Admissions Interactions: Unsolicited Outreach to Faculty Members and Institute Directors
Admissions Digest, 01.18.2022
What's Going On in the Admissions Cycle Right Now?
Based on local public health guidelines, schools will continue to update safety protocols for upcoming visits and admitted student events. Some schools are waiting for university and/or local public health guidance to determine whether remote classes will need to be implemented and/or extended, or whether campus visitor policies will need to be amended.
FAQs from Students
It’s unclear why my application is still incomplete. Should I reach out to admissions?
Yes. If your online status checker does not provide you with information on what materials may be missing, and your application was submitted more than a week ago, you should absolutely reach out to determine what is needed to complete your file. Note: if you are registered for an upcoming LSAT or are pending a January LSAT score, that could be the reason—many schools automatically hold applications anticipating future scores.
Helpful Link
Have you heard our most recent podcast episode on timing and pacing on the LSAT? Here’s the link.
Discussion
This week, our discussion continues on interactions with the law schools, but we’re not talking about admissions—today, we’re talking about reaching out to faculty and program directors in the hopes that they’ll make a positive recommendation to the admissions team.
It is not unusual for candidates to reach out to faculty members or institute directors in the hopes that they’ll put in a good word with admissions offices and committees. Often, if a faculty member has a positive interaction, they will email admissions to let them know. This information is not given a ton of weight, but it can be a positive addition to the materials depending on what the faculty member shares and their level of enthusiasm.
Should you reach out? It depends. There are some moments where it might make sense to have an interaction. Maybe this faculty member is at your top-choice school and teaches in an area of interest for you, or perhaps they run a research institute or clinic that works closely with the demographic of people you endeavor to help. In reaching out to faculty members or institute directors, you could be collecting information to strengthen your Why X School statement, or to communicate something that enhanced your interest in a letter of continued interest (LOCI). You can ask about their work, inquire about their research, and find out the different ways that you can get involved should you attend their law school.
It’s much more difficult to have one of these interactions result in an internal recommendation from a faculty member to the admissions office. There’s no promise that an interaction with a faculty member or institute director will result in them sending a positive note to the admissions office (and I don’t recommend that you reach out to anyone to explicitly ask them to do so). Further, there’s no telling what a faculty member or institute director will say—the strength of their communication to admissions will depend on their assessment of your fit at the law school, the depth of your conversation, the engagement of the professor in the conversation, and any number of other factors.
Sometimes, an AO will receive a note that describes an interaction simply to alert the admissions teams that it happened, positive or negative. Other times, the faculty member has developed strong opinions on a candidate’s fit and wishes to make a recommendation on whether the admissions team should admit. It’s important to note that these interactions aren’t always positive, and the likelihood of a faculty member reporting a negative experience with a candidate is extremely high.
My best advice is to be genuine and respectful, do your research before you have a conversation, and ask thoughtful questions that you can’t find answers for on the website. Go into the conversation with a goal of nothing more than learning more about ways you can get involved, and don’t press them to advocate for your admission.
Now, if a faculty member or institute director asks you whether you would commit to their school if offered a seat, you can be honest. If their school is your first choice but you have received competitive offers from peer institutions, letting the professor know that can help them advise the admissions team and could be taken into consideration as they craft an admissions and/or scholarship offer. The AOs can then make an informed decision.
Through everything, remember that tone is extremely important. Use formality in your written communications and address professors and others with their titles until they invite you to do otherwise. Next week, we’ll talk transcripts, updated CAS reports, and why these are important.
7Sage Events
We will resume Club 7Sage chats on Clubhouse in early 2022. Stay tuned for date announcements this month!
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.