Welcome to the latest installment of Law Admissions Q&A, a monthly feature of Law Admissions Lowdown that provides admissions advice to readers who send in questions and admissions profiles.
If you have a question about law school, please email me for a chance to be featured next month.
Take [four final steps before submitting law school applications.]
Dear Shawn: I am preparing my applications now and hope to apply as early as possible this fall. I have been receiving fee waivers from some schools and invitations to apply on a priority track from others. Do either of these affect my chances of admission? Also, what is the difference between priority track and early decision? -Early Applier
Dear Early Applier: For a long time, law schools have granted fee waivers to applicants based on preliminary information they gather from the Law School Admission Council. This is one of the ways in which they encourage strong applicants to apply to their school. Receiving a fee waiver does not guarantee admission, of course. But it does indicate that the school is interested in you, usually based on your LSAT score and, if you have submitted your transcripts to LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service, your GPA.
Get [ insight into how law schools view LSAT scores.]
Priority track is a more recent way in which schools encourage strong applicants to apply. Priority track generally means that the school promises to evaluate your candidacy quickly and give you an admissions decision within a few weeks. Like fee waivers, receiving an invitation to apply priority track indicates that the school views you as a strong applicant based on the information available to them but does not guarantee admission.
The difference between priority track and early decision is that priority track is generally not binding, whereas early decision is binding. Be sure to read carefully the description of the priority track application process for each school to make sure that you are not committing yourself to attending that school if admitted.
Another significant difference is that early decision applications are generally evaluated quickly, but not as quickly as priority track, and schools do not commit themselves to rendering a decision within a certain number of days of the submission of the application. Finally, because applying early decision binds the applicant to attend if admitted, it is viewed positively by admissions committees. Applying priority track does not have that advantage. -Shawn
Dear Shawn: I am planning on applying to law school this cycle. My GPA is very strong — 3.9 from a top-ranked university — but I haven’t yet taken the LSAT. Historically I am not a strong standardized test taker, and I am currently scoring in the low 160s. Although I hope to continue to improve, I am not sure where my score will end up. Assuming I end up with a 163 LSAT score, would I be a viable applicant at a top-14 law school? And should I write an addendum explaining my low LSAT score? -High GPA
Know [when and how to write a law school addendum.]
Dear High GPA : First, do everything you can in the next six weeks to improve your LSAT score as much as possible. Your GPA is stellar and is on the high end of the GPA range for all law schools in the country, including Harvard University, Stanford University and Yale University.
But if your LSAT score stays in the low 160s, you will have a very difficult time getting into a top three or top six program. Even with a 163, you will be a viable candidate at many top 14 schools, including Georgetown University, Northwestern University and Cornell University, because your GPA is so high.
Assuming your LSAT score stays in the low- to mid-160s, I would not recommend writing an LSAT addendum in your case. Although there will be a significant disparity between your GPA and LSAT scores, there is no reason to write an addendum. These are appropriate for applicants who have taken the test more than once with a significant score disparity, have cancelled their score more than once or have some other significant irregularity on their LSAT score report.
Some people are tempted to write an addendum to explain that they are historically not great standardized test-takers and that their LSAT score is not indicative of their potential as a law student. Remember that although the LSAT is a very important indicator for admissions committees, they understand how to contextualize the various parts of an application to come to an accurate assessment of an applicant’s potential.
To ensure that admissions committees are comfortable with your academic potential, make sure to highlight some of your academic successes in other parts of your application — particularly in your personal statement — and get letters of recommendation from professors who can speak with firsthand experience about your academic achievements. -Shawn
More from U.S. News
3 Ways Personal, Diversity Statements Differ in Law School Applications
Take 5 Steps to Craft a Great Law School Personal Statement
Early Decision May Not Be Right for Strong Law School Applicants
Decode Priority Track, Early Decision in Law School Applications originally appeared on usnews.com
