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Applicant wisdom

Advice applicants left on their LSD.Law profiles, searchable by topic, school, and stats.

LSAT 177 GPA 3.19 2022–23 cycle

Attending University of Michigan

Go Blue! Advice for super splitters (everyone else, see below): Every “chance me” prediction tool will be wrong for you. They are trained on regression models which do an okay job for people nearish the medians, and diddly-squat for you.You have a chance at most schools for which you are above a 75th.- The reason…

LSAT 169 GPA 3.88 2020–21 cycle

Attending Northwestern University

TIPS: It is impossible to understate the power of a cohesive narrative throughout your application. Second only to studying for the LSAT, I would recommend spending the most significant amount of time thinking about why you genuinely want to go to law school, and then highlighting some compelling links between the…

LSAT 172 GPA 3.40 2020–21 cycle

Attending University of Michigan

I have a pretty standard profile overall. Typical law-related T3 work experience. However through my work I was a part of the team that did a law-related thing that made it to the front page of all the major newspapers, and I of course made that experience the centerpiece of my application. Some thoughts for my…

LSAT 173 GPA 3.82 2020–21 cycle

Admitted to Duke University

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…

LSAT 172 GPA 3.73 2020–21 cycle

Attending University of Michigan

⛧ ☠ ⛧༼ つ ◕◕ ༽つ⛧ ☠ ⛧ SUMMONING REJECTION WAVES ⛧ ☠ ⛧༼ つ ◕◕ ༽つ⛧ ☠ ⛧ Even though my cycle is now over, I encourage all applicants to consider joining the R wave cult. We have cookies. Some actual information about my cycle, if you care: ⛧ I wrote a GPA addendum even though a lot of people would have said not to. I…

LSAT 161 GPA 3.85 2020–21 cycle

Attending University of Michigan

Though 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…

LSAT 177 GPA 3.63 2020–21 cycle

Attending Columbia University

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…

LSAT 176 GPA 3.94 2020–21 cycle

Admitted to Stanford University

Based on my experience, soft factors and essays are VERY important in law school admissions, especially at T-14 schools (I believe that the more you go up in the rankings, the more softs and essays matter). Strong numbers matter a lot too, but they’re usually not enough on their own to give applicants a strong shot…

LSAT 161 GPA 3.88 2020–21 cycle

Attending New York University

Top 4 undergrad, top masters program. A lot of work experience in the field I want to practice in. Wrote Why X for every school I applied to. Wrote all optional essays. Also included a LSAT addendum with my SAT scores to show a history of outperforming standardized test scores. NYU - got HTE, sent in a LOCI, was…

LSAT 178 GPA 4.00 2020–21 cycle

Attending Columbia University

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…

LSAT 174 GPA 3.60 2020–21 cycle

Admitted to Duke University

Welcome to my profile! I come from a low-income background, and I benefitted greatly from the free advice I found researching the admissions process. I want to pay it forward by consolidating some of what I learned on this page. All of this advice is freely my opinion, and should not be considered granular truth.…

LSAT 174 GPA 3.86 2024–25 cycle

Attending University of California—Berkeley

This is extremely doxable and long for the benefit of anyone interested. Academic: PhD (expected) + MA in social sciences discipline with emphasis in law & society from T20 university in my field (3.99 GPA), undergrad at Ivy with humanities major (top 30% of graduating class), 1 year medical leave in undergrad…

LSAT 172 GPA 3.89 2022–23 cycle

Attending Yale University

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…

LSAT 173 GPA 3.68 2024–25 cycle

Attending University of Michigan

The most important thing that I can share about my application process is this: applying late in the cycle is a perfectly reasonable thing to do. I was able to achieve my goals as a February applicant, so don’t let people tell you that you have no chance if you don’t submit your applications by December 1st or some…

LSAT 179 GPA 3.50 2021–22 cycle

Attending Georgetown University

Stealing this recap format from TroutLawyer, my fellow URM splitter! Going through this process as a STEM undergrad who never considered law school growing up, it always felt like I was drinking from a firehose. The lawschooladmissions subreddit and LSData are helpful for learning the ins and outs of the process,…

LSAT 165 GPA 4.20 2022–23 cycle

Attending Harvard University

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…

LSAT 174 GPA 3.85 2023–24 cycle

Attending University of Michigan

**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…

LSAT 169 GPA 3.90 2024–25 cycle

Admitted to University of Michigan

Essays matter! Read examples and craft your narrative. Think about your “why” and zero into personal experiences that reflects your “why.” One tip: after you write a draft, always ask yourself: could someone else have written this essay? is it personal enough that it is unique to you and your story?- if the answer…