NelsonMurdock '20–'21 app cycle Class of 2024 class year

General notes about myself:

• Immigrant from Mexico
• Attended small state school
• Math major, did not plan on law school at all until after graduation.
• Worked in insurance/consulting before law school

Goals: PI in criminal law

Apps:
-Personal statement about my current job and the switch to law
-Diversity statement about being an immigrant
-Resume with a decent amount of extracurriculars and internships but nothing fancy
-Big LSAT jump from 155 to 168. No addendum
-One Character and Fitness issue, had a page essay about how it shaped me.

Schools:
-UVA; absolute pipe dream especially this cycle. I applied back in 2017 with a much worse LSAT and app and was waitlisted, so I thought there was hope. Nope, caught the big fat R. I wrote a pretty strong ‘Why UVA’ (Have ties to UVA), and tailored my statements to UVA since I was a reapplicant.
-GULC; This was my #1 choice and I was crushed when I was WL. I did ‘Top 10’, applied ED. Didn’t write ‘Why GULC’ since I applied ED and I regret it.
-GW; Main target since I knew GULC was a long shot. I was extremely happy when I got in, it seemed like late applicants were not getting many As. Didn’t do anything extra for this app. I got an initial scholarship of $0. It was upped a decent amount after the deposit deadline.
-GMU; Wrote ‘Why GMU” since it was required, focused on how my math background tied into their economic emphasis.
-American; sent in the app with no tailoring. Was WL and withdrew immediately.