Most students who are interested in attending law school have heard that applications are “rolling” and that they want to apply “early.” But what exactly does this mean?
Maria Isabel “Issa” DiSciullo is Assistant Dean for JD and Graduate Admissions at Seton Hall Law School in New Jersey. Issa’s here to provide some to answer some common questions and provide important insight on the law school application timeline.
Q: Law school admissions are “rolling,” but what exactly does that mean? What do students need to know to prepare for this type of application process?
Rolling admissions means that once your application is complete it is immediately sent to the admissions committee for a decision. Depending on the school’s process, that may mean that you could hear a decision between 4-8 weeks of completion. So, if you apply in early October, there is a chance that you will have a decision back before the December holidays, or at least early into January.
But, this also means that the school is working on filling their class as they read the complete files. Therefore, if you apply later in the process — especially if we start talking March/April — there is no guarantee that there will still be spots left in the class. It may also mean that scholarships will have already been doled out to those who qualify and applied early.
Some schools, like Seton Hall Law, function on a modified rolling basis. This means that while we may begin reading your file as it completes, and a few students may get a response sooner than others, we generally will not send the bulk of our decisions out until closer to our April 1 priority deadline. Now, does this mean you should wait until April to submit your file? The answer: “not if you can help it!” The earlier you submit your application, the sooner we are able to manage and track your application and application materials to ensure that you are on track for completion. It also means that you are entered into our queue and any documents that are submitted after your file is in our system are added to your file much quicker.
Keep in mind: “rolling admissions” doesn’t mean there are no deadlines, so you still need to research each school’s requirements and ensure that you are submitting your application within the timeline outlined by the school.
Rolling admissions also doesn’t mean that you’ll get an answer right away. While your file may have been forwarded to the Admissions Committee for review, there are many other factors that could impact the timeline of your decision, such as the program you are applying to and/or the number of applications the school receives at a given time.
A big downside to rolling admission is that sometimes qualified students who apply late in the cycle may not be admitted because the class is already full.
Q: Many students often think that, when applying to law school, “the earlier the better.” What does that mean, and is it true?
It really depends. While the general rule of thumb for rolling admissions is to apply early, don’t sacrifice the quality of your application just for the sake of submitting early. You should submit your application when you can show your strongest overall academic, extra-curricular and professional profile — even if this means applying a little later in the cycle. You don’t want to submit a weak application early just to say that you did. While there may be some advantage to applying early, that advantage will be lost if the quality of your application is compromised because you rushed it.
Q: What’s the latest you would recommend a student take the LSAT in order to apply during the admissions cycle?
This will certainly differ from school to school. At Seton Hall Law, we normally suggest that students plan to take the exam in the fall of the admissions cycle they are looking to gain entry. So if a student wants to begin law school in August/September 2021, we would suggest taking an October or November exam. This allows for an additional exam in January or February if things don’t go as planned the first time around. The latest exam we will accept for our JD program is April, but keep in mind that with the rolling admissions process, completing your application this late in the game may mean that the class is full by the time your LSAT score is received.
Seton Hall Law also takes the GRE in lieu of the LSAT. GRE dates are much more frequent than the LSAT dates and students generally get their scores back 15 days after taking the exam. So with that in mind, I would say taking an exam in late March/early April will be the latest we would suggest, at least for Seton Hall Law.
Q: What additional advice do you have for how students can best tackle the law school application timeline?
Shadow/meet with attorneys and judges early in the process. This will help you confirm that law school is the next step for you. Learn their path to law school and how they got interested in their career and area of interest. If you have an area of interest, meet with an attorney in that field to find out what it really entails and how they prepared for it.
Start the law school search process early, even if you aren’t ready to apply to law school just yet. It would still benefit you to visit law schools and get a sense for the different types of school: large/small; urban/rural; public/private. Start researching deadlines and requirements so that when it comes time for you to apply, you have your ducks in a row.
Plan for things to not go as planned. Set internal deadlines that are earlier than the school’s deadline so that you have some wiggle room to deal with mishaps in the process, such as having to cancel an LSAT/GRE test or a recommender who doesn’t get you their letter on time.
Get your financial house in order. You can expect to have to pay for law school, so start saving now! Grants are fewer and farther between in the graduate and professional school world so you want to make sure you’re eligible for loans at the best interest rate possible. When your family asks what you want for your birthday or Christmas or Hanukkah, ask them to contribute to your law school fund. (Tip for BC students: You can schedule a meeting with a Financial Aid counselor to see how much money you will need to pay back monthly once your loans become due.)
If you have additional questions for Issa, send her an email, and be sure to learn more about Seton Hall Law School.
Be sure to check out our Law School Nuts & Bolts video on the law school application timeline. And, as always, be sure to schedule an appointment with me, the pre-law advisor, to further discuss the application timeline and chart a path to success.
Boston College Career Center Blog 
0 comments on “Law School Application Timeline: Q&A with Seton Hall Law Assistant Dean of Admissions”