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This may be an extremely naive question, but I'd rather sound stupid here than to the LSAC. If I'm applying NEXT cycle (sending in apps in 2012), can I register and start getting my stuff together for the Credential Assembly Service now? Or is the Credential Assembly Service only for the current application year?

The reason I ask is because I've been out of undergrad for many years now, so things like undergrad transcripts won't change from now until when I apply, and I need some extra time to hunt down former undergrad professors as letter writers (whose knowledge/opinion of me won't change much either between now and next September). The obvious advantage is that I get more time to get things done more thoroughly. Are there any disadvantages? If the letters themselves are dated a couple of months before the apps open, do law schools mind?

Any other information about the credential assembly service would be greatly appreciated as well!

Thanks.

yes you can submit everything immediately

Yes you can definitely open an account now. Also, if you try to get a fee waiver and they deny you try to appeal it. They grant the waiver to 40% of those who appeal it.

thanks a lot!

related question: so for letters of recommendation that i can directly upload onto the credential assembly service, how do those get sent to the schools? For example, can I upload say 4 and pick and choose which (if not all) of the 4 to send to different schools for each school's app? I ask because it seems like some schools say they prefer "school-targeted" letters, so I'm wondering how to handle those in the context of CAS.

pacifica wrote:thanks a lot!

related question: so for letters of recommendation that i can directly upload onto the credential assembly service, how do those get sent to the schools? For example, can I upload say 4 and pick and choose which (if not all) of the 4 to send to different schools for each school's app? I ask because it seems like some schools say they prefer "school-targeted" letters, so I'm wondering how to handle those in the context of CAS.

They all go to LSAC, and you can "assign" letters to each school individually.

They all go to LSAC, and you can "assign" letters to each school individually.

This. When you are doing the letters, you get to write a description, like "For All Schools" or "For UVA" or something else.

top30man wrote:

They all go to LSAC, and you can "assign" letters to each school individually.

This. When you are doing the letters, you get to write a description, like "For All Schools" or "For UVA" or something else.

+1. Also, when they school specific, they don't just mean a sentence about "why XX" at the bottom of the letter. In my experience I only used "school specific" letters for one or two schools, when one of my recommenders was an alumnus or when there was a recommender who knew someone at the school. 85% of my applications had non-specific LORs.