The Mather Pre-Law Program is pleased to assist graduates of Mather House in applying to law school, no matter how many years ago you graduated. Indeed, alumni/ae applicants account for nearly half of the applicants from Mather House each year. So far, the record goes to a woman who contacted the House for help applying to law school after 15 years in another career! Whether you're a recent graduate or someone intent on upsetting her record, we're happy to help.
Mostly it isn't. Alumni/ae are welcome to use all of Mather's pre-law advising resources. You should register for the Pre-Law Program, just as undergraduate applicants do, and fill out all of the same forms and questionnaires. You will be assigned a nonresident pre-law tutor, just like undergraduate applicants, and you are invited to have your tutor review drafts of your personal statement, etc. And most importantly, Mather House will write you a full dean's letter, if you wish to have one written (more on that below).
That said, there are a few special considerations for alumni/ae applicants, especially those who have been away from Mather for a long time or who live far from Cambridge.
- Dean's Letter
As described elsewhere on this site, the House normally writes a "Dean's letter" for every Mather applicant. While we are prepared to write a letter for every Mather alumna/us who requests one, it is obviously difficult for us to write a compelling letter if you've been gone long enough that none of the current tutors know you and you live far enough away that we cannot readily get to know you now. In addition, the Dean's letter naturally loses some of its relevance for alumni/ae who have established careers.
As a result, Mather (following policies recommended by the College) presumptively does not write a full-blown Dean's letter for alumni/ae who have been away from the House for more than 3-4 years. Instead, we write a short letter that makes the required disclosures (what disclosures?) and then simply states that while we don't know you personally, we have no reason to believe that you would not be an excellent candidate for law school (This is also referred to as a "Form Dean's Letter"). This eliminates any prejudice that might result from the House simply not writing a letter at all (i.e., it makes clear we're not trying to hide anything), while at the same time avoiding the need to write a full letter that reveals (through the inevitably summary descriptions) how little we actually know about you. The shorter letter also has the advantage of speed -- the House can produce it in a day or two (for this reason, we sometimes recommend this option to current undergraduate applicants who apply late in the process). It takes considerably longer for us to get to know an alumna/us (or, rather, an alumna/us whom we did not know as an undergraduate) well enough to write a full letter. This approach has worked well in our experience. But if you prefer the longer letter, the House will write a full Dean's letter for you, no matter how long you have been away from the House, if you are willing to visit, call, and/or email us frequently enough to make a personalized letter possible. Feel free to discuss this issue with the Resident Tutor in Law.
- Letters of Recommendation.
Several issues specific to alumni/ae arise in the context of letters of recommendation. First, as noted on the recommendations page, alums will often want to obtain a letter from a current employer or co-worker, in addition to an academic letter (if possible). Alums who have been away from school for many years will often be unable to produce an academic letter of recommendation, and that's OK -- law schools understand.
Second, if you're getting recommendations now (as opposed to using those already in your Mather House file) we ask that you have your recommenders send a copy both to LSDAS and the Mather House office, so that they'll always be on file here (read more).
- Plan Ahead.
Alumni/ae often underestimate the time and energy required to assemble strong law school applications. Every year, the last Mather applications to be completed are applications from alumni/ae who have busy jobs or busy lives and didn't stay on top of the process. An equal number of alums later confess that they would have written a better essay, practiced harder for the LSAT, etc., if they were still undergrads. Don't let this be you!
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LSAT Prep Courses.
Similarly, alumni/ae often benefit from LSAT prep courses simply because the rigorous class schedules (and, frankly, the feeling that you spent a lot of money on the course) help motivate you to study and stay on top of the work.
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Attend Meetings at Mather if Possible.
If you're in the Boston area, try to attend the Introductory Pre-Law Meeting and the few other major pre-law meetings during the year. All meetings will be at night or on weekend afternoons. Handouts from these meetings will invariably be posted on this website, but the Q&A between students and the tutors is usually the most valuable part of these meetings (because everyone has the same questions), and you can't get that part without attending.
- Stay In Touch with
Mather.
Every year, a significant number of alumni/ae fall out of touch with the House during the pre-law process. We can't help you if we don't know where you are! Update the House on address and email changes and periodically check in with your tutor. We'll try to remind you of deadlines, etc., but it is obviously your responsibility to make sure you get all of the pre-law services you need from Mather House. And if you need help or advice that you can't find on this website, please don't hesitate to contact the Resident Tutor in Law.
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