Special Considerations for
Alumni/ae Applicants

• Alumni/ae are Welcome in the Pre-Law Program!
• How is the Process for Alumni/ae Different?
• Special Considerations for Alumni/ae Applicants
• A Few Words of Advice

Alumni/ae are Welcome in the Pre-Law Program! The Dunster Pre-Law Program is pleased to assist graduates of Dunster 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 Dunster 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.

How is the Process for Alumni/ae Different? Mostly it isn't. Alumni/ae are welcome to use all of Dunster'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. (We do maintain a separate email mailing list for alumni/ae to avoid burying you in messages relevant only to undergraduates). 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, Dunster 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 Dunster for a long time or who live far from Cambridge.

Special Considerations for Alumni/ae Applicants.

• Dean's Letter. As described elsewhere on this site, the House normally writes a "Dean's letter" for every Dunster applicant. While we are prepared to write a letter for every Dunster 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, Dunster (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 5 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 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. 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.
  
  
• Personal Statement. Ordinarily we advise undergraduates not to write their personal statement explicitly about why they want to attend law school (see our advice about personal statements). The calculus changes a bit for alumni/ae if you've been away from college long enough to establish another career. For applicants who have already been successful elsewhere, the natural questions in the minds of admissions officers will be "why law?" and "why now?" If you're in that situation, consider using your personal statement to address those questions directly (assuming, of course, you have decent answers!).

A Few Words of Advice. A few words of advice for alumni/ae applicants may be helpful.

• Plan Ahead. Alumni/ae often underestimate the time and energy required to assemble strong law school applications. Every year, the last Dunster 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!
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Attend Meetings at Dunster if Possible. If you're in the Boston area, try to attend the Introductory Pre-Law Meeting (contact the Resident Tutors for this year's date) 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 may or may not 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 Dunster. 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 Dunster 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.