Getting waitlisted is not the end of your cycle. Many applicants get admitted off law school waitlists every year, sometimes with scholarships, sometimes days before orientation.
This guide breaks down six steps you can take to improve your odds, whether you are waiting on Harvard, Chicago, Columbia, NYU, Penn, Georgetown, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Emory, WashU, or anywhere else. Each step is based on what has worked for me and my clients.
1. Retake the LSAT
If your score is below the school’s median, a retake that hits the median can meaningfully change your odds. Even a few points can matter.
Assume all law schools will accept LSAT updates throughout the summer, even if they say otherwise. Schools that are trying to push up their 75th percentile may also welcome a strong retake from someone already at or above median, though the benefit is smaller.
For more on whether a retake makes sense, see Yes, You Should (Probably) Retake the LSAT. If test anxiety has been a factor, this guide on beating LSAT anxiety may help.
2. Write a Strong Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI)
A letter of continued interest is your chance to reaffirm interest, demonstrate fit, and give the admissions committee a reason to pull your file again.
Your first LOCI should include:
- Genuine appreciation for the waitlist spot
- Specific reasons you want to attend that school (clinics, professors, culture, mission)
- Any meaningful updates to your candidacy since you applied
If you already submitted a Why X essay with your application, your LOCI should go deeper than what you originally wrote. Talk about research you have done since applying, conversations you have had with students or alumni, or ways your understanding of the school has evolved. The LOCI should not simply repeat the Why X. It should build on it.
If you did not submit a Why X, your first LOCI functions more like one. Be specific. Generic enthusiasm does not move the needle.
Format the LOCI as a PDF attached to a professional email, unless the school specifies an upload portal. Keep it to one page.
3. Add a New Letter of Recommendation
If the school allows additional letters and you have not hit the limit, a new recommendation can offer a fresh perspective on your candidacy.
This works best when you have had meaningful professional or academic developments since you originally applied. The strongest recommenders for this purpose are:
- A professor or TA who can speak to recent academic growth
- A supervisor who can address professional impact since your application was submitted
4. Visit the School and Request a Meeting If Allowed
Some schools encourage waitlisted applicants to visit or schedule informal meetings. Others track demonstrated interest more passively. Either way, showing up matters. Penn Law has allowed “informational meetings” with admissions staff in the past. UCLA Law has used subtle interview-style conversations. Georgetown Law has been receptive to demonstrated interest from waitlisted applicants. Michigan Law and UVA Law are schools where demonstrated interest and cultural fit carry real weight.
If you visit, mention it in your next LOCI. If a meeting is offered, treat it like an interview: come prepared with thoughtful questions and follow up with a thank-you email.
5. Follow Up Strategically and Consistently
One LOCI is not enough. But sending the same “I’m still interested!” email three times is not a strategy.
Give Each Follow-Up a Distinct Flavor
When you have the space and the substance, each follow-up should have its own angle. Maybe one focuses on a campus visit and what you observed about the school and its environment. Another is built around conversations you had with current students or alumni. Another goes deep on a specific professor’s work and how it connects to your interests.
This is a judgment call, not a rigid formula. The point is that the admissions committee should see someone whose interest is growing over time. Each touchpoint adds a new layer. That trajectory matters.
Mix Up Your Contact Methods
Do not limit yourself to email. A well-timed phone call to the admissions office can be powerful. Calling to ask whether there is anything you can do to strengthen your candidacy puts the school in an advisory role instead of a gatekeeper role.
It is a different kind of interaction than an email, and it registers differently.
Ramp Up as the Summer Goes On
Early in the process, every three to four weeks is a reasonable cadence. But as you get deeper into the summer, the pace should increase.
By late July and August, a short email each week is appropriate. At that point, schools are actively managing their incoming class, seats are opening up, and being top of mind matters. These late-summer follow-ups do not need to be long. A line or two reiterating your interest and your commitment to attend if admitted is enough.
The flavored, substantive follow-ups belong earlier in the process when you have time and material to work with. As the cadence increases, brevity takes over, unless you have new substance to add.
6. Network Strategically with Alumni or Donors
This is the step most applicants skip, and it is one that helped get me into NYU Law. I met an alumnus connected to the Dean Emeritus, and he advocated for me. One sincere advocate can carry more weight than most people realize, especially at schools where the margin between admit and waitlist is razor-thin.
Start by asking friends, mentors, professors, or colleagues if they know alumni of your target school. Attend local or virtual law events. Use LinkedIn. Use your undergrad alumni network.
The connection does not have to be prestigious. Your friend’s boss who graduated from Columbia. A professor with faculty contacts at Duke or Northwestern. Someone you meet at a pro bono event who offers to make a call to Berkeley. Any of those can help.
For school-specific strategies, see my deep dives on Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, Columbia, NYU, Penn, UVA, Michigan, Duke, Northwestern, Berkeley, Cornell, Georgetown, and UCLA.
What Not to Do on a Law School Waitlist
A few things that hurt more than they help:
- Sending a generic LOCI that could apply to any school
- Emailing the admissions office so frequently it becomes annoying (use judgment; this is different from strategic ramping in late summer)
- Writing something that reads as desperate or entitled
- Cold reaching out to faculty who have no role in admissions
The applicants who get off waitlists are the ones who treat the process with the seriousness they gave their personal statement and diversity statement. Bring that same energy here.
Can You Get a Scholarship Off the Waitlist?
Yes. It happens more often than most applicants expect.
I got off four waitlists back in 2013: Georgetown Law, Northwestern Law, Duke Law, and NYU Law. Both Georgetown Law and Northwestern Law offered me scholarship money off the waitlist. At Georgetown Law, I negotiated from $0 to $20,000, then to $30,000, then to $40,000 per year. I turned it down for NYU Law.
My clients have received scholarships off the waitlist multiple times, including from schools like Georgetown Law and UCLA Law. I had a client get admitted to Georgetown Law with a 165 LSAT roughly two days before orientation started. He had to move his entire family from New York to DC on almost no notice. He got a scholarship.
Schools like Georgetown Law, Vanderbilt Law, and UCLA Law consistently admit from the waitlist in my experience. T14 and top-30 programs do it every cycle. Do not assume that getting off the waitlist means paying full price.
For more on the scholarship side, read How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
Final Thoughts
Waitlists are unpredictable, but they are not hopeless. The difference between staying on the list and getting the call comes down to effort, specificity, and timing.
All Sharper Statements packages include comprehensive waitlist support: LOCI strategy, follow-up cadence, school communication, and scholarship negotiation after admission. Learn more about my services or get in touch.
Related Reading
→ How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships
→ Yield Protect Is Real, Just Not in the Way You Think
→ What Holistic Law School Admissions Really Means
→ How to Get Into Law School Below Both Medians
→ Yes, You Should (Probably) Retake the LSAT
→ Blog Directory
