…of school resources like your hards and prestige like your softs. which would you rather invest time and money into for when you hit the job market? prestige is not valueless, but its value is variable and difficult to quantify, and ultimately the increase in competition will likely offset the additional resources.
Applicant wisdom
Advice applicants left on their LSD.Law profiles, searchable by topic, school, and stats.
36 entries matching "softs"
Admitted to Vanderbilt UniversityThough my “softs” are individually T4, I have an outrageous amount of them; thus, on an overall basis, they may be considered T3. STEM Major. Wrote Diversity Statement for all schools. Wrote a tailored Why X for about 1/3 of applied schools (e.g., Berk, Penn, Duke, etc.) My advice is to focus on overshadowing your…
I put myself as T4 softs because I’m KJD and most of my resume items are typical undergraduate activities: legal internship, lab research, TA position, and club leadership. However, I am a first-generation college student with 2 majors (STEM + business-related), which maybe helped me standout a little bit, but…
…but I also had one really good school specific LOR. Softs Prestigious internship, Research Assistant, Worked throughout undergrad, Board member for an academic club, Volunteered: election, pro bono tax prep, food bank & vaccine distribution
My wisdom is this: I have no wisdom. I am a Mexican-American URM with a unique soft. I’m writing this before I receive any decision, but a horrible cycle would probably be due to me applying at 19 years old. If I had a normal/good cycle, then I guess age doesn’t matter!
Wrote Why X for all schools I was admitted to. Heavily lent on my soft factors (URM, legal experience, great LORs from folks who knew me well). Tried to limit how much I check r/lawschooladmissions.
Wrote Why X for Duke, Mich, Berkeley, Cornell, Virginia. Core Values for Penn. Additional Essays for Stanford and Georgetown. T3/T4 Softs STEM double major
T2 softs and Ivy undergrad. Didn’t write Why X essays, but wrote other optional essays. Included a non-traditional diversity statement (meaning I didn’t talk about race) and a pretty wild academic addendum. I know for a fact that my essays and interviews were what got me very far in the admissions process- spend a…
…to where I want to end up working. Pretty run of the mill softs: Pre-law club president, Swing Dance Society president, Volunteer throughout undergrad at local pet shelter, have worked in same place (full time summers, part time school year) for 6 years with two promotions during that time. Wrote a diversity…
Wrote why X/supplemental essay for Georgetown, NYU, UVA, Michigan, Penn, Stanford, Duke, UCLA First Gen, but then T4 softs Double humanities major and a minor from prestigious liberal arts school, multiple published academic papers, extensive volunteer and club involvement GPA actually went down .01 after first…
…my LSAT being lower than their medians. No crazy special softs, just had solid work experience, decent leadership opportunities and niche interests. A cohesive narrative definitely goes a long way. This process can be tough and disheartening. All we can do is try our best n shoot that shot. Good luck🫡
…Chemical Engineering with a minor in Business. University Softs (orientation leader, executive leader of a first-year mentorship program, resident advisor, member of a social fraternity) PS focused on family/economic background leading me to pursue engineering, before realizing that climate change policy/law was my…
…me: HLS UCLA Fordham Michigan UVA MY LSD profile is a T1 soft! (I’m just a gorl) Badass thicc pawg reporting for operation splooge
I originally listed myself as having T4 softs, but as my cycle unfolded and I reflected on my background and essays I felt that T3 was probably more accurate. All listed scholarship figures are merit aid only. Yale - solid Y250 Stanford - solid 3 Songs Optional, wrote LOCI after a few months of silence Chicago -…
Softs: Teach for America- Coach youth sports Getting a MEd in curriculum and instruction Part-time jobs for nonprofits (in college and now as second job) Student government stuff Club sport + black belt in martial art founded a non-profit research interned at a state agency, legal non-profit, and for a union Random…
…to say they are holistic, but that is demonstrably BS. Soft’s only help at the margins. Don’t be too hard on yourself.- Attending any law school period is already a difficult feat in and of itself. Do not compare yourself to people on Reddit, having crazy high stats is not the norm. Every attorney I had ever met…
…good stats, but I had very little work experience and my softs really and truly were not that impressive. I have a gut feeling that my rec letters where a big part of why I did as well as I did. I asked two of my professors—and I didn’t just ask them, I sat down and had a conversation with them about my future goals…
Unless you have superior softs, a 174+ with a 4.0, it’s going to be a hard run. Start very very early. If you’re in the midst of studying like crazy and the LSAT you get will not get you into the tier you want or believe you can achieve then discard the score. I increased my LSAT from 158 to 166 to 171. I chose to…
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