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How long does it usually take to hear back from an OSCAR application, assuming the judge is interested? This is my first time applying for clerkships, so I'm hoping to get a better understanding of the system.

Also, I understand it's late in the process, but I was told it would help my career substantially. I'm a junior biglaw associate applying for a District Court clerkship. I will go anywhere, even Alaska, as long as it's for a year. Any advice/ reality checks would be appreciated. Thanks!

For the DCT I eventually landed I applied Tuesday afternoon and got invited for an interview Wednesday morning.

It depends on the judge. Some respond in days, others in months, and some never respond.

Hi OP, don't assume the response above is representative. Current COA clerk here, applied to probably 40 or 50 judges (COA & D. Ct.), received 6 interviews and the response times were all over the map. Min: 2 days after; Max: 1 year after.

The credited response here is that, post-plan, there is no way* to know when a judge will review/decide on your application.

*Caveat 1: You can get better information by talking to current clerks or professors who happen to know the judge. If those sources credibly inform you as to a judge's reviewing timetable, try to target your recommenders to write/call in that timetable.

**Caveat 2: This process is bounded only at the minimum, which means that super-feeder judges (ed.: not my judge) will look at and make decisions regarding super-competitive candidates relatively early and relatively quickly. But outside that, anything goes.

I have had three interview offers since I started applying 4 weeks ago. Wait times were 1 day, 1 week, 3 weeks so far.

Current district court clerk here. We set up our OSCAR profile to allow applications for a period of two or three months I think. No one looked at a single application until the period closed. We informed applicants whom we had selected for an interview just over a month after that date. I don't think we'll send any notification to those we didn't select for an interview.

Thanks so much everyone. I'm still learning the process. For OSCAR applications, some of mine suddenly changed from "F" (finalized) to a green "U" (updated). I haven't touched the application since I submitted it. Does this mean the judge downloaded it or simply that OSCAR's computers finally caught up?

2TimesTheCharm wrote:Thanks so much everyone. I'm still learning the process. For OSCAR applications, some of mine suddenly changed from "F" (finalized) to a green "U" (updated). I haven't touched the application since I submitted it. Does this mean the judge downloaded it or simply that OSCAR's computers finally caught up?

It might mean an LOR was added? Mine changed from F to U whenever one of my recommenders attached a letter to an app.

neeksneeks wrote:

2TimesTheCharm wrote:Thanks so much everyone. I'm still learning the process. For OSCAR applications, some of mine suddenly changed from "F" (finalized) to a green "U" (updated). I haven't touched the application since I submitted it. Does this mean the judge downloaded it or simply that OSCAR's computers finally caught up?

It might mean an LOR was added? Mine changed from F to U whenever one of my recommenders attached a letter to an app.

Current clerk that reviews OSCAR candidates, but not a prior poster. If your app went from F to U and you did not change anything, then the only reason that I can think of is that a LOR was submitted. Check on the status of your clerkship recommendations to see if that is the case.