As summer comes to a close, law school application season begins. Now is the time to decide whether you plan to submit a binding, early decision application. Further, you need to figure out where you plan to submit applications.
Last admissions cycle, I worked with a client who posed an interesting strategy. He was concerned about “wasting” an early decision application to law schools like Columbia University and New York University where he had a very small percentile chance of gaining admission. Instead, he considered applying early to mid-range reach programs where he was more likely to distinguish himself from other comparable candidates.
Your dream may be to attend Yale University, Stanford University or Harvard Law School, but these elite programs do not offer early decision. Even if your dream school does offer an early decision option, be honest when evaluating your chances of getting in.
An early decision application demonstrates your enthusiasm for the school; however, the same admissions criteria apply as regular decision.
Submitting early decision is not a secret password that will get you into a school where you would otherwise have been rejected. That’s why you should explore options outside your ultimate reach school when deciding where to submit your early decision application.
Here is a five-step process to help you strategize where to apply early decision
1.Identify early decision options: Review your list of schools, and then identify which programs offer early decision. Prioritize reach and target schools, rather than safeties, since it is not worth committing to a program well within your undergraduate GPA and LSAT range.
2.Cut schools you won’t commit to: Further cull your list of potential early decision applications by deciding which programs you would be thrilled to attend if admitted. Remember, an early decision application is binding. You do not want to commit yourself to a program and end up disappointed.
3.Research available early decision scholarships: Once you have narrowed your choices, explore whether scholarship options are available. Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, for example, offers $150,000 in merit scholarships to applicants admitted through its early decision program.
You may prefer to apply early decision to a school like the University of California –Berkeley, which automatically grants accepted early decision applicants $60,000 in merit-based scholarships over schools like the University of Virginia and University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, where funding offers for early decision applicants are not guaranteed.
4. Consider submission deadlines: Review early decision deadlines. While you cannot submit more than one early decision application at a time, you may be able apply early decision to other programs if your first application is denied or placed on hold.
Some programs offer two early decision deadlines. The University of Pennsylvania Law School‘s Round 1 applications must be received by Nov. 15, while Round 2 applications must be received by Jan. 7. In contrast, the deadline for early decision applications to Georgetown University Law School are not due until Feb. 1 for a three-week response notification or March 1 for early decision consideration.
You could potentially submit an early decision application to a program like NYU, which has a Nov. 15 early decision deadline and notifies applicants of a decision by late December, and then, if you aren’t accepted, submit a second early decision application to a school like UPenn or Georgetown.
Such an approach gives you two bites at the proverbial early decision apple. But weigh the advantages of submitting early decision against the delay of submitting your application. You might be better off submitting all your applications in November rather than waiting until January, since applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
5.Determine Which Decision Suits You: My client who first considered the strategy of applying early decision to less competitive reach schools ultimately chose not to apply early decision anywhere. He was waitlisted at Columbia and denied admission to NYU. I doubt submitting early decision to either would have changed those results.
He enrolled at the University of Michigan, where he received a generous scholarship award. If he had submitted an early decision application, I do not believe he would have been as enthusiastic about his results. Since he was not committed anywhere, he was able to use the application and interview process to learn more about each school and determine which program was the best fit.
In contrast, I worked with another applicant who was certain that Columbia was her top choice. She submitted early decision and was accepted a few weeks later. She was excited to have finalized her enrollment with plenty of time to plan for her transition to law school.
In the end, only you can decide whether you want the benefit of an early decision result or the flexibility of keeping your options open.
Questions about applying early decision to law school? You can reach me at lawadmissionslowdown@usnews.com.
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Strategize Law School Early Decision Applications originally appeared on usnews.com
