Podcast Episode #77 - 7Sage on Clubhouse - Waitlist Offers and LOCIs

By Juliet --Student Service-- Celestine-Warnaar Published Jun 3, 2022 Updated Jun 3, 2022

Jennifer: First and foremost, and the obvious, you're not alone. Being waitlisted, you are not alone, and there are many in sort of the pool that are waitlisted, and being waitlisted, that is a great movement and progress as far as your status.

J.Y.: Hello, and welcome to the 7Sage podcast. I'm J.Y. Ping, and on today's episode, admissions consultants Tajira McCoy, Elizabeth Cavallari, and Jennifer Kott of 7Sage host a Clubhouse Room for law school candidates to discuss waitlists and letters of continued interest, or LOCIs.

Tajira moderates the panel, inviting the audience to inquire about waitlist strategy, timing LOCIs around commitment deadlines, and content that admissions officers hope to receive. So without further ado, enjoy the conversation.

Tajira: Well, good evening, everyone, and welcome. I'm Tajira McCoy, but you can call me Taj. I am a professional writer and law school admissions and administration professional. For 10 years, I worked in law school admissions at four schools, spanning public and private institutions, including two Jesuit schools, a T14 school, and an HBCU. Most recently, I served as the director of admissions and scholarship programs at Berkeley Law and the director of career services at the University of San Francisco School of Law, before joining 7Sage as an admissions consultant and project manager.

Tonight, we have a dynamic conversation planned for you. It's all about waitlist offers and letters of continued interest. Tonight's panelists, my colleagues and I, represent 7Sage. For those preparing to apply to law school, 7Sage offers LSAT preparation, admissions consulting, and editing services.

If you visit our website, 7Sage.com, you can create a free account, which gives you access to some sample lessons, an LSAT prep test, and 100 question explanations. The free account gives you access to our discussion forum, where you can ask questions about the admissions process, hear from others who are currently in the process, and learn about other events we have coming up.

You can also follow us on Twitter. Our handle is @7Admissions with an s at the end. The three of us on the panel are admissions consultants and have worked on admissions teams at various law schools across the county. So, literally, tonight's conversation is all about waitlists. I'll be facilitating panel questions and we'll open up the conversation for some Q&A.

I encourage you all to ping your friends who may be interested in this conversation or who have questions, and if you're not already a member of Club 7Sage, I encourage you to tap on the green house on your screen. It'll take you to our club page where you can follow us and be notified of upcoming events.

So let's go ahead and get started. For my panelists, welcome. Thank you so much for joining us. If you would, one at a time, please introduce yourselves. Share which schools, admissions teams you've served on. Why don't we go ahead and start with Elizabeth?

Elizabeth: Hi, everyone. My name's Elizabeth Cavallari. I was the senior assistant dean for admission at William and Mary Law School for six years, and I've had another five or six years of experience working in undergraduate and graduate admissions. I'm excited to be here and talk with you all.

Tajira: And Jen.

Jennifer: Hi, good evening, everybody. My name is Jennifer Kott, 7Sage consultant. You are welcome to call me Jen. I have served a total of 18 years in law school admissions, spanning both public and private institutions, serving as a senior-level role and having counseled, coached, advised thousands of applicants during those 18 years. We are so excited that you are here with us this evening, and we look forward to answering your questions.

Tajira: Great. And with that, let's jump right in. Elizabeth, I will start with you. What is the difference between being on hold and being waitlisted?

Elizabeth: Sure. I think we should probably start the conversation, I think a lot of these questions, it's going to depend between schools, so we'll try our best to give you kind of a full range of options about what this could mean to different types of schools. But in my opinion, the difference between a hold and a waitlist is that a waitlist is a decision.

They have made a decision on your application to put you on the waitlist, where hold is that they need more information. They could need more information about the applicant pool, so what else is coming in that you could be someone they're interested in admitting but just want to make sure there could be room in the class. So a hold really is that they're holding onto you to make a final decision and to see kind of what the other priorities might be before making that final decision.

Tajira: Great. Thank you for that. Jen, I'm waitlisted at a school that offers a priority waitlist and a regular waitlist. What's the difference?

Jennifer: First and foremost, and the obvious, you're not alone. Okay? Being waitlisted, you are not alone, and there are many in sort of the pool that are waitlisted, and being waitlisted, that is a great movement in progress as far as your status. There are different schools that will prioritize their waitlist, rank their waitlist, or have a regular waitlist.

Certainly, the difference is those that are priority could be sort of higher ranked in the sense of their profiles as relates to maybe their LSAT or GPA. A regular waitlist typically means the waitlist is not ranked. There are law schools out there that have a preferred waitlist, so it means sort of that you're just kind of higher up or rather closer to the top of that waitlist in sense of when the admissions committee may take that opportunity to return to the waitlist to find those candidates that are in that priority status.

Tajira: Okay, great. Thank you for that. If I receive a waitlist offer email, do I need to respond to that with a thank you, Elizabeth?

Elizabeth: It depends. Most likely not, but I would look at whatever the instructions are that the school gives you. So if the school is asking you to fill out a form to say you're still interested, just filling out that form is totally appropriate. If you don't have to do anything, it's okay not to do anything, and then think about doing a letter of continued interest later.

But I don't think you'll need to send an email to say thank you right away, but this might differ. Jen and Tajira, you might feel differently about it, but once you send out waitlist decisions, you get so much email back, and so it's hard to distinguish individual applicants in that flood of kind of notes after you send out the initial waitlist emails.

Tajira: Jen, do you have an opinion?

Jennifer: I do, and thank you for allowing me to respond. You know, I'll tell you sort of from my perspective, I was often the one that fielded those emails when those candidates were excited to be waitlisted in the sense that they actually heard some status, because they had been waiting and waiting. I was always thankful for those students that took the time to express sort of their interest and sort of hearing a status of, I still have a chance.

Most communications with an admission officer is documented in your record, typically like in an interaction or a timeline, so, you know, if you receive like a waitlist offer, or if you receive a status of being on the waitlist, that's, you know, you should be enthusiastic about that, and I don't think, at least sort of with the schools that I had worked for and who you're contacting with and who you're staying engaged with with that admission officer, I don't think it hurts to sort of be polite and a gesture of saying thank you.

There's a lot of candidates that didn't make it to the waitlist, and what it does show is that you're still fresh, you're still relevant, that interest is still there, and it just shows that you still want to remain in contact with them. You don't want to cease any communications with them. So, but getting back to sort of the variable, I think it depends on the school, the size of the law school, the size of the admissions office, and then those candidates that you are or have been directly working with.

Tajira: That's great. Yeah, for me, I think it also depends, you know, on one hand we certainly would never want to curb your enthusiasm as a candidate, and we appreciate those messages of thanks because oftentimes we're on the receiving end of things that may be a little more aggressive, but I will say there can be kind of some congestion to the inbox as Elizabeth was talking about as well. And the hard part is a lot of different communications do get documented a lot of times. That thank-you email is not one of those items. And so it just depends.

Sending a thank you isn't necessarily going to be the thing that breaks the camel's back and gets you that offer, but it doesn't hurt to send a thank you. And certainly, you know, for those schools where you feel like you have a really strong connection and you happen to receive an email from someone you've been in contact with, I'm sure they would appreciate that email.

The next question that I have is the school asked me on a form to say how long I would like to be considered on the waitlist. What should I say? Elizabeth?

Elizabeth: For those forms, I think the schools really want to get a sense of when they could potentially reach out to you, so you'll have to kind of figure out when that might be. Is it July 1st is when you're like, I'm going to commit to whatever law school I'm initially admitted to and start looking for apartments and things like that.

Or you could say, you know what? I'm going to stick around to the bitter end. That's something for you to consider, but it should kind of be thoughtful that like, you're not just going to say, I'll stick around to the end, and then not necessarily follow through on that. You can certainly change your mind, but I think it is important for you to think about how long am I willing to be on a waitlist before making a final decision and committing to whatever law school you may have initially placed a deposit at.

Tajira: Right. And does visiting a law school after being waitlisted get factored in? Jen?

Jennifer: It's a small factor. However, let's look at the standpoint of the candidate, right? You're waitlisted. You haven't had a chance to visit the school. If that opportunity presents itself, and you are and remain enthusiastically interested in the school, as long as the school is welcoming guests and visitors, make sure you follow that process and protocol, typically, that information is on their website under a visit tab, or schedule a visit with us.

I think the investment of the waitlisted candidate is beneficial in the sense that you get an idea of the community, you have an opportunity maybe to interact with a current student, someone from the admissions office.

So that, let's say in a hypothetical situation, a few weeks later, based on the movement of that entering class at that respected school, again, you've been relevant, you've been keeping in contact with them, you've taken certain actions and touch points by the letter of continued interest, maybe updating them with transcripts or a resume, I think that the campus visit is beneficial to the waitlisted candidate in the sense of, you have to think in a lot of hypo scenarios, and when that trip has been done and that visit and experience, if and when that offer does come, you already have a sense of yes, I want to go there, yes, it fit right.

I enjoyed the people that I was meeting with, as opposed to receiving the waitlist offer and then having to decide, well, maybe I need to go visit. So it's kind of like doing your work ahead of time. And plus I think it's always beneficial to visit a community, to try it on, to fit it on. Everybody has beautifully put together websites and outreach platforms for you to connect with them.

However, there's nothing better than feeling the vibe and the temperature of a law school community when you have the opportunity to engage and interact, see the facial expressions, maybe behind a mask, maybe through their eyes, right? Pending sort of where the states are with protocols and campus visits.

But the end result is I do think it's beneficial to the waitlisted candidate. Is that factored into the overall admissions decision? I think that's going to probably lean on more of the no, but it is a soft factor and there's great benefit and investment to the waitlisted candidate if they are eager to receive that waitlist offer.

Tajira: And I think you touched on something too there, Jen, the instructions. There are specific schools that do not open their doors to waitlisted candidates visiting. And so you do need to be careful and watchful of the rules and guidelines that are set forth by the schools.

Some schools literally have hundreds of people on the waitlist, and so they're trying to really maintain their focus on their planning and the things that they need to accomplish without being interrupted. And oftentimes, you know, if a school does allow waitlisted students to visit or waitlisted candidates to visit, there's a scheduling process as opposed to walk-ins. And so just be mindful that there could be guidelines or policies in terms of actually visiting.

Elizabeth, can you tell us what is a letter of continued interest?

Elizabeth: Sure. So a letter of continued interest is normally the form of an email, so it doesn't need to be an actual attached letter, about why you are still interested in a specific law school. So it could be delving deep into different programs or courses or faculty research you're interested in, but it's showing a school that you still want to be admitted, what you like about them, and then how you can contribute back to that law school.

Tajira: And Jen, how does a letter of continued interest differ from "why this law school" statement?

Jennifer: So the letter of continued interest, otherwise known by the acronym among admission professionals is LOCI, and I'm not talking of the Marvel character. I think I have that right. So the letter of continued interest, right? I like to categorize that is kind of like the glorified Why statement in the sense it's glorified because your status, right, has accelerated a bit, right?

You have a waitlist decision where it's moving forward, we'd like to think so, but that letter of continued interest, you know, it can be in the form of an email, it can be in the form of an actual letter. You know, it's received on both ends from the admissions spectrum. The letter of continued interest really is like a three-point prompt, if you think about it. Right? So that first point, you'll sort of reiterate your interest, express your gratitude and thankfulness for being waitlisted.

You know, your second point is you want to update them with some recent interactions that applicants or the waitlisted candidate has had with the admissions staff. You know, maybe they met with an admission representative or maybe they had the opportunity to come visit, like any type of interaction, right, could be mentioned in that first prompt.

The second prompt you could update in that letter of continued interest, you could update in the sense of any developments, excuse me, as it's related professionally, any updates as it's related academically, maybe how it's tied in conjunction with a particular program or an externship that you're interested at that respected school.

And then that third point is you close again with expressing that continued interest in the sense that, I would often hear from candidates, you know, I will do anything to get off the waitlist, but it's sort of conveying that, like, you're willing to sort of hang on and remain positive in the essence of when those decisions are rendered, but it's a different, the Why statement, right, was part of your initial application.

It spoke to specifics of why that law school, right? What trigger, what prompted you to take a course of action to apply? Well, now that action has passed. You're continuing that action because, again, you've been waitlisted, it's an opportunity to express that haven't given up, I remain interested and I will continue to remain interested by X date or depending even where you are in the cycle.

You know, there are a lot of waitlisted candidates that, you know, maybe deposited at another school because they're wanting a placeholder, right? They want that opportunity to go to law school. So the LOCI really is an opportunity for you to update the admissions officers, right, on anything relevant to your resume, work experience, academic, any volunteer opportunities.

And it shows, again, that you're interested, as opposed to someone who is waitlisted that doesn't take any course of action at all. And I know Elizabeth and Taj have experienced that as former admission officers. So there's a difference between the two, but it serves, they're in conjunction with one another, if that makes sense at all to everybody.

Tajira: Elizabeth, did you want to weigh in?

Elizabeth: I think that Jen did a really good job kind of expressing all of it, so I agree with everything that she said.

Tajira: Okay, great. I will say, you know, certainly in terms of those updates that we receive, we do have the ability in the admissions office to run reports, and oftentimes when we're looking at folks on the waitlist, if we see that we have some candidates who've had updates to their application file within like the last month or so, and then others who haven't had any updates since they applied, typically, we're going to look at those folks that have updates first, because they've had something recent to say that we might want to take a look at. And so I think Jen hit the nail right on the head there.

Elizabeth, just kind of following along those lines, if a letter of continued interest is welcomed, but I don't feel like I have updates, do I have to submit a letter of continued interest?

Elizabeth: I don't think you have to submit a letter of continued interest, but you should submit a letter of continued interest. I've certainly done outreach to people on the waitlist who hadn't sent a letter of continued interest, and I have admitted some of those. However, where I've kind of looked first is who is fitting, who I want to add to my class and have already expressed interest.

So if you don't have updates, you can just, again, share some additional information about why you're interested in this school. Some people just hang out on waitlists, but I think it's important to be proactive. If you have an interest in being admitted to a school, you should let them know and submit a letter of continued interest.

Tajira: And what should I do if I want to submit a letter of continued interest, but the school doesn't allow me to, and they only allow updates to transcripts or resumes? Jen?

Jennifer: Make sure you adhere to what they want. I think that's the biggest thing. It shows that you are respecting sort of what they're asking for. In addition, it shows that you can follow directions, but only give them what they're allowing you to provide. And so if that option is updated transcripts or resume and you have both, then I would fully support updating those schools on those measures.

But if they specifically convey, we do not welcome a letter of continued interest, make sure that you adhere to that. I don't think it would hurt in the email as you're sending the updated transcript, or rather, you're sending the updated resume, because most law schools, they want the official transcripts coming in directly from LSAC, so they're not going to accept it from you.

But maybe when you send them an updated resume, I don't think it would hurt or harm to put a sentence or two in there, conveying your continued interest in the school. But make sure you follow the directions. That's so very important as you are waitlisted, and just make sure you give them what they're asking for.

Tajira: Great, thank you. This next question, we touched on it a little bit. When we're talking about priority waitlists versus regular waitlists, do either of you have experience at a law school that ranks their waitlist?

Elizabeth: I don't. We did not rank the waitlist at the school I worked at, simply because we didn't know how we might need to fill our class from the waitlist. So we didn't rank it for that reason.

Jennifer: Same with me. Those respected institutions that I had worked for, we had a waitlist that was as large as 500 and it was not ranked, but we did keep in mind and were mindful of those candidates that were engaging, politely aggressive, if you will, as waitlisted candidates. But our waitlist was so large that we didn't have the measure to rank them.

Tajira: Politely aggressive. I love it. One of the schools that I worked at did rank their waitlist. When I was at Berkeley, actually, that waitlist is ranked into quartiles, and we kind of averaged anywhere from 400 to 600 people on the waitlist, and what would happen is waitlist offers would go out, and then around May to June, we would send out a form for folks on the waitlist to confirm that they would want to remain on the waitlist.

And once we got those confirmations back, our dean of admissions would go through every single application on the waitlist and rank them into quartiles, 1, 2, 3, and 4, and candidates would be told which quartile they were in, and we would update over the summer as we kind of moved forward. The hard part is, you know, sometimes schools have a rank to their waitlist, and you might not be in that top group.

That doesn't mean that that school can't get to the next group or the group after that. It really means that they're giving you a sense of how to plan and prioritize in case they don't make it to that group or in case they happen to fill their class and not need to go to the waitlist at all. They want to help you set your expectations, or at least that's how they view it on their end.

And I know that that can be really nerve-wracking, but it's meant to help. And as they update over the summer, they'll let people know if the quartiles have changed at all. Each year varies in how much schools will touch on their waitlists, whether they need to at all, or whether they don't. And so it's important to know that whatever happened the previous year, it doesn't necessarily mean you're going to have the exact same experience as whomever it was that applied the year before.

And so, Elizabeth and Jen, I'm going to ask this question of both of you. Based on your experiences at various schools, how often did the schools that you worked for review their waitlists? Elizabeth?

Elizabeth: The school I worked for, I reviewed it continuously, almost every day, seeing who was there, who might have left, what numbers were looking like, but closer to deposit deadlines is when I'd look a little bit more carefully. So based on where deposits were coming in, or when other schools are having second deposit deadlines, we'd often see people who placed multiple deposits leave our class and go to somewhere else.

And so I'd look at it all the time, but certainly more seriously as spaces became available, generally around deposit deadlines, but it could happen anytime. Sometimes there's a domino effect, and one school goes to their waitlist, and then it kind of trickles down and the rest of us go as a result. But I was always prepared about who I might do outreach to, who I might want to offer admission to if spaces did become available.

Jennifer: So the schools that I worked for, they would sort of have this waitlist created, and oftentimes those candidates who were waitlisted would want to know when the waitlist would be activated. And to echo my colleague Elizabeth, most of the activation of our waitlists were not sort of triggered or set to go or opened up until typically after the first deposit deadline.

Now, we're sort of in that phase, folks, for a lot of law schools. Some of them have a deposit deadline this Friday, some have them coming up at the end of this month, some early May, and based on, kind of think about it like this, right? Like all the offers that have been cast out there, these folks, they have a finish line coming up, and that finish line is that deadline.

And so they're going to kind of wait these waters to see, from all these offers that you've extended, how many are going to come back and deposit. Based on the number of seat deposits that they have, right, they're going to sort of run some reports, they're going to have some conversations with the deans of the law schools, kind of get a trajectory of where the classes spots, how the class is shaping up in terms of median LSAT and GPA.

Typically, then, at that point, a waitlist is activated. At those schools I respectively worked for, once that waitlist was activated, it remained open, typically until right up until orientation, which usually falls around the middle of August. And so oftentimes candidates would even ask, "When am I going to hear a decision as a waitlisted candidate?"

Those decisions typically were triggered if there was any movement or shift in the entering class, where they had lost candidates to other schools, or a deposited student withdrew because they won the lottery, or let's say a deposited student withdrew because they got accepted as a Fulbright and they don't want to defer, and they'll think about law school in a number of years.

Anything that triggers, right, or makes a shift to the entering class, that is sort of the go-ahead, pass 200 and go, right, for an admissions committee to look at a waitlist, those who are prioritized, those that are not, look for any indication of action, contact, accepting the waitlist offer. So the waitlists really sort of determined, right, the course of action of when we took the waitlist candidates off was really driven by any shift or movement in the entering class.

So it varied from school to school. But I know that each of my colleagues have been on that opposite end of monitoring the entering class, right, at the same time helping to bring these students in while still sort of supporting the waitlisted candidates, keeping in touch with them. And I know that we've been on the opposite end of making those phone calls either a week before orientation, two weeks before orientation, so it can vary.

But the best way that I can describe it in my experience is that it's like any shift or movement that happens with the entering class or more availability to add seats in the class, and sometimes those conversations are having deans of admissions or having those conversations with the dean of a law school in terms of like, alright, what do we want, do we want to move this needle? Do you want to move this trajectory?

And so even those goals that were set forth for the admissions team, typically in September, they could very well shift during sort of that summer season. But it's good to know, again, I go back to that term "politely aggressive," you know, if you're not doing it, then another candidate is, and it's a great way just to, again, anything you do with tone, approach, professionalism, kindness, and being authentically yourself, law school admission representatives, they're going to remember that, and you'll leave an impression on them.

But I would say for someone at that sort of position as a dean, they're, dean of admissions, they're looking at this daily as well as looking at the entering class daily and having these two somewhat align based on the measures that they're hoping to sit and fill the class. I know that's a very long-winded answer, but I felt it was necessary to add a little bit of evidence to the question, Taj.

Tajira: Thanks for that, Jen. I do think that it depends on each school when it comes to how they review their waitlist and how often. For some schools it's not necessarily every day. It just depends on when things happen. A lot of us tend to receive word before schools decide to start pulling candidates that will affect us.

A lot of times what candidates tend to not know is admissions officers are in touch with each other behind the scenes. And so often we'll hear like, oh, well, this particular school, they're getting ready to pull from their waitlist, and so that's going to affect us. And that's that trickle-down effect that Elizabeth was alluding to. In those instances then, we might start to look at the waitlist and see, okay, well, from these particular candidates, maybe we should put out some feelers.

Some schools will start doing kind of anticipatory phone calls before offering seats from the waitlist, because they want to get a sense of how serious the folks on the waitlist are and if they're willing to, if they're ready to commit. And so be prepared for that and just know that it's a good idea to make sure you're checking your email, checking your spam folder, that you have space in your voicemail, just in case schools call or reach out, because typically, those waitlist offers and those feeler calls, they are made with a sense of urgency.

Elizabeth, is scholarship money offered to people admitted off of the waitlist?

Elizabeth: This really would vary from school to school, but yeah, by and large, I think scholarship money is available to people off the waitlist. I know where I worked, I would ask people I was thinking about admitting from the waitlist where they were admitted and what scholarships they received, because that helped me figure out what kind of offer I might be able to present to them to ensure that they would accept my waitlist offer.

But there are some schools where don't expect it at all, so that really does vary on the school. And so if scholarship's something that you're really focused on, is a huge part of your decision-making process, you want to be thoughtful about what type of schools you're on a waitlist for, and if you'll be able to accept an offer if they're not able to offer you any scholarship aid.

Tajira: That's great. Thank you. And Jen, is it possible for a school not to admit anyone off their waitlist?

Jennifer: Believe it or not, it is, it is. I know in some years, you know, I had worked for a public institution in a state where there were, at the time, six other law schools, and one of the nice gestures that we did amongst each other as law schools is we would let each other know when we were going to be activating our waitlist.

Now, not all law schools operate in this manner, and yes, there were some years that our class was full. In some instances, the class was overenrolled, but yes, I, there can be a period that there is no activity on a waitlist. So, depends on the cycle, depends on how many seat deposits have been received. Again, if they're looking to increase those metrics, kind of hold where they're at, and I think too, you'll begin to see some definition of an entering class at any law school in the entire country, typically after the second or final seat deposit, which for most law schools is in June.

Tajira: Okay. Elizabeth, how long do schools often give to accept a waitlist offer?

Elizabeth: I feel like I'm a broken record when I say it depends, but generally, they expect you to make a decision pretty quickly. I've extended offers from the waitlist where I've asked them in 48 hours. I've asked others within a week. So it depends. Earlier on in the cycle, when I admit someone from the waitlist, they get a little bit more time, but come August, we need to know pretty quickly.

I have said we need to let you know, you need to let me know within 48 hours, like, but I want to come visit next week, and I'm like, okay, I can extend it for you to come visit. But generally expect to make a decision pretty quickly. And so for the schools that you're on the waitlist for, you'll need to know if you're willing to accept an offer and how quickly you might need to make, change plans accordingly.

Tajira: And again, this is why I can't stress enough, you know, make sure that there's space in your voicemail inbox, make sure that you're checking your spam folder and checking your email, because these offers can be very, very time-sensitive. You know, as Elizabeth said, I've definitely done times where someone will have two weeks to think about it and chew on it, but I've seen where some schools give 24 hours and they're allowed to do that. And so you just need to be prepared. If you're wanting to stay on a waitlist, you do need to be prepared to have to make a quick decision.

Jen, I think you touched on this a little bit earlier, but if I'm waiting to be considered and I'm on a waitlist elsewhere, should I deposit at another school as like a backup?

Jennifer: Absolutely. I mean, here's the thing. If you look back, right, these past six, seven months, you started with a plan, with that intention to go to law school, right? You had a list and options of law schools that you applied to, right? Because you thought of different place scenarios. If your intention is to start law school this fall, and you have placed a deposit down at another school, and you are waitlisted, maybe at your first choice, you want to make sure that you've got a backup plan, right?

As opposed to saying to this institution that's admitted you and given you some money, hey, thanks, but no thanks. I'm going to put all my eggs and chips into the chances that I'm going to get off this waitlist. It really sort of comes down to that personal, it's a very personal, it's a heavy wise decision, but it's completely appropriate. It happens across every law school in the spectrum, but, right, like just be prepared.

In some instances, let's say you do get off the waitlist at this institution and you accept immediately, with all due respect, a professional courtesy, please inform that school that you are withdrawing from them because they're counting on you. With that deposit, they're getting ready to welcome you to their campus. Right? They're getting orientation packets ready for you. You know, they may be putting you into small sections. So it's making sure that you are sort of keeping those communications open.

But absolutely, I mean, I've worked with candidates who have been deposited elsewhere and were on the waitlist with us and, you know, immediately accepted the offer. And then those, you know, they had to think about it, and then those that were like, I've decided I'm not going to law school at all.

So, you know, I think to be sort of fully prepared, again, if your intention is to go to law school this fall, I think it is wise to sort of place that seat deposit down as a plan B, right? Particularly if that opportunity doesn't exist to come off the waitlist. But I'd be curious to hear your thoughts, Taj or Elizabeth, or if you had anything to add.

Tajira: The one caution that I would provide is, you know, looking at the small print, there are some schools where, if you deposit there, the expectation is that you will withdraw all your applications. And so you do need to look at the language for the deposit and the commitment, because some schools have terms and conditions that you have to accept as you're depositing. And those terms and conditions can include requirements to withdraw all applications out of consideration elsewhere, including waitlisted applications.

And so in that instance, just be careful, because that can come back to bite you if you're not following instructions there, but outside of those schools that do have those terms, and not every school does, you can certainly deposit at one school while you wait to hear from another. But as Jen said, you know, communication is everything, and we do appreciate those folks that let us know that they're going to withdraw.

With that, I think I'll go ahead and open things up for questions. Let's say, you know, to start, we'll ask that folks limit themselves to one question, no follow-ups, so that we can get to as many questions as possible. That being said, you know, we don't have a huge audience today, so if you have more than one question, we can certainly address that. If you want to raise your hand, I can bring folks up on stage one at a time, and we can see how best to address your question. And so the floor is open to our audience. Please feel free to raise a hand.

Okay, I have one from Alexa. Hi there.

New Speaker: Hi, are you able to hear me? Great. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. I was wondering, so if I sent a letter of continued interest about a month ago to a school that I'm on the waitlist for, is now a good time to kind of follow up and just say, just a short email saying that I'm still interested, and do I need to add, I guess, anything more than just saying, like, I'm still really interested?

Tajira: That's a great question. Elizabeth?

Elizabeth: So I think check-ins are absolutely appropriate. You want to find that fine line between showing that you're interested and being annoying. So I think a short check, and you'd be like, just let you know I'm still interested, you're still my top choice, and you don't necessarily have to do a big, long letter of continued interest all the time.

And you also, like I've had people say, I'm going to contact you every week, and I'm like, oh, please don't contact me every week. But I think like once a month is an appropriate, just to say I'm still interested, I'm still here if space has become available.

New Speaker: Okay, thank you so much.

Tajira: Thank you for joining us. Well, if you weren't here for the entire event, this will be available as a replay. We will also post it to our podcast. I hope that you will join us again soon. Thank you very, very much to my panelists, Elizabeth and Jen. We really appreciate it, and we will do this again soon. Do check out our website because we do have some upcoming webinars that you might be interested in, where you'll be able to see the team and ask questions. So join us again soon and take care.

J.Y.: Hi, it's J.Y. again. Thank you for listening. As always, if you're studying for the LSAT, applying to law school, studying for your law school exams, or studying for the bar, come visit us at 7Sage.com. We can help.

That's it for this episode. Take care of yourself, and see you next time.