pokemonfan '25–'26 app cycle Class of 2029 class year

some advice from my experience so far:

• do not submit your reach / first choice schools first. you will make a mistake somewhere in your first application (but also, if you make a mistake, don’t worry about it too much. I made minor mistakes in my applications to MSU, UT Austin, UVA, and Michigan and was accepted to all those schools.)
• this sounds silly, but be careful about checking the C&F questions. I accidentally clicked yes to having committed a serious crime on my georgetown application. they reached out to me, wondering where my explanation was, and I told them it was a mistake, but we will see where that takes me. I don’t think there’s an issue with having C&F issues in the past, but rather a lack of careful reading on my part cannot be a good sign for law schools. LOL
• in general, always write the why X
• for t14 schools other than HYS, demonstrating genuine interest (not just going to events / webinars but emailing questions, setting up 1:1 meetings with admission officers & talking to them in person at law days, asking real, specific, relevant questions - not just filler questions) will help. but, only if you genuinely do have interest, don’t pretend, they can read through that. but if an admissions officer likes you and thinks you will attend if admitted, they will advocate for you. (this approach worked in my favor for Northwestern, Duke, and UT Austin. luckily, my undergrad hosted a law day where i was able to speak with NW and UT, and then I arranged a 1:1 w Duke)
• for scholarships, i did not submit scholarship interest forms and the only merit scholarships (because at the point I was accepted to schools that required them, I had already decided to go elsewhere) i received were automatically considered. so, if you have similar stats, i would bet on you getting money from UT Austin, Duke, and Northwestern.