Chiyo '22–'23 app cycle Class of 2026 class year

Hey future applicants! First things first, I want to thank all those who have supported me in this journey (mentors and friends, including those in online LSA circles that became my friends over the course of the cycle); I quite literally could not have accomplished this without a solid community around me. Pick your people wisely and you will never be truly lost. Now on to business:

Background:
I decided to apply KJD for a number of personal reasons, but I want to emphasize the fact that this was a calculated risk and that I was prepared to reapply should I have not gotten the results I wanted. Quite frankly, I believe the KJD disadvantage will only grow in the years to come as GPA inflation and the reduction of LSAT weighting in rankings mean hard stats will matter less. As such, if you intend to apply as a KJD (which is a totally valid decision), you have to ensure that you are more than just your GPA/LSAT combo, even if your numbers are stellar. Note that this does not mean you won’t have a chance if you don’t have prestigious awards/internships or other T1/T2 softs (I didn’t), it just means you have to have a well-rounded application with a compelling personal statement and cohesive narrative for law school.

Without giving away too much personal information, I had some fairly unique aspects of my childhood that created some very difficult circumstances for myself throughout college (think largely self-sufficient and associated financial insecurity). Of course, this won’t be applicable to everyone, but I share it as an example of the baseline from which I constructed my application, especially because my situation greatly limited the kinds of things I was able to spend time on during undergrad. In short, I turned a fairly shallow resume into a compelling narrative because I was open and honest about the challenges I’d experienced, how I’d fought to overcome those and grow as a person, and how it had influenced my ambitions for my future. While some stories may lend themselves more naturally to this, I believe that any personal/diversity statement can effectively follow this format and craft an image of you as an applicant who’s driven, capable, and human. You want your personal statement to be a natural, linear progression that demonstrates growth, gives the reader insight into who you are, and makes a case for why law school is right for you. And as a KJD, you have the additional burden of proving that you are equipped for law school right now, with your materials reflecting the maturity and competence that you should have if you’ve decided to apply now.

As for the other parts of your app, proofread and make sure everything is professionally worded/formatted (this matters, especially the younger you are). I also think that Letters of Recommendation play a larger role than most people tend to think, and again, I think this is even moreso the case for KJDs or people with more limited experience. Without having read them, I feel fairly confident that my LORs (2 professors + attorney) were some of the strongest parts of my application; all 3 of them knew me for an extended period of time (and were aware of my struggles) and expressed a willingness to vouch for me. In short, take this part of your application seriously and be deliberate with who you ask to write one for you.

Finally, write optional essays. Believe me, I know they’re a pain, I know they’re redundant, I know they are often excuses for you to flatter a school as much as possible, but write them all the same. IMO, they won’t save your app or turn a dong into an acceptance, but it can certainly poke a hole in an otherwise strong app if an adcom thinks you aren’t seriously interested in attending.

More to come when I have time, provided I don’t forget to update…