ForensicCulturedPenguin '26–'27

I applied for the class of 2026 as a KJD; I got in to USC with $$$ and a few other schools. As a re-applicant, schools seemed to be less interested in me (no mailers/fliers/outreach) and schools that claim to care about re-applicants gave me less desirable outcomes than the first time (eg. Michigan WL in 23/24, R in 24/25, R 26/27.)

The admissions process is getting more and more cut-throat and this cycle was extremely late. I was accepted to Notre Dame Law School the same day as their first deposit deadline, and as of May 1 2026 I hadn’t heard from USC Gould. I feel that a few years ago it was considered rude and taboo to pay several seat deposits, whereas this year it felt much more normalized. Schools and applicants need to push decisions back while BigLaw/firms are recruiting earlier and earlier.

My only advice is to consider getting work experience. I know that in terms of outcomes in admissions it (seemingly) didn’t help me, but I have a handful of friends at UofM/OSU/Northwestern/Duke, etc., and there is a tangible gap in maturity between KJDs and students with WE. WE has given me new experiences and perspectives that I feel have changed my career goals and will likely help me in law school.