I’m several years out of undergrad and went into this process knowing next to nothing. I hope some of this can be of use to someone. My softs don’t lend themselves to a very cohesive “why law,” and I think if I’d addressed that more convincingly in my personal statement I might have performed better. I could’ve used…
Applicant wisdom
Advice applicants left on their LSD.Law profiles, searchable by topic, school, and stats.
511 entries
Admitted to Northwestern UniversityCONCLUDED 4/27/2023. BEST WISHES TO ALL WHO COME AFTER. Gonna do this by first giving some opening info, then making a list by date of admissions decision, and finish by giving a summary and final remarks. Read it all, skip to the end for my folk wisdom, or just look at my app chart; it’s all up to you. Intro I…
Be kind to yourself and others:) We will all end up where we are meant to be! ASU: In state, wrote Why ASU, heard back via email 5 days later with scholly coming later in the day BU: 2 date changes followed by a 3rd with a status: complete, complete and substatus: complete, received call the next day Georgetown:…
Balkinization left no wisdom for posterity… (◕︵◕) How schools weight LSAT and GPA: (2020) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1D_shFUpmvBVDfGOFphLb-7Vf8BpwDB9htcAidnhXkKM/edit#gid=0 Law School Decision Tracking: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1F0eR9BGyM4cdOJNCNzSQz8IMhq48NfF-YiKDi0OdrOw/edit#gid=0 2022-23…
TIPS: (I’m obviously not an admissions officer, so take these with a grain of salt; this is just what I felt helped me) When studying for the LSAT, don’t be afraid to take breaks! Especially if you’re studying a lot during a short period of time (e.g., 3-4 months of consecutive studying instead of 1 year of on and…
For college students: I highly recommend getting a year of work experience. You will be able to speak on your experience during the application process, have a matured perspective, and get better results. It really helps to have a year to step back and be deliberate about your next choice. Also, be a unique and…
Some miscellaneous advice: 173 is the new 170 for nURM. If your GPA is below the T14 25th percentiles, you may need a 173+ to give yourself a decent shot at the T14. If you’re not there, consider retaking (NOTE: This advice applies to the 2021-2023 cycles and may change in the future). If you are a splitter, apply…
Application info: Submitted a DS to every school except UVA, as I made my DS the answer to their “resilience” question. Wrote Penn Core Values, Why UVA, Why Mich, Why Duke, GULC Top Ten, Why Florida. Advice: Stats are necessary, but not sufficient. Get the best LSAT and GPA possible, then write the best essays you…
As my partner said looking at my LSD chart: “You barely got in anywhere!” Honestly looking at my decisions, it feels like it. What I have taken away from this year is a splitter’s life is a chaotic game of waiting. Going into this cycle, I knew the T14 was going to be an extreme challenge, and I was hoping for at…
Took the LSAT three times: 156->166->164 (ugh) Went into this cycle with NU as my top choice, so it’s honestly surreal that I’ll be attending next year with $$. As a reverse splitter, I couldn’t be happier with how my cycle played out. I didn’t apply to the rest of the t-14 because I wasn’t entirely happy with my…
wrote diversity statement (LGBTQ, mentioned URM identity) for all schools, wrote why Xs for chicago, penn (core strengths), duke, UVA, berkeley, and michigan and integrated why X into PS for columbia and georgetown. STEM background and work experience in STEM field, had a pretty specific PS topic and clear goals,…
A 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,…
My biggest advice would be to apply broadly! I am so glad I blanketed the t14s because I was actually close to not even applying to the law school I ended up deciding on (UVA), because they never sent me a fee waiver and I didnt know much about the school due to where I grew up in. But fortunately, I decided to live…
Here is a poem I wrote about obsessively checking lawschooldata while having self-awareness about how silly all of this is: how odd it is to be a data point made up of many more data points closely watching all the other data points made of their own data points. this site, Reddit, and your written app can never…
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…
If you can avoid checking the status checker, do that. A couple UR dates may be inaccurate (specifically USC), I didn’t check my status checker too frequently. Wrote a Diversity Statement related to Athletics UR3: Duke went UR3 on 1/23 Penn went UR3 on 2/2 Accept: Vanderbilt didn’t give me any info until the…
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…
(◕◕) 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…
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