Deferral Request - What to say in the letter? Forum

[jrgong]

I am planning on deferring for one year to teach abroad and starting law school in Fall 2011. I have to write a letter to the admissions committee to request this. My question is, what exactly do I say in this letter beyond my intent to defer and the specifics of my plans? Does anyone have a sample letter that they have used? I only ask this because as it stands my letter is three sentences long.

[kajosa]

.

[shock259]

As I understand it, it depends on the school. Some grant them whenever people want them, while others won't ever grant them. Teaching abroad is a universally accepted "good" thing to do, though.

My request was granted a few days ago and the only thing I said in the letter was that that I wanted to 1) work and save money, 2) do some law school prep IE readings like Getting to Maybe. The dean emailed me back a few hours later saying my request was granted. Neat. However, I remember reading a thread a few weeks ago about someone whose request was rejected at American. And he was teaching Afghani kids to read or something actually interesting/compelling. Goes to show you never know what your school may do.

If I were you, I'd a few paragraphs explaining your program, why you want to do it, and most importantly, how it applies to your law school career.

[jrgong]

thank you both. i actually ended up just submitting a one paragraph request, and it was accepted. starting law school in 16 months rather than 4 months...nice.

[giantsnumb1]

thank you both. i actually ended up just submitting a one paragraph request, and it was accepted. starting law school in 16 months rather than 4 months...nice.

What did you write in that paragraph?

[things fall apart]

tag

[jrgong]

Dear Committee on Admissions,

I am writing to request a deferral of my admission to _______ School of Law for one year. Next year, I plan to _______. I believe that this opportunity will be a very rewarding experience as I transition into my legal studies and career.

Thank you very much for your consideration of this request. Please feel free to contact me if you would like me to provide more information.

Sincerely,

__________

[ticklememauve]

I'm about to submit a deferral request because of financial reasons. I'll post back later whether it was successful. Cross your fingers, knock on wood, etc.

[etlien]

tag

[jc1988]

btw, if i may ask you guys, what is the rule on sending dean's certification and final transcript when you defer a year? do you send them next year? or this year

thanks

[ticklememauve]

I'm still waiting to hear back from my request. I haven't forgotten to post; I will if I ever get an answer. (The sooner, the better!) Oy gevalt.