The law school application cycle rolls on, and that means that in addition to receiving a lot of acceptances (hopefully), you may also start receiving some not-so-good news. Being placed on a school’s waitlist can be discouraging, but the good news is that being waitlisted for a law school is not a kiss of death, the way it often is for undergrad admissions – schools only waitlist candidates they’d seriously consider, and people are accepted into law schools from the waitlist with some regularity. In the meantime, here are some things you can do to improve your chances:
1) Send a letter of continued interest (LOCI)
Letters of continued interest are exactly what the name would suggest – they indicate to the school that you’re still interested in attending. For more information about when and how to approach the LOCI, check out our previous post.
2) Visit the campus
Again, you want to show the school that you are seriously interested in attending. If at all possible, it’s helpful to visit the campus, if you haven’t already. It won’t be held against you if you’re not able to visit, but consider incorporating a quick trip to a law school into your spring break plans.
3) Send an additional letter of recommendation
We’ve also written quite a bit about how to secure an effective letter of recommendation, so I won’t go into too much detail here. To secure the most effective letter possible, consider what weakness might have led to your application being placed on the waitlist, and then think of someone who could assuage a school’s concern about that weakness.
4) Consider retaking the LSAT
This one comes with a lot of asterisks. For instance: Would it be helpful for reasons in addition to improving your chances at this one school? Do you have time to study for a retake, and do you think you could actually improve your score by at least a few points? But if it makes sense to retake the LSAT, you should definitely let the school know to keep their eyes peeled for another score.
5) Relax
Applying to law school is stressful, and being waitlisted is even more stressful. That said, try to resist the urge to lurk by your computer, constantly refreshing your email. Watch a movie! Read a book! You’ll have much less time to do those things once law school starts. Do your best to improve your chances as much as possible, and then do your best to forget about it and enjoy your life in the meantime.
