How to Get Into Harvard Law School - The Two Secrets About Letters of Recommendation

If you want to know how to get into Harvard Lawtwo or three years, seeing you in class, and grading
School, you cannot overlook your letters ofyour work, they should find it fairly easy to write a
recommendation. The two most important things togood letter for you.
remember with letters of recommendation are whoI chose three English professors: one Harvard
they come from and when you ask for them.graduate and two Yale graduates. I had taken a
When I attended Harvard Law School, I learned fromcourse with the Harvard graduate my sophomore
one of my roommates that he discovered-after theyear, and he was both, my advisor for selecting
fact-that one of his letters of recommendation wascourses and my advisor for my senior thesis (which I
not a positive endorsement! This fact cannot bewas already working on and visiting him about while
overlooked. Do not request a letter from a professorhe was writing my letter of recommendation). In
who you do not know with absolute certainty willaddition, I casually stopped by his office from time to
write a glowing recommendation for you. This leveltime to talk about other things, like life, other
of certainty requires a deep familiarity with thatliterature, and movies. I had also taken one course
professor. Therefore, you should begin formingeach (one my sophomore year and one the first
relationships with professors as early as yoursemester of my junior year) with the two Yale
freshman year!graduates and participated extensively in both
That's right. If you are wondering how to get intoclasses. I got A's in all three courses.
Harvard Law School, here is what you must do.This process involves a lot of work, but it is not
Identify three professors within your major whoredundant or additional work. Getting into Harvard
have prestigious pedigrees (of the Ivy LeagueLaw School simply requires you to work smarter, not
variety) and credentials and take courses with themharder. Working hard to secure good
as early as the curriculum allows. Do well in theirrecommendations entails working hard in these
courses. (This goes without saying.) Get an A in eachclasses. That effort will simultaneously help you attain
course, and participate in class. Above all, make surea high GPA. In addition, placing yourself on a healthy
they know who you are in class. In addition, developschedule of studying and comprehending will help you
a relationship with them. Choose one as your advisorslide right into a similar schedule of studying for the
when selecting courses for the following semester.LSAT when that challenge arrives.
Stop by their offices to ask questions about theYou should ask for your letters from these
course material. The point is to give them materialprofessors in the spring of your junior year. The
that they can draw on when writing your letter ofearlier, the better. They should have enough time to
recommendation.complete them, preferably several months. Asking
Professors receive numerous requests for letters offor them this early is another reason why you should
recommendation. You do not want to be justforge relationships with these professors as early and
another item on their to-do list. If you want to getas effectively as possible.
into Harvard Law School, you will have to do betterThis advice about letters of recommendation is critical
than that. In order to get a good recommendationif you are wondering how to get into Harvard Law
from them, you have to make it easy and enjoyableSchool.
for them to write you one. After knowing you for