Panicking over LORs

shannon_beaman1

So I have been out of undergrad for less than a year, and I have been committing my life to the LSAT. I decided that I am going to try and get my LORs in line for when I apply, but the only issue is I was never close to any of my professors in undergrad, and I'm not confident they would write one for me. What am I supposed to do in this situation? I don't really have any mentors that could write one for me, attesting to my academic ability and work ethic, so am I just screwed?

donkey takes the lsat

Do you have any work experience? If not, I'd consider maybe getting a part time job and have your boss write you one on work ethic. It's always worth a shot to try and get in touch with past professor. It can't hurt ya, right? Best of luck.

Juan23vr

I would just pick a class that you got an A in and ask the professor to highlight your commitment to your grades and the work that earned you the A in the class. One of my LOR when I first applied was from my Mexican History professor who was reluctant to write in the first place since the class was not law related but I explained because the class was heavy writing (all exams were timed essay responses) which are similar to law school exams I thought it was an appropriate request. Let me know if that's helpful

Selene Steelman

Hi @shannon_beaman1. Former admissions officer here. Letters of recommendation are a very important part of the application because they show the admissions committee (1) what sort of impact you had on someone in your life, (2) your judgment in selecting a particular recommender, and (3) your potential for success in law school. Your goal should be to obtain a LOR that is STRONG, POSITIVE, and SPECIFIC. With that in mind, I suggest you approach a professor who responded favorably to your academic performance. If possible, try to schedule a face to face meeting to make the request. If this is not possible, schedule a telephone call with him/her, or send an email request.

Before you make your request for the LOR, prepare some talking points:

-remind him of the nature and quality of your past work
-tell him why you want to go to law school
-tell him about your short term and long term goals

If possible, provide your recommender with all or some of the following aids before they try to write your letter:

(1)your narrative,
(2)your current resume,
(3) your LSAT score(s),
(4) your current transcript,
(5) a draft of your personal statement, and
(6) a brief summary of the significant academic or professional work you wish to highlight for them.

The more information you provide about your future goals and intentions, the easier it will be for the recommender to construct a letter.

Provide a deadline date by which you would like them to submit the letter to LSAC. Propose a date that leaves enough cushion for possible delays in writing the letter. Good luck!

Confidence150

@shannon_beaman1 I've attended some law admissions seminars in the past for the schools I was interested in applying. Letters of rec can come from teaching assistants and lecturers as some undergraduate institution have courses run by TAs and it can be difficult to get hold of the professors due to large classes with 300+ students. Best of luck to you!