What follows are tips for recommenders.
1. Introduce yourself and explain how you know the applicant.
Let the admissions committee know if you’ve been teaching or working somewhere for a long time, as it adds weight to your assessment of the applicant:
I am the Sterling Professor of English at Yale University. I had the pleasure of teaching Vladimir in my Joyce Seminar, and I got to know him well in my office hours, which he attended frequently. In my eleven years of teaching at Yale, I have rarely encountered such a mature and dedicated student.
I am writing in enthusiastic support of Rachel Nguyen’s application to law school.
I first encountered Rachel in the summer of 2013, when she interned at the Chicago Legal Aid Association (CLAA). The CLAA is a nonprofit law clinic for indigent Chicagoans that is staffed by attorneys who work pro bono as well as Chicago law students. As the director of the program and Rachel’s direct supervisor, I reviewed everything she wrote and guided her research.
2. Focus on her academic chops, not her personality.
The admissions committee wants to know whether an applicant has the intellectual horsepower and the work ethic to succeed in law school. Professors and TAs should emphasize the applicant’s analytical, oral, and written communication skills; thoroughness; and creativity.
Professional recommenders won’t always be able to speak to an applicant’s native intelligence, but can usually talk about her diligence, problem-solving skills, or ability to learn quickly.
3. Use anecdotes.
Don’t just tell the admissions committee how great the applicant is; show them with examples. Talk about specific papers, projects, conversations, or other achievements.
This is what telling looks like: “Jeremy always raised the level of classroom discussion.”
This is what showing looks like:
One day, as we discussed A HOUSE FOR MR. BISWAS, Jeremy came up with a phenomenal idea about the role of newspapers in the text. I remember that conversation not just because Jeremy was two steps ahead of me, but because he was so generous with his insight, making an effort to include all the other students.
4. Compare her to other people.
It’s one thing to say that Noreen is an excellent student. It’s quite another to say that her abilities put her among the top five percent of all the students you’ve taught in the last twenty-one years. (Avoid making such a comparison if you only feel comfortable saying she was in the top 10% or 20%, however).
When you put an applicant in context like this, you should also put your own experience in context by noting how long you have taught or worked in your current position.
5. Write one or two single-spaced pages.
If your letter is less than 500 words, it may look like you are brushing the applicant off or damning her with faint praise. If it’s longer than two pages, you may lose your reader.
6. Send the recommendation on your letterhead.
This lets the admissions committee know that you are writing a recommendation in your official capacity, and not as, say, a friend. You may have to scan your letter and send it as an attachment.
1. Give your recommenders plenty of time.
You should ask your recommenders for letters early so they'll have plenty of time to write. If you're still in school, consider asking in the spring to prepare for the fall application season. It may also help to give them a deadline.
2. Explain why you are applying to law school.
It’s important to talk to your recommender about your law school application for two reasons. First of all, you want to make sure that her message is in sync with yours. If you tell the admissions committee that you are interested in finance law, you’ll look silly if your recommender writes that you are interested in public service. Second, and more importantly, you want to motivate your recommender to write a really good letter. Sometimes professors despair when their favorite students end up going to law school. If you convince your writer that you have sincere, thoughtful reasons for applying, she will be more inclined to go to bat for you.
Ask your recommender if you can take her out to coffee so you can talk about your career choice. If she doesn’t have time, try to schedule a phone call. A meaningful email exchange can work too, but if your recommender doesn’t seem interested in connecting with you, you should probably thank her and look for someone else.
3. Be clear about the process.
Ask your recommender if she prefers to upload a recommendation or send it via snail mail. Make sure that she can get it to the LSAC in time, and that she knows how.
4. Remind her of your good work.
Consider giving a professor copies of your graded work along with her feedback. If it’s been a while since you’ve taken the professor’s class, you might jog her memory by summarizing your important papers or projects.
If you’re getting a recommendation from a boss, you might remind her of your accomplishments and, again, give her a copy of any written feedback you’ve received.
In some cases, it’s okay to give your recommender suggestions. You’ll have to feel out the situation for yourself.
5. Give her your résumé.
She may also want to see your admissions essay and your transcript.
6. Ask her if she needs guidance, maybe.
You don’t want to insult your recommender by implying that she doesn’t know what she’s doing. Don’t presume to offer guidance to a professor. On the other hand, a teaching assistant or professional supervisor might appreciate some tips such as the next lesson contains. Use your judgment.
7. Be grateful.
Let her know that you understand how much work it takes to write a good letter, and that you appreciate her time and effort.
After you receive the recommendation, you should send a handwritten thank you note. It’s not a bad idea to buy your recommender a small gift—a bottle of wine or flowers, for example.
Check yourself before you rec yourself. The cardinal rule of recommendations is this: get an awesome letter, not an important letter writer.
Let’s break it down:
1. Think relationship, not rank.
If your recommender doesn’t know you well, she won’t be able to write you a good letter. Admissions officers won’t be wowed by the status of the writer; they won’t say yes simply because you got a senator or big-shot alumnus to advocate on your behalf. It’s better to get a detailed recommendation from a TA who’s worked with you closely than a vague recommendation from an important professor who barely knows you. Choose someone who can back up her assertions with stories or other specifics.
2. Get academic.
If you submit two recommendations, at least one should be academic. If you submit three recommendations, two should be academic. Try to get your recommendation from a professor whose course was difficult, advanced, and heavy on verbal reasoning. The admissions committee is trying to figure out whether you’ll do well in law school, and your work in a philosophy or English seminar is going to seem more relevant than your work in, say, Local Flora and Fauna.
Ironic as it may seem, an academic adviser cannot speak from firsthand experience about your academic ability; your academic recommendations should come from professors or TAs.
If you’ve been out of college for a long time and you can’t track down your old professors—or you can’t find any who remember you well enough to write a recommendation—the admissions committee will probably give you a pass. Still, you should consider taking classes at a local school, both to prepare yourself for law school and to get a current academic recommendation.
If you’ve been in the workforce for more than a couple years, it is a good idea to get a professional recommendation, as long as you also secure an academic recommendation.
If you’ve done any legal work in a professional capacity, you may want to ask your supervisor for a letter, but only if you think she’ll write a great one. You don’t need a recommendation that discusses your law work.
3. Choose someone who wants to write you a good recommendation.
At the risk of stating the obvious, your recommender should (1) like you, and (2) be impressed with you. If a recommender expresses even a hint of hesitation, thank her for her time and ask someone else.
If you’re not sure where you stand with a potential recommender, you should ask. Tell her that you would appreciate her honesty, and that you can ask someone else if she doesn’t have the time or inclination to write you a strong letter.
Sometimes it’s hard for teachers to say no. I’ve been in this position myself. When a student asks me for a recommendation, I feel like it would be lazy or mean to refuse, even if it would probably be in the student’s best interest. That’s why it’s so important to give your potential recommender an out, and to emphasize that you would be more than happy to ask someone else.
4. Choose an experienced teacher if possible.
Imagine a professor who says that you are one of the best students she’s ever had. Her statement will carry a lot more weight if she’s taught for twenty years than it will if she’s taught for two months.
5. Choose a good writer.
You might want to review your communications with your potential recommender, or check out what she has published. If you’re not impressed, go with someone else.
6. Choose someone reliable.
It doesn’t matter how eloquent someone’s letter is if it never gets delivered. I once had a professor who responded well to my work but never ended up reading my thesis. When I needed a recommendation, I looked elsewhere.
Secondary Considerations
I’ll say it again: your first priority is to get the best possible letters, period. But if you’re still having trouble choosing your recommenders, think about these second-order concerns.
1. Can you buttress your brand?
Say you present yourself as a champion of the underserved. You may want to buttress your brand by getting a recommendation from someone who’s overseen your volunteering work or taught a class about poverty and policy.
2. Can you complement your application?
Sometimes you can use your recommendations to highlight accomplishments that you can’t discuss elsewhere in depth. For example, if you wrote a fantastic thesis, you might get a recommendation from your thesis advisor. If you worked as a professor’s research assistant, you might ask the professor to talk about your archival skills. If you started a speaking series about race, you might let a recommender note that it changed the campus conversation—such a claim would sound grandiose coming from you.
3. Should you educate the admissions committee about your academic work?
Admissions officers are likely to consider some majors easy, including linguistics, theater, creative writing, visual arts, and identity subjects like women’s or Chicano studies. Similarly, admissions officers might assume that a masters degree in the humanities is fluffy. If you’re proud of your work in one of these fields, you might want to get a recommendation from a professor who can explain your program’s rigor.
How should I submit my letters of recommendation?
You should use the LSAC’s Letter of Recommendation (LOR) service, which is included in Credential Assembly Service (CAS) registration. The LOR service lets your recommender write only one letter that you can send to as many schools as you want. It also lets you know when the LSAC has received the recommendation, eliminating a major source of potential anxiety.
When you request a letter through the LOR service, you can describe it—e.g., “For all law schools,” “For Harvard Law School,” “For part-time law programs.” Law schools will be able to read this description, so make sure that (1) the description is clear to you (you don’t want to send a targeted Harvard letter to Yale) and (2) the description contains no typos.
Once the LSAC has received your letters, you will be able to see them on your CAS page, but law schools won’t. You must then assign each letter to the appropriate law school.
Do I need targeted recommendations for each school?
Absolutely not. Admissions committees won’t think less of a recommendation that’s intended for all law schools. Targeted letters are actually fairly uncommon, and you should only request one if you have a very good reason to do so. For example, your recommender might be willing to target her letter to Georgetown if she is an alumnus.
If you do receive a targeted letter, you should also ask the recommender for a general version that you can send to other law schools. You’ll have to request the general version separately.
How can my recommenders submit their letters to the LOR service?
If your recommender prefers to upload her letter, you can use the LOR service to send her a request via email.
If your recommender prefers to use snail mail, you can print out an LSAC-provided form and send it to her, along with a stamped and addressed envelope. The recommender will have to send her letter and the filled-out form to the LSAC:
Law School Admission Council
PO Box 8508
Newtown, PA
18940-8508
If you request two letters from the same recommender, she will have to fill out two forms—one for each letter.
How do I send letters of recommendation to law schools?
LSAC warehouses your letters of recommendation, but it does not automatically send all of your letters to every school. When you apply to a school, you get to choose which letters to send. Thus you can ask for more letters of recommendation than you may need and choose which ones to send later, when you actually apply.
How many recommendations do I need?
As always, follow each school’s instructions. Just as you shouldn’t send non-required essays unless you have a good reason to do so, you shouldn’t send more than the required number of recommendations unless you have a good reason to do so. More does not always equal better. Two stellar letters plus one mediocre letter is less effective than two stellar letters on their own.
That said, you generally won't go wrong with two academic letters. If you've been in the workforce for a few years, you generally won't go wrong with a professional letter as well.
How long does it take for the recommendation letters to become available?
The LSAC says it may take two weeks to process a snail-mail letter; if your recommender uploads her letter, it should be available almost immediately. Your application to a given law school won’t be complete until it receives your recommendations.
Should I waive my right to access the recommendation?
In a word, yes. Some admissions officers and recommenders don’t care whether or not you waive this right. Then again, some do.
But what exactly are you waiving? Under federal law, you have the right to read anything in your applicant file at the law school you end up attending. Really, though, are you going to walk into the admissions office and demand to see your file? Probably not.
Even if you waive your right to access the file, your recommender is allowed to show you her letter.