What to Do When You've Been Admitted to Law School: Accepting and Declining Offers
By Alice Foley, Associate Law Consultant
Congratulations! You’ve gotten a decision back from at least one of the law schools you applied to and it was an acceptance! *cue happy dance!*
Once you’ve taken some time to celebrate the win, you’re going to have some decisions to make - especially if you applied to multiple schools (LSAC says the average applicant applies to SIX different schools!). Is this the law school for you? Does it make financial sense to attend this law school? Do you have questions about the school, the student experience, the curriculum, the employment outcomes? If this sounds like you, this isn’t the post for you yet. Today we’re covering the basic logistics of accepting or declining an offer of admission, some suggested bits of etiquette surrounding the process, and special notes for binding early decision programs.
How to Accept an Offer of Admission
I cannot overstate the importance of this first bit of advice. It’s going to be key to pretty much the rest of your legal education. Read your offer carefully. Really, you should be reading everything from here on out carefully. It’s just good practice.
Once you’ve been admitted, law schools probably won’t be sending you lots of emails or letters without purpose. Trust me, admissions offices try very hard to make sure that most communications are useful, and not just marketing things. The moral of the story: read things that come from the law school. Their email is just as full as yours, and no one’s got time for more emails!
Most law schools will explain exactly what they need from you to secure your seat in the class. This information can come to you in a couple different ways. Sometimes it’s in the “official” letter or email admitting you. Sometimes it will be on a special website built for admitted students (usually tied to your law school credentials). It can be a checklist that’s included in your acceptance packet. I know, that’s a lot of options, but it all comes back to reading carefully.
Acceptance typically requires only a few things, and the school will (hopefully) give you clear instructions about them. First, make sure that you fill out any survey or respond to any request that you “verbally” confirm your acceptance. This is often a super quick form. Open it, fill it out, and you are done with step one! Next, the school will likely have one or two non-refundable seat deposits that you’ll need to pay before the beginning of the school year. These deadlines are typically set from early April through mid to late June, or they can be set conditionally (‘deposit required within two weeks of your receipt of this email/letter”). Finally, register for classes* and/or complete any necessary pre-orientation requirements.
*Some law schools will automatically register first year students, be sure to check with your school if you have questions about this!*
A couple notes on seat deposits: first, enrollment management (or admissions) teams base their class on these deposits. It’s the easiest mostly-certain way for them to build the 1L class. While it’s not unheard of to deposit at multiple schools, it’s not a great strategy. Next, seat deposits are expensive. The idea is that you aren’t going to pay 5 different $200 to $600 deposits with a plan to forfeit all but one. That’s a LOT of money to lose! Last, beginning in the early part of the summer, law schools can access a list with information on multiple-deposit students.
On the flip side, if you don’t pay a deposit by the deadline most school’s will assume that you’ve made a different choice for law school. However, if you do want to attend a school but are having trouble with the seat deposit, don’t hesitate to reach out to the admissions team to talk through your options. While it is not a for-sure thing, some schools can work with you to waive or postpone deposit payments in special circumstances.
How to Decline an Offer of Admission
It’s just as important to let law schools know that you are not planning to attend as it is to let them know you are! Like I mentioned earlier, it’s super important to read carefully. It is just as likely that your acceptance letter will have instructions for declining the offer. If that’s the case, just follow the directions! Usually it’ll be something like “please send an email to [insert admissions email here] with ‘Decline Admission’ in the subject line,” or filling out a simple form. Once that’s done, you’re all set and ready to accept the offer from your chosen school (see above :) ).
If directions aren’t provided, there are usually two main ways to go about breaking up with a law school. One, send an email to the general admissions office account and let them know that way. Some schools will follow up and may have some additional questions or information for you, so keep an eye out for the reply email! Two, reach out to any admissions team member you have a relationship with already - call, email, whatever works for you - and they should be able to talk you through any steps to officially decline the offer.
One last note on declining an offer. I touched on what happens when you don’t pay a seat deposit by the deadline earlier - law schools typically assume you’ve made another choice for law school. Please don’t make them have to make that assumption. This means two things: first, if you have made your decision, let the school know one way or the other. (Yes, admissions team members are sometimes sad to hear that you won’t be attending their school but at the end of the day, they want you at the law school that fits you best.) Second, don’t be afraid to take the time that you need to make a decision, and talk to the admissions team if you have questions!
The team at Barrier Breakers® Admissions Advising is here to support you through this law school application cycle! Whether it's through discounted advising for BIPOC, first-generation, and LSAC Fee Waiver applicants, our essay review services and courses, or just downloading our free Essential Guide to Applying to Law School, we're here to help make this process easier.
As always, feel free to reach out to us at hello@barrier-breakers.org with any of your questions! You can also submit a question to be answered on our weekly Break Into Law School® Podcast, streaming wherever your favorite podcast service is.