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…
Applicant wisdom
Advice applicants left on their LSD.Law profiles, searchable by topic, school, and stats.
297 entries
Admitted to University of ChicagoApplying during the 2024-2025 cycle. Currently in grad school and will update throughout the year. Used fee waivers for all application fees and all but 10 CAS fees. Did not negotiate with any school since most got back to me after I was happy with other offers.
HappySunshineBee left this wisdom for posterity… (◕-◕) Notes on my apps I did ALL supplemental essays- I submitted a GPA addendum (noted health issue & upward trajectory) had a very clear why law & narrative (significant WE directly tied to childhood experience that led me to law) LSAT: 165 > 170 > 174 Submitted…
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…
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…
🥰 hi all! My biggest recommendation for everyone is to try to drown out the noise regarding personal statements, supplemental essays, etc. My personal statement did not speak to any schools in particular or even answer the “Why Law?” question, and I think that while that was potentially a risky choice it also…
Apply early (by October), and put a lot of thought into your application materials. Your application is the first case you’ll make in law school, so show them that you have the potential to do it well. Give yourself plenty of time to prepare for the LSAT. I focused on taking practice tests and then going through…
Your written statements are critical. Outside of gaining you positive admissions results, they are an opportunity to define your dreams! Don’t take this chance lightly. Get some life and work experience after college. You won’t regret it. Take as much time as you need with the LSAT and preparing your application…
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…
Trust in God.
Look, a lot of this is a crapshoot. I was a good applicant, but in a certain sense I feel like getting the Darrow offer was one part my interview/application and one part luck. So do your best, but don’t take anything personally. And start early on applications. I had almost all my apps in (except for Harvard Yale…
I live in NYC, want to stay, and have public interest goals so NYU it is. staying on the Harvard waitlist just in case but it’s hard to imagine uprooting my life and taking on crazy debt for it at this point 4 years of non law-related experience my advice for future generations…write optional essays, have a…
Sign up for the Candidate Referral Service (CRS) on LSAC. You can get merit fee waiver from top schools this way, just because of your LSAT score and GPA. I got fee waivers and personal invitations to apply from 8/10 of my schools (all except Harvard and Stanford) through the CRS, and saved hundreds on application…
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…
Write the optional essays for every school you’re serious about, that is non-negotiable if you want the best odds. Also try and apply september/october, I still feel like that does make a difference at most schools. Did not think t6 was a possibility when the cycle first began due to my LSAT being lower than their…
apply EARLY. like september lol. and don’t give up on the LSAT until you get the highest score you can.
Very proud of all my statements. Wrote all optionals. Several T3 and T4 softs. FGLI. 1 year of relevant WE (I think not having more hurt me for YLS). Did everything I could to make my GPA the weakest part of my application. Applied late oct-early nov. Would recommend waiting until jan/feb to apply for YLS if you…
Take sooooo many deep breaths. Everything happens for a reason. You are going to do great and end up right where you need to be!!!
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