application timeline for "nontraditional" student

[sarajane]

hi, i'm applying for admission to law school for fall 2014, and will be taking the february 2013 lsat (postponed from december, i wasn't feeling very confident about scoring high enough).

i graduated undergrad with a 3.44 gpa in 2005, which for most of the schools i plan on applying to is below the lower 25th percentile (whatever that range is called), so i want to make up that deficit by raising my lsat score as high as possible. yet if i were to take the lsat more than once, the scores would be averaged, correct? if so, would it then be advisable to take it just once? i suspect once i take the lsat, i'll have to adjust the list of schools i'd apply to.

if i were to submit my applications as early as possible (say, september 2013), when should i start requesting recommendations and such? and given that will have been out of school for 8 years by the time i apply, how should i go about academic recommendations?

[Anne Chaconas]

Hi sarajane!

I'm happy to shed some light on your situation and answer your questions.

First, regarding multiple LSAT scores: How schools view multiple scores will vary depending on the institution. Some will average the scores, others will look at the highest score, and yet others will look at each score individually and consider your overall trend. The majority of schools have their multiple LSAT score policy on their website; if they don't, give them a call--they'll be happy to tell you exactly how a score report with multiple numbers will be evaluated. In the event that scores are averaged, it would definitely be a good idea to only take the LSAT once (in fact, it's a good idea in any case to only take the LSAT once) since any other scores can affect your average.

In order to submit your applications as early as possible, I usually recommend that students start asking for recommendation letters and obtaining the other necessary documents (such as transcripts and Dean's Certifications) 2-3 months in advance of when you plan to submit your file. This will give you plenty of time to still get materials submitted by your deadline in the event of delays or problems.

Given how long you've been out of school, academic recommendations will be difficult for you to obtain (unless you've kept in close contact with any of your professors over the years, but that's often not the case). If you've recently (in the last 1-2 years) taken any graduate level or community college courses (either for credit or not for credit), you could ask those instructors/professors to provide you with letters of recommendation. However, in the event that this is not possible, I recommend that you ask anyone in a managerial position that has worked closely with you (such as a boss, a coach, a volunteer coordinator--students sometimes even ask their pastor or priest, if they are active in their church) to provide you with a recommendation that talks in detail and at length about the following traits in your character:

► Intellectual skill
► Positive personal traits (such as motivation, compassion, sound judgment, personal initiative, professionalism)
► Integrity and honesty
► Communication skills
► Task management
► Ability to work with others

Use the questions in the LSAC Evaluation (here: http://www.lsac.org/jd/apply/evaluations.asp) as a guide for what these "professional" (as opposed to academic) recommenders should address. As long as they address the same characteristics and features that an academic recommender would, their letters will still hold value within your application; law schools understand that students who have been out of school for a while will likely be unable to obtain recommendations from academic sources, but will still welcome hearing about the student's qualities from an informed third party. If you have any questions about how to handle these letters or what each school looks for in a recommender, call each school and ask--again, they are more than willing to give you information on what they need to make a decision.

I hope this helps. Best of luck!

[sarajane]

Thanks, Anne; this was helpful (and the blog post you wrote about older students and LORs was also very reassuring)!