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.…
Applicant wisdom
Advice applicants left on their LSD.Law profiles, searchable by topic, school, and stats.
471 entries
Admitted to Duke UniversityThis profile is here to allow other black male super splitters to be aware of the possibilities given your stats. Just know that people will always diminish your accomplishments but you are still amazing! Shoutout Nsqui for the full recap format and cryptanon for putting this whole site together <3. June 2021 LSAT…
Harvard: wrote small why Harvard paragraph in PS, substantial written work in application (honors thesis), LOCI Chicago: wrote small why Chicago paragraph in PS, felt like interview went well NYU: wrote RTK scholarship essay, submitted GRE (336) UVA: wrote small why UVA paragraph in PS, felt like interview didn’t go…
Stream of consciousness advice in no particular order: Don’t coast on any component of your application! Keep addenda short and sweet, when possible. Even T4 softs can tell a story about you - don’t collect “softs” as gold stars, do what makes you fulfilled and use that as the starting point of your “narrative”…
Reapplicant with slightly improved GPA (see WhaleBarnacle from last cycle) Yale: 250 on disparities in education Stan: Wrote books essay; one of “up to 500” invited to do video statement for Knight Hennessy but not selected as finalist (such a tease) Harvard interview: The most one-sided of all my interviews. I…
My advice: for t14 especially, do optional essays regardless of your stats. if you can write a convincing Why X for the school that shows a real interest in the school and, most importantly, highlights your writing skills while adding to the overall narrative of your app, do it. T14 tend to be more holistic from my…
“In the dark times, should the stars also go out?” Advice *More is better. **If a school allows you to submit optional essays (why X), spend some time crafting a compelling supplemental essay. Yes, there are people who get admitted without submitting optional essays. But the more information you can provide to the…
(◕◕) Essays written: UVA: Why UVA? Michigan: Why Michigan? Berkeley: Why Berkeley? Duke: Optional Essay #1 (Why Duke and why law?) Georgetown: Top Ten List Stanford: Three songs 🎶 (◕◕) General advice: I did much better than I was expecting, and I attribute much of my success to fact that I was able to provide…
I left notes for some schools: Hover your cursor over the “Result” and “Scholarship” cells. Main takeway: Focus on what you can change. You can’t change what happened in the past. Softs: HYPSM undergrad (with tough course load + GPA addendum), prestigious post-grad fellowship, legal work experience, salient…
Reapplicant from 2020-2021 cycle. Same stats as the previous cycle (4 LSAT takes starting in 2019, 30+ point improvement from initial diagnostic to 169), but all new materials. Fully funded MA through fellowship, LGBTQ**+**, first-generation college and professional student, Pell grant recipient all 4 years of…
LSAT: june ’21 164 –> august ‘21 170 thanks to just khan academy, mike kim’s LSAT trainer, and grinding PTs. my PT average was like a 165 so i truly got lucky on my second take. probably could have taken more time + money to study and squeezed out a few more points, but i was more than happy with a 170 and wanted to…
A few words of wisdom… Do not take advice from anyone on Reddit. No one on there knows what got them into a school or what got them rejected. The only people that know that are AdComms. Listen to “Navigating Law School Admissions with Miriam and Kristi.” Dean Ingber and Dean Jobson actually read applications and…
I’m hoping that this can be helpful for any future super-splitters out there (and don’t despair, there is hope - I’m attending Penn). The caveat of course is that I am a URM super-splitter, specifically a Hispanic one (Cuban & Puerto Rican). I am well aware of just how helpful that kind of designation can be. So,…
Didn’t write any optional essays in addition to my personal statement, unless you count the mandatory Yale 250-word supplement (in retrospect, this definitely hurt me at UVA, Penn, and Columbia, where I was above 75th for both stats and didn’t do a good job demonstrating interest) T4 softs, did some research at my…
Apply as early as you can! Be genuine and be yourself. You are good enough! Try to have your school list set at the beginning so you can apply everywhere at once (rather than scrambling to apply to safeties later in the cycle). One of the best pieces of advice I got before applying was to follow the 3-3-3 rule:…
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…
Took the LSAT for the first time in Sep 2020. Not completely happy with the score but decided not to retake because the stress with test prep while juggling work was unreal. R&R wasn’t really an option, partially due to the stress, partially because of the professional ceiling at my current job. Wrote “why X” for…
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…
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