What to Do After You Submit Law School Applications

If you’ve finished submitting your law school applications, congratulations! The hard part is over, from mastering the LSAT or GRE to completing the checklist of materials needed to apply to law school.

As law school admission decisions trickle in over the winter, the wait can be difficult. The following tasks can move your candidacy forward while you wait for decisions to arrive:

The Law School Admission Council’s Credential Assembly Service, known as CAS, makes it easy to ensure your law school applications are submitted. Typically, law schools follow up with an email confirmation. Some law schools also provide online tools to check application status.

Don’t panic if you don’t receive an email confirmation within a couple of weeks. Rest assured that every submitted application will be reviewed.

First, check your spam folder. Second, look for relevant guidance from the law school website about what to do in this case. Many law schools have dedicated email inboxes for application status inquiries.

Finally, you can call the admission office or send a brief, polite email to the law school to confirm receipt of your application.

Admissions officers are only human, and it’s important not to overload them with frequent emails or requests. However, there are some cases where it makes sense to send a brief update, such as a significant change in your candidacy like a promotion or new job.

If you receive new grades, request for your school to send an updated transcript to your CAS account. If you receive a new LSAT score, it will automatically appear in your CAS account. Neither case requires sending a separate update to law schools.

Most financial assistance provided by law schools is merit-based. Generally, applicants are automatically considered for such grants, which can ease the steep cost of tuition.

Some law schools offer named scholarships that require interested applicants to submit additional essays or other materials. Review the websites of law school admissions offices carefully for the terms and due dates of such scholarship applications, to avoid missing your chance to apply.

Most importantly, begin to gather your tax documents and other information to apply for federal aid, if you are eligible. You can fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA, online.

The Law School Admission Council provides helpful advice about the FAFSA, which opens Oct. 1 each year. While completing law school applications should take first priority, waiting until after receiving admission to fill it out the FAFSA can cause delays.

A small but growing minority of law schools offer interviews to applicants, with either live or prerecorded questions. Look out for emails from such law schools asking you to schedule such an interview.

Leading up to your interview, practice answering questions about your background and interest in law school. If the interview is with a person, think ahead to questions you could ask the interviewer.

There is no substitute for firsthand experience. While it may be impossible to visit every law school you apply to, consider visiting the law schools you are most interested in attending.

If you can’t visit in person, be sure to attend information sessions offered online, on college campuses or in admissions forums. Not only do law schools track applicant attendance, but it can also be useful to learn about how law schools view themselves and what they’re looking for.

These tasks are not as burdensome as applying to law school, but they are still important, both for putting your best foot forward and informing your own choices about where you wish to attend.