Hello!
I have all of my application materials ready for submission (thank god) and am only waiting on one LoR from my legal supervisor. I already have two academic ones.
If I submit my application now and my legal supervisor submits her LoR one month from now, would it affect the position of my application in relation to other applicants'? Like, would this additional LoR push my application to the back of the queue as if it were submitted when the last LoR was, or would it retain its one-month earlier position?
Thank you!
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4 comments
They key here is whether or not the school requires three LoRs or if they only require two.
If they only require two, you should be able to submit your app now, just assign the two LoRs that are already in for all your files, and your app will get processed and placed in school's review queues. When the third LoR got submitted, you can then send that to all the schools you've already applied to. It would show up as an additional app doc. It wouldn't reset the date on which you submitted your app (the date on which you clicked "submit") or the date your file was completed (a few days after you submitted, when the school assembled all your app docs).
The above is all a moot point if the school requires three LoRs. In that scenario, you could submit your app today but the app won't get completed until the third LoR arrives and LSAC then issues your CAS Report to all the schools you've applied to.
I hope that helps!
Hello, and thank you for the response! I'm wondering about this statement: "It would show up as an additional app doc." Does it mean that if an AO reviews my application after this additional app doc is made, will they see my original application as it was submitted but with an additional document attached?
To clarify, your app is made of the CAS Report and the EApp. These are separate PDFs. The LoRs are in the CAS Report. If/when an applicant provides LSAC with another doc that would have otherwise been in the original CAS Report, LSAC will issue an updated CAS Report with that new doc.
Here's what that means in practice:
Person applies today with a complete app and CAS Report. They're a current senior in college. After this semester, they send an updated transcript to LSAC. LSAC then issues a new CAS Report to all the schools the person has already applied to.
Person applies today with a complete app and CAS Report. They end up on the waitlist. While on the waitlist, they submit two new LoRs. LSAC would issue new CAS Reports with those LoRs.
On in this case, a) person applies today with a complete app and CAS Report. b) A month later, a new LoR comes in. c) LSAC issues a new CAS Report with that update LoR.
Per your question, if someone doesn't review the app until step b happens, they would see the EApp, the original CAS Report, and the updated CAS Report with the new LoR - three PDFs.
I highly doubt having an additional LoR added to your file after your application has already been submitted will affect the position of your application in relation to the rest. However, do note that submitting your application before receiving all of your LoRs may result in your file being evaluated before the additional LoR even comes in.
Granted, I am not an AO, so I cannot guarantee anything. My advice would be to seek advice from a former admission officer, if not a current one. In any case, it has been said that mid-October is the "sweet spot" to submit applications, so if an LoR is holding up your submission, really do consider the impact a single LoR can have on your file.