The “Don’t Forgets” of Your Law School Application

Applying to law school requires extensive time investment. From LSAT prep to transcript requests and essays, it can be easy to fall behind in the process.

Anna Ivey, of Anna Ivey Consulting, recently offered a few tips on key aspects of the law school application process.

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

Your letters of recommendation help admission officers understand who in relation to the rest of your application.

“The letter of recommendation is really a piece of supporting evidence to the argument that is the rest of your application,” Jeff Thomas, executive director of admissions programs at Kaplan, tells US News.

Thus, it’s critical to give your recommenders ample time to write a compelling letter that will support your application. Ivey recommends giving your recommender a specific due date for when to submit the letter.

“LSAC needs time to process them after they get uploaded, and you also want to give yourself some wiggle room in case your recommender blows past the deadline you gave them and you have to hunt them down, so pick an artificial deadline of a full month before you want your applications to be complete and submitted,” Ivey writes.

TRANSCRIPTS

Similar to your letters of recommendation, your transcripts are a critical component of the law school application that need to be submitted in a timely manner.

LSAC uses your submitted transcripts to create an Academic Summary Report (ASR), a cover sheet of your credentials that is sent to all law schools where you apply.

“The ASR is extremely valuable for you to gauge how competitive you will be in the application process,” Ivey writes. “Sending in your transcripts as soon as you begin the application process will not only save you from unnecessary stress, but will also help you make informed decisions about what your list of schools should look like.”

PERSONAL STATEMENTS

Perhaps the most time-consuming aspect of the law school application process are the personal statements and essays.

Strong essays go through a number of revisions and experts recommend giving yourself ample time to continuously improve and perfect them.

“Personal statements, resumes, and optional materials take time and lots of drafts,” Ivey writes. “You should not apply to law school using ‘the best materials I could come up with in four weeks.’ That will not represent your best work, and will certainly not produce the best results.”

Sources: Anna Ivey Consulting, US News

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