What Happens After You Apply

Wondering when you'll hear from the schools you applied to and what happens next? Scroll down for information about decision-timing, waitlists, scholarship negotiations, deposits, and more.

Decisions

September to April

It’s easy to get anxious after you apply, especially when everyone else seems to be getting accepted, but the first rule of waiting is that no news isn’t bad news. It’s no news.

There are all sorts of reasons why schools may get back to one applicant before another. It might be a simple issue of submission priority: the first files in may be the first files out. In other cases, the timing of decisions may be the result of random sorting. If applications are divided among readers, for example, some of those readers may be faster than others.

A number of schools do reach out to their strongest applicants first, but you shouldn’t conclude that other applicants will be rejected. Indeed, the strongest applicants are also least likely to enroll—they’ll have other options—so schools will need to admit many more people to fill the class.

If you want to get busy while you wait, you can signal your interest to a school by attending a virtual event or requesting to speak with a current student. If you’re really committed, and if you think you can improve your score, consider retaking the LSAT. A lower score is unlikely to diminish your chances after you’ve applied, but a higher score can still improve them. Admissions offices might refrain from reviewing your application, though, if they see that you’re registered for another test.

Interviews

October through April

Most schools don’t interview. A few, such as Northwestern, offer interviews to all applicants, while others, such as Harvard, offer interviews by invitation only.

If a school offers optional interviews, you should schedule one. If it offers interviews by invitation only, you should not request one, but you shouldn’t panic either. Many students are admitted to selective-interview schools without ever speaking to an admissions officer, just as many students are denied admission after doing their interviews.

You can learn more about interviews here.

Waitlists

December through August

Most law schools get more qualified applicants than they can admit. A waitlist decision means something like, “We think you could succeed here, but you’re not our top choice.”

If you happen to be waitlisted, your main goal isn’t to emphasize that you’re smart or hardworking. You’ve already cleared that bar. Your main goal is to persuade the committee that you’ll enrich the community. More specifically, you should make the case that you’ll actually matriculate (it being hard to enrich a community if you’re not part of it), that you’ll participate in activities, and that you’ll model the school’s values. In short, you’ll be the type of student that the admissions committee can connect with prospective students two years later.

How you convey that—or even if you convey that—depends on the school. A few have an “updates only” policy, meaning that they don’t want another essay. Others might give you the option of uploading an extra essay in response to a specific prompt (you should take them up on it, of course), or else they might give you a limited window of time in which you can send a new essay. If they don’t give you instructions, you should send a letter of continued interest that details what you like about the school, why you’ll fit in, and how you’ll contribute to campus life. Your letter can also include updates: a new job, a new honor, or anything else that bears on your application.

Follow up on your letter of interest every three to four weeks by sending shorter “pings” to let the school know that you remain interested. There are a few other ways to signal your continued enthusiasm. You can call the admissions office with a question, speak with a current student, or visit (virtually if necessary).

Note that you might also send a letter of continued interest to a school that you haven’t heard from by mid-February, so long as you’ve applied at least a month earlier. Exercise caution with all unsolicited correspondence.

You can read more about the waitlist here.

Scholarship Negotiations

March through May

Before you’re accepted to law schools, you’re trying to get admissions committees to pick you. After you’re accepted, admissions committees are trying to get you to pick them.

One way that law schools try to improve their yield is by offering scholarships to certain accepted students. The initial offers are based on LSAT scores and other factors that you can’t control, but you may be able to improve on that initial offer (or lack thereof).

Before we go any further, we should note that some schools won’t negotiate your scholarship. Read each school’s website carefully, along with any information you receive after acceptance, and follow their instructions to a T. As with all matters related to law school admissions, the first and most important rule is to follow directions.

If a school entertains scholarship reconsideration requests, you want to convince them that (1) you’re seriously considering their offer and (2) trying to make it work, but because you’re worried about your finances, you’re also (3) considering a less-expensive offer. Those three imperatives are a good way to structure your petition. You might begin, for example, with a brief discussion of what draws you to the school. Next, you might show that you’re negotiating in good faith and from a position of need by letting them know that you’re financing your education on your own. This would be a good place to reveal your calculations of how much law school will cost you and how much you can afford, then walk them through the steps you’ve already taken to bridge the gap. Finally, you might note that another school (preferably a peer school) has offered you a scholarship, and that the total cost of attendance (including merit aid, tuition, and living costs) would be considerably smaller at this other school.

The argument amounts to this: “I love you guys, but I’m strapped, and I could get a comparable education for less.”

If you can’t cite a less expensive offer from a peer school, you may also be able to cite a more affordable offer from a lower-ranked school or an offer without a scholarship from a school of substantially higher ranking.

A strong scholarship reconsideration request charts a course between extremes. On the one hand, you should not be afraid to advocate for yourself. On the other hand, your request is most likely to succeed if it’s modest. Don’t act as if you’re entitled to more money, and don’t give schools ultimatums.

Learn more about scholarship reconsideration requests here.

Deposits and Deadlines

April through June

Admissions committees try to finalize their incoming classes by asking for deposits in the spring. This means pretty much what you think it would mean. They ask you to put down money—typically about $250 but occasionally as much as $1000—to hold your place in the admitted class.

A few schools don’t require deposits. Most ask for either one or two. If a school has two deposits, the first is usually due some time in April and the second in June. If a school has only one deposit, it is usually due in June.

Many schools construe the deposit as an intention to matriculate. Some even refer to it as a “commitment.” You should know, though, that the LSAC’s Statement of Good Admission and Financial Aid Practices affords robust protections for students. Among the highlights are that schools must “allow applicants to freely accept a new offer from a law school even though a scholarship has been accepted, a deposit has been paid, or a commitment has been made to another school.” In plain English, you can deposit at multiple schools, and such deposits are not binding. They’re not supposed to be binding, at any rate, unless you applied early decision.

But what if a school asks you to refrain from making multiple deposits, or to sign an agreement to attend? You can always request an extension of the deposit deadline. Note also that LSAC no longer sends “commitment overlap reports,” meaning that schools won’t know if you’ve made multiple deposits.

Choosing a School

We’ll offer two basic frameworks to help you pick a school.

Framework 1: Cost-Effectiveness

Your legal education is an investment, so it makes sense to ask yourself what school is likely to give you the best return on that investment.

If you have two offers from comparable schools, this is an easy question. But many applicants find themselves comparing a scholarship from a lower-ranked school against a more expensive offer from a higher-ranked school.

Begin by asking yourself some basic questions. Where do you hope to practice law? What kind of job would you want right after graduation? Where do you see yourself in ten years? Do you value the prestige of a JD in its own right? If so, how much?

When you have provisional answers to those questions, take a look at the latest ABA-disclosed employment outcomes for each school on your list.

A degree from a highly ranked school usually makes it easier to get a job in Big Law (especially the first time around), to get a federal clerkship, or to pursue a career in legal academia. But graduating from a T-14 school does not guarantee a job, and graduating from a school of lower ranking doesn’t mean you can’t get a job in Big Law. Your class rank, network, and interviewing skills also matter.

One more thought. Your career vision might change in law school, and a degree from a more highly ranked institution could give you more flexibility later.

Framework 2: Gut Feel

Most people end up going to the school that simply feels right, and we’re here to tell you that this is just fine. At the end of the day, you can’t know which school will yield the best return on your investment over the course of your career, so you might as well go somewhere you’ll enjoy.

But how do you figure out which school is the best fit? Visit if you can. Ask admissions offices to put you in touch with current students or alumni and ask them about their experiences. Ask admissions officers questions too. There is no substitute for posing real questions to real people!

You’ll find more advice in our FAQ.

7Sage Services

If you’re looking for guidance on the endgame, you might be interested in our after-the-application services. We offer comprehensive support as well as hourly packages. You can see your options here: https://7sage.com/admissions/after-the-application/.

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