American's 10-mile Long Waitlist

Is opening up. One of my clients just was asked via email to re-confirm his interest and within 5-minutes he had an acceptance letter (and 24 hours to submit a deposit).

Agonizing over Being Waitlisted?

Anna Ivey, fellow member of AIGAC, has a great blog post about (1) why schools waitlist and (2) what to do about it.

5 Things You Can Do To Be Admitted From the Wait List

Did a law school put you on a waitlist? What does that mean and what can you do to boost your chances of being admitted to that law school?

First, why were you waitlisted? Simple Answer: U.S. News & World Report Rankings.

Schools are very concerned with their rankings and an easy way for them to control things from an admission standpoint are (a) watching the LSAT/GPA for admitted students; and (b) keeping acceptance rates low. What this means is that if you are at or below their median LSAT/GPA, they may waitlist you and make you fight your way in to make sure (before having to count you as an "admit") that you are actually fairly likely to attend their school.

So, how do you demonstrate that your attendance is likely? Here are some ways:

1. Visit the law school. Schedule a visit through the admissions office and ask to sit in on a class and go on a tour. You may even have the opportunity to meet with someone in the admissions office. This shows your interest and likelihood to attend a school in the geographic region.

2. Follow up with a thank-you letter reiterating your interest in the school based on what you learned during your visit. Be specific!

3. If you can't visit, write a letter with an update about what you've done since submitting your application.

4. Write a letter stating the reasons for your specific interest in that law school and highlight things from your background that tie into those interests.

5. Send an additional Letter of Recommendation if they will allow it.

Good luck! And thanks so much to everyone who voted on topics - I will try to address the other requests in the next week or so.

Still on a Wait List?

It's July. And I know many of you are still on waiting lists. Those calls are coming in every day so don't lose hope. But many schools will go to a wait list once Orientation has already started. It makes for some hectic changes, but no one will ever know you were a waitlist admit - you get the same degree and the same opportunities as everybody else.
For those of you still waiting, if you haven't sent a letter expressing your continuing interest in the school then now is the time. If you can schedule a time to visit the school and meet an admissions officer, even better. The follow-up after that visit is crucial. I've also had clients offered a place in the class during a campus visit (Duke is one of those schools, btw).
Congratulations to T.M., one of my clients who was just pulled off the waitlist at UCLA this morning!