Add-ons and Extras: Supplements to Your Application
If your law school's application offers optional or extra opportunities for
submitting supplementary materials, you are wise to take advantage and give the
admissions committee members more information about their most desirable
applicant - you! Yet you want to choose carefully and write an essay that will
make the admissions committee glad that they have more to read, not one that
makes them wish they had less. Think
carefully about what to include in your supplementary materials.
Addendums for Law School Applications
Addendums
are a perfect place to address any weaknesses in your application, i.e. low
grades, mediocre LSAT scores, or an off-year where everything just seemed to
fall apart. Remember that you do not want to offer excuses - only explanations.
I had one applicant who told me that she went to take her LSAT, misjudged how
long it would take her to arrive at the test center, and thus arrived frazzled
and hungry because she didn't have time to eat breakfast. She asked me what I
thought of her explaining these circumstances to the admissions committee. My
answer? I told her that I thought they would think, "She should have been
better organized and she should have brought a snack". Use this space to
explain that you have a history of poor standardized test taking (if you do),
that your mother was seriously ill (if she was), or that you had a sudden and
drastic life changing circumstance that required that you take on full-time
employment (if you did). Do not supply a fluffy excuse for your shortcomings,
or worse, lie about why you had a horrible semester or year.
Admissions
committees are filled with people who understand family crises, debilitating
illness, and circumstances that are beyond one's control. They are not
particularly sympathetic to immaturity, irresponsibility, or the expectation
that too much partying will be accepted as a reasonable excuse for failing your
political science course. If you have a valid and convincing story to tell, use
this space to tell it. Remember that the best approach is a "just the facts"
kind of tone, free of an appeal for pity or sympathy. You want them to know
what happened, not to feel sorry for you.
Optional Essays in Law School
Many
law schools are following the business school model of offering an optional
essay for interested applicants. You want to be one of those applicants. Yes,
it is more work. Yes, it is another thing to squeeze into an already packed
schedule, but hey - you're going to be a law student. Get used to it! Your goal
is to rise above the crowd, to surge to the top of the applicant pool. You need
to convince the adcom that you have more to say, that you do not shy away from
challenges, that you are the creme de la creme. And about what should you
write? Your experience working for Habitat for Humanity, what is was like to
have a hitless season in college baseball, only to score an out of the park
home run in the playoff game, or about your family's trip to Costa Rica and how
it broadened your horizons. Some schools will give you a list of suggested
topics, but many will simply say, "Is there anything else you would like the
admissions committee to know about that is not included elsewhere in your
application?" Use this opportunity to demonstrate your writing skills, your
determination to rise to the challenge, and to give them another insight into
who you are outside of the numbers.
Extra letters of recommendation
If
you choose your
recommenders wisely, the standard two, or sometimes three, letters of
recommendation will usually be sufficient. Don't send more than the school asks
for. They have many applications to read, and you don't want to annoy them by
not following directions. There is one exception to this rule: If you are
wait-listed at a school that you very much want to attend, you can attempt to
sway the committee to move you onto the accepted roster by sending another
letter of recommendation. You will want to write a follow up letter (see
#4 below), where you will state that another letter of recommendation
is coming. Choose this recommender well, and make sure you tell them exactly
what you would like them to say. Many will ask you to write it yourself, and
then give it to them for approval and a signature. This is not the worst thing
that could happen. While it will once again require more work, at least you
have control over the letter's contents. In this letter, you want not only to
emphasize your strengths, but also to describe how you have overcome any past
weaknesses, especially those that you feel contributed to landing you on the
waiting list. But the most important qualification of all is that your
recommender be someone who doesn't necessarily wear the biggest wig, but who
does know you best and will write a glowing recommendation. And if they are an
alumnus of the school to which you are applying, all the better.
Law School Wait-list Letters
After
months of uncertainty and waiting for a yes or a no answer to your request for
admission, you are greeted with a wishy-washy "maybe".
While this is obviously not as good as a warm welcoming "YES!", it beats
the heck out of a flat out "NO." So let the campaign begin. If you want to be
admitted to the school, you need to let the committee know that this isn't
simply one of the many schools to which you applied, but your number one
choice. Everyone wants to be wanted, and admissions committees are no
exception. If they believe that you are completely dedicated to their school,
and that no other law school will do, you have already moved ahead of 90% of
the competition. How do you convince them that what you say is true?
First, you write a swift but thorough response to their
wait-list letter. In this letter, you tell them why you are interested
in their school, what you plan to bring to the party, and/or anything that has
changed since your original application. Demonstrate that you are interested,
that you have done your homework, and that nothing is more important to you
than an acceptance from their school, and you will have done all you can to
move from a maybe to a yes.
Videos, Photographs, And Any Off-Beat Submissions.
In
general, all of these extras belong in your circular file. So before you mail
off that life-size poster of yourself wearing Big University's sweatshirt,
remember that no matter how clever or amusing your submission might be, you are
applying to law school, not the
circus or Survivor. Treat your application seriously, and you will be
seriously considered.
If you would like the guidance and
support of experienced
editors as you devise your law school application strategy,
Accepted.com is here to help. We offer a
range of services
to help you with your essays, letters of recommendation, and wait-list letters.
Our singular goal is to help you gain admittance to the law school of
your choice!
By Catherine Cook
Accepted.com Editor
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