I’m Admitted To Law School!!…Now What?

I’m Admitted To Law School!!…Now What?

You sent out your applications and already received back an offer of admission. Congratulations! You’re admitted to law school! Now what? Here’s a helpful overview of things you should do in the next few months to fully prepare for law school!

I’m Admitted To Law School!!…Now What?

1. Celebrate!

Of course, this goes without saying but you should be very proud of all of your hard work leading up to this moment. You’re finally admitted to law school. Enjoy the good news and share it with others!

2. Schedule school vists.

Once you’re admitted to law school, visiting each of the law schools that you’re seriously considering in-person is incredibly important. You can’t really get a feel for the culture of a school and whether you’ll be happy there without at least one in-person visit.

Make an appointment with the admissions office to go on a tour, sit in on a 1L classroom (avoid exam weeks in December), and meet with an admissions representative. Current law students usually give tours so don’t be shy about asking them about their experiences. If you’re visiting a class, you can also pick the brains of current students sitting around you before or after class.

If there is a specific area of law you’re interested in or a professor you’d like to connect with, you can also ask the admissions office to make that introduction for you. Hopefully you can set up a brief meeting during your visit. (Just keep in mind that professors can be very busy so a meeting may be more easily scheduled during an admitted students’ day or other official event.) The admissions office may also be willing to connect you to recent alumni who work in areas that align with your interests.

3. Participate in events.

Throughout the winter, spring and summer months schools will host admitted student events, mixers, alumni receptions, and other special events that admitted students will be invited to join. Now that you’re admitted to law school, take advantage of these invitations!

Admitted student days are important because you’ll get a more comprehensive overview of a law school’s offerings and programming than you would by just going on an individual visit. Schools sometimes offer travel stipends for big events like this if you’re travelling from out-of-state or driving a far distance. Also keep in mind that official admitted student events are a great way to meet some of your future classmates and make connections before the first day of orientation.

4. Pay deposits.

Now that you’re admitted to law school, you’ll want to make sure that you reserve your seat in the class by paying your seat deposits. Most schools ask for one seat deposit in the late winter and one in the spring. You’ll need to pay both in order to keep your seat for the incoming class. Oftentimes this deposit will be applied to your tuition when you matriculate in August. (If you decide to switch schools, you’ll lose this deposit.)

5. Negotiate scholarships!

You may start to see scholarship offers coming your way in the next few weeks or months. In the winter and early spring, you can start leveraging some of these offers against one another for potentially more scholarship funding. Keep in mind that some schools will not negotiate your scholarship at all. Others, however, may be receptive to it.

Always be respectful and transparent when negotiating your scholarship. See here for tips for negotiating the biggest the law school scholarship offer you can! 

Rachel Margiewicz, Director of Pre-Law Services, wrote this post. Rachel is a licensed attorney with years of admissions experience across three law school programs in different markets of the country. She knows what schools are looking for and how to make your application stand out.

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