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Applicant wisdom

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

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 168 GPA 4.03 2023–24 cycle

Attending Northwestern University

…on youtube “Sweet Girl” LoFi on youtube Brown noise IV. Personal Statement My personal statement discussed my time at my job, and how my past work experience prepared me to work with clients and in a fast paced environment. Likewise, these skills will help carry me forward into my future profession as an attorney…

LSAT 173 GPA 3.88 2023–24 cycle

Attending Stanford University

🥰 hi all! My biggest recommendation for everyone is to try to drown out the noise regarding personal statements, supplemental essays, etc. My personal statement did not speak to any schools in particular or even answer the “Why Law?” question, and I think that while that was potentially a risky choice it also…

LSAT 170 GPA 3.74 2024–25 cycle

Attending University of Minnesota

…my optional essays more, though maybe not as much as my personal statement (I did nine major revisions to that over the span of a month). Otherwise, I think there was a bit of bad timing involved in applying the same cycle as the huge application increase and elections. Being strung along for 100+ days by 12 of…

LSAT 169 GPA 4.10 2022–23 cycle

Admitted to University of Michigan

…how you’ve improved since then!!  Application materials: Personal Statement- : nothing incredible, but I thought it was decent. I only had my family read it over for grammatical errors, so no professional help. A couple of deans made comments about my PS, so I’m assuming it was alright. My life story isn’t anything…

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 173 GPA 3.93 2022–23 cycle

Attending University of Texas at Austin

…late, despite finishing it in late November. Wrote my personal statement on marching band; I feel like I could’ve done more to explain in the personal statement why that experience would carry over. Didn’t give much of a why law. Wrote pre-decision LOCI to UVA. Wrote a WL one for UM and SLS.

LSAT 172 GPA 4.10 2024–25 cycle

Attending Stanford University

…my application with some perspective and maturity that I personally may not have had during my senior year of college. For the LSAT, I found 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…

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 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…

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 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…

LSAT 166 GPA 3.73 2024–25 cycle

Attending University of Michigan

…decisions I was proud of.- Don’t write an “aww poor me” personal statement about oppression. If you wanna write about -isms make it bigger than yourself. Write about how you volunteered at XYZ organization because alleviating the -ism in ABC community is important to you. Don’t write about how cool some family…

LSAT 171 GPA 3.98 2023–24 cycle

Attending Duke University

…school rather than sending more generic Why X/Background statements to a ton of different places. I applied based on available pathways back to TX, location, and quality of certain programs. I wrote Why X + every optional essay that was relevant to my experience for every school I applied to. Let other people read…

LSAT 179 GPA 3.50 2021–22 cycle

Attending Georgetown University

…and was denied. NYU - Applied to RTK, but used my personal statement as my RTK essay. UPenn - Wrote Core Values Essay. Applied for Toll PI Scholarship and was denied. UVA - Nothing extra. Really considered writing a Why Virginia, but ultimately didn’t. Duke - Nothing extra. UMich - Wrote optional essay on meeting a…

LSAT 165 GPA 3.95 2025–26 cycle

Attending University of Pennsylvania

your lived experiences matter. spend a long time contemplating about why law before you even start writing your personal statement. seek mentorship and pre-law pipelines. prepare for a least a year. meet with current students at the law schools and ask for advice.

LSAT 171 GPA 4.13 2024–25 cycle

Attending University of Virginia

…sounds like “Yeah, duh?” advice, but I’ve read so many personal statements that lose that thread and are either narratively incoherent or don’t meaningfully articulate why law school is the right decision for them now. Especially for those applying to top schools, they have far more high-stat applicants than they do…