoid option “c,” writing the letter yourself. Although doing so is not at all unusual in business,when it comes to the world of admissions, many Law School reviewers consider this to be the equivalent of application fraud. This ethical consideration is buttressed by a practical one: some admissions officers are quite good at spotting stylistic similarities between an applicant’s personal statement and letters of recommendation. While you should not write your letters of recommendation, you also don’t want to prematurely walk away from someone who might be capable of writing you an outstanding LOR, which is answer choice “a.”Nor should you annoy your recommenders by simply re-stating that you need him or her to write the letter, as noted in option “b.”Instead, we suggest answer choice “d.” Explain to your recommenders why you cannot write the LOR, and give every assurance that you will help provide info to guide them in this process. This should make the recommender’s taskmuch more manageable. Of course, if in the end, this doesn’t work, you may have to say “thanks, but no thanks.”

7. What is the rule of thumb regarding the number ofemployer recommendationsyou should submit?

a. One – just to ensure that you add variety to your pool of faculty LOR’s.

b. Two – particularly, if you are submitting two faculty recommendations, thereby providing the perfect balance

c. There is “no one size fits all” solution – the number of employer recommendations that you should submit depends on the circumstances

The answer to this question can be found in option “c.” There is simply not a “one size fits all” approach to determining how many employer LOR’s to submit. The actual number will depend on your specific circumstances. If, for instance, you’ve been out of school for many years, it is possible that most, and in some cases, all, of your letters will comefrom employers (though we strongly encourage diversity in your recommender pool). To be sure, if you already know that you cannot get a strong letter of support from your employer but that you’re likely LOR’s from other sources would be outstanding, you might not end up submitting any employer letters. In short, the true number of employer letters that you should submit will depend on your full consideration of all recommender options.

While applicants should already be aware that you will need to secure letters of recommendation (LOR) to support your law school application, you may not have heard much about whom you should ask, or even about what constitutes a strong LOR. Our Kaplan web site offers many great tips and guidelines to help you create a strong, competitive application, including offering advice on LORs.

One of the first things to understand is that the most valuable letters for “traditional” (i.e. those still in college) applicants will come from your professors. Unfortunately, it’s not at all unusual for college students to say that they find it difficult to get to know professors. Hopefully however, you’ve heeded the advice of your advisors and have found a way to connect personally with your faculty, and have allowed at least a few of them an opportunity to get to know you. If you haven’t already taken advantage of your teaching faculty, you still have time to drop into office hours and introduce yourself, or to make an individual appointment to talk about your academic and professional goals. What to talk about, you say? That’s easy - talk about what you are enjoying in the class or college in general, what you’re thinking about your future plans, your summer plans, or ask about something that interests you from class. Faculty love to talk about their courses and research. That’s a start.

Because it’s common for applicants to be unsure about whom to ask for a letter, often an applicant will ask his or her academic advisor. Sometimes, this can turn out all right, most notably if you’ve also taken a course from your advisor. Otherwise, sure, your advisor and you might have a nice rapport sitting around and talking about the “what if’s” as you consider electives. However, if the sole extent of your interaction has been limited to discussions about majors and course selection, then your advisor probably is not the best person to write an LOR for you. The better person to approach for an LOR is a faculty member who can offer some insight into your academic abilities, as well as describe how you approach learning, and how you work with others. That means the best academic letters typically come from teaching faculty who have had the opportunity to see the applicant “in action” in their classroom, and also have gotten to know you a bit. Very importantly, the writer should know about your desire to enter law school, and the reasons for your decision (consider providing them with a copy of your personal essay). As you think about your teaching faculty, consider what skills and intellectual attributes will be of value in law school. For example, being a law student/lawyer requires a great deal of writing and excellent analytical skills. These are tested for on the LSAT. Consider asking for an LOR from a professor in whose class you did a lot of analytical and/or comparative writing - maybe someone from political science, history, English literature, policy analysis, etc.

One of the most important things you should know about the content of your LORs is that they should be “personal”. Often applicants make the mistake of placing too much emphasis of the “brand” factor of their writer, thinking that an important name or title will carry weight with the admissions committee. This applicant, for example, will often choose, as a letter-writer, the judge who was the parent of their best childhood friend but who doesn’t really know the applicant, or the lawyer from down the street for whom the applicant babysat occasionally, or a public official with whom your mom or dad sat on a committee but the applicant only met briefly once. Such letters really have only “throwaway” value. To satisfy the “personal” factor, it’s a much smarter choice to ask someone with whom you have had more one-to-one face time, even if that person has a lesser “title.” Of course, if the judge or public official knows you well personally because you interned for them, now that’s the best of both worlds!

The next criterion for a strong LOR is for it to be evaluative and comparative. Of course, you want letters from people who like you. The vast majority of people who agree to write letters will make it a positive one. (HINT: If someone that you’ve asked for a letter tells you that they won’t be able to write much more about you than that you earned an A, a B, or whatever, that’s the time for you to head out the door and look for someone else!) Yet, many letter-writers have never been informed about how to write a strong LOR, or about what admissions committees like to see in letters. Typically, writers will include a bunch of complimentary words and phrases, but neglect to put them into context. Great LORs will offer an assessment of the student, and go further to compare the applicant to others in the class (either to current students or to students the professor has taught in the past.) The comparison approach might be something like: “Jane is the most involved student I have taught in my public policy course in the last five years. She actively sought the leadership role for the class capstone project, and kept the team focused on evaluating the services and outcomes for XXXXX agency. Jane showed tremendous leadership skill in guiding the group to formulate strategy and action plans, resulting in an on time deliverable. Jane’s maturity, excellent time management skills, and her adaptable coaching style resulted in a very well crafted summary, which she led her team in presenting to the agency’s senior leadership. In fact, Jane and her team’s plan was of such a high caliber that the agency decided to implement all of the team’s recommendations.”

You will see on their application site, that the LSAC provides a Letter Form for applicants to download, complete, and provide to letter writers to accompany their LORs. It’s important to be aware of which schools require this form, and which recommend it. It is also very important that the LOR be submitted on official letterhead, and signed. While this seems self-evident, it is not at all uncommon for LORs to arrive on plain paper, and for the writer to have neglected to sign it. One very handy tool to help your writers do a great job for you, is to provide your writers with a “tip” sheet” that includes important points to help them craft their LOR and submit it appropriately.

You can’t (and shouldn’t) write your own letters, but you can (and should) take gentle ownership of the process to support your letter-writing faculty. Faculty are very busy, especially at the end of the academic year, so it’s in your best personal interest to make it easy for your writers to provide you with great, supportive, informative, and timely LORs.

This is the second in a continuing series of blogs from our team of Admissions Consultants here at Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions, showcasing various facets of a candidate’s law school application. Click here for more information on Admissions Consulting from Kaplan.

"Nailing Your Letters of Recommendation"

In recent weeks, there’s been a whole lot of hoopla over the incorporation of LSAC’s new "evaluation" service. But make no mistake about it: letters of recommendation (LOR’s) are, generally speaking, still the most important third-party references in the law school application process. How – you might ask – should you go about choosing your recommenders?

Call me a worrier, but based on nearly two decades of experience in writing such letters, as well as advising applicants on whom to select, the first thing that I strongly advise is that you create an initial list that contains at least one more recommender than you need. Every year, I hear from applicants who are either surprised when a potential letter writer says "no" to their request or are simply unable to track down or get a response from a chosen recommender. Quite frankly, you never know when you’re going to need a back-up.

Second, it is absolutely critical that you mainly consider individuals who have seen you in action – firsthand. Please don’t do what a student of mine once did and get your letter from one of the world’s leading businessmen – a household name – who had worked closely with his father for twenty years. Trust me. Having read a lot of these recommendations before, I can tell you that "I’ve seen Johnny at the company picnics for the past 10 years, and he’s a smart boy" just doesn’t work. In fact, if the quality of such a letter turns out to be not very good, your LOR strategy could actually backfire as it can indicate a serious case of bad judgment on your part.

My second point relates to the third: Consider individuals who are likely to not only write favorable letters, but strong, detailed letters of support, which include specific examples of your actions that they have seen firsthand. Admissions reviewers expect to read good letters – after all, you, the applicants, are personally choosing your letter writers. So, one would hope that they’re at least supportive. However, if you really want your application to shine, a strong, detailed letter, filled with examples that provide evidence of your strengths is crucial.

Fourth and finally, as you develop your list of recommenders, consider the context in which each potential letter writer has interacted with you. Most applicants who are currently attending a university or who have recently graduated should typically tilt their group of recommenders toward faculty members who have taught them. On the other hand, it is perfectly acceptable for applicants who have been out of school for a few years to weight their mix toward professional recommenders.

Despite these general guidelines, there is "not"— absolutely not – a one size fits all formula for creating your list of recommenders. And please don’t feel that you’ve got to choose recommenders who have all seen you in the same context. I’m especially talking to you, college students and recent graduates! Rather than submit four great letters from faculty, wouldn’t it be even better if you had at least one great letter in the mix from someone – such as, a community service organizer or an internship supervisor – who has seen you in action outside of academia?

By following the above pointers, you should find yourself with a clear path toward choosing the first recommenders for your Law School LOR list. But, wait a minute. Just because you’ve started to create a list – or in fact even if you’ve already created a list – it doesn’t mean that your job of thinking about LOR’s is over. You’ve still got important work to do!

Applicants usually don’t realize this, but the fact is that they can play an active role in the letter of recommendation process. Here are several specific steps that you can take to increase the likelihood of receiving stronger letters:

• Provide your recommenders with ample time – at least four weeks – to write their letters.
• Do not simply ask your supporters to write you "a letter of recommendation," but instead, ask if each will write you a "strong, detailed letter of recommendation." If a recommender asks, "What do you mean by strong?" it might be a good idea to look for a substitute.
• Make the process less burdensome for your recommenders by providing them with information about you that will make it easier for them to craft your letters. More specifically, be sure to present each supporter with:
• A cover letter that briefly explains why you are applying to law school and provides a heartfelt "thank you."
        ♦ Reminders of courses you’ve taken with them, grades, and even old course papers
           (with evaluations, if possible) for targeted faculty recommenders, and workplace
           evaluations for professional recommenders
        ♦ A copy of your resume
        ♦ University transcripts (if they are pertinent and show evidence of your academic abilities)
        ♦ The date by which each letter needs to be submitted (i.e., not a school’s actual deadline date,
           but ideally a date prior to the day that you will submit your application)

While the content within your LOR’s is ultimately in the hands of your letter writers, the process must be managed by you. Again, letters of recommendation are still an important part of the Law School Admissions decision. So, don’t just ask someone for a letter. Think this process through carefully, lay out a plan, and prepare your recommenders for action.

September test scores are out.  Some of my clients do not feel that their scores are indicative of their true ability, and we’re discussing the pros/cons of retaking it on December 5th.  Check out my July 20th post "Thinking about retaking the LSAT?" where I address the topic.

What they are more concerned about, however, is whether the December administration will put them at a disadvantage because it is late in the admissions cycle.  I’ll address that today.

When law schools indicate a deadline date of February 1, March 1, March 15, etc., they understand that the December LSAT is a popular one, and they know that many qualified applicants will come out of that test.  Yes, spots will have already been filled, but spots are still open, too.

To get the competitive edge, you want to make sure that your application is in that first batch that are completed once the scores become available.  Let me explain.

Remember, you can apply to law school at any time.  You do not need to have taken the LSAT.  Your letters of recommendation and transcripts do not need to have been received by LSAC.  You can apply as soon as you’ve completed the application, and written your personal statement, addendum (if needed) and resume.  Once the Admissions Office receives this material, it will request your LSAT score, transcripts and letters of recommendation from LSAC. 

Here is the key…LSAC will send out this information to the law schools to which you applied only when all of the material - LSAT score, transripts and letters of recommendation - has been received.

If you choose to take the LSAT in December, your goal should be to submit your application beforehand or soon afterwards.  If you haven’t already done so, make sure to ask your recommenders to write your letters now.  And, submit the transcript request form to your registrar now if you haven’t yet done so.  You want to ensure that this material is received by LSAC as soon as possible.

A number of Admissions Offices close the week between Christmas and New Year’s.  Faculty are away on vacation.  It’s a very quiet time. By submitting your application before or soon after you take the test, you give the Admissions Office time to request your material from LSAC so that once your score becomes available, LSAC will mail out your packet, the Admissions Office will receive and file it, and your application will be considered complete and go to the Admissions Committee for review come the first of the year when everything picks up again.