Law School Decision Process

Most law schools first rank applicants based on an index calculated from the LSAT and GPA. Each school determines its own formula for weighing these factors.

Based on the index, the applicant pool is divided into three categories: presumptive admits, presumptive denies, and all the rest. The presumptive admits will generally be accepted barring any negative information in the file. Likewise, the presumptive denies will generally be rejected unless there is some compelling information in the file. The majority of applicants in the pool will fall somewhere in the middle. These candidates are compared to each other using more subjective criteria.

Admit/reject
Hold
Wait list
Conditional admit

Admit/Reject

If you receive an admit letter, find out exactly what you have to do to accept a seat in the class. Most schools require you to send a deposit by a specific date. If you know for sure that you are not going to attend a school to which you have been admitted, be sure to notify the admissions office so that your seat can be offered to some other applicant.

If you are rejected, at least you know where you stand. Hopefully, better news from other schools will follow.

Hold

If you receive a "hold" or "defer" letter, it means that the admissions committee has not yet made a decision on your application because they want to review more applications to get a better sense of the applicant pool. This leaves you in a very difficult position if that law school is your first choice.

The prudent course of action would be to accept an offer from another law school even though it may not be your first choice. You may be waiting until late spring or early summer for a decision on a held application, well past the deadline for paying your seat deposit at another school.

Wait list

If you are placed on a wait list, it means that the admissions committee decided you are qualified to enroll in their law school but that they have already filled up their class with earlier offers of admission. If you applied later in the application season, it is likely that by the time you applied, their class was full. Being on the wait list is a matter of attrition. All law schools want to have a full incoming class so they keep willing applicants on a wait list to fill slots when other accepted students decide to attend another school.

A wait-listed applicant may be offered admission in late August or even during the first week of classes. There are some steps you can take to enhance your chances of admission:
• Write the admissions director a letter expressing your continued interest and updating your file. Follow up with telephone contact every week or two. Be careful not to cross the line between showing initiative and being a nuisance.
• If the school is your first choice, let them know you will accept an offer if it is made.
• Send copies of final grades.
• Submit another letter of recommendation, particularly if you have written an honors thesis.

Be sure to check in on the law school's website regularly -- they often post information for waitlisted applicants during the spring and summer.

Conditional admit

If you receive a conditional admit letter, it means that the admissions committee thinks you need an additional course or program to prepare you for studying law. Be very sure that you understand exactly what conditions must be met. For instance, if you have to take a course, is there a particular grade you must earn? How much will the course cost? Often the percentage of applicants successfully fulfilling the conditions is low. You need to know exactly what is expected of you in order to be admitted to the law school.

The prudent course of action would be to accept an unconditional offer from another school that may not be your first choice, pay their deposit, and then work on fulfilling the conditional accept at your first choice school.