“They’re very generic. They all sound the same,” says Anna Ivey, a former dean of admissions at the University of Chicago Law School and author of “The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions,” about law school letters of recommendation in a recent U.S. News & World Report article. In the law school admissions process, an applicant’s LSAT score (by far!) and undergraduate GPA remain the most important determining factors to get in, according to Kaplan Test Prep’s 2012 survey of law school admissions officers. But still key to getting those acceptance letters are compelling letters of recommendation that are written thoughtfully by the people most important in your students’ academic and/or professional lives. In certain cases, these letters can make or break many applications that are teetering on the fence. We advise prospective applicants to start thinking about letters of recommendation as soon as possible. The whole process of identifying good recommenders, lining them up, and then making sure they follow through with winning letters can take a lot of time. It’s not as simple as just picking up the phone or sending a text. Letters of recommendation require thoughtfulness from both the applicant and those writing the letters.
Now, we know you are experts in this field, but below are some nicely-synthesized best practices you can share with the students you advise – especially helpful to advisers newer to the arena.
Try To Elicit Personal Recommendations
-Choose people who like you and who think you’re good at what you do. College professors will likely make the best references.
-Another option: if you’ve interned for a law firm or judge, they might also make good recommenders, but ONLY if they meet the below qualifications that are a must for all recommenders.
-Choose good writers who can express their opinions clearly. If a potential recommender seems less than enthusiastic in any way, keep looking. That person’s ambivalence is likely to come through in the letter. And that ambivalences can be interpreted by the admissions committee that you are a less than worthy applicant.
-This may sound hard, but find a recommender who is as nearly excited about you going to law school as you are!
Help The Recommenders Do The Work
-But that said, be an active participant in the recommendation process once someone agrees. The more personalized and detailed your letters are the better. So invest the time to make your recommenders’ job as easy as possible. Try to set up an appointment or lunch interview to discuss your law school interests with each letter writer.
-At these interviews, review your academic performance and see what other information they’d like. Providing copies of your papers, portfolios of your work, and the like will help writers make their letters as focused and specific as possible.
-Provide your recommenders with all the info, forms, stamped and addressed envelopes they’ll need. Make sure they’re aware of deadlines and follow up later. By all means, give them as much time as possible. Writing a good reference takes time and your recommenders will likely have other competing demands for time — and other recommendations to write.
-Keep your recommendation writers on schedule. Provide a gentle reminder when a deadline is approaching. Pave the way for this reminder when you first ask for the recommendation by mentioning a date for a follow-up call. And, of course, a thank-you letter at the end of the process is always appreciated.
Again, while letters of recommendation are by no means the most important admissions factor, they can often play a deciding or crucial role. And with the law school admissions process as competitive as it is- even with a drop in applications – nothing should be left to chance. Submitting letters of recommendation that seem like tepid endorsements will do nothing to improve applicants’ chances. Your students should put the time and effort into this part of the process, ensuring that whatever is submitted strengthens the application, not weakens it. U.S. News & World Reporter explored this topic in an interesting article last week.
