Always do the optional essays!! Especially the “Why X” for the schools that really like to see them (UMich, UVA, Duke, Berkeley (mandatory if applying for PI scholarship), UCLA (programmatic contribution), Georgetown, any school that has a dedicated spot in the application to demonstrate interest). I didn’t write a…
Applicant wisdom
Advice applicants left on their LSD.Law profiles, searchable by topic, school, and stats.
367 entries
Admitted to Columbia UniversityA few thoughts on waitlists, “your chances,” R&R, the LSAT, and advice in general: Never give up on waitlists, especially ones that are known to have good movement (like in my case with HLS). A strong, school-specific Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI) can go a long way. Do not send the same LOCI to every school,…
if i could do it again, i would apply to fewer schools. i also wouldn’t retake the lsat - i took it a second time and scored lower. retaking is generally a good idea, but i didn’t set myself up for success to score higher by retaking it during the same semester i was taking 19 credits and writing my app materials.…
LSAT: Give yourself more time than you think you need to study. If you can swing it, a tutor or course is a great investment into your future because just a few LSAT points can mean a huge difference in where you are accepted and/or scholarship amounts. (I used 7Sage and PowerScore.) If you think you left points on…
I wholeheartedly believe that my work experience in public service organizations and the strong narrative within my application helped me earn acceptances (and at least no automatic rejections) from T20 / T14 schools. The award offers I received seem to prove that further. I’m a big proponent of working full time…
You want to think about the value add of each item for your admissions package as a piece of the puzzle. The resume highlights your professional experience and skills, your transcripts highlight your academic interest from college and the academic rigor you’ve taken on, and the LSAT?GRE standardizes your academic…
non-FLEX LSAT applicant. early on in the cycle I got really resentful about FLEXies and their inflated scores (still am a little bit), but its not the applicants fault things turned out this way. even the exam I took (July 2019) was atypical in that I could have cancelled my score to retake. Beyond that, how many of…
Softs: Engineer, ~3 years of unique work experience, graduate degree, significant time spent volunteering Personal statement: described the series of events that led me to pursuing law school School specific optional essays I wrote: Stanford: “Would you rather travel to the Moon or travel the Earth?” Harvard: None…
For future lurkers, I withdrew from Harvard, UPenn, and UVA before getting an admission result. As listed I received scholarship awards from Columbia, Michigan, and BU—I withdrew from everywhere else I was admitted before hearing about financial aid. The Hamilton at Columbia and Dean’s Scholarship at BU came with…
Link to Reddit cycle recap with written application materials included:*** ***https://bit.ly/3HvUUqH **Numbers: 3.89/172 ** (Took the LSAT four times: April 2021: Cancel, October 2021: 162, November 2021: 164, June 2022: 172). I studied for the LSAT for over two years. Making the decision to delay a cycle and keep…
Turn on CRS & make a law school email filter! I literally was only going to apply to like 11 schools but got a surprising amount of fee waivers from CRS and I am so so grateful I opted in. The spam is annoying but you literally can just unsubscribe from schools you are not interested in! Try not to compare yourself…
Don’t take the LSAT until you’re ready, I took it 4 times and would not recommend. 164 -> 169 -> 171 -> 168. I ended up fine though so don’t let it stress you out too much! I really recommend perfecting your essays; any story can be successful, you just have to convey it the right way. Try to get a wide variety of…
**Please please PLEASE take time off in between undergrad and law school! ** So many KJDs just want to go straight through “to get law school over with” or “not waste time because they’re 100% sure they want to be a lawyer.” And while the latter may be true for some, there is so much you learn—about yourself, your…
Don’t be a non-resident or at least have a reportable GPA to make your life easier. Alternatively, get a good enough LSAT to get you into Columbia or Harvard reliably and afford you the option of squeezing a decent scholarship out of Cornell & Georgetown. There isn’t much love for internationals outside of those…
Chose HLS for unicorn PI placement and the LIPP/LRAP. Aid figures are all first offers - did not negotiate. I had a far better cycle than I expected. I did not have any conventionally prestigious fellowships or softs, my extracurriculars were pretty standard, my interview skills are subpar. I suspect what helped my…
**I’m not asking you to forget your dead. I’ll never forget mine. I lost 50 brothers the night that Mance attacked the Wall. But I’m asking you to think about your children now. They’ll never have children of their own if we don’t band together. **(◕︵◕) The Long Night is coming and the dead come with it. No clan can…
Softs: 4+ years of work experience in progressive advocacy, 2+ of which have been at a legal org that has worked on multiple Supreme Court cases Letters of Rec: 2 from professors (one of whom was my thesis advisor) and one from my direct supervisor. ASK EARLY. I gave my professors a heads up in April, sent the…
My Goal: NYC Biglaw with exit opportunities down the road Notes: I went to a non-prestigious flagship state school I had several legal and business internships, but nothing all that impressive I was involved in essentially no clubs in college, but I did work roughly 25 hours/week I wrote “why x” statements for every…
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