Advice for the Waitlisted Law School Applicant

Negotiate for future assured 2L transfer admission if they won’t let you in now.

A recent graduate of an elite national university had everything top law schools wanted…except for a deal-making LSAT score. Doors were shut to this student, despite obvious, proven talent. The elite national law schools did not want to take an incremental hit to their US News & World Report 25-75 enrolling student LSAT band, for this student.

But one elite national law school made the student a creative offer. Earn at least a 3.0 GPA at some lesser law school, and you’ll have an assured spot next year with us. This would allow the elite national law school ultimately to win a very talented student, but without any LSAT penalty (as of course there is no official public tracking of the LSAT scores of successful transfer applicants). And the elite national law school’s risk was further reduced with the requirement for proven success during the 1L year somewhere else. If the student didn’t earn solid 1L grades, no deal. What a clever arrangement by the elite national law school.

So this student ended up at a respected regional law school, with a significant scholarship, and nailed the first semester. The student is well on the way to meeting the required GPA goal.

In this situation, this student could get the last laugh. With strong performance all the way across the first year, it might be possible for the student to win a transfer offer from a top 10, perhaps even a top 5 law school. But the assured admission offer is an outstanding safety net in a very tough market for transfer admissions.

The lesson for you if you are currently wait listed? Show continued enthusiasm throughout the wait list period. At the right moment, ask for an assured 2L admission if it looks like they won’t offer you admission now. If they resist, tell them you’ll prove your talent with at least a 3.0 GPA performance at a school to which you are admitted. They might go for this. You’ve taken out all the risk for the law school. They don’t have to “suffer” your LSAT score, and you have to prove your talents in the competitive game of the first year, which will be demanding anywhere you go. This might be the best possible play for you, given your wait listed status.

For information about my work for law school applicants and transfer applicants, please see my website www.PrelawAdvisor.com or send an e-mail to BradDobeck@aol.com .