BananaSlugOnFire '25–'26 app cycle

Here’s what I learned from my experiences so far in law school admissions.

Tips:

1. Prepare your application and apply first to a safety school with the first versions of your application (PS, diversity statement, etc.). After applying and revisiting your materials, you’ll find things you missed or ways you can improve your application in hindsight. Don’t waste your chances at your top choice by having them review your first draft. Reading back at the versions I submit for my first BED app makes me cringe.

2.Try to strike a balance between descriptive storytelling and not falling into melodrama.

3. PRINT OUT AND READ ALL OF YOUR APPLICATION MATERIALS OUT LOUD. You’ll find more issues then you’d otherwise have just reviewing it as a digital document.

4. Don’t stress the interview. Pick only a few things to focus on in a “Why X” essay or interview question, and roll with that. Don’t compromise depth for the sake of quantity. Explain how you can benefit from that school specifically and maybe how the school can benefit from you (what you can contribute to the classroom, research, etc.).

5. Have friends or family read your materials and give you feedback. Talk through your main points of your paper with a peer or family member and see if that was consistent with what they tookaway. If not, ask them where the message gets lost.

6. Try to be as concise and clear as possible. Double check every detail and make sure it cannot be misconstrued to misalign with your other application materials.

7. Keep a through narrative for your application materials. Identify a key theme or thread that links your essays and responses.

8. Don’t be too idealistic/ daydream-y in your applications. It makes you sound immature and like you have unrealistic expectations of law school. Try to keep things grounded in reality and short-term goals. This doesn’t mean not to express your long-term goals if they are lofty, just explain how you can get to those preliminary steps first through your legal education at the school(s) you’re applying to.

9. Reach out to law school admissions with updated resumes! Showcase your interest via email by interacting with the admissions team!