Withdraw acceptance, reapply in 2 years, problems? Forum

[Gail]

How will withdrawing from a school that you've been accepted to with a scholarship look two or three years down the road if you reapply with two or three years of work experience?

[PDaddy]

The fact that you were admitted before (and with money) works in your favor and would seem to preclude outright denial. If you were good enough to get money two years ago you stand a good chance of readmission, but that doesn't mean you don't run some risk of being waitlisted.

On the surface, your deferral seems like a savvy move if for no other reason than because of the economy. You look smart. If you can demonstrate in your personal statement that you have benefitted from deferring/waiting and working (ex. mentioning that you managed to save some extra coin for school and thus will need to borrow less is a good thing), it would seem to help you. It depends on the school.

There are some schools that would waitlist you out of yield-protect, especially if your numbers were high for those schools. If you are determined to attend a certain school, make it clear to the school that you only want to attend their school and are willing to withdraw the few other applications you have submitted (and to be smart you should still submit at least a few others) if they are willing to make the same offer or better.

[danielhay11]

When you withdraw, inform them of your intention to reapply in a few years. I don't know if withdrawal emails make it into your file, but it can't hurt. When you do reapply, include a supplementary essay to your top choice(s) explaining your reason for withdrawing this year, highlighting what you've done in the intervening years (assuming its substantive), and reaffirming your desire to attend their school. A school is wise to be skeptical of an applicant who has turned them in the past, but this should not be a difficult obstacle to overcome.

[bp shinners]

When you withdraw, inform them of your intention to reapply in a few years. I don't know if withdrawal emails make it into your file, but it can't hurt. When you do reapply, include a supplementary essay to your top choice(s) explaining your reason for withdrawing this year, highlighting what you've done in the intervening years (assuming its substantive), and reaffirming your desire to attend their school. A school is wise to be skeptical of an applicant who has turned them in the past, but this should not be a difficult obstacle to overcome.

Great advice here.

The presumption when you reapply is that you should be admitted, but that you might not be serious about law school. If you head off that second presumption by letting the school know now that you plan to come back, but you want to develop some work experience before you start on a legal career, you'll be in good shape when you reapply.