Contacting Recommenders

[js1202]

Hi all,

I was wondering whether or not it was standard practice for admissions officers to write back to recommenders to confirm receipt of their letter. One of my recommenders (my strongest one) emailed me today to wish me luck in the cycle and to say that the law school had written him a letter confirming that they had received my letter. None of my other recommenders were contacted nor was this recommender contacted by any other school. To be fair, he is an alum of the school and knows several professors there. However, I was made to understand that who the recommender is has little bearing on the weight of the letter in comparison to how well he knows me.

This might just be me over-thinking things because I am anxious to hear back from this school, as it is my top choice, but does this mean anything at all? Good? Bad? Checking that the letter was authentic? Any information to assuage my pre-admission decisions jitters would be much appreciated!

[Alex Bodaken]

JS1202,

Hmm...good question! I suppose it might depend on how the letter was sent - did you send it through LSAC, or was it sent directly from your recommender to the school? If it was the latter, I could see why the school would simply want to confirm with the recommender that they received your letter. Either way, you should be able to see if/that your application has been fully received by a school when they mark it "complete" on their online status checker. I certainly don't think it is any cause for concern (and maybe, as you note, indicates that the school took special note of this recommender - although I agree with you that isn't necessarily likely). I hedged a lot in that answer but that's because I simply don't think we can say with any certainty what it means! But I do think there is no reason to be jittery - the law school application process, quite simply, takes a long time, and it can seem even longer when you're waiting to hear back from your top choice. Best of luck and let us know if there is anything we can help with!

[Dave Killoran]

This likely occurred because he was an alum, and otherwise has no bearing on the process. So, it's neither a good nor bad sign, simply a school taking care to acknowledge to the people most likely to donate to them that they saw he was involved