Many non-traditional applicants are often late bloomers: They partied hard during college, didn’t take it seriously, didn’t do so well, and are only now, after many years in the workforce, getting back on the path they wanted to follow after college. They are often unduly hard on themselves, and believe that their age and their college indiscretions essentially kill any chance they have of getting into law school–any law school, let alone a reputable one. And, even if they don’t have college indiscretions, they still believe that their age puts them at a disadvantage: “Why would a law school pick me when they could have their choice of any 21- or 22-year-old they want?”

Indecision plagues non-traditional applicants: How do I get recommendation letters? How do I explain how law school makes sense now? Does my GPA even matter, if it was five or more years ago? How important is the LSAT for me? Do I even have a shot?

Well, non-trads, it’s time to turn that frown upside-down. The upshot is this: Being older and having more life under your belt is actually a good thing. Here’s why:

You’re older…and wiser.

The fact that you’re older is a plus. You’ve been in the “real world,” you’ve worked a 9-to-5 (or 6, or 7, or 8…). Also, and most importantly, you have legitimate reasons for wanting to attend law school. Now, this is not to say that those who want to attend law school right out of college do not; however, older students typically have very concrete, founded reasons for attending law school, and they typically revolve around the work they are already doing. This actually makes you more attractive to law schools–they love seeing students that not only know exactly why they want to attend law school, but that are also much more likely to actually practice law once they graduate (something which is often not quite as concrete with applicants with no real-world working experience). The foundation for a non-trad’s desire to attend law school is a lot less pie-in-the-sky and a lot more this-makes-sense-as-the-next-step-in-my-career. This makes you a very attractive candidate.

College indiscretions aren’t quite so bad anymore.

If you’re 22 years old, you can’t really play the “I was young and foolish” card for your college indiscretions. Most of them probably happened within the last two years, which makes them a fairly recent indicator of character (it is still advisable, though, to address these indiscretions with addenda). However, when you’ve been out of college for 5+ years, then the dumb things you did in college start looking at lot less like personal flaws and lot more like growing pains that are no longer really relevant. You’ve lived a whole life since college–it’s that life that defines you, much more than how you did in freshman English. This doesn’t mean that everything is forgiven, but it does mean that you can make a really strong argument in the “I was young and foolish” department. Because in your case, you really were young and foolish–and chances are pretty good that you’ve grown up quite a bit since then.

Your GPA matters…but not quite as much.

Another awesome thing about being an older non-trad is that your GPA, although still important, isn’t quite as all-encompassing as it is for freshly-minted college grads. For the latter, it’s all they have to hang their hat on, besides their LSAT score. With older applicants, though, there are professional accomplishments, long-time personal hobbies, lengthy involvement in causes (and more) in addition to that. Also, your GPA is many more years in the past. It no longer defines you in the way that it does for those new BAs and BSs.

Your LSAT score really matters.

On the flip side, though, your LSAT score really, really matters (perhaps even more than for younger applicants). Your LSAT score becomes the one indicator of your current academic potential and performance. This is both good and bad. GOOD: A high LSAT really can make a low undergrad GPA a whole lot better in your case. BAD: If you have a poor LSAT score, and you also have a low GPA, things are not going to look good. And even if you have high undergrad GPA, if you have a low LSAT, it will won’t look great, because your LSAT score is going to be taken as proof of your current academic potential. Moral of the story: Focus on the LSAT, and rock it.

Your professional success takes center stage.

Whereas many straight-out-of-college applicants often struggle to find accomplishments outside of school to point to, that’s something you have in spades. Many non-trads bemoan the fact that they don’t have recent academic achievements, when they should instead be focusing on what they do have: Work, hobbies, personal accomplishments, causes. And, in many cases, they are all legitimate, long-term endeavors. Use these as the anchor for your application, rather than apologizing for not having a recent college class to talk about.

Your LORs can be from other professionals.

Another aspect that non-trads often fret about is their inability to obtain letters of recommendation (LORs) from professors and other academics. What they forget is that there are others in their life that can address the same things that law schools want to hear about: Ability to learn, adaptability, work ethic, potential for growth, leadership skills, a strong desire to succeed, integrity, and honesty. Take a look, for example, at what LSAC’s Evaluation Service asks recommenders to rank applicants on. Those are things that can be addressed by your work supervisor or your volunteer leader, among others. Although law schools prefer that recommendations come from academic sources, they do not require them to be from academic sources–and they would much rather have a lengthy, detailed, glowing letter from someone that can actually speak knowledgeably about you, than a vague letter filled with generalities from a college professor you had ten years ago and struggled to remember your name. And here are some tips on what you can do to make that LOR shine.

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The name of the game for non-traditional applicants is thinking outside the box. Law schools want you–in fact, applicants in their 30s, 40s, and beyond are accepted into even the most elite law schools every year. It’s just a matter of thinking yourself not as “someone who is old and graduated college a long time ago” and instead as “someone who has an extensive professional background and knows exactly why law school is the next logical step.” Instead of seeing your age as a detractor, harness it as a positive: It can–and will, if used correctly–enhance your application and your overall admissions chances.

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Have a question about applying to law school you’d like me to answer? Send me an email.

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Note: The content of this blog post originally appeared in the PowerScore LSAT and Law School Admissions Blog.

The Basics of the Law School Application Process

Timeline

If you’re looking for a specific application timeline, you can check this out. However, in general, the law school application process loosely follows (or should follow) this order:

Junior year: Student decides they want to apply to law school.

June after Junior year or October of Senior year: Student takes LSAT (if you need help deciding which LSAT you should take, take a moment to read this).

• If you are taking the June LSAT, then study for it during your Junior spring semester.
• If you are taking the October LSAT, then study for it the summer between Junior and Senior year.
• If possible, take the June LSAT. This will allow you to get the LSAT done before the summer, and then devote the summer to preparing your applications.

October through January of their Senior year: Student submits applications to law schools.

• If possible, do not study for the LSAT and put together your applications at the same time. Both can be quite time-consuming, and each is best done on its own. However, if you cannot devote individual time to each, sit down and determine schedules to ensure that they can get both done effectively.
• If possible, spend the summer working on all the elements of your application (see “Elements of an application” below).
• Submit your applications as soon as possible after applications become available (typically September/October). This is because most law schools work on rolling admissions, meaning that they consider applications as they “roll in.” Applying early could potentially give you a slight advantage over later applicants–and any advantage, however minute, is a good advantage.

March through May (and potentially through the summer): Student gets decision letters from law schools.

• If you are admitted, then your work is done. Now you just have to wait for the responses from the rest of the schools you applied to, make your school selection, send in your seat deposit, and wait for September to come so you can start school. If you need to defer your start date, read this.
• If you’re waitlisted, follow the protocol noted by the school in the waitlist letter they sent you. If the school doesn’t list any specific protocol, send a letter of continued interest to the school, and keep in touch with the school regarding any significant changes to their file (new grades, awards, jobs, contact information). Read this for a more in-depth analysis of what you should (and shouldn’t) do if you’re waitlisted.
• If you are (unfortunately) rejected, you may be able to appeal the decision, although most schools don’t have this option. If you would like to appeal the decision, you need to contact the school and find out the appropriate protocol for doing so.

September/October: Students starts law school.

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The Application Process

In a very basic way, the process of applying to law school is similar to that of applying to college: All the different parts of an application are gathered, compiled, and sent in to the different institutions. However, there are a few significant changes that must be noted:

1. Law schools don’t consider applications until they are “complete.” This means that every aspect of the application has been received by the school. This is different from the college application process, where schools often consider applicants even as different parts of the application trickle in.
2. Students do not typically “snail-mail” anything in to school. Instead, almost all schools require or recommend that students apply through the Law School Admission Council’s Credential Assembly Service (CAS). Essentially, LSAC’s CAS acts as a clearinghouse of information: Students submit or upload all their information to LSAC, which is then compiled into full files and then sent directly from LSAC to each law school that a student is applying to. LSAC will not send applications to schools until all required aspects of the application have been submitted and processed.
3. LSAC handles almost every aspect of the application, from compiling the information to processing the application fees for schools. The only thing they do NOT handle is actually requesting the different parts of each application; each of those must be submitted either by the student or submitted by a third party at the student’s request (see “Elements of an application” below).

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Elements of an application

Almost all law school applications will have the following components: The application itself, a personal statement (essay), letters of recommendation, transcript(s), LSAT score(s), a Law School Report, a résumé, and additional optional essay(s). Make sure you know what you’re responsible for, and what other people need to do for you.

1. The application: This is found on the LSAC website, and is completed by the student. It asks all the typical application questions: Biographical, academic, extracurricular, and conduct information. This can be completed online directly into the LSAC website, and saved.
2. The personal statement: This is an essay required by almost all schools which is written by the student and then uploaded by the student onto the LSAC website. While it can talk about why the student wants to go to law school, it doesn’t necessarily have to do so. Sometimes, schools have specific topics they’d like the student to address; in that case, we recommend the student stick to those topics.
3. The letter(s) of recommendation: The student requests these from either professors or employers. These recommenders, after writing the letters, send them directly to LSAC, along with a cover sheet available on the LSAC website. These are then processed by LSAC and are added to the student’s file. It can take up to 2 weeks to process these letters.
4. Transcript(s): The student requests these from all undergraduate institutions s/he has attended. The institution the submits them directly to LSAC, along with a cover sheet available on the LSAC website. These are then processed by LSAC and are added to the student’s file. It can take up to two weeks to process transcripts.
5. LSAT score(s): The student does not have to submit these scores to LSAC. LSAC, as the administration of the test, already has these scores on file, and automatically links them up to the student’s record.
6. Law School Report: This is a report compiled by LSAC which includes the student’s LSAT scores, LSAT writing samples, academic summary (essentially all of the student’s undergraduate grades), copies of all transcripts (undergraduate, graduate, professional), copies of all recommendation letters. This is automatically put together by LSAC, and sent to school to which the student has applied.
7. Résumé: The student puts this together and uploads it to the LSAC website.
8. Additional optional essay(s) and addenda: These are written by the student based on the requirements of each school or your own specific circumstances, and are then uploaded to the LSAC website by the student.

And there you have it. Those are the basics of the process. Of course, there’s a lot more intricacy to it once you really get into it, but getting the basics down will ensure that you spend more time on the finer details, and less time just trying to navigate your way around what can be a very confusing process. And, if you have any questions, know that there are always people available you can ask (pre-law advisors, professors, law school admissions staffers, admissions consultants)–no one will think less of you for asking the basic questions–in fact, we wish more people would!

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Have a question about applying to law school you’d like me to answer? Send me an email.

Check out the PowerScore Admissions Tip of the Week archives on the PowerScore LSAT and Law School Admissions blog!

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Note: The content of this blog post originally appeared in the PowerScore LSAT and Law School Admissions Blog.

Although it’s impossible for me to cover everything that I think a personal statement should do and convey in a single short blog post (in fact, those who know me know that I could probably write page after page after page on personal statement topic selection alone), I can give some pointers on the basics of what to do–and what not to do.

So. Why is the law school application personal statement so important? And how do you not mess it up from the get-go?

Schools place a premium on the personal statement because it’s the one thing on your application that deals with the essence of the law profession: writing. Law school admissions committees want the opportunity to examine your writing and determine the degree of efficacy with which you can create and develop logical ideas while also reaching out and connecting with an audience.

In addition, law schools are interested in knowing what you value personally, professionally, morally, and intellectually, and the personal statement is the place to see that. It presents a “human” aspect to your law school application that can be found nowhere else and, in certain situations, can be the deciding factor between a denial or waitlist, or a waitlist and an acceptance.

I wish I could tell you how to write the perfect personal statement. Unfortunately, because the best personal statements are, well, personal, the choice of topic and how you’ll write it is all up to you. There is no one way to tell someone how to write a great personal statement, since everyone has a different writing style and story to tell.

However, there are a few rules you can follow that will ensure that you are at least keeping within what will make admissions officers happy:

Steer clear of gimmicky essays. Things like colored or patterned paper, computer graphics, attached photos of you as a toddler, video or DVD essays, or statements written in the form of an LSAT logical reasoning question do nothing but attract attention–the wrong kind of attention. The admissions committee wants to read a clear, well-written, well-though-out statement that demonstrates you are a serious candidate for a JD from their school; they don’t want to have to squint at odd graphics, wonder why you had that haircut when you were two years old, or attempt to understand faux-LSAT gibberish. In other words: Just because Elle Woods submitted a video essay in Legally Blonde and got into Harvard Law, that doesn’t mean it’ll work for you.

Don’t write a two-paragraph, one-page, double-spaced essay. That’s less copy than most 30-second TV ads have, and how much do you really know about the product once they’re over? Instead, give the Admissions Committee something substantial to read and get to know you with. You can’t really get to know someone in 250 words or less. On the other hand, do not ramble on for 10 single-spaced, 8pt font pages. Respect your audience, and show them that you understand how important their time is by writing a 2-3 page personal statement with default margins in 12pt font that can be read cohesively in a minimal amount of time.

Avoid thesaurus-speak. If you don’t know how to use a “big” or “fancy” word, or the way you have it in your essay sounds strange, take it out. A big vocabulary is only impressive when it is used correctly (and the indiscriminate use of a thesaurus can end in law school application comedic disaster).

Grammar. Spelling. Punctuation. These are a few of Admissions Committees’ favorite things.

Present your best side. Don’t use the personal statement to gripe about something that you thought was bad or unfair; if you must, then also take the time to talk about how that negative experience allowed you to grow as a person and allowed you to see things in a different perspective.

Don’t let your personal statement be a regurgitation of your résumé. The Admissions Committee has your résumé in front of them; they don’t need to see it again in a longer format. Use the personal statement to anecdotally show them who the person who did all those things and had all those accomplishments is.

Most importantly, don’t play it safe. Write about something that touched you, something you can be passionate about, something that you know embodies you and what you believe in, even if it seems a little unorthodox. Don’t let a fear of being a little too “out there” keep you from wowing the Admissions Committee or leaving an indelible mark in their minds. After all, it’s better to be “that guy who juggles fire” or “that girl with the 3 show dogs” than “that kid that wrote the essay about their European backpacking trip…no, not that one…or that one…not that one, either…”.

Of course, there are many more pointers I could give, but these are, in my mind, the most basic and important. Above all else, make sure you have someone else read and comment on your essay before you submit it, and take their feedback seriously. If they don’t “get” the essay, they think it’s dry or boring, or they raise their eyebrows and ask you if you’re serious, go back to the drawing board. It may take a few tries before you get a good essay but, believe me, after your LSAT and GPA, it’s the most important part of your application. Take your time and do it right.

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Have a question about applying to law school you’d like me to answer? Send me an email.

Check out the PowerScore Admissions Tip of the Week archives on the PowerScore LSAT and Law School Admissions blog!

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Note: The content of this blog post originally appeared in the PowerScore LSAT and Law School Admissions Blog.

What can you do after you get a waitlist letter from a law school?

First off, let’s begin by understanding what being waitlisted means.

Being waitlisted to a program means that you have good credentials, and the school would like to have you should someone that has been formally accepted choose not to come. It means you have an okay, but not great, chance of getting in. Getting off a waitlist is unlikely, simply because all schools know that a certain percentage of their admitted applicants will choose to go elsewhere, and make up for it by admitting a larger number of students.

If you do get off the waitlist, don’t expect it to be in March, April, or even May. While that does happen, waitlist applicants typically do not get off the wait list until very late in the admissions cycle (sometimes even just a few days before the start of classes!).

If you’re absolutely sure that you would go to your waitlist school above all others, you need to make sure you communicate that desire in no uncertain terms.

What should you do if you’re waitlisted?

Do what the school tells you to do.

Along with a notification of your waitlist status, you may also receive a letter from the school telling you what they expect you (or would like you) to do while a final decision is made regarding your file. If they say to complete the enclosed questionnaire and send it in, do it. If they ask you to write an essay telling them why you feel they are your first choice, do it. If they request that you send them an email once a month to advise of your continuing interest, do it. But, most importantly, if they tell you to not do anything, then do that. That can be the hardest thing of all, but you must respect their wishes. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment: You told a waitlist applicant to just sit tight, not do anything, and wait for a decision, and here’s that applicant sending weekly emails, updated applications, and additional letters of recommendation. Would you get annoyed? Yes. Would you sigh and roll your eyes at the mere mention of the applicant’s name? Yes. As an applicant, do you ever want a school to sigh and roll its eyes at the mention of your name? NO. Follow their instructions to the letter.

Now, assuming that they don’t give you specific instructions, there are a few things you can do to ensure you remain on the school’s radar.

Send a letter of continued interest.

In this letter, express your enthusiasm and desire to attend the school, and emphasize why you feel you would be a valuable asset to the law school’s program. Actually do some research on the school before you send this letter in, and speak knowledgeably about it. Don’t simply regurgitate rankings or classes. Really think about why you want to go to the school, and tell them in clear, forward prose.

Send notification when anything substantial happens to your file.

Notice of new grades, prizes, scholarships, jobs, or fellowships are always good to communicate, and are a legitimate reason to touch base with the school.

Keep in contact.

Every year, a number of admitted applicants that say they will go to a certain school withdraw their intent to enroll at some point during the summer, which creates vacant seats in a class—seats the school thought it had filled already. This is why it is important to keep in touch with the school throughout the summer months—you may be able to take advantage of these vacated spots if you’ve keep in regular contact with the school, and they know your interest is still strong.

Most importantly, though, do not turn into “that applicant.”

If a school doesn’t give you directions on how to communicate your interest while you’re on the waitlist, then occasional brief communiqués with useful information and expressions of enthusiasm are good. However, daily emails and weekly phone calls are not. Control yourself, and always put yourself in the school’s shoes. If in doubt, ask someone impartial to the process to weigh in on what they think. If they tell you to cool your jets, then do it, no questions asked.

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Have a question about applying to law school you’d like me to answer? Send me an email.

Check out the PowerScore Admissions Tip of the Week archives on the PowerScore LSAT and Law School Admissions blog!

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Note: The content of this blog post originally appeared in the PowerScore LSAT and Law School Admissions Blog.

First, a little history: In the past, when applicants had more than one score, schools used the average of all scores when making admissions decisions and when reporting admitted applicant scores to the American Bar Association (ABA). Since the average of an applicant’s scores is included in their LSAT Score Report, this was easy for schools to do. Then, in 2006, something happened that changed all that: The ABA Section of Legal Education & Admissions voted to change its data collection procedures. It now required that law schools report the highest LSAT score for those students that took the test more than once.

Needless to say, this was huge for students with multiple official LSAT scores. While schools would still see every score and the average of those scores, the school would only use the highest one for reporting purposes–and if they reported the highest one, then it stood to reason that they just might ignore all the other scores when making admissions decisions, too.

So what does this mean for you? That taking the LSAT more than once is now is much less of a “risk” than it used to be. Schools are now not required to take or report the average of all your LSAT scores (although that average still appears in your LSAT score report), and can now use your highest LSAT. However, the rule did not require schools to use the highest score during the admissions process, which means that schools can still use the average score when making admissions decisions—and some still do.

What do law schools say about how they handle multiple scores?

Emory Law: “If there is more than one score on the LSDAS report, the highest of those scores will be used.”

Harvard Law: “If you take the test more than once, all scores and their average will be reported and considered.”

Yale Law: “We consider all of the information about an applicant, including multiple LSAT scores.  We do not average scores nor do we look at only your high score.”

UT (Austin) Law: “Candidates with multiple LSAT scores will be evaluated using all reported scores. However, the Law School will no longer solely consider an applicant’s average score in the admissions review process.”

UF Law: “Multiple LSAT scores are all reported by the LSAC in your LSAT Law School Report and are considered by the Admissions Committee.”

As you can see, the answer does vary from school to school. Some use only the highest. Some use all of them (but not necessarily the average). Some use both the highest and the average. Schools are forthcoming in their policies, both on their websites, and in person. To get an answer specific to the schools you are applying to, check the school’s website; if the policy is not listed, call their admissions offices and ask.

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Have a question about applying to law school you’d like me to answer? Send me an email.

Check out the PowerScore Admissions Tip of the Week archives on the PowerScore LSAT and Law School Admissions blog!

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Note: The content of this blog post originally appeared in the PowerScore LSAT and Law School Admissions Blog.

Schools are separated into four categories:

1. Schools that accept February LSAT scores
2. Schools that accept February LSAT scores but strongly suggest taking an earlier LSAT
3. Schools that don’t accept February LSAT scores
4. Schools that don’t specify a preference regarding February LSAT scores

Keep the following in mind as you use this list:

• If a school is listed as not accepting February LSAT scores, this doesn’t imply that they do not accept any February LSAT scores. If, for example, you took the February LSAT in 2009 and are applying in 2010, the school would have no problem accepting this score. “February LSAT,” as used in this list, is defined as the February LSAT taken in the same year for which the applicant is seeking admission.
• For schools that do not specify a preference, many times they have application deadlines that fall before the score release dates of the February LSAT. If this is the case, make sure to contact these schools to ensure that you can submit the rest of your application by the deadline and your LSAT score once the scores are ready.
• In all cases, it is always a wise choice to take the LSAT in June or October of the year prior to which you are seeking admission. This will allow you to retake the LSAT in either October or December if you feel the need to increase your score, and it will also allow you to submit your application by the middle of the admissions cycle, which will have a beneficial effect on your chances within the rolling admissions process.

Schools that accept February LSAT scores

American University
Arizona State University
Boston University
Brooklyn Law School
College of William and Mary
George Washington
New England School of Law
North Carolina Central University
Ohio State University
Pace University
Rutgers University, Newark
Santa Clara University
St. Mary’s University
Stetson University
Suffolk University
Temple University
SUNY Buffalo
University of Connecticut
University of Hawaii
University of Kansas
University of Maryland
University of Montana
University of Pittsburgh
University of Wisconsin, Madison
University of Wyoming
University of the District of Columbia
University of the Pacific
Vanderbilt University
Villanova University
Wayne State University
Western New England College
Whittier College
Yale University

Schools that accept February LSAT scores, but strongly recommend that you take an earlier one

These schools accept February scores but suggest earlier LSATs because seats may no longer be available in the incoming class by the time the applicant’s file is complete, competition for seats (if available) will be fierce and will drastically diminish the applicant’s chances, and/or scores become available too late for applicants to be considered for financial aid, scholarships, or Early Decision or Notification.

Albany University
Baylor University
Boston College
Catholic University
Charleston School of Law
Cornell University
CUNY (Queen’s College)
DePaul University
Duke University
Emory University
Georgetown University
Illinois Institute of Technology
Lewis & Clark College
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola University Chicago
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Pepperdine University
Roger Williams University
Texas Tech University
University of Akron
University of Alabama
University of Arizona
University of California, Davis
University of California, Hastings
University of California, Los Angeles
University of Chicago
University of Colorado, Boulder
University of Florida
University of Georgia
University of Houston
University of Idaho
University of Iowa
University of Kentucky
University of Maine
University of Memphis
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
University of Mississippi
University of Missouri, Kansas City
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
University of New Mexico
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
University of Notre Dame
University of Oklahoma
University of Oregon
University of Pennsylvania
University of Richmond
University of San Francisco
University of South Carolina
University of South Dakota
University of Southern California
University of Utah
University of Virginia
University of Washington
Wake Forest University
Washington and Lee University
Willamette University

Schools that do not accept February LSAT scores

Columbia University
Harvard University
New York University
Stanford University
University of California, Berkeley
University of Texas, Austin
Indiana University, Indianapolis

Schools that do not specify a preference regarding February LSAT scores

Although these schools do not specify a preference outright, many of them specifically state that their applications must be complete by a certain date (a complete application, by default, includes an LSAT score). Make sure to contact each school to obtain their stand on submitting the rest of your application materials prior to your LSAT score.

Brigham Young University
Fordham University
Georgia State University
Howard University
Indiana University, Bloomington
John Marshall Law School
Louisiana State University
Loyola University, New Orleans
Mercer University
Pennsylvania State University
Quinnipiac University
Rutgers University, Camden
Seattle University
South Texas College of Law
Southern Illinois University
Southern Methodist University
Southern University
Texas Wesleyan University
Tulane University
University of Baltimore
University of Denver
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
University of Missouri
University of San Diego
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
University of Tulsa
Vermont University
Washington University in St. Louis
West Virginia University

As per LSAC, the Evaluation service “gives law school admission professionals information about [the applicant’s] abilities above and beyond what is currently provided via test scores, transcripts, and letters of recommendation. Evaluation rates both cognitive and noncognitive attributes and skills that have been identified as important to success in law school. The evaluation uses a rating scale that represents degrees of a particular characteristic. Evaluators can also include free-form text comments.”

You can see the questions and categories included in this new Evaluation here.

We have received numerous inquiries from law school applicants regarding this new service, and how we believe it affects their law school application. As with any law school application component, this new service has both benefits and drawbacks.

On the surface, this new service appears to be a good alternative to a traditional letter of recommendation (LOR), since it guides the recommender to talk about “law school traits” that schools want to hear more about for each student. However, just like with LORs, if the person completing the evaluation isn’t thorough or doesn’t really provide any information other than the numerical ratings for each category, then it would likely be detrimental or simply useless.

This is a great form to use if the law school allows it (some do not, and may just want a standard LOR; you can see a list of which schools require it and/or recommend it here) but, just like with LORs, you must carefully consider whom you will ask to write it. You must make sure that these evaluators and recommenders know you enough to not just provide numerical ratings for each category, but also provide thorough, insightful, and comprehensive comments. If evaluators can’t provide solid examples of the traits mentioned in the Evaluation Form (that also support the ratings given), then you may be wiser to simply use a standard LOR (the content of which you may have more control over), or consider finding an alternative evaluator or recommender.

Among the highlights of the ABA’s report:

U.S. News and World Report’s annual ranking of law schools overwhelmingly dominates the public discourse on how law schools compare to one another. As a result, U.S. News rankings have assumed ever increasing importance to any law school that wishes to attract students and faculty and to retain support from alumni and university leaders. The criteria U.S. News uses for rankings now has a powerful influence over the management and design of American legal education. [...] That influence is not entirely benign [...]

The U.S. News rankings are based on a methodology that emphasizes a small number of factors in order to rank all American law schools. [...] The current methodology heavily emphasizes the following: the median LSAT score of entering J.D. students; the median undergraduate grade point average (UGPA) of entering J.D. students; student/faculty ratio; dollar expenditure per student; reputation ratings of law schools determined through surveys of academics and legal practitioners; and placement data. [...] …every aspect of the U.S. News methodology has been subject to detailed analysis and criticism by scholars.

Many in legal education and the legal profession believe that law students have chosen law schools based upon U.S. News rankings rather than upon a nuanced understanding of differences among particular schools, and as a result have not attended the best school for the student, but rather the best school as ranked by U.S. News.

The report comes to the following conclusions:

1. The current methodology tends to increase the costs of legal education for students. As a recent study by the United States Government Accountability Office has suggested, the U.S. News methodology arguably punishes a school that provides a high quality education at an affordable cost.
2. The current methodology tends to discourage the award of financial aid based upon need. Because median LSAT score and median UGPA are so important to the current rankings, law schools have largely abandoned other measures of merit or need in awarding financial aid.
3. The current methodology tends to reduce incentives to enhance the diversity of the legal profession. U.S. News annually ranks law schools by student racial diversity only, and this is done in a separate ranking, but U.S. News does not incorporate this data in the main rankings methodology. Because diversity (whether racial, economic, religious, or other) is not a factor in the rankings, the promotion of diversity of the legal profession can take a back seat in law school admissions management to the promotion of a high median LSAT and UGPA.

Today, U.S. News‘ Robert Morse (director of data research for U.S. News, who also develops the methodologies and surveys for the America’s Best Colleges and America’s Best Graduate Schools annual rankings), bit back:

It’s clear that the U.S. News law school rankings have a large impact on law schools and prospective law school students. The ABA implies that the U.S. News rankings are behind rapidly rising tuitions at law schools, why law schools are offering more merit-based aid and less need-based aid, and why some law schools aren’t enrolling enough at-risk law students with far lower LSAT scores compared to the school’s typical LSAT score.

But there are other key factors behind these trends. It also must be pointed out that the ABA does not cite real evidence behind these often-repeated claims of the degree to which U.S. News exerts power over law school behavior. In other words, it’s very easy for the ABA and law school academics to blame U.S. News for many of the negative practices at law schools. Law schools and the ABA need to take far more direct responsibility for these trends.

Personally, I agree with Mr. Morse. The rising law school tuition costs, the overwhelming demand for a legal education, the way financial aid is disbursed, the diversity of a law school class (and so on) cannot be blamed solely on the U.S. News rankings–or any ranking. It is disingenuous to do so. The blame can be nicely spread out from one end of the spectrum to the other, encompassing law school applicants, U.S. News, law school deans, and even law firms. Attempting to place the blame on one or throw the blame off another only focuses on the problem, but never gets to its root or discusses a potential solution.

WHAT DO YOU THINK: Do you agree with the ABA? With U.S. News? Do you think the blame lies somewhere in between? What do you think would be better way to categorize law schools–or is any way really a “good” or “better” way?

At least, that’s what researchers are saying.

Says the article:

Law school grades are the important predictor of a lawyer’s career success—in fact they are “decisively more important” than the eliteness of the school attended, according to two law professors who have studied the issue.

University of California, Los Angeles law professor Richard Sander and Brooklyn Law School visiting professor Jane Yakowitz analyzed data from four studies and concluded that the standard advice—go to the best law school that will take you—doesn’t necessarily hold true, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports.

“Since the dominant conventional wisdom says that law school prestige is all‐important, and since students who ‘trade‐up’ in school prestige generally take a hit to their school performance, we think prospective students are getting the wrong message,” they write in a new paper (PDF posted by Law Blog).

Sander told the Wall Street Journal he doesn’t know why grades are so important, but he was willing to speculate. “It could have to do with psychological factors, a level of confidence you gain from doing well that serves you well not only in school but afterward,” he said.

Sander and Yakowitz studied data from more than 40 public law schools across the country, and found that applicants tend to go to the most elite law school that will have them. But is that a good idea?

Not according to data collected in the American Bar Foundation’s After the JD study of lawyers who entered the bar in 2000, they write. It indicates that the salary boost for achieving high grades more than makes up for the salary depreciation associated with attending a lower‐ranked school. The study also found that lawyers who left law school with the lowest grades felt the least secure about their jobs.

Two other studies of lawyers practicing in Chicago in the mid-1970s and mid-1990s found that law school eliteness was associated with higher incomes in the 1970s, but that had changed in the 1990s, when class rank more accurately predicted earning power.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Is the ranking or “prestige” associated with a particular law school less important than the grades you receive there? Is being top of your class at a “lesser” school of more value to a career than attending (but not doing quite so well) at a more “renowned” law school? Is it all a matter of perspective or where you want to practice? Sound off in the comments!

Let’s first start with how LSAC defines “held” scores:

[A] hold will prevent the release of your LSAT score(s) and all LSAT and Credential Assembly Service (CAS) reporting to you and to law schools. If you order publications, shipping delays may also result. If the balance due is not settled, the reporting hold will carry over to subsequent LSAC files.

A hold can be placed on your account for a number of reasons:

Stop Payments/Returned Checks/Credit Card Denial
If your credit card authorization is denied

• a hold will be placed on your file, and
• no further reporting will be possible until you pay the outstanding balance.

A credit card denial will not cancel your registration.
If you stop payment on any check, or if any check is returned

• a hold will be placed on your file,
• a stop-payment charge will be applied to your account, and
• no further reporting will be possible until you pay the outstanding balance plus the stop-payment charge.

So far, it all looks pretty normal: A hold is placed on your account if you have any past-due fees. Pretty standard. However, the students that contacted us didn’t have any outstanding fees. The one thing that they did have in common, though, were unresolved fee waiver applications. In the beginning, this didn’t stand out as a potential cause of the hold. Then we did a little research and found this (hat tip: UMass Amherst Pre-Law Advising Office Blog):

I just received the following from LSAC regarding fee waiver applications for the LSAT and LSDAS [now known as CAS]:

Holds

• The LSAC files of conditionally approved fee waiver applicants or of applicants who appeal a denial decision will be placed on hold pending final approval of the waiver or consideration of the appeal.
• Applicants whose files are on hold will not receive LSAT scores, and law school reports will NOT be sent until review of their tax forms and any applicable documentation is complete.
• If the conditional approval or the appeal is subsequently denied, the applicants will be responsible for the fees associated with the service for which they registered.
• The hold on the file will be removed upon final approval of the fee waiver or receipt of payment.

It turns out that a fee waiver application on which LSAC hasn’t yet made a decision can also put a hold on your account (and thus your scores). This can be a very frustrating thing for students who are both waiting to hear back regarding their fee waiver and wanting to get their scores. If you find yourself in this position, what can you do? You have a couple of options:

1. Wait it out. Once a decision is made on your fee waiver application (be it negative or affirmative) your scores will be made available. The only thing that could put a further hold on them is if you didn’t pay for LSAT fees in the first place, hoping to get a fee waiver. If you have any outstanding fees (LSAT, CAS), they will have to be paid before you can get your scores. PROS: You get a decision on your waiver application and your scores, all at once. CONS: You may have to wait…and wait…and wait. Some students get their score 3 days after everyone else; some students have to wait 3 weeks. LSAC can’t give you a definite timeline, and you are completely at their mercy.
2. Cancel your fee waiver application, get your scores, and then reapply. If you cancel your fee waiver application, your scores are made available within 24 hours (provided all other fees are paid). PROS:You get your scores! HOORAY! The wait is over, and you can finally rest. Except, of course, if you decide you need to take the test again. CONS: You will have to resubmit a fee waiver application, and wait however long it takes to get a decision. Also, because you’ll have to pay all the outstanding fees up front in order to get your scores, if you get approved for a fee waiver you’ll have to apply to get your fees reimbursed (which might also take a while).

Which one you choose is entirely up to you, and how patient you feel you can be. The most obvious “con” to the waiting game is that you may be denied for the fee waiver, have to pay the fees, and also deal with the fact that you waited days or weeks longer than everyone else for the same result.

We recommended that all our students contact LSAC to ask exactly what their options were. If you have a hold on your account and want to contact LSAC, you can do so via phone at 215.968.1001 (press 0 to speak to a representative). They are open Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 7:00 pm EST (from September to February); Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:45 pm EST (from March to August). Their busiest day is always Monday, so calling on any other day will probably get you help faster.

SOUND OFF: Were your LSAT scores held because of an outstanding fee waiver application? What did you decide to do?