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Is a letter of recommendation from a college professor less useful if one has taken a year off school in between college and law school? Or is it just a good thing to have in general?

Yes, it still valuable. Most schools prefer academic letters of recommendation.

emarxnj wrote:Is a letter of recommendation from a college professor less useful if one has taken a year off school in between college and law school? Or is it just a good thing to have in general?

You need it. Except for NW.

Needed an academic letter with ten years off between undergrad and law school...

One year off between college and law school means you are still barely out of college. An academic letter of recommendation after being out of school for such a short time is still going to be looked at more highly than a non-academic one.

Edit: "more highly" isn't really a good way to put it but I couldn't think of a better way...

Pleasye wrote:One year off between college and law school means you are still barely out of college. An academic letter of recommendation after being out of school for such a short time is still going to be looked at more highly than a non-academic one.

Edit: "more highly" isn't really a good way to put it but I couldn't think of a better way...

Ha I got the point. I can't imagine a non-academic one I could get...any employer recommendation could only speak to my abilities a pizza tosser or meat slicer.




Thanks for all the replies!

emarxnj wrote:Ha I got the point. I can't imagine a non-academic one I could get...any employer recommendation could only speak to my abilities a pizza tosser or meat slicer.




Thanks for all the replies!

Haha, exactly. The whole point of LOR's from professors is that they can talk about you from an academic standpoint. Your boss at the pizza place talking about how great your personality is is just not the same thing and doesn't carry enough weight.

Pleasye wrote:

emarxnj wrote:Ha I got the point. I can't imagine a non-academic one I could get...any employer recommendation could only speak to my abilities a pizza tosser or meat slicer.




Thanks for all the replies!

Haha, exactly. The whole point of LOR's from professors is that they can talk about you from an academic standpoint. Your boss at the pizza place talking about how great your personality is is just not the same thing and doesn't carry enough weight.

Wait, law schools don't factor charm into acceptance??

Is more than one necessary or beneficial, or is one strong letter all that I should need?

like the guy in the $6300 suit needs a letter of recommendation

COME ON

emarxnj wrote:Wait, law schools don't factor charm into acceptance??

Is more than one necessary or beneficial, or is one strong letter all that I should need?

Two is the required amount for most schools so unless you plan on getting another one from an internship/job then you should get two. If you were considering getting one from an internship or job I would still recommend getting two academic ones and maybe saving third in case you get waitlisted somewhere (so that you have something new to send to the schools).

fatduck wrote:like the guy in the $6300 suit needs a letter of recommendation

COME ON

I lol'd in class, thank you

Pleasye wrote: Two is the required amount for most schools so unless you plan on getting another one from an internship/job then you should get two. If you were considering getting one from an internship or job I would still recommend getting two academic ones and maybe saving third in case you get waitlisted somewhere (so that you have something new to send to the schools).

Oh, I didn't know that. Thank you very much!

fatduck wrote:like the guy in the $6300 suit needs a letter of recommendation

COME ON

There really needs to be some kind of TLS equivalent of clicking "Like" so that I could have applauded how awesome this is without posting a response.

Pleasye wrote:]
Two is the required amount for most schools so unless you plan on getting another one from an internship/job then you should get two. If you were considering getting one from an internship or job I would still recommend getting two academic ones and maybe saving third in case you get waitlisted somewhere (so that you have something new to send to the schools).

Repeating because this is very good advice. Though I'd change the 'maybe' to 'definitely' - it's always a good idea to have an extra LoR or two; you never know when it'll come in handy.

bp shinners wrote:

Pleasye wrote:]
Two is the required amount for most schools so unless you plan on getting another one from an internship/job then you should get two. If you were considering getting one from an internship or job I would still recommend getting two academic ones and maybe saving third in case you get waitlisted somewhere (so that you have something new to send to the schools).

Repeating because this is very good advice. Though I'd change the 'maybe' to 'definitely' - it's always a good idea to have an extra LoR or two; you never know when it'll come in handy.

I've got one professor who told me he'd gladly write me one (had him for a few classes), but the second ones gonna be tricker. Although, I suppose I don't really need to ask right now while everyone is, since I don't need it until the fall....

emarxnj wrote:I've got one professor who told me he'd gladly write me one (had him for a few classes), but the second ones gonna be tricker. Although, I suppose I don't really need to ask right now while everyone is, since I don't need it until the fall....

Pick one of your current professors whose class you're doing well in and start going to office hours/talking to him/etc now. By the end of the semester you will have someone else to ask for an LOR. Ask at the end of the semester before classes are over (it's easier to get in contact with professors when classes are in session rather than during the summer).

Don't wait until the last minute to ask for LOR's, so many things can go wrong. Sometimes professors can be unreliable and take way too long to write your letter or even never write it (heard of this happening several times). The letters also take a while to process once sent to LSAC so it's better to have them in early than ask for them the week you need them and have your applications held up for a month.

emarxnj wrote:Is a letter of recommendation from a college professor less useful if one has taken a year off school in between college and law school? Or is it just a good thing to have in general?

No, law schools get hard ons for LORs from professors. Nothing else matters.