How To Avoid Your Admissions Offer Being Rescinded

How To Avoid Your Admissions Offer Being Rescinded

You’ve been accepted into your dream law school. That doesn’t mean you can punch your ticket as a member of the Class of 2022.
While rare, it is possible to have your decision revoked, experts say.
“The technical answer is ‘yes, that could happen,’ and we have seen it,” Mike Spivey of Spivey Consulting writes.
Dropped Grades
One of the most common reasons why a law school rescinds an offer is due to a drop in grades.
Spivey says his consulting firm hasn’t seen many rescinded offers. However, when they have seen, it was most likely due to a drop in grades.
“The common mistake that the students made was that they let the school discover the drop in grades instead of telling said school and putting the grade drop into context,” Spivey writes.
If your grades do drop after an acceptance, Spivey recommends letting the school know and giving an explanation.
“The point, then, is that if your GPA drops, particularly if it drops below the school’s median, the school will find out,” he writes. “It is still exceptionally unlikely (and we can’t emphasize that enough) your offer would be rescinded, but it also behooves one to let the school know. They are going to find out anyway.”
Character and Fitness
Another reason why law schools may rescind an offer is if applicants show poor character and fitness or misrepresent themselves in their application.
“I can think of a case where an admitted student was drunkenly unruly during the entire admitted students program – not just at night, but during the classroom experiences also,” Spivey writes.
It’s also important to be truthful in your application—even when it comes to a criminal background.
“The most common threat of misconduct I have encountered as a law school admissions counselor is omission of information,” Michelle Kim Hall, a consultant at Stratus Law School Admissions Consulting and contributor at US News, writes. “Each cycle I work with several clients who are worried that academic probation, disciplinary citations or criminal histories will hurt their chances of getting admitted to law school.”
Hall says it’s better to be truthful about yourself in an application that try to hide information.
“While you may be tempted to omit certain aspects of your past, it is imperative to disclose such information when requested on the application,” she writes. “Note that some law schools will even ask for an explanation of misconduct that has been expunged from your record.”
While a rescinded offer can be possible, Spivey says, applicants shouldn’t worry too much.
“As a life rule, the best thing to do is to admit when you do something wrong, take measures to correct that wrong deed, and then to move on,” he writes. “If you follow this advice alone, even if something happens, you should be fine.”
Sources: Spivey Consulting, US News

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