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Applicant wisdom

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

LSAT 176 GPA 3.70 2023–24 cycle

Attending Stanford University

I hope these comments do not express hubris—this is my best attempt at an objective assessment based upon what I consider to be a very strong application. I have multiple ~T2 softs and sharpened my essays for nearly a year. Strategy Lesson - write all optionals I wrote all the “optional” essays. This seems to be…

LSAT 167 GPA 3.99 2025–26 cycle

Attending Yale University

I can say with certainty that I had the cycle of my wildest dreams. I almost can’t believe that it’s over. I put my head down for 4 years for a chance at having this moment arrive, and now it finally has. I’m going to Yale Law School! BACKGROUND GPA: 3.99 / LSAT: 167 / Softs: T1.5ish Three years of work experience…

LSAT 174 GPA 3.97 2025–26 cycle

Attending Harvard University

Yes, you have to write all the optional essays. Schools that called: UVA (434), NYU (212), Northwestern (224, caller ID = “spam risk”), Harvard (617), Penn (215). During the process, a very compelling reason to stay on the east coast arose. If that were not the case, I would have maybe (?) picked Chicago. Looking at…

LSAT 173 GPA 3.99 2025–26 cycle

Attending Harvard University

**some advice from my experience so far: ** do not submit your reach / first choice schools first. you will make a mistake somewhere in your first application (but also, if you make a mistake, don’t worry about it too much. I made minor mistakes in my applications to MSU, UT Austin, UVA, and Michigan and was…

LSAT 174 GPA 3.87 2025–26 cycle

Attending University of Virginia

I’m shocked at how much I overperformed in such a competitive cycle, especially given a GPA that is quickly trending towards being below the 25th percentile at most T14s. Here’s what I think likely helped me out: Get some work/life experience after undergrad- don’t be in a rush. Be sure you’re overprepared for the…

LSAT 173 GPA 3.84 2024–25 cycle

Attending University of Michigan

Give yourself LOTS of time to study for the LSAT. I started studying a full year before I planned on submitting my applications, and it took me approx. 400 hours of studying spread out over 8 months for me to be happy with my score. Especially if your GPA is below the medians of the schools you’re applying to (like…

LSAT 178 GPA 3.99 2025–26 cycle

Attending Stanford University

I entered into this cycle fully expecting to be humbled, that despite my stats I would be met with WL/Rs in the increasingly competitive admissions world. I spent A LOT of time on my materials and researching how different schools would work for my interests. Meaningfully researching every school I applied to and…

LSAT 178 GPA 3.00 2021–22 cycle

Admitted to Stanford University

Update 05.11: no, Penn is not a better law school than Harvard. Please look at employment stats over USWNR. Please be aware of regionality issues. #happyrankingsday More accumulated advice: https://www.reddit.com/r/lawschooladmissions/comments/qf400l/machos_guide_to_admissions_an_effortpost_by_a/ I am remarkably…

LSAT 175 GPA 3.80 2024–25 cycle

Attending Yale University

Hey visitor! Hopefully this documentation can help you along your own process as others’ words and advice helped me along mine :) Materials Submitted & Timeline: (in order of subission) University of Michigan (8/26) Optional on personal qualities- Why X Academic Addendum ACCEPTED 11/6 University of Virginia (9/1)…

LSAT 180 GPA 3.43 2024–25 cycle

Attending University of Virginia

Top-Line Advice (for what it’s worth): -Be authentic, trust your gut. -Don’t waste time trying to write what you think admissions officers want to hear. -Don’t count yourself out of anywhere. -Work for a while before going to law school. LSAT: -Took a lot of practice tests and reviewed wrong answers extensively.…

LSAT 174 GPA 4.00 2023–24 cycle

Attending Harvard University

LSAT:  167 -> 168 -> 174 I used LSAT Demon + The Loophole (highly recommend both)  GPA:  4.0/4.0 (top 1% – humanities classes only) softs:  average for a KJD who knew they wanted to go to law school early (summer legal internship, legal research assistant, a handful of undergrad awards, a couple leadership roles in…

LSAT 174 GPA 3.71 2021–22 cycle

Attending New York University

My handle is the same on Reddit if you have any questions (or if you want to view my cycle recap which includes more about me), and do feel free to DM there (as I don’t check this often). Best of luck to you in your application cycle! I’m so grateful to have received the AnBryce scholarship, and I have a lot of…

LSAT 178 GPA 3.95 2023–24 cycle

Admitted to Stanford University

For future lurkers, the below are just my musings, so take them with a grain of salt! Reasons I think this cycle went well: Strong narrative focused on PI (and specifically public defense), reinforced by relevant legal internships- Active in undergrad extracurriculars. Did not expect this to help much, but it kept…

LSAT 171 GPA 4.20 2024–25 cycle

Attending University of Virginia

“If you are feeling disheartened, that you are somehow not enough, set your heart ablaze. Dry your eyes and look ahead” -Rengoku My cycle is almost over so if you are clicking on this I want to give you my thoughts. I had a very tough road to get here. In 2023 I was incredibly depressed, hated my job, was…

LSAT 173 GPA 3.98 2024–25 cycle

Attending University of Virginia

Cycle Recap for the 24-25 Admissions Cycle TL;DR: Military work experience was a major boost. Targeted state schools to maximize partial veterans’ benefits. Thrilled to be attending UVA - was my dream from the beginning and so thankful it worked out. Preparation Studied for the LSAT on and off for two years, taking…

LSAT 173 GPA 3.61 2022–23 cycle

Attending Stanford University

blackletterlaw left no wisdom for posterity… (◕︵◕) Do not let me and the advice I’ve written here deter you from going to law school (this is just meant to be as helpful as possible) and don’t let anyone (even adcomms) on the Internet or in your real personal life stop you from going if you have done the important,…

LSAT 179 GPA 3.95 2024–25 cycle

Attending Yale University

Trying to be as detailed as I possibly can for posterity. **Stats Background: ** LSAT 172 (September) –> 179 October. -Didn’t write an LSAT addendum even though I increased 7 points in a month. Underperformed slightly on my first test likely due to lack of sleep the night before (I live in a loud area of campus and…

LSAT 176 GPA 3.63 2022–23 cycle

Attending University of Pennsylvania

Don’t let the villain that is neurosis defeat you! Stay calm, cool, and collected; decisions will come your way in time. (I’m a hypocrite with this one but it’s still worth mentioning) Don’t obsessively look at status checkers!!! In fact, I’d go as far as say don’t look at them at all. They’ll only serve to raise…