Do law schools care about interest?

frazzled1
Sat, 19 Feb 2011 16:28:09 +0000

Having observed the current law school admissions cycle from a distance (but with great interest!), I agree that a visit is an unnecessary expense. Much better to visit when the school will foot the bill. However, several law schools do want to see interest in terms of supplemental essays (“Why Our School?”) or a letter of continuing interest sent after an application has been in for a while. These are detailed explanations of why you want to study at a particular school.

In my d’s case, UVA had been first in her heart since she submitted her application in November. Her LSAT/GPA were well above their medians. However, she hadn’t written a “Why Virginia” essay, nor had she submitted a follow-up letter stating she was still interested. She started to get concerned when several friends who submitted applications later than she did had final decisions and she still hadn’t heard a thing. top-law-schoolsDOTcom, a very detailed site with active LS discussion boards, mentioned the importance of sending a “Why Virginia” essay (annoying my d because apparently the application didn’t mention it at all). She sent one on a Saturday afternoon and received a phone call from the dean less than 48 hours later, with a nice scholarship offer.

Some T14 schools are very anxious to protect their yield (UVA apparently being the most anxious :)). So no visits, but let the schools feel the love.