Advice for Waitlisted Candidates
Being waitlisted by a law school can be disappointing news initially. However, it means there is hope and you may just be admitted! Here are some proactive steps that you can take to maximize your chances.
First, read the Waitlist letter/email carefully. What steps do you need to take to remain under consideration?
Pay attention to the directions about being placed on the waitlist. Are you required torespond in some sort of way to be placed on the waitlist?
Determine what kind of waitlist it is. Regular waitlist, priority waitlist, reserved list,etc. all mean different things at different schools. Or it may mean nothing other than“waitlist”. You will want to find out what a specific school’s waitlist term(s) mean. Call the school to ask.
Ask if the waitlist is ranked. This should be explained in your letter.
- Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI)
- Updated/completed transcripts (find out if you can send these directly to thelaw school, or if you need to go through LSAC)
- Updated resume/employment news
- Projects you’ve recently completed (thesis, work project, personal, volunteer)
- Any recent accomplishments (completed LinkedIn learning course on X)
- Additional Letters of recommendation
- Other documentation
- Visit to campus. If you visit, make sure the school knows that you were thereand update the admissions office with that information (and be sure to tellthem how much you loved your visit, and that X school is the place you trulywant to study law, if that is the case).
- ARE YOU RETAKING THE LSAT? If you think there is a good chance you canimprove your score, please schedule an appointment with me to discuss. If youdo retake, be sure to let the school know that you are doing so in case there isa chance they will wait to learn your score before making a final decision.
If you agree to be on a waitlist, prepare yourself to be admitted. That is, do yourhomework --- research costs, employment stats, housing possibilities, etc. Think aboutthe decision because it is likely you won't have much time to accept an offer of admission if you are on a waitlist (maybe a day or two!).
Don't agree to be on the waitlist if it is not your intention to attend the school, withdraw your application and give someone else a chance to be admitted.
If at some point after you agree to be on the waitlist, your plans about attending the school change, notify the school that you are no longer interested in attending and ask to be removed from the waitlist.
Don't choose to attend a school you are admitted to because you think it will be easier for you to transfer from that school to another. Transferring may rob you of fully being engaged in the first-year experience if you are focused on transfering.
Continue to update your contact information over the summer if it changes. You want to make it easy for the school to contact you in the event they admit you.
Above all else, be patient! If you do all the above, the school will know that you are interested in attending. Use discretion and good judgment when contacting the school. It is a bad idea to contact schools every week asking what your chances are of being admitted.
Thank about a “cut bait” date by which you would no longer accept an offer from a school where you are waitlisted. If you are on a waitlist for a school in the same city, or geographic location as the school you currently plan to attend, you may want to stay on the list indefinitely. However, if you will have to move across the country, or cancel your lease or find housing in order to attend the waitlist school, how much time do you realistically need to give yourself to wrap up your life in your current location and move?