When “Oops!” Doesn’t Cover It: The Law School Readmission Interview
Aug 21 '01
The Bottom Line Using the experience of my friend Kristen’s Boyfriend X, who experienced such a hearing, I’ll give you the keys to going into the readmission hearing without being totally blindsided.
So, this is where your future is decided. You dreamed of law school, suffered through the admissions process and survived the buffets of the first-year torments. But, alas, it was not enough. Like so many things in your life, things did not turn out as you had imagined they would when you stepped into your very first class nearly a year ago. Your GPA, you sadly muse, is ill-placed on your resume next to your college glories and achievements. Well, snap out of it! The past is past and the future is now – in the hands of a committee who must decide if it is really worth the tuition that your loaner bank provides to invite you back next fall. So, how does one prepare for an interview like this? Using the insight and experience of my friend Kristen’s Boyfriend X, who experienced just such a hearing, I’ll give you the keys to going into this hearing without being totally blindsided. Notice I said, totally blindsided. Like all interesting (or completely horrifying) things in life, there are bound to be a few surprises mixed in for, um, variety. I’m really working on that optimism thing.
Know Thy Self: Your Readmission Letter
It may have been a while since you sent that letter to the readmission committee, with the details of your work of prose a hazy memory. Well, that’s is not how it should be when you go into the hearing. You need to know that letter down to the final “Please let me back in.” The committee, when it questions you, will work primarily from that letter. Most of the questions they will ask you will be in clarification of points that you made. Of utmost importance, you should be well versed in the reasons why your grades took the downturn that they did. You should bring a copy of the letter with you to the interview but, I believe, it solidifies your position if you can argue your points like you wrote that letter yesterday.
Know Thy Schedule: The Fall (Semester) To Come
While the month of May is a distant memory and you have a vague notion of the classes that you selected, the committee doesn’t have any notion and they certainly do want to know. “Why?” you ask. The committee wants to get a sense of what your plan is when you return for your next year. They want to know that you have a goal that you are working toward and your schedule may show that. Be prepared to answer why you choose the courses that you did. If you’re working toward a specialization (one of your own making or school-sanctioned), tell them that. If you want to make this year your “Bar year,” and you are taking classes to help prepare for that exam, tell them that, too. However, if you just picked courses that you liked, with no real cohesion in your choices, just tell the committee that you are interested in a variety of areas and you want to sample a little of each. But, have an answer. “I don’t remember” really doesn’t work in your favor.
Know Thy Transcript: The Grades and The Professors
You need to know each grade that you received for each course you received it in and the professor who taught you that course (Goodness, that borders on run-on.) However, focus your attention on the lowest grades, for the professors on this committee are not interested in why you got a B in Torts. They will focus on those grades because they want to know if you went to the professors of those classes and discussed the possible reasons for receiving the grade that you did. Going to a professor to talk about such a situation takes courage and initiative. Everybody likes courage and initiative. The committee may ask you to go into detail about these meetings, particularly the reasons the professor(s) gave for why you graded poorly. Think on such meetings and be prepared to talk about them. However, if you lacked courage and initiative during your 1L year, well, the Socratic Method can beat it out of the best of us. If you didn’t talk to your professors about the low grades, you must explain why you didn’t do so. I honestly don’t have a good one myself. However, I tend to be the confrontational type and once kept my Con Law professor in his office for two hours to explain to me why I got a B, instead of a B+ on an exam. Did I tell you that I am also hopelessly anal? I’m sure it has come up in one of my essays before.
Know Thy Inner Matlock: Your Opening Statement
This depends entirely on the format that your law school uses to conduct proceedings such as these. However, assume that they will ask you to make an opening statement before they begin questioning you. This statement should be concise but contains all the relevant points that you want to make. Highlight here anything that places you in a positive light and deserving of a place in your class next year. What should you include? Positive grade trends (your semester-to-semester GPA increased) and taking courses in a specialization that would be best completed within your particular law school are good points to include. This is not the point in the interview for an explanation of your academic performance. This is the point in which you present your best possible self. The rest can come later.
Know The Point When Thou Should Stop: Wrapping It Up
Woody Allen once said that ninety-percent of life is just showing up. While this may be true in most situations, law school isn’t one of them. Everything about law school is about being prepared and this point in your law school career should be no different. Walk into that interview/hearing, knowing yourself like no one else does and half the battle is won. Winning your half of the battle may persuade the other side that keeping you on is worth the fight.
Self-Aggrandizement
When the Fimus Hits the Fan: Getting Readmitted After Not Following nylawgirl's Advice (The Readmission Petition Letter)
http://nylawgirl.epinions.com/content_1952358532
Law School: How to Prepare, How to Succeed, How Not to Panic
http://nylawgirl.epinions.com/educ-review-5F4F-133D57F5-38FC1E46-prod5
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