Top Law Schools

Noob questions about letter of good standing:

How do I get this? Who am I supposed to see?

Does this get sent to LSAC or directly to the schools? I have seen conflicting information. One of the schools I will apply to states it prefers to receive everything through LSAC.

Registrar of your current school sends it to prospective schools. What school requires this? Normally schools require a Dean's certification.

CounselorNebby wrote:Registrar of your current school sends it to prospective schools. What school requires this? Normally schools require a Dean's certification.

OP here- I thought so top and have been confused. Here are 3 schools seeking a letter of good standing:

GW wants "A letter from the dean of the applicant’s law school, stating that he or she is in good academic standing."

Notre Dame wants a "Letter of Good Standing (This letter should include class rank if applicable for your current law school.)" and prefers to receive everything through LSAC.

Penn wants a "Letter of good standing from the law school dean at the current law school"

CounselorNebby wrote:Registrar of your current school sends it to prospective schools. What school requires this? Normally schools require a Dean's certification.

Penn, UT, USC, among many many others, though obviously that would include schools that people should not be transferring to. At some point I assume you will realize that you don't know absolutely every single thing about the transfer process and will stop asking questions that seem to challenge an applicant's very understanding of the application they're working on.

OP: Whether the app specifies a letter of good standing "from the dean of your current school" or a dean's cert, you'll just have to check with your dean's office. Often (perhaps even more often than not) the dean's office has delegated that task to the registrar.

OP here - thanks for the info.

I was just informed that my current school will not send a letter of good standing until spring grades come out -- which won't be until Late May or early June. I intended to apply as soon as the apps opened. Anyone else run into a similar issue?

Anonymous User wrote:OP here - thanks for the info.

I was just informed that my current school will not send a letter of good standing until spring grades come out -- which won't be until Late May or early June. I intended to apply as soon as the apps opened. Anyone else run into a similar issue?

From what I understand you can apply then submit your grades as soon as they come out. Harvard even lets you submit an "unofficial" transcript to be corroborated by an official one. I'm pretty sure most schools recommend that you apply as soon as possible to expedite the application process. The best thing to do is check the FAQ pages under the transfer application section of a school's website.

BVest wrote:

CounselorNebby wrote:Registrar of your current school sends it to prospective schools. What school requires this? Normally schools require a Dean's certification.

Penn, UT, USC, among many many others, though obviously that would include schools that people should not be transferring to. At some point I assume you will realize that you don't know absolutely every single thing about the transfer process and will stop asking questions that seem to challenge an applicant's very understanding of the application they're working on.

OP: Whether the app specifies a letter of good standing "from the dean of your current school" or a dean's cert, you'll just have to check with your dean's office. Often (perhaps even more often than not) the dean's office has delegated that task to the registrar.

I asked the question not to challenge, but rather to discern where OP was intending to apply, in case it was some place, as you point out, OP shouldn't be transferring to.

Is this a form I print off LSAC or the particular school's website? Or do I get the form from my current school?

The letter is sent from your LS registrar office to the law school you're applying to. Go there and say "I need a letter of good standing." Or you can email your registrar asking the same.

CounselorNebby wrote:The letter is sent from your LS registrar office to the law school you're applying to. Go there and say "I need a letter of good standing." Or you can email your registrar asking the same.

Thank you!