BlueAntelopeRising '21–'22 app cycle Class of 2025 class year

LSAT Studying: I used 7sage and supplemented with the PowerScore Bibles. After my first LSAT (171), I used the Loophole which took me from -4ish LR to -1ish, also helped my RC. Most helpful of all, about a month before my first LSAT I found an online study group. We BR’d PTs together. Having to explain my reasoning to others, as well as hearing other people’s arguments, was crucial in solidifying my understanding of question types and strategies.

Applications: I contacted every school about fee waivers if I did not receive an unsolicited one. Nearly all said yes (I make below average and median income in a very expensive city). If they didn’t have a form, I sent polite emails noting my interest in the school (a tiny little Why X-type email) and explained my financial situation.

I did not apply until I felt my application was ready. I had editing help from close friends as well as strangers (other people applying to schools that I did not know prior). The strangers were more helpful than expected because they pointed out holes in my narrative that my friends automatically filled in.

I think it’s great to apply earlier (pre-Halloween), in that you might increase your chances and get decisions earlier to have more time to negotiate scholarships/aid, but I think it’s more important to send in the best application possible. Even as a first gen college grad with a good LSAT and an interesting story/career path, it still took a lot of fine tuning to create an application that had a compelling narrative. In general, if you’re applying to higher ranked schools and you are not high LSAT, high GPA, and great narrative, I’d say try to apply before Thanksgiving, definitely before Christmas.

Softs: I do not think my LSAT score outweighed my lower GPA, but I think it made schools pause and actually take a look at the rest of my application. I have 5+ years of work experience in public policy. I think having interesting work experience that I weaved into my Why Law narrative was crucial in my acceptances. Additionally, my GPA addendum explains a few things that were out of my control that led to my grades, but I still took responsibility and illustrated my growth / what I learned from those experiences. Without the work experience to prove that growth, I highly doubt I would have been as successful.

Advice:
Don’t be a KJD (especially if you have a lower GPA). You will have better admissions outcomes if you have work experience, even if it’s not directly relevant to the legal field. You are also likely to do better in employment outcomes post-grad with a few years of work behind you. Also, you deserve to be young. Your early/mid twenties should be a time not only for developing your career, but developing yourself. Law school will still be there. Enjoy your senior year.- If you do, make the most well-rounded application possible. Know that you are taking a risk and be prepared to reapply next cycle if you don’t get a desired outcome.

• Don’t sell yourself short. I know plenty of splitters/super splitters that have ended up at great schools with big scholarships. You have to find the balance between being realistic and giving yourself the credit you deserve. Are you getting into Yale with a 3.1/155 without something akin to a Nobel Prize? Probably not. But with some good essays, you will get into good schools if you can construct a solid narrative.
• Everything is going to be alright. If you don’t get into your top school, or even any school except your safeties, it’s still going to be okay. No school is a perfect fit and your time in law school is what you make of it—just like any opportunity, any job, any day of your life.
• You can do hard things.