JustABoyFromGizo '25–'26

Making my profile public in the hope that it can help and encourage others with a similar background.

TL;DR:

A late 20s/early 30s non-trad applicant (military + community college) with a 171/4.00 who applied mid-to-late cycle and outperformed expectations (HLS bound). Key takeaways: know your why, bet on yourself, avoid burnout, grind the LSAT and essays, apply broadly, timing matters less than quality (to an extent), focus on outcomes over rankings, and be personable in interviews.

Background:

I am a highly non-traditional applicant. Although I was born in the US, I spent my entire childhood and high school abroad, followed by four years of mandatory military service as a combat officer in that country’s military. I later returned to the US independently and have since been based in NYC.
I began my higher education at a community college before transferring to a public college, where I earned a degree in finance. Throughout college, I worked full time in management roles, gaining experience in both business operations and team leadership. Since graduating, I have been working at a G-SIB.

Application:

• I started my LSAT journey in April 2025, studying for about five months before and after work and on weekends, and took the exam in September, scoring a 171. Since I had been PTing in the mid-to-high 170s, I decided to take it again in November, knowing it would be my final attempt due to timing and fatigue, and received the same score. My initial plan was to apply before Thanksgiving, but I was so burned out and disappointed with my result that I couldn’t bring myself to write my essays. I then aimed to apply by the end of the year, but continued to delay and ultimately submitted my applications in mid-to-late January.

• My personal statement focused on my military experience, centering on a leadership dilemma that left me with unresolved questions about the law. That experience became the thread connecting my subsequent path to my decision to pursue law and why now. I was candid about my goals and did not frame them in terms of changing the world, but instead emphasized my intent to build on my finance and business background, pursue Big Law, and eventually transition in-house at a financial institution.
  –My diversity statement drew on my military service and community college experience. I also completed all optional essays, including Why X statements where applicable. Assume anything optional IS NOT optional. I did not use any professional editing services and instead relied primarily on feedback from my girlfriend, friends, and colleagues. I think they were solid; the results more or less reflect that, but there’s always room for improvement.

• I submitted letters of recommendation from a finance professor, a political science capstone professor, and my manager.

• I withdrew immediately from every school where I was waitlisted after I had been accepted to HLS.

Reflections

1. Above all, know your why and why now. This process, from the LSAT through the essays, submitting applications, and waiting for results, will consume every ounce of your mental energy and at times make you feel neurotic and like a failure. Be sure you understand the costs, including the opportunity cost of three years without income. With that said, this process can also be one of the most rewarding experiences you have had so far.

2. Bet on yourself. I cannot stress how important that is. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I debated whether to apply to HYS because I assumed it would be a near-certain rejection and did not want to spend the money, but I decided to shoot my shot. You never know what different admissions committees are looking for or whether your story will resonate with the person reading it.
   a. When I started this process, CLS and NYU were my dream schools, with Fordham as a target and Cardozo as a safety. Once I received the HLS interview, it shifted my entire perspective, and after being admitted, it was clear that I would attend. In my wildest dreams, I did not imagine myself getting into Harvard. Since then, it has felt like a constant “what just happened” moment, all because I decided to apply.

3. Know when to walk away. This process is demanding, long, and requires a lot of mental and physical energy. Get enough sleep, eat well, work out, and make time for your significant other, family, friends, and hobbies. When you feel burned out, take a few days off from the LSAT or your application materials. As counterintuitive as it may sound, it can make a real difference in both your well-being and your performance. An hour of focused, high-quality work is worth more than five hours of burned-out effort that does not add value and only drains your energy. After staring at your essays for weeks, stepping away even for a day can give you fresh eyes and a new perspective.
   a. LSD and Reddit are the devil. I spent endless hours refreshing and following decision waves, scrolling through r/lawschooladmissions, and obsessing over every application update or post. While this is normal and most people do it (whoever says they do not is lying or just does not care enough), it is not healthy. My girlfriend can practically recite law school rankings and medians from how much I talked about it. For your sanity, go touch grass and try to stay off these sites, especially on the weekends.

4. While the LSAT and GPA are still the most important factors, as the number of high-quality applicants increases each cycle, softs become extremely valuable and are your opportunity to stand out. I have no doubt that my life story, upward trajectory, essays, and LORs played a major role in my admission to HLS, and in being waitlisted at almost every other T14 school. Work your ass off for the LSAT like your future depends on it, and do not take it until you are PTing two to three points above the score you would be comfortable with. Put just as much effort into your essays, and ask for letters of recommendation from people with different backgrounds so they can highlight different strengths and explain why they believe you are a strong candidate for law school. With that said, my next point:

5. Timing of the application matters, but not as much as you might think. There is a general consensus on Reddit that you need to apply as early as possible. There is definitely no need to apply in the first week of September, and you can find many cases this cycle where applicants who applied later heard back before those who applied when applications opened had been waiting for six or seven months. It is far more important to submit a strong application than to submit early.
   a. Based on my experience, I would recommend applying by Thanksgiving to be early, and by New Year’s to be on time. I do think that some of my waitlists might have been acceptances had I applied a month earlier. Many of my results came in mid to late April, right around the deposit deadline, and I believe I was waitlisted simply because there was no space left in the class (e.g., CLS, BC, Fordham).
   b. HOWEVER, I also do not know if I would have been admitted to HLS in that case. Applying later can mean your file is read more quickly, with fewer applications competing for attention at the same time.

6. Have a solid list of schools and apply broadly, including reaches, targets, and safeties. Based on my results and this cycle in general, it can feel like a bit of a crapshoot (I was waitlisted at BU the day after I was accepted to HLS). Applicants are getting yield protected at their targets and safeties, accepted at reaches, and waitlisted across the board.
   a. I was not sure what my odds were with a 171, but I knew that reapplying was not an option for me, so I blanket applied to most of the T20 and added some safeties in NYC and in cities my girlfriend and I would be willing to move to (Boston, DC, and LA). I also focused on schools with employment outcomes that align with my goals, especially strong Big Law placement in New York. That is why my list ranges from HYS to a school like Brooklyn Law.
   b. A school isn’t a true safety if you wouldn’t be happy attending it.

7. Rankings are nice to have, but they do not tell the whole story. Look at employment outcomes to understand whether a school fits the career you want to pursue and where it places graduates. Fordham, while ranked around T25 on LSD and T50 on USNWR, is a New York Big Law powerhouse. Do not let vague rankings determine your future. If anything, LSD can be more useful for context.
   Do your research, speak with alumni and current students, and make a well-grounded decision. That is exactly why I chose not to apply to schools like UNC, UGA, ND, and UMN.

8. Be personable in interviews and be the best salesperson for yourself. Know your resume and application well, since anything on them is fair game, but the most important part is being someone the admissions team would want in their incoming class. High EQ is invaluable. Look up common interview questions on Reddit and 7Sage and practice (Always expect the three “Why” questions), but do not memorize answers. Be kind, confident, smile, and have thoughtful questions ready for the end of the interview, not ones you can easily find online.