Dean's Certificate FAQ -- PLEASE READ BEFORE STARTING A NEW THREAD

[laalohi]

You all made me freak out because I hadn't submitted a cert from the community college I took some general classes from during a summer break.  Here's what Harvard's website says:

The Harvard Law School College Certification is required from each academic institution that has granted or is expected to grant you a degree, and from any institution at which you are currently enrolled in a degree program. You may photocopy the blank form if you need more than one. The form is usually completed on the basis of the school’s records. The College Certification is not a letter of recommendation, so it is not necessary for the person completing the form to know you. The College Certification requests confirmation of the conferral (or expected conferral) of your degree, rank-in-class (if available), and information about possible academic or behavioral disciplinary actions. School officials who have access to academic and disciplinary records may complete certifications. Each institution is different, but usually a Dean of Students or Pre-Law Adviser Office completes this form.

A school official may mail a completed College Certification directly to the J.D. Admissions Office or may return a College Certification to you in a sealed, signed envelope to be mailed, unopened, with your paper application form (if you are using the paper application form).

Receipt of College Certifications
If your College Certification is sent directly to our office and you would like to be notified of our receipt of it, make arrangements with the school official completing your College Certification to enclose a postcard, addressed and with the proper postage attached, with the form. We will be happy to mail any cards we receive at the time the College Certification is opened.

(from http://www.law.harvard.edu/admissions/jd/ccs.php)

HOW DO I GET TO THIS LINK ON MY OWN? I AM ON THE HARVARD LAW ADMISSIONS WEBSITE, PLEASE TELL ME HOW TO GET TO THIS PAGE/LINK ON MY OWN. I CAN'T SEEM TO FIND IT UNLESS I CLICK ON YOUR LINK. THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

[WhaleJ]

Don't know if you still care, but this bit of helpful information should suffice (from that link):

HLS home > admissions > jd


Go backwards through those steps to figure out how they got there.

[laalohi]

Don't know if you still care, but this bit of helpful information should suffice (from that link):

HLS home > admissions > jd


Go backwards through those steps to figure out how they got there.

that doesn't work for me because there is no "back" option. i click on "jd" and try all the different options but there's nothing that leads me to that page. i've tried the different application forms, but none of them lead to a dean certificate form. just wondering how to get there because since i can't get there, there might be other things i'm missing. btw, on the lsac application it doesn't really say that harvard needs a dean certificate. i'll just call them on monday i guess.

[WhaleJ]

You don't need one unless you're admitted and enrolled.  My guess would be that the link cited is an old one.

[juliemccoy]

Thank God for online status checkers. Although I submitted a Dean's Cert to my UG nearly 2 months ago, my LS hasn't received it. This prompted a series of phone calls to my UG and, suffice to say, bureaucracies make me crazy, they lost my form and I had to resubmit it to my UG. Thankfully, they were really nice about it and are being very helpful.

[LT_Eagels_1]

I never understood the point of the Dean's Certification.  Most of the deans do not even know the student and are required to write a recommendation on their behalf, which means the recommendation will probably be so general that  the Dean's Certification is just busy paper work.  No point. Waste of time

[juliemccoy]

Concur. Wouldn't any outstanding issues appear on your transcript?

[juliemccoy]

Thank the lord that my dean's cert was received today after a 2 month mix-up at my alma mater!!!! To those of you requesting Dean's Certificates-- stay on your UG like nobody's business. It should be a simple transaction-- in my case my UG, despite all of their usual wonderfulness, misplaced it and dropped the ball.

[ginkgo biloba]

what are your thoughts about sending dean's certificates even if a school does not require them?  it can only help right?

[juliemccoy]

what are your thoughts about sending dean's certificates even if a school does not require them?  it can only help right?

A Dean's Certificate is a document generated by the LS that your UG fills out.