Dunster House will play an integral role in completing and submitting your law school applications. For many of you, the process of applying to law school will represent your most direct involvement with the House Office during your time at Dunster House (with the possible exception of the housing lottery). And at the end of the process, you too will understand why nothing would ever get done around here without the folks in the House office!

The House Office is involved in several different stages of the application process. Each of these stages requires action on your part!

Sending Letters of Recommendation to the House
What if I've already had my recommenders send letters to the House office? Do I need to have them re-submit to the LSAC?
Completing Your House File
Final Steps: Getting Your Stuff Mailed

It is essential that you think of the House procedures as just another part of the application process -- in other words, it is your responsibility to make sure that everything happens when it is supposed to happen. Contact the House Office with any and all questions about the status of your House file.

Sending Letters of Recommendation to the House

When you ask for letters of recommendation, remember to tell your recommenders to send their completed letters to the LSAC. In past years, we asked that you have your recommenders send letters to the House office, and the letters of recommendation were then sent on to the law schools from Dunster. In response to the fact that some schools have stopped accepting letters of recommendation from sources other than the LSAC, we now recommend that you ask your recommenders to send their letters to the LSAC (consult the information on the protocol for that) AND to send a copy to the Dunster House Office (what's the address for the House Office?). There are several reasons for sending a copy to the House in addition to sending one to the LSAC. First, it facilitates your ability to monitor your recommenders -- you can always call the House Office and ask if the House has received your letter of recommendation yet. Second, the House will give copies of the letters of recommendation in your file to your pre-law tutor, who will use them when composing your Dean's letter. Most tutors find that they can write a much better Dean's letter for a student when they can refer to what others have already written about the student (i.e., they can supplement certain points, avoid repeating others, etc.). Also, the House will keep your letters of recommendation on file essentially forever. If you decide to re-apply to law school years from now, or if you want to apply for a fellowship or a special job or something, your confidential letters will always be on file at Dunster House -- even if your recommender has long since left Harvard. Finally, in the (unlikely, but not impossible) event that your letter is lost in the shuffle at LSAC, we will have a copy of it here, and can rectify the situation in a timely manner, without bothering your recommenders for another copy of your letter.

Note that the letter of recommendation service through the LSAC requires the use of the Letter of Recommendation (LOR) waiver form, which you can find on their website (you must be logged into your LSDAS account to access this form). Follow their instructions for having your recommenders send their letters to the LSAC. For the copy that they should send to Dunster House, please provide them with stamped envelopes already addressed to the Dunster House Office (J-39). Alternatively, they may submit a copy to the House Office as an email attachment, as long as the electronic version of the letter includes letterhead and a signature.

What if I've already had my recommenders send letters to the House office? Do I need to have them re-submit to the LSAC?

No. We realize that the advice above is different from that given out previously, and we are sympathetic to the fact that many of you may have already requested that letters from recommenders be sent to the House Office and may not want to/be able to contact them again to ask that they re-send your letters of recommendation to the LSAC. We will be able to forward the letters that we have already to the LSAC, AS LONG AS YOU SUBMIT AN LOR FORM FOR EACH LETTER TO THE HOUSE OFFICE. Again, the LSAC will not accept letters of recommendation without this LOR form. This is the same whether your recommenders send it directly to them or we send it from the House Office. Fill out the relevant information on the LOR form for each letter of recommendation that the House has in your file that you would like submitted to the LSAC. Submit it to House Office along with a STAMPED ENVELOPE addressed to the proper address at the LSAC for each letter you'd like forwarded. We can then send the LOR form and the letter to the LSAC.

Completing Your House File

The House Office is also responsible for ensuring that no confidential materials are released from your House file without your permission. As a result, your pre-law tutor will not be able to see your transcript or any of the letters of recommendation in your file unless you have given your specific approval for the release of these materials. And without these materials, your tutor cannot write an effective Dean's letter!

Therefore, if you did not do so when you registered for the Dunster House Pre-Law Program, you should download and complete the Dunster House Waiver Form (the same for you use for letters of recommendation). At the top of the form, check the option for "Dean's letter." As usual, leave the bottom section ("Recommender's Acknowledgement") blank. Submit the form to the Dunster House Office as soon as possible. Alumni/ae may submit the form by fax. Contact info for the House Office.

In addition, the Dunster Pre-Law Questionnaire provides critical information for the House and tutor staff. It helps us to write the Dean's letter and to keep track of students interested in law school. Please login to your personal pre-law page and complete the Pre-Law Questionnaire as soon as you have the chance.

Final Steps: Getting Your Stuff Mailed

Dunster will mail your Dean's letter to each of the law schools to which you are applying. The House does this because your Dean's letter is confidential, so you can't do it yourself. Logistically, however, this is the most difficult part of the House application procedures, so please follow the directions below carefully. Alumni/ae applicants should also review the special considerations for alumni/ae applicants.

You must provide all of the following to the Dunster House Office, preferably in one big pile.

1. Manila Envelopes. You must submit a 9" x 12" stamped manila envelope (use 3 first-class stamps) for each of the law schools to which you are applying (plus one for the LSAC if we need to forward on Letters of Recommendation to them - see below). The envelopes should be pre-addressed to the appropriate admissions office address at each school. For the return address, write "Dunster House Office, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138." Do not seal the envelopes. Inside each school's envelope, place the Dean's Certification Form for that school, as described below. Some schools don't require this form. If not, no problem -- but please put a post-it note to that effect on the envelope so that we won't think you just forgot. On top of the pile of envelopes, place a quick list of the schools to which you're applying. Just an informal list of the schools is fine, one per line. The House Office will use this sheet of paper as a checklist when mailing out your envelopes.

2. Dean's Certification Forms. Most law schools will provide a form entitled "Dean's Certification Form" or "College Certification Form" or something similar. Fill out the appropriate parts of each of these forms yourself and stuff them in the proper envelopes as described above. If a form asks for the name of the certifying Dean, type " Carlos Diaz and the Dunster House Pre-Law Committee." If it asks for contact information for the Dean, use the address and phone number for the Dunster House Office. Note: often, the house letter can take the place of the Dean's form. Most schools, will accept this, however some are quite explicit in requiring the forms. If you have any questions, ask your tutors.

3. LSAC Letter of Recommendation form (if applicable). As mentioned above, we are asking that students use the LSAC letter of recommendation service to get their letters to law schools. Your recommenders should send their letter to the LSAC, with a copy going to the House Office. If you followed the old rules and your recommenders have already sent letters to the House that you'd like us to forward on to the LSAC, you will need to include a copy of the LSAC LOR form for us to include with the letter.

4. Law School Mailing Form. Fill out the school list from your personal page. If you have any special instructions, such as sending a particular recommendation to a particular school, please note it in the comments section of the school form!

WARNING: You are responsible for mailing all other application materials to law schools yourself. The House will not mail your application forms, personal statements, etc. You should mail these materials as soon as they are complete -- do not wait for the House to send out your Dean's Letter! We suggest you follow the Dunster pre-law schedule.

If you have any questions about the mechanics of this process, or about the status of the materials in your House file, feel free to contact the House Office. The House Office is open on weekdays from 10-4, with shorter hours in the summer.