Top Law Schools

Well, having now been held at HLS and trying to figure out what to do next, I wanted to create a space for those in a similar situation to voice our concerns.

I just received a hold today as well. I had been expecting a rejection because of my 167 LSAT, (though I have a top GPA and great softs) so the hold comes as something of a pleasant surprise. I am considering sending a LOCI saying I will attend if admitted and a LOR from my employer.

For me, this is especially stressful because I can't leave Boston, meaning if I'm not admitted to Harvard, I will attend BU or BC (not that either of those are bad schools, but there's a pretty big difference). With that in mind, maybe I should offer them an animal sacrifice?? (Kidding)

I think, ultimately, I need to expect that I will receive a rejection, just later than initially planned.

I'm sure everyone has seen JR's post about the "hold" status, but here it is for your convenience.

Thanks to everyone who submitted a question this week – we got an overwhelming response. Your questions were generally around a few themes so I’ll answer the most popular ones today and save the rest for another time.

A lot of your questions were about our “hold” status:

“Are held applicants’ files going to be completely re-reviewed at some point or have you made a preliminary decision on each file, but are unsure whether you might change your mind after seeing how the entire applicant pool stacks up? Either way, when can held applicants reasonably expect to start hearing back?” – Nate

“When can held applicants expect to start receiving application updates? Will all “holds” be evaluated simultaneously, or can individuals held earlier in the process expect to hear something sooner than those held later? – Ranwa

“Will there be new interview invitations extended to “hold” applicants? If yes, do you have an estimate of the timing?” – Mae

It seems like there are quite a few of you agonizing over being on hold, and many of you seem to have a lot of time to spend on TLS. Relax – there are still places open in the class, and these will be filled by people on hold or whose applications have not been reviewed yet

Hold is a good place to be. You didn’t do anything wrong. If I interviewed you, you’re not on hold because you had a horrible interview (if that were the case, you’d probably just have gotten denied). There’s nothing horrendous about your application. The fact of the matter is that we’re fortunate to get more qualified applicants than we have slots for in the class. We have the luxury of building not only a talented class, but a diverse one. We want to make sure that not everyone is from the same high school, or wants to work for the same Congressional Committee. And the only way to make that happen is to look at the whole applicant pool before making all of our decisions – thus, the hold category.

At this point, your application has been thoroughly reviewed. We’ve got a crack team here, and at least two of us have read your application. So we have a pretty good sense of who you are at this point. You’re more than welcome to send additional information – updated transcripts and resumes are particularly helpful. But don’t feel the need to send something just to send it. Remember, what you send reflects on your judgment – is that seventh letter of recommendation from your grandmother’s next door neighbor who always thought you should be a lawyer really going to reflect well on you?

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve started to go back through the holds. Some of you, we’ve already admitted; others have been asked to interview. Don’t freak out if that’s not you. This is a fairly long process, and it will take 6-8 weeks to go through all the applications, at which point some of the remaining holds be shifted to a wait-list.

Finally, I wouldn’t read too much into whether you’ve been held after an interview or without receiving one. In many cases, that’s more a function of when in the cycle your application was reviewed than it is an assessment of your chances.

ehwilliams2 wrote:I'm sure everyone has seen JR's post about the "hold" status, but here it is for your convenience.

Thanks to everyone who submitted a question this week – we got an overwhelming response. Your questions were generally around a few themes so I’ll answer the most popular ones today and save the rest for another time.

A lot of your questions were about our “hold” status:

“Are held applicants’ files going to be completely re-reviewed at some point or have you made a preliminary decision on each file, but are unsure whether you might change your mind after seeing how the entire applicant pool stacks up? Either way, when can held applicants reasonably expect to start hearing back?” – Nate

“When can held applicants expect to start receiving application updates? Will all “holds” be evaluated simultaneously, or can individuals held earlier in the process expect to hear something sooner than those held later? – Ranwa

“Will there be new interview invitations extended to “hold” applicants? If yes, do you have an estimate of the timing?” – Mae

It seems like there are quite a few of you agonizing over being on hold, and many of you seem to have a lot of time to spend on TLS. Relax – there are still places open in the class, and these will be filled by people on hold or whose applications have not been reviewed yet

Hold is a good place to be. You didn’t do anything wrong. If I interviewed you, you’re not on hold because you had a horrible interview (if that were the case, you’d probably just have gotten denied). There’s nothing horrendous about your application. The fact of the matter is that we’re fortunate to get more qualified applicants than we have slots for in the class. We have the luxury of building not only a talented class, but a diverse one. We want to make sure that not everyone is from the same high school, or wants to work for the same Congressional Committee. And the only way to make that happen is to look at the whole applicant pool before making all of our decisions – thus, the hold category.

At this point, your application has been thoroughly reviewed. We’ve got a crack team here, and at least two of us have read your application. So we have a pretty good sense of who you are at this point. You’re more than welcome to send additional information – updated transcripts and resumes are particularly helpful. But don’t feel the need to send something just to send it. Remember, what you send reflects on your judgment – is that seventh letter of recommendation from your grandmother’s next door neighbor who always thought you should be a lawyer really going to reflect well on you?

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve started to go back through the holds. Some of you, we’ve already admitted; others have been asked to interview. Don’t freak out if that’s not you. This is a fairly long process, and it will take 6-8 weeks to go through all the applications, at which point some of the remaining holds be shifted to a wait-list.

Finally, I wouldn’t read too much into whether you’ve been held after an interview or without receiving one. In many cases, that’s more a function of when in the cycle your application was reviewed than it is an assessment of your chances.

Can you include a link to the original too? Thanks

kazu wrote:

ehwilliams2 wrote:I'm sure everyone has seen JR's post about the "hold" status, but here it is for your convenience.

Thanks to everyone who submitted a question this week – we got an overwhelming response. Your questions were generally around a few themes so I’ll answer the most popular ones today and save the rest for another time.

A lot of your questions were about our “hold” status:

“Are held applicants’ files going to be completely re-reviewed at some point or have you made a preliminary decision on each file, but are unsure whether you might change your mind after seeing how the entire applicant pool stacks up? Either way, when can held applicants reasonably expect to start hearing back?” – Nate

“When can held applicants expect to start receiving application updates? Will all “holds” be evaluated simultaneously, or can individuals held earlier in the process expect to hear something sooner than those held later? – Ranwa

“Will there be new interview invitations extended to “hold” applicants? If yes, do you have an estimate of the timing?” – Mae

It seems like there are quite a few of you agonizing over being on hold, and many of you seem to have a lot of time to spend on TLS. Relax – there are still places open in the class, and these will be filled by people on hold or whose applications have not been reviewed yet

Hold is a good place to be. You didn’t do anything wrong. If I interviewed you, you’re not on hold because you had a horrible interview (if that were the case, you’d probably just have gotten denied). There’s nothing horrendous about your application. The fact of the matter is that we’re fortunate to get more qualified applicants than we have slots for in the class. We have the luxury of building not only a talented class, but a diverse one. We want to make sure that not everyone is from the same high school, or wants to work for the same Congressional Committee. And the only way to make that happen is to look at the whole applicant pool before making all of our decisions – thus, the hold category.

At this point, your application has been thoroughly reviewed. We’ve got a crack team here, and at least two of us have read your application. So we have a pretty good sense of who you are at this point. You’re more than welcome to send additional information – updated transcripts and resumes are particularly helpful. But don’t feel the need to send something just to send it. Remember, what you send reflects on your judgment – is that seventh letter of recommendation from your grandmother’s next door neighbor who always thought you should be a lawyer really going to reflect well on you?

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve started to go back through the holds. Some of you, we’ve already admitted; others have been asked to interview. Don’t freak out if that’s not you. This is a fairly long process, and it will take 6-8 weeks to go through all the applications, at which point some of the remaining holds be shifted to a wait-list.

Finally, I wouldn’t read too much into whether you’ve been held after an interview or without receiving one. In many cases, that’s more a function of when in the cycle your application was reviewed than it is an assessment of your chances.

Can you include a link to the original too? Thanks

--LinkRemoved--

Held today.

Joining the holding pattern.

Joining as well! I'm really honored - this was a pleasant surprise for me!

Held as well. Sent three LoRs, but I have several more on file... I wonder if an additional one would help.

Me too. ::shakes fist at sky, then dances::

Long time lurker, first time poster but I was held today as well. At least I can say Harvard didn't toss me in the reject pile immediately.. I'll consider that a small victory.

cold_logic wrote:Held as well. Sent three LoRs, but I have several more on file... I wonder if an additional one would help.

Read the blog post RE: LORs.

yeah it seems like if you've already sent in multiple LORs from a variety of sources (i.e. professor, boss, etc.), it may j ust be excessive to send in more. But maybe if you just have academic ones, throwing in a professional one could help you?

ilovemulch wrote:yeah it seems like if you've already sent in multiple LORs from a variety of sources (i.e. professor, boss, etc.), it may j ust be excessive to send in more. But maybe if you just have academic ones, throwing in a professional one could help you?

Held today too, and had the same thought. Do we just submit an additional one via LSAC? I can't remember if there's a way to do more than 4. Anyone?

Ooh I thought I had sent all three of my LORs, but I only sent two. Third one* will be on its way to HLS soon.

/willstillberejected

*I sent two academic and this third one is from my employer (the president of my UG) so it should be completely different.

Joining the club. Feel pretty good about it. With my numbers (LSN in profile) -- if I had a chance -- I figured it would be down the line once they've shaken out their class profile a bit more. Once I saw a guy with the same numbers rejected last Friday I thought I heard the bell toll for me, but it seems the reaper has moved on for now. You better believe that I have my fingers crossed on H's median GPA falling ever-so-slightly this cycle.

Last year's held thread, for everybody's enjoyment: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 7&t=103725

Also joining the hold party!

r6_philly wrote:

cold_logic wrote:Held as well. Sent three LoRs, but I have several more on file... I wonder if an additional one would help.

Read the blog post RE: LORs.

Right... I'm trying to decide if my additional letters are of "grandmother" calibre. They're all from current professors I've had, so they're not THAT bad, but sending four or more letters just seems excessive. Hm...

Joining in here! I'm with many of the rest of you in that I'm shocked and kind of excited that I didn't get automatically dinged. Whatever ends up happening, at least Harvard saw something in all of our files that made us worth holding onto a little while longer.

kazu wrote:Last year's held thread, for everybody's enjoyment: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 7&t=103725

I skipped to the end for the bloodbath. #masochism

eskimo wrote:

kazu wrote:Last year's held thread, for everybody's enjoyment: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 7&t=103725

I skipped to the end for the bloodbath. #masochism

I'm sorta scared to lookd

Also - eski - almost your 5000th post!!

eskimo wrote:

kazu wrote:Last year's held thread, for everybody's enjoyment: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 7&t=103725

I skipped to the end for the bloodbath. #masochism

+1. My personal favorite line being "It's more like an execution than a battle."

Hold me closer tiny Harvard

After reading JR's description of being on hold, it seems pretty much the same as a waitlist. Is there any substantive difference?

Oh well, back to refreshing the UChicago thread I suppose.