Updating LORs from UG? Forum

[R. Jeeves]

Last time I applied to law school CO 2018 as a senior in UG. I ultimately decided against enrolling in law school that cycle. This coming august i will be reapplying for the class of 2020.

My LORs come from UG professors and will be 2 years old by the time I send my apps out in September. Is that ok, or should I get them updated? It's not like these recommenders will know any more about me now, because Im not in classes with them or anything any more. Idk what things they could add/change when it comes to the LORs.

Advice is much appreciated.

[Rigo]

No need to update.

[Procyon]

I applied with letters from UG that were almost five years old, and it worked out just fine. I think it'd be helpful to include a more current reference from your professional or graduate school life; I did this not just as an offset, but because I thought it'd add something to my profile. But from the perspective of the age of your letters alone, two years is not a problem whatsoever.

[WhatsGood]

I applied during the C/O 2018 cycle as well and then reapplied this year for C/O 2019 and I emailed all of my recommenders and asked them if they could update their letters for me. I wrote my thesis for one recommender so I image his letter ended up being significantly different from his original, but for my other recommenders I sent them my personal statement (since at the time they wrote their letters I hadn't finished my essay yet), my final transcripts (since i hadn't graduated yet) and an updated resume. also, since I was applying for a second time, I had a much better sense of my overall application (and thus knew my weaknesses much better) so I asked them to addresses a few specific issues in their letters that they might not have discussed originally. They were all happy to help me and I think it made a difference in my applications this year. I def don't think you have to update by any means, but I do think it could help if you ask them to update the letters in a strategic way.

[R. Jeeves]

Thanks for the tips guys.