ADVICE to the next cycle of applicants

[WashLaw]

Alright I'm hearing a lot about asking for LORs extremely early. I had a plan to do just that, and I asked my first prof in April. Well, she seemed to think it was too early for me to be asking and told me to come back next fall. My PL adviser thought that was wise as well. But that's not what I'm hearing here. Should I ask for LORs this week (last week of class for me) or should I go ahead and wait for the fall? I'm applying in October ideally.

Ask for them ASAP.  Chances are that:

1. The professor won't remember you as well in the fall.  Strike while the iron is hot and she's capable of going to bat for you.

2. Your Pre-Law advisor is somewhat incompetent.  In fact, I'm almost sure that this is the case, considering the advice she gave you.

Yes, I would have to agree that my PL adviser is not the most idea person (hasn't even been to LS, so yeah I guess he is pretty bad).

Also, I'm curious about Dean's Certificates. Is it a common practice for Law Schools to require this? I was just making a list of requirement to each school on my short list (about 10) and I could only find one that required it (W&M I believe). I'm worried now that more schools require it and I just missed it. Any thoughts?

[blues86]

This might go without saying, but if you or anyone you know has a connection or an "in" to a law school that you're applying to, seek out that person and ask for his or her help.  During my cycle, I sought out professors, family friends, relatives, etc. that had connections to schools I applied to and each person was happy to help, either by writing a recommendation, giving me advice, meeting with me, or a combination of the three.  I was a bit shy at first when I sought these people out, but I realized that generally people are happy to help others try to reach goals they themselves have already achieved.  If you're a bit shy at first like I was, you might want to try to put yourself in the other person's shoes; if someone sought you out asking for help, wouldn't you be happy to do it?  After all, most of you have already spent some of your time helping your fellow LSD'ers with their problems and questions.  Cheers all and good luck!