“Cate is the greatest student that ever lived. No one studies harder and learns faster. She has the quick wit of a cat and the sharp mind of a bumble bee. I demand that you accept her to your law school!”
As part of most law school application packages you will be expected to submit one or more reference letters from professors, employers or other persons who can give some insight into your character, strengths and abilities.
Your entire law school application is intended to convince the admissions officer or committee that you should be given a spot in their first year law school class. This requires demonstrating your abilities, intelligence, commitment, desire, ethics and drive to succeed in the highly competitive law school environment.
Your LSAT and GPA demonstrate some of these aspects to the admissions team and with the addition of your personal statement you have the opportunity to sell yourself further. However, the reference letters play a unique role in the application, giving the admissions team insight from a 3rd party perspective into your character, abilities, ethics and other less measureable traits. It can be an invaluable tool for you to grab up a spot that might otherwise be available to you, and if done poorly it could cost you your hard won seat at law school.
Compelling reference letters can and do make a difference in law school applications.
Over the next week we will take a closer look at reference letters, who should write them, how to ask for them, what they should include and other tips for how to get the most out of your references.
Continue to Reference Letters – Part 2
Greg Smith
Greg took the LSAT in 2002 receiving a high score that got him into the law school of his choice. This led him to teach LSAT classes while attending law school at the University of British Columbia and continued teaching while practicing law with top international law firms Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and later Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP, in the area of Securities and Capital Markets. Read more
