I got my first acceptance in 3 days and my last in 183 days. In the 180 days in between I tried (and failed) to anticipate each and every decision and it compromised my mental health. My advice? Block this site and wait patiently for the emails like you’re supposed to.
Applicant wisdom
Advice applicants left on their LSD.Law profiles, searchable by topic, school, and stats.
6,732 entries
Soft tiers are pseudoscience. For below both median applicants or splitters, softs are there for you to prove to law schools that you will succeed despite your low numbers and that you really want to go to their school. It’s not as much about having standout outstanding softs as it is about knowing how to work it…
reach out for fee waivers! stay polite and concise, but need-based or merit fee waivers from schools will save you SO much in the apps process.
do your best, stay delusional, stay off Reddit
Apply early, ideally before Thanksgiving. Make sure your essays are *excellent *and write any optional essays offered. I put a lot of work into my essays and I think ultimately they helped a lot to compensate for my < 3.0 GPA and made me competitive for scholarships.
2 letters of rec from former manager who promoted me and from a professor who is a practicing attorney. Currently working in billing at a fairly large firm in Denver. Undegrad in econ with a minor in law studies. App cycle of Fall 2022 will be my second time applying!
If you’re an international applicant w/o a GPA, your best shot is at schools where your LSAT score is at or above 75ths. (Especially if you have mediocre softs like I do!) Also, 2020 was the worst year to R&R. ha ha ha learn from my mistakes im not crying you are
I did not have a good excuse for my low GPA so I did not write an addendum. You can read all the advice in the world; nothing is going to stop this from being a very stressful process for you. Don’t let that affect your relationships with the people who love you.
QWOC, cultural property/art law focus, pigeon Wrote why x for Mich, Berk, UVA, Duke, ASU; top 10 for GULC; core values for Penn; music essay for Stanny; Y250 about thesis; programmatic contribution and Graton essay for UCLA Two LSATs on record, 168 (cold) -> 179
WE in litigation support; Political Science major at state flagship university; run-of-the-mill softs during undergrad; wrote GPA addendum about medical condition. I wrote optional essays for: Duke Michigan UCLA Georgetown Good luck to any lurking future applicants!
LSAT: Personal Tutor that began after the June2023 LSAT (Diagnostic score- 156)- LSAT Score listed is August, June was a 156 Resume: No internships; lots of leadership and community serviceAcademics: 4.0 on 4.0 scale Undergraduate GPA( one B from dual credit course).
Just breathe, and trust that it will all happen as it is meant to.
Supplements Yale: Wrote optional on community- Chicago: n/a (not sure I told my move well enough) Penn: Why X Harvard: 2 pages each for Perspective & Purpose NYU: n/a Columbia: Why X, fun fact Vandy: Lived Experience WashU: n/a Reflections on interviews:
Trust the process and shoot your shot, you never know who on the Ad Comm will read your application and really resonate with it. Write from the heart and never ever give up hope. Oh, and know when to log off of reddit and LSD, there comes a time when it will be toxic
Know beforehand if you can handle work and the LSAT. If you do get a low score but have a terrific GPA & were super involved in your undergrad, apply to your dream schools. Oh, get your personal statement checked 3+ times! You know the saying, shoot your shot ~~
I think the primary reason for my stats underperforming is my age. I graduated undergrad in 2 years and was 19 at the time of sending in my application. Dean Schwartz even told me that fact flagged my app. Still happy with the result tho :) Good luck future lawyers.
If you are interested in a school…TOUR! All it takes is one A.
have hobbies and have fun, life is too serious to worry constantly
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