Three questions in one Forum

[Titleist]

1. How long does it generally take for LSAC to receive your transcript. I asked my UG registrar to send it last Monday and it still shows on LSAC no transcript receives. Do I have a problem here or should I be more patient?

2. I work at a law firm with just one attorney, one paralegal and me. I'm getting a letter of rec from the attorney obviously, but what about the paralegal? I work directly with her and she knows me better than the attorney does.

3. If you fail to meet "early registration" does the axiom still apply that "the earlier you apply the better" or are you in the same boat with everyone who did not apply early. I'm afraid I might have to apply to some schools a week or so after the early registration deadline.

Thanks for the help.

[bk1]

1. Dunno, it's been a while since I did this.

2. Sure you can get a rec from the paralegal. It isn't really going to affect your admissions cycle (neither is the rec from the attorney) but it won't hurt. Remember that most schools want at least 1 academic rec and most schools are fine with 2 recs.

3. What are you talking about? What schools? Do you mean Early Decision or something like Cornell's Early Action?

[NiccoloA]

1. How long does it generally take for LSAC to receive your transcript. I asked my UG registrar to send it last Monday and it still shows on LSAC no transcript receives. Do I have a problem here or should I be more patient?

2. I work at a law firm with just one attorney, one paralegal and me. I'm getting a letter of rec from the attorney obviously, but what about the paralegal? I work directly with her and she knows me better than the attorney does.

3. If you fail to meet "early registration" does the axiom still apply that "the earlier you apply the better" or are you in the same boat with everyone who did not apply early. I'm afraid I might have to apply to some schools a week or so after the early registration deadline.

Thanks for the help.

1. It took mine about a week. Yours may take longer because they're just starting to rev up into the peak.

2. Is the paralegal a supervisor? If not, then do not do it.

3. Yes. But if you apply before Thanksgiving, I don't think the effects will be large between now and then (i.e. applying now will be of marginal help to applying a week from now)

Overall, yes it's important to apply early, but don't slack on the application to do it - unless it really is a school that you don't care about.


EDIT: For clarification.

[Titleist]

I must have misread something while applying to some schools to have caused this confusion. I thought most schools had a certain date for "early decision". I just went back to LSAC and I'm not finding anything that suggest there is an early decision.

I'm applying at most Texas schools, OU and LSU.

[bk1]

I must have misread something while applying to some schools to have caused this confusion. I thought most schools had a certain date for "early decision". I just went back to LSAC and I'm not finding anything that suggest there is an early decision.

I'm applying at most Texas schools, OU and LSU.

Early Decision at most schools is a binding contract where you guarantee you will go to that school if they accept you and withdraw from all other schools. Because they are binding it means you can only ED to one school at a time.

IIRC, UT has a different kind of early app which is not binding but they say if you get it in by a certain date they will try and get the decision back sooner. I wouldn't worry about that type of app (Cornell has a similar thing and honestly last cycle you were better off if you missed the deadline than if you actually made the deadline).

[Titleist]

Alright I found where my question is. When applying to University of Houston it is prompting me to check between "Early Decision" (before Nov 15) or "Regular Decision." Is this early decision binding? If I fail to apply at that early decision and if I have to apply for regular decision is their a difference between applying Nov 16 compared to the final deadline?

[rinkrat19]

It's right there in the Admissions FAQ on the school's website.

Q: What is the difference between early decision and regular decision?
A: Early decision applicants whose files become complete by December 1 should expect to receive a decision by the end of February. Regular decision applicants should expect to receive a decision by mid May if applying to the full-time program, and by mid to late July if applying to the part-time program. The early decision option is not binding, and the only difference between the two options is the timing of the review of the application.

You do not want to be applying anywhere near the final regular decision deadline for any school. That's way too late. Classes will be mostly full and all the scholarship money will be gone. Whether you decide on ED or RD, get your app in as soon as possible.

Also possibly relevant:

Q: When will I be notified?
A: Decisions are made on a rolling basis, and all decisions will be made by mid-May. We understand that some schools may notify you, and therefore require a deposit from you, earlier than that. You will need to decide whether to play it safe and put down a deposit on a school you may not attend. We cannot act more quickly on your application because you heard from another school first.

Q: If I am not accepted during the early decision process, will my application be held and reviewed for regular decision?
A: Because the same review process is utilized for both early and regular decision applications, we will not hold early decision applications for re-review in the regular decision process.