Application Timing: Apply early, especially if you have lower stats. The majority of my apps (including Duke) were submitted mid-September. I don’t think I would’ve gotten into Duke if I had waited a couple months longer. GPA: I went to an undergrad with severe and notorious grade deflation, and the law schools were…
Applicant wisdom
Advice applicants left on their LSD.Law profiles, searchable by topic, school, and stats.
471 entries
Admitted to Duke UniversityLook, 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…
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…
I applied four years ago (right after undergrad) with a 167. I applied this year with a 168 after three more LSATs, but with far more life experience. Night and day difference in outcomes. Don’t be afraid to take time, develop your story/resume/why law, and then come back to law apps; you may even see that law…
apply EARLY. like september lol. and don’t give up on the LSAT until you get the highest score you can.
It took 3+ months to hear from most schools. Also, in general acceptances came later than rejections/waitlist decisions. Try to keep the faith during the wait. I wrote optional essays and Why X essays for all schools that mentioned them in their application. I did not write any pre-decision LOCIs.
It’s all God. Thank you Jesus for holding me tight, thank you Holy Spirit for giving me peace. Tell your story and trust in the Lord to do His will; whatever the destination, you will find peace in it.
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!!!
No extra essays for Columbia and Harvard Wrote a Why X for UChicago, NYU, UVA, Northwestern, Michigan, GULC, Duke, and Cornell Did the teamwork essay for Penn, the failure essay for Michigan, and the unpopular opinion for GULC Got an HTE from NYU on 1/28 went UR3 for UChicago on 2/15 Also had a GPA increase during…
My cycle took 158 days. Go Blue Devils! Here’s some unsolicited advice: shoot your shot. I was pretty convinced that T-14 admissions or scholarships would be largely unattainable for me because of my below-median LSAT - but remember, numbers are only part of your application. More unsolicited advice: STUDY STUDY…
Reapplicant. Last year is https://www.lsd.law/users/creep/MindlessUsefulFox. Focusing on my essays and not applying as a KJD helped a lot the second time around.
If you’re going through hell, keep going.
Write the optional essays, eat well, don’t stress. Things will work out. Don’t apply during a pandemic. The waitlists are pain. Also, don’t be stupid like me and wait two years after taking the LSAT to apply. I got burned by the COVID LSAT median jumps with my pre-COVID score.
Luckily it worked out, but I almost had to reapply. I’ll break my advice into 2 sections. Things I did well that I’d encourage: Allowed schools to contact me through LSAC (resulting in fee waivers). Contacted recommenders early and did a decent amount of essay writing over the summer. Reached out to my undergrad…
Apply broadly but also focus on a few schools that really interest you. I believe my genuine interest in Duke and UT helped me get accepted. Also, the optional essays are not really “optional.” I recommend to always submit them along with your PS and DS if you have one.
GoodGratisFellow says… Ecstatic with how this process ultimately turned out! I think applying earlier (literally any month before January) would’ve likely helped, but I believe this is primarily true for the availability of scholarship money. In such a crazy cycle, I think applying on the later-side didn’t hurt as…
Going into this process I told myself I would go to the highest ranked school I got into, so to see myself picking NYU over Stanford would be INSANE. I didn’t qualify for need-based aid at Stanford. I chose NYU for the half-tuition scholarship, because I was interested in public interest (the PI community at…
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