7Sage Admissions Digest, 12.28.2021

What's Going On in the Admissions Cycle Right Now?

Over winter break, some schools continue to review applications throughout the holidays, so don’t be surprised if you see updates that some schools have sent out a round or two of decisions over the holidays. Going into January, waves of decisions being distributed will get bigger.

FAQs from Students

Any updates we should know about? Yes! We've updated our big law school info doc with the latest stats for every school, a year-over-year comparison of those stats, and more. For a link to a video that walks you through the document and a link to the document itself, click here.

Helpful Link

A reminder that the registration deadline for the week starting Saturday, February 12, 2022 LSAT (US, Canada, Caribbean) is coming up on Wednesday, December 29, 2021. You can register for this LSAT here.

Discussion

I once had a student visit with me in the admissions office, and they were surprised that the work that we did as AOs entailed substantially more than simply reading application files. While application review is a major part of an AO’s job description, that task is merely one deliverable and may only represent about one-fifth of an AO’s work week.

As admissions officers dive deeply into their files, they’re also in a state of planning for the remainder of the admissions cycle. With recruitment behind them, the next two-thirds of the cycle are about reviewing, admitting, and awarding scholarships to the incoming class; making periodic data reports to the dean, senior administration, the faculty, accrediting bodies, and US News; conceptualizing, planning, and executing admitted student events; establishing on-campus safety protocols; and preparing for students to arrive on campus in the fall (there’s more, but these tasks are all most relevant for you). All of these things happen simultaneously, and AOs will juggle their responsibilities to meet internal and external deadlines.

There are times when schools ask not to receive additional items, supplemental documents, LOCIs. Know that this request is probably less about AOs not wanting to read these items and more about them not having the bandwidth to open themselves up to additional pages of documentation. That 5-to- 10-minute minute average for application review that many AOs quote is a reality—we are trained to assess relevant indicators, patterns, strengths, and areas of concern in a short amount of time. Though we have limited time, we will review applications cover to cover, taking into consideration all of the materials received and the judgment likely used by candidates in deciding what optional materials not to submit. The numbers are important, yes, but the materials have the potential to tell us a great deal about your candidacy and perspective.

It is important to submit everything that you want considered at the time that you submit your application. Each admissions office has a different review strategy, and some offices are extremely efficient in completing their first reads. If you submit an application and then plan to submit optional or supplemental materials later, you may have full reviews completed before those additional materials are received and processed, which is a lost opportunity. Teams are unlikely to go through review again simply because a new optional statement was received.

Throughout the cycle, the interactions that applicants have with AOs are often noted within an application file (both positive and negative interactions), so be wary of your communications. If AOs get the sense that a candidate cannot conduct themselves respectfully with the faculty, staff, and/or their peers, an interaction can weigh into an adverse admissions decision. Alternatively, if AOs are extremely impressed with their interactions with a candidate, that can influence a decision where the admissions team or committee is on the fence.

Here are some upcoming interactions with AOs that law school candidates can anticipate, each of which we will delve further into as the cycle progresses:

-Admissions Decisions and Appeals

-Waitlist Offers, Ranking Systems, and LOCIs

-Admitted Student Portal Access

-Scholarship Consideration (Merit and Need)

-Institutional Scholarship Interviews and Committees

-Scholarship Reconsideration/Negotiation

-Admitted Student Events and Weekends

-Commitment Deadlines

-Deadline Extension Requests

-Peer Networking

-Student Housing Applications/Roommate Connections

-Summer Welcome Events

-Class Registration

-Orientation

Events

On Thursday, January 6 at 9 p.m. ET, we are holding a 7Sage LSAT Tutoring webinar to discuss using the 7Sage score report tool to diagnose errors. One attendee will win a free hour of LSAT tutoring. For more information and to register for the webinar, click here.

We will resume Club 7Sage chats on Clubhouse in early 2022. Stay tuned for date announcements in January!

Upcoming Recruitment Events

Here are some of the upcoming recruitment events:

• The LSAC February Digital Forum will take place online on Saturday, February 5 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET. This will include live and on-demand workshops as well as a digital law fair with schools from across the country (a list of participating schools is not yet listed). Register by February 3.

• Northeastern University is hosting an online information session on Thursday, January 20 at 5:30 p.m. ET. Join admissions representatives to learn more about what sets Northeastern Law apart, their admissions process, and their co-op. Register here.

• NYU Law is hosting an information session to discuss the admissions process, application procedures, curriculum, and financial aid on Tuesday, January 25 at 3 p.m. ET. Register by Friday, January 21.