Timing

How Long Does it Take for Law School Applications to be Read?

This is an important post, notably because there are a few critical misconceptions out there about how files are read — and thus when they should be completed. But first, a semantic. Note I could have said "how short does it take..." in the title. Or, "how PAINFULLY" long?" The fact of the matter is the process is highly variable, depending mostly on you, but also on the school you apply to, when you apply, and a slough of other factors (competitor school read-rates, scholarship considerations,

Podcast: "When is it early/When is it late?" in the admissions cycle

Danielle Early and Mike Spivey speak for 30 minutes on application submission timing. And a bit more below from Michigan Law Dean of Admissions Sarah Zearfoss. Here is Dean Z.: "Totally agree that before Thanksgiving is “early” in any school’s universe. All law school admissions officers are hitting the bricks from mid-September to mid-November; some offices are structured in a way that allows them to make some decisions despite the travel schedule, but the number of offers are a mere pittance

When the Top 50 Law Schools Start Accepting Applications

*Please note, schools can change these dates, it is possible when we called to ask them that they gave us the dates applications open rather than are accepted (although we were very careful to clearly articulate when can you submit), etc. But this should be highly accurate to the extent we can control it. Please also note, just because they accept by a certain date doesn't mean they start reading on that date. FAR FROM IT, in most cases. These are good to know but September and October are cons

Underwhelmed with your results at elite schools? Read Below

Here is what is (barring C&F and sloppy application factors) happening. For the first time in 6 years, schools at the top have an almost categorical uptick in applications, and many are being overly gleeful and selective. But if you look at the raw numbers versus percentages — there are still going to be more losers than winners for law schools where the highly coveted applicants attend, and many schools will have to scramble later. It will just take longer than before. Stay in touch with said

Navigating the Law School Admissions Process Freshman Year to Admission

2015/'16 Application Release Date for Top 50 Law Schools

We called the top 50 law schools and asked “when will your application be available for submissions this cycle?” This is what we got: Organized by School Yale – October 1 Harvard – September 15 Stanford – September 2 Columbia – September 1 U Chicago – August 15 NYU – September 1 U Penn – September 1 Duke – September 1 UC Berkeley – September 1 UVA – September 1 U Mich – September 1 Northwestern – September 15 Cornell – August 15 Georgetown – September 10 UT Austin – First week of September UCL

Know Your Waitlist Movement Dates (Part I)

Wouldn’t it be awesome to know when schools will look to take applicants off of the waitlist? You could hold off on the status checker for a few days/weeks (remember, a few years ago someone checked their GULC status checker more than 1200 in one day!) Even better, you could reach out to the school about your interest right around when they will be looking at taking people. If only we knew… …wait, we do know! May 15th marks the first Seat Deposit Overlap Report. Among others things (eg: “hey yo

HELP! Must I take the LSAT in Dec. or can I take the Feb. LSAT and still apply this cycle?

I get this question from a lot of clients and with growing frequency in emails and private messages on Top-Law-Schools.com.  Some of the lack of clarity in a binary “yes” or “no” answer derives from the unavoidable fact that there  are two prominent variables that cannot categorically be accountedfor,  namely individual applicant bias and school bias. But let me try to explain some macro level road-map guidelines that should help. In the go-go years of huge application volumes and increases, ta

Pressure Points in Contacting Admissions: Professional Persistence versus Pestering?

The hardest part of the admissions cycle is the wait. For many it is worse than logic games, worse than filling out applications, dropdown boxes, questions that you have to answer that you should not have to (e.g. has anyone influenced your decision to attend our law school, yes or yes?), etc. The wait only gets intensified when others start hearing from your dream school and you are, well, waiting. What is more, if you are applying to law school you are likely a proactive person. You WANT to b

It's application season! (T/30 application release dates dates) Edit: NOW T/50 Law Schools.

By school: Yale1-OctHarvard15-SepStanford1-SepColumbia1-SepChicago15-AugNYU15-SepPenn1-Sep UVA1-SepBerkeley1-SepMichigan Ann Arbor1-SepDuke1-SepNorthwestern1-SepCornell 15-AugGeorgetown10-SepUT Austin1-SepVanderbilt1-SepUCLA1-SepUSC Gould1-Sep Minnesota Twin Cities1-SepWashington University STL1-SepGeorge Washington1-Oct Alabama1-SepEmory1-SepNotre Dame1-OctIndiana Bloomington1-SepIowa1-SepWashington and Lee1-SepU Washington1-OctArizona State1-SepBoston University1-SepBoston College15-SepUNC Ch