SeriousSmartDachshund '25–'26 app cycle

LORs were the most annoying part of the application process for me. Had all my app components compete in September but didn’t get my last LOR until December. Ask for more letters than you need. I asked 6 months in advance but unfortunately both of my Professors managed to injure themselves in such a way that they couldn’t write my letter until they healed (broken arm and injured hand). We will see if applying late and being KJD gets me shut out of the t14 or not.

I’ll also provide some additional context to my application to make it a bit more informative:

• Took the LSAT as a Freshman for some reason, got very lucky and did not have to retake.

• Graduating a year early (Super KJD). Standard pre-law major and somewhat difficult course load (18-21 credits per semester). Attended a low-ranked, very small public University in my state (90+% acceptance rate) on a full scholarship cause I am poor.

• No work experience at all my Freshman year, one unpaid legal internship during my second year and full time blue-collar job over the summer. I definitely expect the lack of WE to be a major issue with my application. I also genuinely don’t understand how people get legal internships without personally knowing a lawyer. It was a massive pain for me to even land a terrible unpaid internship at a tiny law firm, but it might just be a skill issue on my end.

• Limited extracurricular involvement. I started a law club at my University because prior to that there were zero pre-law resources at all (so few people from my Undergrad go to law school that LSAC refuses to even calculate the mean LSAT in my academic summary report). Other than that, I was a member of a few other clubs and honor societies but nothing significant. I am currently working on a publication as a senior year capstone type thing, so I included that on my resume but I doubt law schools will consider it much because it won’t be finished until I graduate.

• Essays are probably somewhat weak, I am a strong writer but I really just don’t have very many life experiences to write about. Still, I think I was able to craft a somewhat compelling why law. I basically talked about how my parents worked low-level public service jobs their whole life and believed in meaningful work versus high salary work. I used that as a hook to transition into my blue-collar public service job and the fulfillment I found helping others to then transition to how I believe I can continue that service in a legal career. Overall, probably a bit mediocre but I don’t think it will hold my application back any.

• I think my LORs are fairly strong. Small class sizes allowed me to get to know my professors well and I was by far the top student in every class I took with them (one of my letter writers is a very strict grader and told me that in her 30 years of teaching I got the highest grade ever in her class).

• C&F issue was exceptionally minor, after I sent in my apps an RA found a candle in my dorm room and wrote me a warning. Unfortunately, this fell within disclosure requirements at some schools, so I figured I’d be safe and disclose to all.

Essentially, my application is completely carried by my stats so this will be a good case study for how holistic law school admissions actually are. Worst case scenario I go to WashU. Hopefully this additional context is somewhat useful for others applying.