CHAPTER XXX 
BEING WAIT LISTED 


SECTION TOPICS

 

"Law school admissions offices can fairly accurately predict the percentage of "yield" from the number of students offered admission. When the yield does not produce a large enough class, applicants are taken off the wait list and invited to matriculate. In general, the more prominent schools take fewer people off the wait list. Beyond this it's difficult to predict your chances of being taken off the wait list. Calling the law school will generally produce little helpful information.' 
          Career Services at Princeton University


THE CARE AND FEEDING OF LAW SCHOOLS
THAT WAIT-LISTED YOU

  

The Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools states, "If you have strong qualifications, but you do not quite meet the competition of those currently being admitted at a particular law school, you may be placed on a waiting list for possible admission at a later date. The law school will send you a letter notifying you of its final decision as early as April or as late as July [or even early August]. 
     In order to come near (over or under) to having a full incoming class, law schools use a waiting list; this waiting list is used when more students than expected decide not to attend. 
     A law school that wait-lists you and that is less desirable than at least one law school that has accepted you should be sent a letter indicating that you will not be attending their law school. 
The Care and Feeding of the Law Schools That Wait-Listed You.
     The law schools that wait-listed you and that are more desirable than all the law schools that have accepted you should be catered to as long as you have an interest in these law schools and these law schools have an interest in you. This catering would involve making sure to:
  • Express your interest in attending. Do this every two or three weeks but make sure not to overdo this. 
  • If a wait-listed law school is your first choice, let them know that you will attend if an offer is made.
  • With verification (e.g. transcript, certificate), send good news (e.g. excellent first-semester of senior year GPA, excellent senior year GPA, new honors received, improved LSAT score).
  • Send bad news only on demand.
  • Wait-listed applicants may be notified as late as early August so be prepared to act on short notice.
  • Whenever you lose interest in a law school that wait-listed you, write them a letter indicating that you will be attending another law school.
Gathering Information about Wait-Listed Applicants. New College of South Florida suggests that candidates wait-listed at a law school that interests them "contact the admissions office [at each of these law schools] and speak with a member of the professional staff to find out exactly what this means. Ask the following questions if they are not answered in the letter [that notified you that you were being wait-listed]:
  • How long is the wait-list?
  • What percentage of students on the wait-list are ultimately admitted? 
  • Are wait-list students ranked? If so, ask what is your own ranking.
  • When are final decisions regarding the wait-list made? 
    Do not get discouraged even if you are ranked near the bottom of the waiting list. By the summer time, many of the people on the waiting list have already committed themselves (and not just financially) to a law school that has accepted them. 
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