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Applicant wisdom

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

LSAT 168 GPA 3.96 2022–23 cycle

Attending Stanford University

…27th! General Notes for Specific Applications: ** Yale: Personal statement + Diversity Statement + 250 essay I wrote my 250 essay on my undergrad honors thesis and how I had to confront challenging ideas that made me reconsider my position on things that I felt really strongly about. Stanford: Personal statement +…

LSAT 168 GPA 3.72 2023–24 cycle

Attending Columbia University

***General *** Essays:- I wrote my personal statement about my goal of working in IP and the arts space rather than tech and focused on my personal experiences that led me to that goal. I had one person review my essays that I’m not too close to, which helped to give more objective advice. I wrote a…

LSAT 172 GPA 3.83 2022–23 cycle

Attending University of California—Berkeley

…from family, friends, and colleagues - these made my personal statement, diversity statement, and Why Berkeley essays LOADS better. My personal statement for Berkeley was 4 pages, and it was the foundation for the personal statement I submitted to each other school, with tweaks as needed to personalize. For most…

LSAT 173 GPA 3.61 2022–23 cycle

Attending Stanford University

…let anyone (even adcomms) on the Internet or in your real personal life stop you from going if you have done the important, deep, serious, soul-searching and decided to go. Shoot your shot. Please stop listening to the advice of the neurotics on here and Reddit. This process can bring out the worst in people. So…

LSAT 172 GPA 3.56 2022–23 cycle

Attending University of California—Berkeley

…experience, I’d recommend at least one of them come from a person who supervised you, if possible. Taking January LSAT and applying at end of Jan or in Feb is not a cycle killer if you want T14 but it makes it harder. If you can apply early and apply to many. Underemphasized is that applying early likely means…

LSAT 174 GPA 3.71 2021–22 cycle

Attending New York University

…REASONS! I struggle to come up with circumstances where a person shouldn’t take a gap year, but there are of course exceptions. Really, really consider if you want to jump right in. Write your personal statement about whatever the heck you want! Let admissions committees see a side of you they otherwise wouldn’t;…

LSAT 176 GPA 4.00 2025–26 cycle

Attending Harvard University

…long can get your out-the-door before they even read your personal statement. Professional school requires a professional-looking candidate. Rewrite your personal statement a hundred times over. Talk about your accomplishments and frame yourself as someone who succeeds. Your diversity is a strength. I am a first-gen…

LSAT 175 GPA 3.98 2023–24 cycle

Attending University of Pennsylvania

…qualities make you well-suited for law school. Also, on personal statements: your writing matters much more than the thing you write about. I wrote my statement on a pretty ordinary government internship I had as a freshman, but it made for a good statement because the experience genuinely affected me and I could…

LSAT 174 GPA 3.98 2020–21 cycle

Attending Harvard University

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…

LSAT 167 GPA 3.65 2022–23 cycle

Attending University of Washington

Application Components:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1PKETmeTic01VbUu0nRdaOcLqXJbejtd8?usp=sharing Finding any examples of personal statements, addenda or scholarship applications were like gold to me during this process so I’ll try and pay it forward. Anyone who knows me will be able to fully tell so…uh,…

LSAT 177 GPA 3.94 2025–26 cycle

Attending University of Michigan

…got a lot stronger, though, as I kept on tweaking my personal statement and got better at writing supplemental essays. I was lucky enough to get off the waitlist at Michigan soon after the deposit deadline, but I can’t help but think I could’ve saved myself a lot of anxiety and stress by just waiting a few more…

LSAT 173 GPA 3.84 2024–25 cycle

Attending University of Michigan

…I wrote every single optional essay and tailored my personal statement to every school. I also worked with an admissions consultant (1 Source Prep) who helped me really refine my writing. I truly believe that your stats get your foot in the door and your essays are what get you admitted. Give yourself lots of time…

LSAT 180 GPA 4.10 2023–24 cycle

Admitted to Stanford University

…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 in those classes. This will make it easier for you to get recommendations that aren’t boilerplate. While in…

LSAT 173 GPA 3.95 2021–22 cycle

Attending Stanford University

…and a georgetown optional. i also modified my personal statement for columbia, nyu, and umn, and think i could have/should have written a why uchicago. your written materials are the part of your app, maybe your only part, that you have control over. use it to show them why they should take YOU for THEIR school, say…

LSAT 174 GPA 3.95 2022–23 cycle

Attending University of Pennsylvania

…Only applied to schools I would realistically go to Personalized mostly all my resumes based on little things I know each school preferred (exp. I sent a long, comprehensive 3 page resume to Duke/UChicago/Penn, while keeping YLS 1 page) Applied to schools in waves from late September to mid October based on how much…

GPA 4.01 2023–24 cycle

Attending Stanford University

…application send your recommenders a packet with your personal statement, diversity statement, and resume so they can help add to your application’s narrative apply to a range of schools so you can negotiate shot your shoot!

LSAT 170 GPA 3.74 2020–21 cycle

Attending Yale University

Ivy undergrad Legal job after gradation Strong personal statement / diversity statement (I think this was the most important part !!!) Recs from professors I was very close with

LSAT 170 GPA 4.00 2022–23 cycle

Attending Harvard University

…tied together every single part of my application. My personal statement, diversity statement, resume, and school supplemental essays were all related in some way. Always remember that this is a marathon and not a sprint. The anxiety of waiting for decisions can be excruciating at times, but in the end, you will end…