Never let perfect be the enemy of good.
Applicant wisdom
Advice applicants left on their LSD.Law profiles, searchable by topic, school, and stats.
297 entries
Admitted to University of ChicagoApply early and broadly. Put a shit ton of work into your LSAT, it will open doors for you and make your way through those doors cheaper. Love yourself unconditionally throughout the process. I don’t know why HYS didn’t like me but oh well, I think I would’ve ended up in Chicago regardless, I love the city and want…
Law school is a risk, and lawyers are all about risk reduction. While the rest of your career will be spent on minimizing chances for a failure, lawsuit, etc., law school applications provide an opportunity to take large risks with very little downside (R, out some $). There but for the grace of God go I–it…
HYP undergrad. My GPA increased from 3.67 to 3.72 during my admissions cycle. I got into NYU, Michigan, Duke, and Georgetown before the GPA increase. PS about my interest in international law and development in Africa. Wrote a DS about representation. 4 strong letters of rec: 2 professors, 1 summer internship, 1…
Bachelor’s and master’s from a top school, and five years of work experience in big tech, which feeds into my why law (personal statement). Wrote why Berkeley, two optional essays for Stanford (moon vs. travel and three books). Didn’t write a separate Why Columbia or Why Duke, but worked it into the end of my…
Wrote why X paragraphs in my personal statement. Dual enrollment lowered my LSAC GPA by 0.26. Softs are 1) extremely competitive extracurricular team, 2) very low-income upbringing affected by things relate to a very clear rationale for why law, and 3) prestigious undergrad fellowship. White and Hispanic, so kinda…
Don’t apply as late as I did! But if you’re in that boat, don’t panic—there’s always hope for good outcomes. :-) And remember that even if one school has an amazing network or yield for your preferred field and goals, the burden of loan repayment will still significantly limit your future flexibility. Good luck!!
Do stuff you’re interested in before law school!!
Strong LORs from law school professors and law firm partner Foreign Trained Lawyer Worked as a foreign associate at a top tier firm LL.M. Graduate from T-14 law school Applied to a few 2 year advanced standing JD programs (for foreign lawyers) Accepted at UChicago as a transfer student
I am still confused as to why some schools were not interested in me and others liked me a lot. I think I wrote a very individualized and unique application which probably cut both ways. So, I have no advice or profound wisdom beyond: believe in yourself and Godspeed with this fucked system.
HYP undergrad w/ honors, 4 yrs WE mostly at a fairly well-known legal advocacy org. Wrote optional essays for Stanford (1-day class), Penn (core values), Michigan (Why X), and Georgetown (unpopular opinion). Non-URM but submitted a diversity statement about being mixed-race where applicable.
Wrote all optional essays and had fun with the prompts. I’m guessing that humor–especially the self-deprecating kind–was seen as a positive Despite the username, I think having clear reasons for Why Law and (as a KJD in particular) Why Now was real important. Good luck with ur cycles!
Wrote “Why X” essays for Columbia, Duke, NYU, Northwestern, Chicago, and Michigan; wrote GULC 250 optional essay on “Top 10 List;” wrote Core Values essay for Penn; wrote about thesis topic for Yale 250. Kira interview for Northwestern; group interview for GULC. Chicago UR3 on 2/15.
Applied to same schools (minus Stanford) in Jan 2020 with 168, got into Georgetown, rejected from Harvard and Yale, waitlisted at the rest. Reapplying this year in October with 174, a new rec, and a revised statement to see what happens. white, female, decent but not exceptional softs
A cohesive narrative and clear idea of what you want to do as a lawyer goes a long way! Also apply as early as possible so you have max time for scholarship negotiations (and peace of mind).
Wrote every optional essay possible and a Why X to avoid YP outside the T6. Did not write any DS. If you get an HLS interview, make sure you’re really jazzed and emphasize that it’s your first choice. That’s what I think got me WL’ed, since my interview otherwise went really well.
Study for the LSAT, it’s worth it Tell a cohesive story in your essays
Wrote Penn Core Values and Why X School essays for Berkeley, Michigan, UCLA, USC, Cornell. Added a sentence in PS for Columbia. Sent Why NYU after NYU hold. LSAC GPA was slightly lower than uGPA. Retake the LSAT if you need to, apply early if you can. Good luck! You’ll do great!
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