Add Project Key Words

Navigating the Law School Application Process During a Pandemic

The world has been turned upside down this year. With COVID-19 disrupting in-person test administrations, law schools reopening, and even campus tours, it is certainly a challenging time on many fronts for prospective law students. This blog will inform you on the latest changes regarding JD admissions and provide tips on how to navigate the law school application process during a pandemic as you prepare for this cycle. 

Law School Admissions

Typically when there is an economic downturn and fewer jobs are available, the number of law school applications increase. For instance, it was very competitive to get into law school during the Great Recession over a decade ago. As a result, it is especially important to be organized going into your law school application process during a pandemic, as it may be harder to stand out with an anticipated increase in applications and competition. Law schools have  rolling admissions, so it may be even more of an advantage to get your application in on the earlier side. The majority of applications come in after Thanksgiving and closer to the December holidays, so it may be even better to get your materials in by late October to mid-November to avoid the rush.

Testing

Unlike undergraduate institutions, law schools are not going to waive test requirements for admissions due to current rules from the American Bar Association governing how they accept applicants for the legal profession. So count on needing to take the LSAT (or GRE) to be accepted as you plan the law school application process during a pandemic. Every law school accepts the LSAT; while only a few dozen law schools take the GRE. The LSAT was specifically designed for law school admissions, and there does still seem to be a preference for this test in general. Due to this, it is often a better bet to take the LSAT unless you do substantially better on the GRE or you are a non-traditional candidate who has already attended graduate school. 

LSAT

Over the past few months, LSAC has been offering an LSAT-Flex option, which can be taken at home on your computer with a remote proctor. This option has replaced in-person exams at a test center for the moment. LSAT-Flex is different from the usual exam offered: it has only three multiple choice sections of 35 minutes each, consisting of reading comprehension, analytical reasoning and logical reasoning. Essentially, LSAT-Flex has gotten rid of the second logical reasoning section as well as the experimental section. The usual test has five multiple choice sections total, including two sections of logical reasoning anda 5th unscored section used for testing out future questions. This 5th unscored section could be one of the three topics but you are not informed beforehand which it will be. LSAT has increased the number of tests they have available per year, but usually it is only offered about once every 1-2 months depending on the time of year; for international locations, they might only offer 3-4 times per year.

There is also a new LSAT Score Preview option starting August 2020, only available to those taking the LSAT for the first time, which you must pay for. Upon receiving your score, you have 6 calendar days to decide whether to cancel or keep it. If you don’t spring for this option, you can still cancel the score for a certain time after taking the test, but but won’t be able to see the score before deciding whether to cancel it. 

Remember that in order to send your LSAT score report to schools, you have to take the unscored writing section at home, which is separate from the multiple choice section of the test.

GRE

This is not accepted by every law school. I generally recommend the LSAT over the GRE since only a few dozen schools accept it. However, if you do plan to take it, there is an at-home GRE General Test available for students navigating the law school application process during a pandemic. They are much more flexible with test dates than the LSAT administrators, and right now they are offering the test 7 days a week through September. Test centers are slowly opening up as well, depending on your location, so check your country on the website to see if an in-person test is an option for you.

Getting to Know Schools

Typically admissions officers host many events on their campus in the fall and travel all over the country to attend fairs and visit colleges. Law schools host future candidates on campus and in the classroom as well. However, due to COVID-19, it is likely there will be few, if any, in-person events. The colleges will shift to having virtual events. 

For instance, LSAC usually hosts fairs around the country, but instead, this fall there will be several virtual ones online attended by representatives from almost all law schools in the US. You can find out more here.

Take the time to sign up for mailing lists and attend meetings to learn more about law schools. Attend on online tours. If you know people at certain law schools or who have graduated with their JD, ask about what it is like to be a student there and what their perspective is on what it is like to attend that particular institution.

Sending Documents Such as Transcripts:

LSAC wants you to submit all transcripts to them in order to send to law schools. Due to the difficulties that come with the law school application process during a pandemic, it  may take longer to process due to delays with the pandemic. Allow for extra time, and ask your undergrad institution to send the documents long before applications are due.

Letters of Recommendation

Ask your recommenders early. Professors and work supervisors have been impacted as well – they might have to work remotely while trying to watch their children, have stresses involving loved ones who are sick, etc. It’s best to ask for law school letters of recommendation before everyone else does. Aim to ask by the late summer or early fall before things get very hectic for them. Ideally you would ask a  professor that taught you in person before, as clients of mine have commented it has been much harder to get to know a professor in an online class. 

Grades

If you had your grading system change due to COVID-19, then you should attach an explanation to your application so it is clear that your school switched to Pass/Fail. Admissions officers understand that your school had to adjust during semesters where your education was affected by the virus — so it’s okay if some of your courses don’t have letter grades.

Submission and Processing of Applications

Submission was already all online before the pandemic, so this part of the process should not be greatly affected. However, many employees at law schools may still be working remotely, and so that does affect factors  such as the time it takes to  reach other parties to make a decision; it is often easier to chat with others in impromptu interactions in person than try to reach them via email or calls. For processing certain items, it may take slightly longer to hear back.

Choosing a School

Once you’ve heard back from law schools, when it comes time to choose school in the spring, hopefully you will get to visit campus. However, if not, then make sure to ask admission to connect you to current faculty, students and alumni to answer all your questions and check the career statistics of the school to have an idea of how they place and if they have a lot of offerings in your particular field of interest and also consider geographic location, as often students have their first job out of law school be in the same region as where they earned their JD. 

The situation keeps evolving, so always check the websites of testing agencies and the law schools for the latest information as you keep up with the law school application process during a pandemic. Remember that those working in education are also feeling the same stresses with uncertainty as well, and it may take longer for them to come up with answers to new situations. Best of luck and stay healthy and safe!