Updated tour and class visit schedule

As a courtesy to our students during final exams, no tours will be offered between December 2 and December 19. A tour will be offered at noon on December 22; please call 713.743.2280 to reserve a space. Daily tours will resume on Monday, January 12.

Due to final exams and the winter break, class visits are not available between November 22 and January 23. Class visits will resume beginning January 26.

Everything old is new again.

Well, here we are at the beginning a new admissions cycle. I’m sure that all of you prospective applicants are busy getting your ducks in a row (e.g. preparing for the LSAT, working on your all-important personal statement, etc.). We’re keeping busy as well. Recruiting season starts in a few weeks, so click here to see when representatives from our office will be visiting your school or region.

A couple of changes to the admissions process that you should note:

1. In the past, the part-time program has had a summer start date. Effective immediately, the part-time program will now begin in August.

2. The deadlines for the part-time program have drastically changed. The application deadline for part-time applicants is now May 15th and part-time applications must be complete by June 15th. We will accept June LSAT scores for part-time applicants on a space-available basis.

For a more detailed description of the admissions process, please click here. As always, questions may be directed to us at 731.743.2280 or lawadmissions@uh.edu.

Calhoun Lofts

Here's a short marketing piece for the Calhoun Lofts, UH graduate and professional student housing that's slated for completion in summer 2009. The lofts will be located across the street from the Law Center, so I expect that you prospective students out there will be particularly interested.

"One Day in Houston"

Here's an awarding-winning mini-film about our fair city of Houston, courtesy of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. While I really like that this piece provides a nice overview of our city, I don't think it quite captures the quirkiness of Houston. In any event, it's definitely worth watching.

Question of the Week - What next?

Question:
I've submitted my application. When can I expect a decision?

Answer:
Early decision applicants will be notified between mid-December and mid-February. Regular decision applicants will be notified by mid-May, although we review applications on a rolling basis, so you may receive a decision earlier than that.

We will confirm receipt of your application via email and provide you with an applicant ID which you may use to check your status online. Be sure to read carefully the instructions on the Application Status Check page and note that your status may remain the same for several weeks.

Finally, we know that the time between submitting your application and receiving a decision be stressful, but we hope that your anxiety is tempered by the knowledge that we thoroughly review each and every application that comes to our office. Since we do not have cut-offs for the GPA or LSAT, every file receives careful consideration in the review process. Once upon a time we, too, were law school applicants so we know from experience that waiting is difficult and we appreciate your patience.

A word to the wise...

This incident happened a few months back, but we were reminded of it because the defendant was sentenced a couple of weeks ago. We’re posting it as a warning that you should never, EVER, do this.

Let's start over, shall we?

After a lengthy vacation, we’re back! We’ll bet you thought we forgot about you or that we didn’t care. No, no, no! We didn’t forget and we do care, so we promise to post more frequently and regularly this year. No, really, we will (plus, we installed a site meter on the blog a couple of months ago, so we know that folks are visiting and we’d hate for you to waste your time by visiting a site that’s not updated).

Now, let’s get down to business:

Want to see us in person and have all of your burning questions regarding admissions answered by the Assistant Dean for Admissions? Well, have we got a deal for you!

The Assistant Dean for Admissions hosts a number of information sessions designed to give prospective applicants a general overview of the admissions process and the UH Law Center J.D. program. Information sessions for prospective applicants to the 2008 entering class have been scheduled for:

Saturday, October 13
10 a.m.-11 a.m.
Room TBA


Friday, November 16
Noon-1 p.m.
Room 144 BLB


Saturday, December 8
10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
Room 144 BLB


Tours of the Law Center will be offered 30 minutes before the start of each session. To RSVP for an information session, please call 713.743.2280, or email lawadmissions@uh.edu.
To see when we'll be in your area of the state (or, in some cases, country), visit our travel calendar.

Headlines and Deadlines

There seems to be some confusion over what part of your application is due at what time. So, in the famous words of Inigo Montoya, "Let me explain. No, there is too much; let me sum up."

Early decision
The early decision deadline has been extended to November 15th. If you are applying early decision, we must receive the following by November 15th:

1. Application form
2. Application fee
3. Personal statement
4. Résumé
5. Optional statement (it's explained in the application instructions)

Now, by December 1st, we must receive your law school report from LSDAS. If you have not yet registered with LSDAS, you need to do that now. Right now. Seriously, stop reading this, hop over to www.lsac.org and register. If you don't register, we cannot review your file, and all of your hard work and effort in preparing your application and stellar personal statement will have been for naught!

If you are taking the December LSAT, you are not eligible to apply for early decision. Even if you already have test scores on file, you are not eligible for early decision if you want us to consider your December score.

Regular Decision
Second verse, same as the first, except the dates change:

Part-time: We must receive your application and all mandatory attachments by February 1st. We must receive your LSDAS report by March 1st.

Full-time: We must receive your application and all mandatory attachments by February 15th. We must receive your LSDAS report by March 15th.

I hope this clears things up. Finally, please read the application instructions before completing your application.