What Reviewers Look For in the Law School — Waitlist Letter (Letter of Continued Interest)
This rubric evaluates whether your letter gives the admissions office useful new information, makes a specific case for that school, and states your interest honestly and consistently. It also looks at whether the document reads like focused correspondence, follows any school instructions you provide, and avoids rearguing materials already in your application.
What We Check
Whether the letter names at least one fact that post-dates the submission of the application and states it as a concrete, actual fact.
Whether the letter joins at least one specific feature of this school to something the applicant would do with it, and says where the applicant's knowledge of that feature came from.
Whether the letter states how strongly the applicant would commit and keeps that statement consistent with everything else the letter says.
Whether the letter follows the current instruction the school itself publishes for this document, when that instruction is submitted with the draft.
Whether the document is correspondence to the admissions office rather than an essay or a re-argued application.
Mistakes We Flag
- Reannouncing your application
- Summarizing your personal statement, resume, or other materials the committee already has does not tell the school what has changed since you applied. Focus on a concrete update, or say plainly if you have no new information to report.
- Listing school features without a purpose
- A list of courses, clinics, journals, or faculty names is not a school-specific reason on its own. Explain what one or two features would help you do and identify how you learned about them, such as through a published page, class, conversation, or event.
- Making an interest claim your letter contradicts
- Do not call a school your first choice or promise to enroll if another part of the letter says you are undecided or would attend only under a condition. State the level of interest you can honestly honor, including any relevant condition.
- Assuming or restating the school’s process
- Waitlist instructions vary by school. If you include current instructions with your draft, do not say you are using a route the instructions exclude, promise repeated letters without an invitation, or repeat the instructions instead of following them.
- Turning the letter into a second personal statement
- An origin story, a broad argument for why you should be admitted, or a reargument of your application can crowd out the letter’s real work. Keep the focus on updates, a specific reason for the school, and your current interest.
How this rubric reads your essay
- Built from published reader guidance — the sources are listed below.
- Scored per section against defined criteria, not general impressions.
- Calibrated for consistent scoring, so a better draft shows up in the score.
References
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to have a new accomplishment or update to send a waitlist letter?
No. A letter that plainly says it has nothing new to report can still be complete. Do not invent an update or restate your application to fill the space.
Do I need to visit the school or speak with someone there?
No. A published school page is an acceptable basis for discussing the school. Travel, a contact, or an event is not required.
Should I say the school is my first choice?
Say only what you can honor. You may state a truthful unconditional or conditional level of interest; the important thing is that it does not conflict with anything else in the letter.
How long should my letter be?
No minimum length is required, and a short follow-up letter can be complete. If you provide a current school limit, follow it; otherwise, this type of letter is generally about one page.
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