Director of Admissions at Michigan Law Gives Helpful Tips

AdmissionsDean’s latest interview is with Sarah Zearfoss, Associate Dean and Director of Admissions at The University of Michigan School of Law. Zearfoss has a lot of useful advice to share on applying to law school and really puts herself in the applicant’s shoes.

For instance, Zearfoss likens an application to a jigsaw puzzle—at first it is unclear who the applicant is, but eventually a good application will present a clear picture. According to Zearfoss, “If I have a lot of questions about you when I close your file, then you haven’t done a good job explaining yourself and your story…It’s important that you be able to ‘make your best case’—which is really how I view an applicant’s file—to hear your best arguments why you are a good fit for our law school.”

Zearfoss is particularly turned off by an applicant who comes off as arrogant, entitled, or, on the other hand, like a victim. Due to the collegial student body at Michigan, the personality of its students is an important factor. As Zearfoss notes, “there’s probably a little bit of a sliding scale so that if you have 4.0 and a 180 on the LSAT, you can probably have a little bit less personality than a candidate with less impressive scores—but you certainly can’t have a horrible personality.”

Zearfoss shares specific insight into approaching someone to write a letter of recommendation: “You need to offer the potential recommender an out by asking whether they feel comfortable writing you a ‘strong’ letter of recommendation. Do it in person so you can gauge their reaction and see if there is any hesitation to your question. If you get any less than an enthusiastic ‘Yes!’ then don’t be afraid to say, ‘You know what, I’ll find someone else.’”

Regarding U.S. News rankings, Zearfoss generally agrees with the top 20 or so schools, but believes that they “become less meaningful as you march down the rankings.” She especially finds fault with the emphasis placed on per-student spending. Zearfoss argues that in this economy, law schools should be trying to lower costs and tuition, but as this would adversely affect their rankings, there’s a huge incentive not to do that, and perhaps even to raise tuition.

Nevertheless, Michigan law grads seem to be doing fairly well when it comes to employment, and Zearfoss attributes some of this fortune to geography: “Because Michigan is somewhat diversified and was never really heavily focused on one legal market, like say New York City, our graduates tend to be a little more nimble and are willing to look at other markets…Also, you should keep in mind that most of the students who come to Michigan are relocating here; therefore, they tend to be the type of people who are willing to think of new places to go when they ultimately begin practicing.”

Zearfoss looks at the positive side of this “shake up”. She points out that a BigLaw job is not for everyone, and that pre-, current, and post-law students now have the opportunity to consider more carefully what they would like to do and really think about the big picture and what would make them happy.

In response to the notion that law school may not be a wise investment, Zearfoss notes that while this requires consideration, one must remember that the only way to practice law is to go to law school. Despite this, Zearfoss reveals, “What I want everyone who’s applying to law school to ask themselves is: ‘Why do I want to do this?’ If the answer is simply economics, then I’d recommend that they think long and hard about that reason. Law school is expensive and requires a lot of debt, as well as a lot of hard work; you shouldn’t pursue it simply because as a means to a larger paycheck—you have to pursue law because it speaks to you in some greater way. And people should never rush into law school—don’t do it simply because you’re graduating from college and you think, ‘Jeez, the regular job market is horrible. I’ll wait it out in law school.’ That’s not a smart move.”

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