Other than the LSAT, nothing I did throughout undergrad/post-grad was solely for my law school application. To me, law school is an opportunity to learn how to solve problems that I am already working on in a way that would otherwise be inaccessible (and in a way that aligns with my strengths). My resume and essays…
Applicant wisdom
Advice applicants left on their LSD.Law profiles, searchable by topic, school, and stats.
545 entries
Admitted to New York UniversityStealing 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,…
All times are in PST. Harvard undergrad. Teach for America immediately out of college. No GPA addendum. 177 is my first and only LSAT score. First-generation college grad and first-gen professional. NYU Received an interview invite for AnBryce on February 13, 2023. Roughly 30 finalists interviewing for 10 spots.…
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…
advice i wish i would have known: make sure your personality comes through on your PS. you don’t want to seem passive in your own story. side note: have a clear, DEFINITIVE reason why you want to go to law school and make sure it comes through strongly. application stuff: public interest/systemic reform focused. 4…
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…
My resume had no demonstrated interested in law school. I had no internships, no law-related research/classes, but what I did have was a cohesive narrative and personal mission that all of my extracurriculars/research spoke to. I was easily able to maneuver that mission for why I should go to law school. To…
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…
Rural low-income, nURM, nKJD, queer. “Dropped out” of traditional high school because of an unstable home life, failing grades, and a life-threatening illness. Community college with a rocky first year and spotless second year (3.79 A.S.) to B1G STEM (3.98 B.S.) –> 3.9 LSAC GPA. UG took 5.5 years cuz I worked…
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…
Probably only applicable to nKJDs without direct legal experience. No matter when you graduated, contact your undergrad school’s career development office and pre-law advisors. I graduated [redacted] years ago, and it was invaluable to have an objective assessment of my application package. They can help you edit…
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…
LSAT: Took it twice (both Flex): 171 (August) -> 180 (November). Used a combination of PowerScore Bible trilogy and 7Sage for PTing/blind reviewing/videos. I think that overstudying and burnout is definitely a thing – I took 6-7 weeks off and barely studied between my first and second take, and I think that actually…
Essays+Additional Info Below Yale - Wrote 250 on Qur’an translation. Stanford - Wrote the optional 250 on teaching a class. Harvard - Nothing extra. Columbia - Nothing extra. UChicago - Nothing extra. NYU - Applied to Furman Public Policy Scholars (was rejected for Furman and RTK, despite not applying for RTK…oof).…
Think more, write less
Start this process early. If you plan to be applying in the fall, take the LSAT in the spring to leave yourself time to retake if necessary. Start working on your personal statement. Get as many eyes as possible on your essays. In undergrad, try to take multiple classes with professors if you think you can do well…
Apply early if possible. I wish I had, so that my aid negotiation/deposit/withdrawal timeline wasn’t so fucked. At this rate, going to have to commit to NYU before I get Columbia offer, which could’ve been higher, or at least the same, which would let me more meaningfully consider the school. Look up the Kira…
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