Ok, what is the deal with these? I know I'm supposed to be answering the questions and not asking them, but they just started really appearing on the scene a few years ago and schools are incredibly inconsistent about what they mean by them, when you need one, whether or not there's a form, who should fill it out, etc. I thought I'd open this up and just let everyone share about their lovely Dean's Cert Letter experiences, any feelings you have about them, anything you've learned about what certain schools mean when they ask for one, etc. Have a good time.
(This is an experiment in my blogging career... Let's see what happens! Besides, I don't have time to keep answering all of these wonderful comments so have fun answering each other!!! I look forward to reading them myself)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Dean's Certification Letters
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You know it kills me to link to law school discussion, but here goes - it might prove useful if it's accurate information: http://www.lawschooldiscussion.org/prelaw/index.php/topic,46044.0.html
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts on Dean Letters...
ReplyDeleteout of the t14 schools, only Cornell and Stanford require them WITH the application.
I go to a large state university, and I first went to the dean. She forwarded me to her secretary. Her secretary told me the Office of the Vice Provost was handling them. I went to the Office of the Vice Provost, who told me that the office of Student Conduct is handling them. So I went to the Office of Student Conduct, (which is a little shady... it's where the probation/ misconduct kids go... and she says she'll take care of them.
That was all in mid-August. Now I get an email from the Office of Student Conduct saying that they have no record of ever mailing out my forms.
So I guess my advice is: do it early. Earlier than your essays and stuff, because it's something you have little control over.
Kiki
hey- Johns Hopkins University has a great section on Dean's certification (they list all the schools that require them with applications and those that require them upon acceptance). http://web.jhu.edu/prepro/law/deans_forms.html
ReplyDeleteAwesome! So helpful. Thanks.
ReplyDeletei'm quite nervous about this. I will be living abroad next year and applying to law school for the following fall. I will need this letter if I apply to cornell and georgetown. Ugh, what a headache.
ReplyDeleteThe form seems to be pretty straightforward, i.e. is this individual in fact a student in good standing at your university? The dean's office sees so many of them at my school that they've just got a box when you walk in the door.
ReplyDeleteAnn,
ReplyDeleteJust want to say your site is great! If I can't get into schools on my own this year then I'm going to save up the money for your help next year! Right now the budget is pretty tight though!
I'm definitely going to need one of these since I had an incident of plagiarism in grad school. I made a mistake and have disclosed it in addendum but I'm curious what a Dean's Cert will actually say about the event. Most of the forms look pretty short and I've checked my file out from the school's Student Conduct and there is only a brief 5 line description. Is it going to kill me having something negative on a Dean's Cert?
Anne,
ReplyDeleteHave you seen a Dean's Cert like U of Washingtons? How do they expect a lowly dean or school bureaucrat to know anything beyond that I am not a criminal?
Link:
http://www.law.washington.edu/Admissions/Forms/FormB.pdf
This is killing me, I sent to a school that is NOT on the LSAC for LGBT that I am LGBT. Now it's pretty much a AUTO-REJECT. Should i just withdraw?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous -
ReplyDeleteSo sorry - I just saw this comment.
Why would you withdraw? So, they reject you. If they reject you for that, it's not a school you would enjoy attending or be proud to represent as an alum. But don't reject yourself...
By this time, it's probably worked itself out, but let me know.