FrenchPressBenchPress '24–'25 app cycle Class of 2028 class year

I got into multiple T14 schools with a GPA below all their 25th percentiles. Somehow. I’ve seen a lot of applicants with nearly identical numbers get different outcomes. People always say essays matter—and they do—but that leads to the next question: what actually makes a good one?

Here’s what helped me. Go do something interesting. Seriously. Not “interesting” in the LinkedIn sense. Just find something you genuinely like, even if it’s weird or random or seems totally unrelated to law. Then stick with it. Get better at it. Move up.

The point isn’t to collect achievements. The point is to do something real enough that it gives you stories—actual, specific, lived experience. That’s what admissions readers want. They’re not looking for polish; they’re looking for growth. They want to see how your thinking has changed, how you work with others, and how you’ve made some kind of impact, even if it’s small.

The best part? These experiences won’t just help you get into law school. They’ll shape who you are when you’re there—and who you’ll be when you’re out.