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Applicant wisdom

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

LSAT 174 GPA 3.71 2021–22 cycle

Attending New York University

…school more likely to increase my scholarship offer in negotiations.” (I regret applying to the schools that gave me CAS waivers where I knew I wouldn’t attend It was a waste of time and may have went to another student who could have used it more.) Apply for a fee waiver through LSAC if you think it remotely could…

LSAT 179 GPA 3.50 2021–22 cycle

Attending Georgetown University

…apps to be perfect, and I am grateful I waited in the end. Negotiatie, negotiate, negotiate! I used different offers/asks and negotiated with Georgetown 4 times over 2 months before getting to a final offer. June 2020 LSAT Flex 179 (was PT’ing in the 170-175 range primarily) 2 years full-time work experience in…

LSAT 175 GPA 3.88 2022–23 cycle

Attending Harvard University

…help you with controlling day-of nerves. **Scholarship negotiation: **You won’t get what you don’t ask for- ask for more time, more money. But be strategic- know you may only have one shot to make your case. Be honest, be sincere, and do your research. If you have the money or the fee waiver, apply to 2-3 schools in…

LSAT 177 GPA 3.92 2023–24 cycle

Attending Harvard University

…($135,000 + $24,000 for JD/LLM program), no time to negotiate. Georgetown 3/12 - Received form to be considered for possible scholarship funding. 3/25 - Received merit scholarship award ($135,000, 4/3 deadline to accept, unable to grant deadline extensions). Didn’t negotiate.

LSAT 175 GPA 3.85 2024–25 cycle

Attending New York University

Negotiate your scholarships!!!! The worst they can say is no. With the exception of Northwestern (because they said they weren’t going to negotiate with anyone this year), I got more money everywhere I asked.

LSAT 170 GPA 4.10 2025–26 cycle

Attending New York University

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).

LSAT 177 GPA 3.98 2025–26 cycle

Attending University of Pennsylvania

…best/most scholarships and which schools appear to be more negotiable with scholarships than others. Look at the chart of applicants and see if people with your stats are more likely to receive money than not. It is worth the (admittedly, expensive) application fee if you can use it to get a few thousand more…

LSAT 172 GPA 4.10 2024–25 cycle

Attending Stanford University

…that consistency was key. I treated my studying like a non-negotiable commitment but also made sure I wasn’t burning myself out and took one day off per week. I took it twice and went from a 171–>172 (lol). After the second try, I decided to turn my focus to my other application components, as a 172 was at the…

LSAT 177 GPA 4.27 2024–25 cycle

Attending Yale University

…for all application fees and all but 10 CAS fees. Did not negotiate with any school since most got back to me after I was happy with other offers.

LSAT 179 GPA 3.85 2023–24 cycle

Attending Northwestern University

…money. I applied in the last few days as I was working to negotiate my other scholarships up before submitting and received nothing. Multiple other Berk admits had the same experience. My LSAT score carried me for sure, but with stronger softs and essays I think I would have had very different outcomes (proof: stats…

LSAT 180 GPA 3.83 2023–24 cycle

Attending Duke University

…at UVA and NU. I don’t know why my scholarship negotiations went so poorly, so it’s hard to say what the misstep was. The one appeal that was successful (Chicago) only came after an in-person meeting with their financial aid team where we didn’t even talk about my appeal. Try to make a human connection, I suppose?…

LSAT 170 GPA 3.96 2023–24 cycle

Attending University of Pennsylvania

Get your best possible GPA and LSAT. Write about what makes you who you are, discuss your identity. Apply early. Apply to lots of T14s. Negotiate your aid, communicate your needs.

GRE 337 GPA 4.00 2022–23 cycle

Attending University of Pennsylvania

Attending school using VA benefits so scholarship negotiation was just insurance if something went sideways with the VA. As a GRE applicant it does not seem like not using the LSAT held me back. I am very happy with my results and gladly going to Penn Carey. Once I identified Penn as my go-to school, I was able to…

LSAT 174 GPA 3.95 2022–23 cycle

Attending University of Pennsylvania

…earlier meant As earlier –> earlier finaid –> more time to negotiate! It feels like crunch time right now (late March) and I can only imagine how stressed later applicants feel. Things I would have improved: Could have written/finalized personal statement, diversity statement, supps over the summer. Not sure why I…