Admissions Digest, 12.07.2021
What's Going On in the Admissions Cycle Right Now?
The vast majority of admissions recruitment travel for the fall 2022 cycle is over. Take advantage of any final information sessions and open houses to connect with the schools on your list, and catch them at the LSAC digital forums and local events if your top schools are outside of your region.
If you’ve submitted your applications already, make sure that you check your online status checker to confirm that your applications are processed and completed. If something is missing, you’ll be able to see that on your status checker.
Schools are focusing a lot more time and attention on application review, so you’ll want to make sure to check your email and spam folder for updates to ensure that you aren’t missing any communications from schools on your list. Waves of decisions and other communications should be picking up over the next couple of weeks. During this time, scholarship committees will also be reviewing admitted applicant files (this process can take longer for higher-ranked schools, while gift aid notifications may accompany admissions decisions from other schools). Some schools may require admitted candidates to complete supplemental forms that help them assess financial need.
FAQs from Students
Are you making plans to visit the schools you’ve applied to? Here are some helpful tips if you are.
Helpful Link
Postponing your January LSAT test date to a later date will cost you $125 through Monday, December 13. On December 14, the test change fee increases to $200. Don't delay!!
Discussion
Now I know that last week I told you to make sure that you follow application instructions; however, there are times when you might need more space than a word count allows. For example, there are some schools that provide you with a word count limit when it comes to character and fitness responses or addenda that are required to explain specific gaps, LSAT test issues, or academic performance.
In these kinds of instances, while it’s best to be responsive to the instructions, if it’s simply not possible for you to include everything that you need to include in your answer to be responsive to the question asked of you, or to provide adequate context, you can contact an admissions office to ask whether you can use additional space. In most instances, they’re going to say yes, because they’d rather have the full context than have you leave out something that might be important and/or relevant to your law school candidacy.
This is one exception when it comes to potentially extending beyond the word count—I would not recommend contacting admissions to ask if you can have more page space for your PS, DS, or why X school statements. However, where an explanation is required or necessary to help paint a picture for AOs, if you really need a little additional space, ask!
The question becomes: Do you really need all of that space? If you have multiple incidents to provide details for, and they don’t all fit in the space/word count provided, you have a valid reason to ask for more space. If you are trying to fit more of your story that isn’t actually responsive to the question/prompt, but you have nowhere else to put it, not so much. Be as succinct as you possibly can so that if you are granted additional space, you aren’t adding mountains to the AO’s reading list. If the request is that you keep your addendum to one page, an additional two pages is probably going to appear extremely excessive, except in the rarest case.
Conversely, being so brief that you leave out all of the details is a problem. Remember that things like C&F statements are meant to provide context for incidents, and some of this information is going to also be reported directly to a state bar when you apply for licensure. As a result, it’s important to be candid, provide adequate detail, and also to provide a reflection of each event and what might be different about your perspective/behavior today. If you don’t provide enough detail, you run the risk of leaving AOs with unanswered questions, and if they have too many by the time they finish reviewing your application, it’s extremely difficult to make an affirmative decision.
Think of C&F statements and addenda as answering additional questions that aren’t answered anywhere else within your application—filling in the gaps so that AOs have a clear, big picture when it comes to your candidacy. The clearer the picture, the more they understand your background and what you’ve experienced (and most importantly how you’ve grown over time), and the easier it is for them to get to yes. That context gives us what we need to understand why grades may have dropped, why you changed majors, why you retook the LSAT, why certain choices were made.
When left to our own devices, AOs have to make up the story ourselves, but it’s so much better when an applicant proactively gives us everything we need. Remember that we may have to go before our committees and advocate on your behalf—your statements equip us to do this, and the better equipped we are, the better your chances.
Events
On Tuesday, December 7 at 9:00 p.m. ET, David and the 7Sage Tutoring Team will host a webinar about timing and pacing on the LSAT. There will be time reserved for a Q&A session, and two attendees will win free LSAT Assessment and Planning Sessions. We'll pick the winners by lottery. Visit our discussion forum for more information and to register for the webinar!
Upcoming Recruitment Events
Here are some of the upcoming recruitment events through early December:
American University Washington College of Law is offering virtual information sessions for prospective students through Tuesday, December 7. Virtual information sessions will cover the same topics and be offered on most Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. ET—these events will be capped at 20 participants. Register here.
Berkeley Law is hosting admissions office hours about their admissions process on Monday, December 13 at 5 p.m. PT. Register here.
Duke Law is hosting a virtual information session on their application process on Thursday, December 9 at 2 p.m. ET. Register here.
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, December 16 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.
Northwestern is hosting a virtual “Ask Dean Hari Osofsky” session on Wednesday, December 15 at 12 p.m. CT. Register here.
NYU Law is hosting an information session to discuss the admissions process, application procedures, curriculum, and financial aid on Thursday, December 16 at 1 p.m. ET. Register by Monday, December 13.
UCLA’s Admissions Office is offering virtual law school tours on Mondays and Fridays through December 17. Book an appointment here.