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Pre-Law Checklist

Last updated 27 June 2009.

This checklist is to help you organize your law school application process and materials by highlighting: (1) materials to prepare and submit to Lowell House; (2) materials to complete for and/or submit to law schools and LSDAS; and (3) items LSDAS sends to law schools.

*** THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT APPLICATION MATERIALS TO THE PRE-LAW COMMITTEE IS OCTOBER 11, 2009. ***

I. Checklist - Items To Prepare and Submit to Lowell House

The Pre-Law Committee is committed to helping you get your applications submitted in a timely fashion; however, we can only begin our efforts after you submit materials to us. Law schools will not make a decision about your application until they have received all materials, including the House Letter (a.k.a. Dean's/College Certification Form). Your Pre-Law advisor will only begin drafting your House Letter when your Lowell House file is complete.

This year, the deadline to submit ALL documents to the House Office is OCTOBER 11, 2009. (See the Calendar for a full list of deadlines.)

A) Provide the House Office with these items so your file will be complete and your Prelaw advisor can begin drafting your House Letter:

______ Pre-Law Registration. Officially indicate to Lowell that you are applying to law school by emailing the Pre-Law Committee (LoHoLaw@fas.harvard.edu).

______ Lowell House Pre-Law Questionnaire. Click here to complete the Pre-Law Questionnaire.

______ Dean's Certification Letter Request/Release Form. Complete the Request/Release, SCAN IT, and send it to: the House Office Assistant (lowell@fas.harvard.edu) AND the Pre-Law Committee (LoHoLaw@fas.harvard.edu).


*NOTE: Please complete these first three tasks as soon as possible. You will be assigned a Pre-Law Advisor once we have received your Pre-Law Questionairre and Dean's Certification Request.*


______ Updated Resume. Email an updated version of your resume (at the same time you email your Questionnaire) to: (1) the House Office Assistant (lowell@fas.harvard.edu), (2) the Pre-Law Committee (LoHoLaw@fas.harvard.edu), and (3) your assigned Pre-Law advisor.

______ Grade Report or Official Transcript. Print a grade report from the Registrar at http://www.fas.harvard.edu/registrar_grades/ and send it to the House Office, or have the Registrar send an official transcript, which you can request at: http://www.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/fasro/common/transcripts.jsp.
You may scan your grades and send them as a PDF to (1) the House Office Assistant (lowell@fas.harvard.edu), (2) the Pre-Law Committee (LoHoLaw@fas.harvard.edu), and (3) your assigned Pre-Law advisor.

You may also have transcript mailed to:


Attn: Pre-Law Committee
Lowell House Office, A-22
10 Holyoke Place
Cambridge, MA 02138


______ Personal Statement. Submit the final version of your main personal statement to: (1) the House Office Assistant (lowell@fas.harvard.edu), (2) the Pre-Law Committee (LoHoLaw@fas.harvard.edu), and (3) your assigned Pre-Law advisor. [Note: To have your personal statement reviewed by additional Pre-Law Tutors, submit a complete draft by September 13, 2009.]

______ Letters of Recommendation. Submit at least two letters of recommendation to Lowell House and LSDAS. The House Letter, which is drafted by Lowell House, does NOT count as one of the two required letters of recommendation. Your Pre-Law Advisor will not begin drafting your House Letter until the House Office receives final versions of your other letters (sent to us by your writers, each accompanied by a Recommendation Letter Waiver. Please note that this step is the one which most often causes a delay in students' submission of applications, so remember to ask your letter-writers early. It is proper etiquette to give letter-writers one month to draft and submit a recommendation letter.
     Send your letters of recommendation directly to LSAC/LSDAS and request an extra copy from your recommenders to send to Lowell House. After we receive the letters we keep copies for your House file and to help us draft the House Letter. When you ask a letter-writer to draft a letter of recommendation on your behalf, we recommend that you provide them with the following materials:

______ Memorandum prepared by the Lowell House Pre-Law Committee entitled "Guidelines for Submitting Law School Letters of Recommendation." This memo clarifies the process for your recommenders and helps avoid confusion which could result in unnecessarily delays.
______ Your updated resume.
______ Brief statement detailing why you are applying to law school.
______ Copies of any other helpful information (e.g., copies of papers you wrote for letter-writer, paper comments, grades in course taught by professor, information you'd like your letter-writer to address in the letter).
______ Date by which you need the recommendation letter completed (preferably at least one month after you ask letter-writer).
______ Addressee Information.Letters should be addressed as follows: "Dear Law School Admissions Committee," or "To the Members of the Law School Admissions Committee," or simply "To Whom It May Concern"
______ Mailing Information.
Tell letter-writer to mail your completed letter to LSAC/LSDAS as well as Lowell House
______ LSAC Recommendation Form. Each recommender needs an LSAC Recommendation Form. To download the LSAC Recommendation Form, register online at www.lsac.org. After you indicate your letter-writers in this account, the forms will print out pre-populated with your writers' information and with your name. The form allows you to waive future access to the recommendation, which is recommended by both Lowell House and law schools. Despite what laws schools indicate, your letter-writers do NOT need to fill out individual recommendation forms from each school.
______ Envelopes. Give each recommender TWO stamped and addressed standard business-sized envelope (4 1/8" x 9 1/2"). One should be addressed to LSDAS. The second one should be addressed to Lowell House.

B) Provide Lowell House these materials so that we can mail your House Letter to law schools:

______ Law School Mailing Form. When you have finalized the schools to which you are applying, e-mail this Mailing Form to: (1) the House Office Assistant (lowell@fas.harvard.edu), (2) the Pre-Law Committee (LoHoLaw@fas.harvard.edu), and (3) your assigned Pre-Law advisor.

______ Law School Envelopes. Give the House Assistant a stamped and addressed standard business-sized envelope (4 1/8" x 9 1/2") for EACH school to which you are applying. Write "Re: [Your Name]" in the bottom left corner of each envelope.

______ College Certification Forms. Give the House Assistant signed copies of the "Dean's/College Certification Form" for each school to which you are applying. We attach your House Letter to this form. The Resident Dean will sign the Certification Form. Note: Not all law schools have dean's certification forms. However, we will send a house letter to every school to which you apply, so please make sure that you submit stamped, addressed envelopes for each law school, regardless of whether it has a dean's certification form.

C) After you have sent your other materials to law schools and LSDAS (see sections II and III below), you can do the following.

______ Notification and Verification.

______ Notify the Pre-Law Committee (LoHoLaw@fas.harvard.edu) that you have submitted your applications to law schools.
______ Verify with the House Assistant that Lowell House has sent the appropriate materials to each law school and LSDAS.
______ Receive verification from law schools and LSDAS that they have received your materials.


______ Pre-Law Exit Form. When you have heard back from law schools and have finalized your plans for the upcoming year, fill out the online Pre-Law Exit Form. (Email the Pre-Law Committee, and we'll send you the link to the form.)

II. Checklist - Items To Complete For and/or Submit To Law Schools and LSDAS

In addition to providing Lowell House the above information, you should do the following.

______ LSDAS. Register with LSDAS, as soon as possible, at LSAC.org

______ LSAT. Register for and take the LSAT.

______ Law School Applications. Request law school applications directly from individual schools or register for LSAC's electronic application service.

______ Official Transcript. Request that the Harvard College Registrar send your official transcript to LSDAS. (Note that this is different from sending a transcript or grade report to Lowell House to complete your House file.)

______ Package to Law Schools. Prepare large envelopes (9" x 12") for each school to which you are applying. Include proper postage and your return address. Place the following materials in that envelope and mail it directly to each law schools to which you are applying. (Please note that if you use the LSDAS electronic application service, you will NOT need to include all the below materials in that envelope; follow the electronic service instructions instead.)

______ Law school postcards and other specific forms.
______ Your personal statement.
______ Your resume.
______ A check for the law school application fee.
______ Any other required materials.

III. Checklist - Items LSDAS Sends to Law Schools

LSDAS will send the following items for you to each law school to which you are applying.

______ LSAT. LSDAS will send your LSAT score to law schools.

______ Grade Report. LSDAS will send a grade report to law schools. (Note that you will have to have the Registrar send an official transcript to LSDAS up to three weeks before LSDAS can send this grade report to law schools.)

______ Letters of Recommendation. After your writers send letters to LSDAS, they are then sent to the law schools.

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