Lowell Pre-Law

A: The resident tutors and nonresident staff are available to you any time. As with nonresident and resident tutors in any discipline, the prelaw staff can take you to their classes, discuss their experiences, etc. Don’t hesitate to contact any of us – our contact information is listed in the face book.

Even if you are unsure whether to apply, we are available to help you think through this decision. This is one of the most important aspects of our role, and we are happy to talk with you about more general career planning questions and about whether or not law school is a good fit for your interests and goals. Please feel free to talk with us even if you are unsure whether law school is right for you.

Q: When should I apply to law school?

A: Many students ask whether they should take “time off” or when is the best time “strategically” to apply to law school. Law schools accept applicants directly, or one or more years after college. These days, a majority of law students do not enter law school directly after college. This is usually the best option for students who want to explore other areas before “settling down,” or are unsure about whether, when, or where they want to go to law school.

We generally urge you to consider taking at least one year off before applying to law school. In part, this is because it often helps students to decide whether or not law school is right for them. Additionally, the time between college and law school offers an opportunity for self-exploration, travel, or interesting work that becomes more difficult after law school. Finally, having some post-collegiate experience often helps students in law school because they have additional career experience and perspective.

Think strategically about whether to apply senior year or not – your application may be strengthened with the addition of work or travel experience, or your senior year grades and honors.

It is best to apply to law school when you think your application will be strongest. If you are doing interesting work, your application will generally get somewhat stronger a year or more out of school. Furthermore, if an applicant is not accepted at a particular school, it is unusual for that candidate to be accepted the next year when she reapplies. Generally, unless the candidate’s credentials have changed significantly during that year, they will really not stand a better chance for admission. Therefore, you should aim to apply when you think that your chances are the best, rather than taking a shot with the expectation that you can try again the next year if you are unsuccessful.

A note on deferring: Generally, the best time to apply to law school is the time you’re ready to attend. However, some students choose to apply in their senior year and then defer. Most law schools grant one-year deferrals regularly, although often resist subsequent deferrals. (With rare exceptions – for instance, students with international fellowships are routinely granted additional deferments). If you want to defer, beware that many schools make their deferral decisions on a first-come, first-serve basis. Law schools will often grant deferrals until their entering class gets too small, and then stop granting them. This means it is very much in your best interest to get your deferral request in as early as possible.

Ultimately, these can be very tough decisions, and only you can make them!

Either way, if you are thinking about law school now or in the future, we strongly suggest that you talk to someone on the pre-law committee so we can help you think through your options and plans. Also, we suggest that you ask professors or teaching fellows for recommendations before you graduate to have on file at Lowell House. That way, if you decided to apply to law school now, or five years down the road, you will not have to track down old professors who probably do not remember you well. The Lowell House pre-law tutors and advisors are always available to provide support throughout the law school application process, regardless of when you apply.

Q: I’m considering applying to law school this coming fall. How do I find out what I need to know?

A: Email the Pew-Law Committee (LoHoLaw@fas.harvard.edu) as soon as possible. We will pair you with a Pre-Law Advisor and provide you with the deadlines for application materials throughout the summer and fall.

In the meantime, read the Lowell House pre-law application procedures carefully as explained on this website.

• Plan to take the LSAT by September or October of the year you apply.

• Ensure that you have contacted the Lowell House Office by September in order to register for the Lowell Pre-Law Program. This requires giving written permission to (1) allow the pre-law committee access to your file and (2) declare whether or not you waive your right of access to the House letter. You must fill out the standard release form to accomplish this. Provide your pre-law advisor with an updated resume.

• Apply to law schools early. Admission is on a rolling basis and the earlier your application is filed, the better your chance for admission.

• Prepare your application carefully. Ask for advice on your application essay from your pre-law tutor and others around you.

• Apply to several law schools (we recommend 8-10) and aim high.

• Track down the people who could write letters of recommendation for you. The sooner you ask them, the better.

Q: How are pre-law advisors matched with students/alums?

A: We attempt to match students to pre-law advisors who have the same interests, although that is not always possible. Regardless, a student can speak with other pre-law tutors besides your main advisor.

Q: How can I estimate my likelihood of admission?

A: The FAS Office of Career Services (OCS) publishes “Grids” each year which compile data about how many applicants from Harvard College were admitted by the various law schools, organized by the GPA, LSAT scores, and ethnicity of the applicants. The Grids are sometimes daunting to look at and we emphasize that this is a simplification of the admissions process that does not take into account other factors considered by admissions committees (although the trends are undeniable). Take the grids with a grain of salt! You can borrow a copy of the “Grids” from the Lowell pre-law committee, or else buy a copy directly from OCS (617 495-2595; 54 Dunster Street).

The same goes for the U.S. News and World Reports rankings. Both provide useful but very limited information. Aim high and don’t psych yourself out. Always apply to all the schools you could see yourself attending – don’t make the admissions committees’ decisions for them. Law school admissions committees can be quirky and unpredictable, however, so we generally recommend applying to at least ten schools. Your pre-law advisor can help you put together a list of schools, think through which ones would be the best fit, and eventually help you decide which school to attend.

Although some schools are known to have certain strengths, people do not have “majors” in law school, and many courses are general and required at all schools (though there is more opportunity for specialization in the second and third years). Also consider the overall reputation of the school, its size (class sizes range pretty widely), location (where would you like to spend three years?), and other attributes.

Q: What should I write my personal statement about?

A: See our Personal Statement Tips sheet for some general recommendations.

Q: When and how should I ask recommenders to write letters for me?

A: Get your recommendations as soon as you can. Even if you don’t need the letter this year, it is generally easier for a recommender to update a letter than it is to write from scratch several years down the line when s/he may not remember you as well. During your freshman, sophomore, or junior years, after you complete a class with an excellent grade, you can ask the instructor to write a recommendation letter for you at that time. Give the instructor a copy of the Harvard College waiver form, and ask the instructor to send the letter plus waiver form to the Lowell House office for inclusion in your student file. You can ask the instructor to update and send the letter later when you actually do apply to law school; if the instructor cannot be found or cannot find the letter, we will have the original version on file.

All else being equal, a big academic name makes a big impact. But generally, it is better to ask for a letter of recommendation from someone who knows you well and can speak to your particular strengths (even if that recommender is a teaching fellow) than to get a letter of recommendation from a famous professor who does not know you as well. See above for what you should provide the instructor with when you ask for a recommendation.

Q: How many letters do I need?

A: For law school applications, sending two from undergraduate instructors is generally a minimum. It’s preferable to have extras in your house file to help your advisor write your House Letter, and to give you some flexibility about which to send. Note that you should not count your Dean’s Letter from the house toward the minimum number of letters required by a school. If you have been out of school for two years or more, a professional recommendation is also appropriate in addition to the academic recommendations.

Q: How should recommenders address their letters?

A: “To Whom it May Concern” is okay, though “Dear Law School Admissions Committee” is less sterile. Anything else is up to you and your recommender. Generally, law schools understand that most applicants apply to multiple schools and recommenders need not address letters specifically to each school.

Q: Will law schools be more impressed if a professor writes my recommendation, or should I ask my teaching fellow who knows me better?

A: As a rule of thumb, you should always ask for a recommendation from the person who best knows you and your work. Law schools will not be impressed by a letter of recommendation from a professor that comments on little more than the grade you earned in his or her class. If your teaching fellow is more familiar with the quality of your work, by all means ask him or her to write you the recommendation. Moreover, do not be shy about asking your recommender whether he or she feels comfortable writing you a good letter. Occasionally, a professor may co-sign a letter drafted by a teaching fellow. If you are acquainted with both the professor and the teaching fellow, you may wish to inquire as to whether this would be appropriate.

If you have been out of school for two years or more, a professional recommendation is also appropriate in addition to the academic recommendations.

Q: Should I waive my right of access to see the letters of recommendation being written on my behalf?

A: That is a decision that only you can make. However, we recommend that you waive your right to see the letter to ensure that there is no doubt in the minds of the admissions committees that the recommender wrote the letter without restraint.

Q: I have a letter of recommendation on file at Lowell, but didn’t get an access waiver form from my recommender. I now want to waive my right of access and have the letter sent to law school(s). What should I do?

A: The only effective way to waive access “retroactively” is to have your recommender re-submit his/her letter to Lowell with a waiver form. The date on the resubmitted letter should not be earlier than the date on the waiver form. However, whether your recommender changes more than the date is up to him/her.

Q: Should I use the LSAC letter of recommendation service (part of my LSDAS subscription)?

A: It is up to you. It doesn’t matter to the law schools if the recommendations are sent in directly by the professor or by LSAC. However, if you route the recommendation letters through LSAC, this saves you and your instructor a lot of work that would have been spent in preparing separate envelopes. You also save on postage stamps!

Q: One of my application forms asks for my “class rank.” What do I put down?

A: Harvard does not provide class rank. Fill in “N/A”.

Q: Do all schools require college/dean’s certification forms and House Letters?

A: No. Some schools only need their form to be filled out to certify that you are in good standing, while others may have no form at all. Lowell House is happy to send a letter for you anyway as long as you provide a stamped & addressed envelope indicating that you would like us to.

Q: What do people with law degrees do?

A: The up side of having a law degree is that most people, institutions, and/or organizations at one time or another need a lawyer. Recently, demand for new lawyers has been strong, and the typical graduating law student may choose from an array of jobs, including private practice at a law firm; federal, state, or local government jobs; or jobs with nonprofit organizations, such as foundations or advocacy groups. Newspapers, corporations, consulting firms, universities, and countless other institutions also hire lawyers. The law impacts most areas of our lives and law degrees open a wide array of doors.

However, a law degree is not for everyone. It should not simply be a default path for a smart, liberal arts student who can’t think of anything else to do. For law school to be a good career decision, you should really think through why you want to be a lawyer or at least why getting a law degree will advance other career goals in some tangible way.

In private practice, the nature of the work tends to vary by geographic region. For example, lawyers practicing in New York law firms tend to concentrate on corporate transactional law, litigation (i.e., law suits), tax law, real estate law, and other finance-related matters. Lawyers in D.C. firms may focus on more regulatory, government-related affairs involving government contracts, trade, health, and environmental issues, and communications. Many D.C. firms also have a legislative practice, through which well-connected attorneys regularly lobby Congress and the Administration on behalf of their clients. Many firms in large cities also have substantial international law practices. Private criminal defense work is also widely available.

Government legal work also varies depending on the agency or department and the level of government. For example, attorneys in the Department of Justice are involved in a variety of civil and criminal matters, ranging from antitrust to civil rights work. Lawyers at city law departments litigate on behalf of their city, which includes defending the actions of government agencies and local government officials. Public defenders’ offices, district attorneys and state attorney general’s offices also offer exciting legal opportunities.

Lawyers practicing in the nonprofit sector may engage in a wide array of activities. Many of these lawyers represent low-income families and seek to address issues associated with housing, immigration, access to government benefits and health care, fair employment practices, domestic violence, and other family matters. This work may focus on direct representation of families or may integrate this work with efforts to achieve large-scale change through policy and/or legislation. Additionally, lawyers play an important role in advancing human rights and other international policy issues through a wide array of international organizations.

Finally, lawyers often become judges, legal academics, politicians, policymakers, businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and diplomats.

Q: What classes should I take now to prepare for law school?

A: Unlike medical school and some other graduate schools, law schools do not require any specific courses. There is no ideal pre-law undergraduate concentration.

Rather, law schools are most concerned with a student’s ability to analyze and to write effectively. The best approach to preparing for law school is to develop these skills broadly through an array of coursework. Some familiarity with economics and political theory may be helpful as background, though taking these courses will not improve your odds of being accepted to law school.

Q: How do joint degree programs between law and other disciplines work?

A: A small number of students enrolled in law school decide to jointly enroll in other graduate programs in fields such as business or public policy. Not all law schools offer joint-degree programs, and each school has different requirements for applying to and enrolling in these programs. We recommend that you contact each school directly for more specific information about academic requirements, length of program, tuition, and overall program structure.

In deciding whether to apply to a joint-degree program, it is important to weigh the benefits of pursuing two degrees against the added costs (of time, tuition and foregone income). Keep in mind that getting a single degree does not in any way preclude you from doing multi-disciplinary work throughout your career. For example, a JD-MBA is by no means necessary for those of you planning to pursue a career in corporate law. Likewise, for those primarily interested in business, the law degree is hardly a prerequisite for working in finance, consulting, general management or any other business-related career. Remember that a law degree is only a prerequisite for practicing law.

One motivation for pursuing these longer and costlier programs is simply to obtain specific knowledge from more than one school that you could not otherwise gain from simple cross-registration. For example, someone interested in working mergers and acquisitions or risk arbitrage, fields that often present complicated legal issues, might find the JD-MBA program useful for learning how to structure transactions.

Please note that if you are interested in the JD-MBA program, two years of work experience are generally mandatory and three or more is now preferred. These years often provide useful insight into the specific assets associated with degrees in each program and clarify whether a joint-degree program would, in fact, be the most effective means of obtaining the skills you desire. Second, for many joint degree programs involving a professional school, you do have the option of applying to the second school while in the first year of the program at another. This alleviates the burden of applying to two schools simultaneously and allows you to assess the merits of joining a second program after you have entered and experienced the first.

Q: I applied once to my preferred school and was not admitted. Is there any point in reapplying?

A: While the competitiveness of admissions at a given school varies a little bit year by year, only around 20% of students who reapply to a school (after being denied admission) get admitted. Consulting the Law School Grids can help you estimate your probability of admission. Seniors with weak grades can increase their competitiveness by completing a thesis and working for two or three years or excelling in another academic program.

Q: When should I take the LSAT?

A: The earlier, the better. The LSAT is given four times in each calendar year: early February, early June, late September or early October, and early December. The best time to do the LSAT is probably in February during your junior year, or in June after your junior year. Due to the Harvard College schedule, these dates give you a couple weeks prior to the test to devote yourself to LSAT studying. Taking the test in your junior year is a good idea because it affords you the opportunity to re-take the test later if you did not perform your best (see below). Additionally, seniors tend to be very busy with job applications, law school applications, theses, and extracurricular leadership during the fall of their senior year, so it is difficult to also prepare for the LSAT. Furthermore, it is advantageous to submit your application early in the season, so it is great if your LSAT is already done when the summer ends. If you are going to take the LSAT in the fall, the September/October date is preferable to December. If you are an alumnus applying to law school, the same general advice applies: The earlier, the better!

Q: Should I take a prep course?

A: The LSAT is a test that you can prepare for. Therefore, you should evaluate yourself as a test-taker and decide whether you have the discipline to prepare on your own without a course or whether you need the structure and deadlines that a course can offer you. Additionally, taking a diagnostic test before studying is often a helpful way to evaluate how much preparation will be required to get your score within the range you are aiming for. Whether or not you take a course, it is usually a good idea to block off a significant chunk of time to dedicate exclusively to preparing for the LSAT.

Q: Can I increase my chances of admission by retaking the LSAT?

A: It depends. Generally, people don’t improve their LSAT performance significantly unless (1) they were under-prepared the first time they took it, or (2) something significant and tangible went wrong during the test (e.g., you messed up the bubbles, you had a headache that day, etc.). Most schools look at both scores (or average them), rather than looking at your highest score by itself.

Q: If I have multiple LSAT scores on my record, will admissions committees use the highest score, or average the scores?

A: Some schools will average your scores, others will focus your highest score.

Q: I don’t think I did as well on the LSAT as I could have. Should I cancel my score?

A: Again, it depends. If you think that your performance on the test was significantly worse than your performance on practice tests, cancellation is an option. Generally, schools do not penalize you significantly for one cancellation, especially if the subsequent score is strong. However, you generally should not cancel your score unless you think that your performance on the exam was much worse than you are capable of. Note that if you are planning to apply to schools the same year that you take the LSAT, re-taking the LSAT in December may hurt your chances of admission because the admissions committee will not consider your application until your scores are reported, i.e., later on in the admissions process than applicants who took the October LSAT.

Q: How long is an LSAT score valid for?

A: Five years.

Q: I am planning to apply to Canadian law schools. What should I do?

A: You still need to register for the LSAT and write the test. However, Canadian law schools do not participate in LSDAS, so if you are applying to only Canadian law schools, you do not need to register for LSDAS. In general, you should apply directly to the admissions offices of your targeted Canadian law schools. You provide your LSAC number to the Canadian law schools, which will request your LSAT score from LSAC. We will still compose a “Dean's Letter” for you and submit it to the Canadian law schools (if you give us stamped/addressed envelopes), although that is not required. If you are applying to Ontario law schools, you will make use of the OLSAS application clearinghouse, which functions much like LSDAS: You send in your transcript, recommendation letters, etc. to the clearinghouse. For more information on OLSAS, see here.

Q: What kind of financial aid is available for law school?

A: Unfortunately, grant aid is much more difficult to obtain from law school financial aid offices, compared to undergraduate financial aid. At many schools, most students must accept a standard loan package (consisting of both Federal and private student loans) before becoming eligible for grant aid (if such aid is available at all). These loans are deferred while the student is still in school, but interest generally accrues during law school. Many law schools consider the parents' financial situation and make it difficult for the student to prove financial independence (which might help the student to obtain grant aid) unless he has been living away from his parents for several years. Some law schools such as NYU provide a limited number of merit-based grant scholarships, which are highly competitive and prestigious. Many law schools have loan forgiveness policies for after you graduate, depending on your post-graduation income. You should investigate all of these issues when deciding where to apply and then which law school to matriculate at. You will probably not be asked to fill out a financial aid application form until after you accept an admission offer.

Q: How do I apply for a fee waiver for the LSAT / LSDAS / law schools?

A: First, how should you apply for a fee waiver from LSAT/LSDAS? You must fill out this form and also include your most recent federal tax forms. Also include your LSDAS registration application. You should send in this application before you register for either LSAT or LSDAS. Mail your application to to the address on the form. More documents providing instructions on filling out the fee waiver application form are available here. If a fee waiver is granted, it covers both LSDAS and LSAT.

Second, what about requesting a waiver for each individual law school's application fee (usually $75)? There is no standard form for requesting a fee waiver from each school; you need to contact each admissions office directly to receive their application. For example: see this Stanford Law School page and this Harvard Law School page and this U. Michigan page (search the webpages for “waiver”). You should ideally submit your fee waiver request before you complete the law school's application. When you are about to submit your application for that law school to the “Shopping Cart” in the LSAC web interface, you should choose the option of “Pay later” rather than giving your credit card info at that time. Hopefully, the law school will approve your request, and then you'll never need to pay anything.

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