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

My resume had no demonstrated interested in law school. I had no internships, no law-related research/classes, but what I did have was a cohesive narrative and personal mission that all of my extracurriculars/research spoke to. I was easily able to maneuver that mission for why I should go to law school.

To reiterate: In my opinion, the biggest strength in application (apart from my stats) was the cohesive narrative that connected my “lore” (family surviving a terrorist attack) to my extracurriculars/research in undergrad –> why I want to go to law school.

COHESION.

I believe I got waitlisted at UChicago because I did not write a ‘Why X’ for them. I also think that I had a strong PI application, but Chicago has a more big law emphasis. Probably wasn’t a good match and they saw that. Columbia I hear also is strong in big law, but weak in PI, so probably not a good match for them and they saw that too.

I went KJD because I felt my resume/background/stats was strong enough to get me into my schools without work experience. But honestly, getting some work experience would’ve made my application stronger– and I probably could’ve gotten some better scholarships. Okay, to be honest, I actually had no idea that most people take a gap year or go into the workforce before applying to law school, so I basically just powered ahead on the KJD route, which I now realize was a huge risk. While I did good on my LSAT, I was averaging a 162-165 up until the month before I took my test. I then changed my study habits and started averaging 168-174 right before I took in August. I am sure that if I kept studying I could’ve gotten a higher LSAT, but since I forced myself to do KJD, I pretty much bet everything on the August test, which was SUPER stressful the weeks leading up to it when I wasn’t where I wanted to be. Was it worth going KJD? For the assurance that I wouldn’t have to search for a job after graduation… yes, but was it worth inherently limiting the strength of my application? I have no idea… i’m satisfied tho. Moral of the story is that the unsurity of waiting a year or two before applying to law school is probably better than gambling with the KJD route.

Another advice: BE YOURSELF!

People were laughing at me saying I wasn’t going to get in because I wrote my Stanford optional playlist essay on Young Thug & Glorilla– but I got in! i just know they was getting turnt to lifestyle in their office ;)