LOR Suggestions Forum

[martinxi679]

Hey all,

I have been out of undergrad for <2 years and after a long period of mental debate and conversation with friends/family, I am planning to apply for law school in the upcoming cycle. Based on many suggestions from both the forum and any sort of online information, it is recommended to start planning for the application early. (Which is what I am trying to do right now.) As I search through list of potential schools, I found that most of them require at least 1 or 2 academic LORs.

Here comes my concern. Due to immaturity/stupidity/whatever words that describe my horrible decisions in undergrad, not only I did absolutely no network with any of my professors, I also skipped so many classes because I focused a lot more on LeetCode/have fun/online and just did not think it was worth it for me to go to class. There was one occasion where I went to the office hour after getting perfect score on both midterms, and my professor just starred at me and acted like, "who are you?". Immaturity during undergrad led to many careless decisions and assumptions I made. While I know the past cannot be changed, considering the fact that I do have decent amount of time before applying (roughly half a year), I am looking for advice to at least make my application look better.

Many former law school applicants have said that if I did not make enough connection with professors, it is a great idea to schedule an appointment with them so I can talk to them and explain my situation. However, I am currently working in a small NY law firm which is extremely far away from my undergraduate institute, so this advice would not work for me. I did try to connect with one professor: explained that her class was great experience for me (I had grade in the 30s out of 100 in the first midterm, but managed to get an A at the end) and wrote a support letter for her nomination of a teaching prize in the institute. Although there were some pleasant emails back and forth, I am having trouble to keep up with more conversation since she is a math professor, while I am working in a law firm. So is it better to try to connect with old professors about their teaching/research/topics so at least they would know me when I ask for LORs later? Or is it better to take on online class in my undergrad institute/a real class in a community college nearby and try to get LORs there? Or are there other options that would serve my purpose better considering I still have some time before the cycle begins?

Now I understand that LSAT score is the most important factor and I will start to study intensively on LSAT once I approach mid-April. (Some personal circumstance here.) I also understand that professional LORs can be pretty helpful as I believe I can get a decent if not great LOR from the founder of the law firm I currently work at. My question here is how to even get 2 decent academic LORs so I can at least satisfy the requirements of some law schools. Feel free to ask for additional background information about me.

Lastly, I apologize for such a lengthy post as I am really looking for some advice here. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[martinxi679]

If anyone is familiar or has some knowledge with this kind of situation, please provide me some help. Any help is truly appreciated.

[thedunklord]

You need two recommendations. Academic is ideal, but not absolute. One academic and one professional is fine. Be upfront and ask the math professor. 90% of professor interactions with former students is asking for a recommendation, you don't need to keep buttering them up and feigning interest.

Academic recommendations and undergraduate record becomes less important over time. It may be wise to spend more than two years between school.

But I'd worry about your LSAT score before letters of recommendation. Your professor is more likely to take your request seriously if you can demonstrate you are a qualified and committed applicant. You may find it takes longer than you thought to achieve the score you want.