Don’t sell yourself short, shoot your shot! Also, make sure to read every school’s individual instructions before submitting your materials.
Applicant wisdom
Advice applicants left on their LSD.Law profiles, searchable by topic, school, and stats.
277 entries
Admitted to Harvard UniversityI think the reason I did very well despite being KJD and below T14 LSAT median is that my application heavily centered around a cohesive theme (basically my Why Law) which tied together every single part of my application. My personal statement, diversity statement, resume, and school supplemental essays were all…
Your personal statement is your gold. Also, I highly recommend doing social work or something adjacent to it prior to law school. You learn a ton about how the law interacts with vulnerable people at systemic and individual levels, and it makes for a great narrative. I think that’s what gave me the edge in…
~ under construction ~ General advice Run your own race. Compete to become your best self instead of competing against others. Sometimes I got caught up in the Reddit outrage over various advantages I didn’t have. At some point, I realized that was a waste of time. Throughout the application process, I tried…
Drink a five-C veggie smoothie (carrots, cucumbers, coriander, cabbages, and celery) mixed with fresh apple juice (add kale if possible) every single morning for your general health and a concentration boost. Subscribe for 7Sage classes (you can get them for $1 if you show financial need) and also get the PowerScore…
Overall, I was very lucky with how my cycle went. I think I owe this almost entirely to my work experience and LSAT score. **Work experience: **I have worked in public interest law for almost 7 years, so I believe my application/ resume showed clear public interest commitment and an obvious why law, but my essays…
I solicited need-based fee waivers from Yale and Harvard (denied by Stanford) and merit-based waivers from Georgetown and Berkeley. Berkeley was for Fulbright and Georgetown just the general merit-based waiver, although they reached out later and gave me a CRS waiver anyway. Everywhere else was unsolicited and these…
I wanted to highlight that I am a COMMUNITY COLLEGE GRADUATE who went to a tiny, unheard of, completely unprestigious state school. When I started my cycle I found it nearly impossible to find examples of people in my situations (fantastic stats, non-prestigious background compared to other applicants) and it made…
Tips: Be willing to apply next cycle. For 99% of people, there is no rush, and losing one extra year of being a lawyer won’t ruin your life. I have encountered many students that I tutor who are rushing the entire process and are surprised at the underwhelming offers and results. Do an activity that you love, not…
On application timing: many of the resources I found online either led me to believe that application submission timing made very little difference in outcomes (podcasts from Spivey Consulting, Navigating Law School Admissions, Dean Z) or that application timing is a major factor in likelihood of acceptance (this…
If you’re still in undergrad, focus on building good relationships with professors who you vibe with. In my personal opinion I think rec letters carry a lot of weight. It’s the only other opinion outside of your own AOs can go off of. Essays are ofc super important. I don’t think think the essay wrote itself over a…
The GI Bill is amazing. Just be real. And concise. No one wants to read extra shit that they don’t have to. Also, no one’s entitled to a spot at any school. The resume is the place to brag about yourself. Not the essays. No one likes someone who thinks they’re hot shit. Resume This will be controversial, but it…
My first piece of wisdom is to treat this site like an organizing system–not a crystal ball or social media site or anything else. Also please curb how long you spend on Reddit as well. The only time I got something from either of these two sites was my Yale waitlist, which I had to check manually (no email as of…
ALRIGHT, CYCLE COMPLETE! I cannot wait to start my legal education at YLS! This cycle went way better than I could have ever imagined (now wishing I didn’t waste so much money on application fees lol). I don’t know if my application advice will be helpful, because who knows what about my application worked well, but…
If you are online reading this, get off of Reddit. My one piece of advice: do things now that you enjoy doing. Don’t make choices only for the goal of maximizing your odds of admission to X Y Z school. Do fun, interesting things and write about them in a way that shows why you think they’re fun and interesting, and…
Don’t apply very early (September/October) if your essays aren’t in the best shape possible! A better application » an early application
This cycle was incredibly tough, but I am so incredibly grateful. Do not count yourself out LSD told me I had a 0% chance of getting into HLS, but I did. Take a chance on yourself!
I was convinced going into the cycle that my KJD status would completely bar me from the t 3-5 schools, but I’m happy to have been wrong. Work experience is the right call for many people, but if you have high stats and have had exposure to legal work, I think you can have some confidence going in. A few random…
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