As final exams conclude and graduation caps are being tossed in the air at law school ceremonies around the country, admissions officers are continuing to round out the edges in their classes. Per online chatter as well as experience with our current students, a number of law schools have been actively reaching out to waitlist candidates and making offers of admission. Meanwhile, students who have multiple active deposits are approaching their second deadline with their respective schools and the reality that they can only physically be in one place at one time (although perhaps they can be in multiple places spiritually…) and are making final decisions. While this can all continue over the course of the summer, things tend to reach a conclusion around Memorial Day. So let’s take a few minutes today to check in on the broader waitlist process nationally as well as suggestions for what you can do.
While it may not seem like it if you have not yet heard from a school where you are on the waitlist, there has already been a fair bit of activity from a number of schools so far this year. Additionally, this actually stands in stark contrast to the past two years. The story of the 2021 and 2022 admissions cycles was that schools unexpectedly hit their enrollment targets while admitting fewer students. Both years had quiet waitlist activity. This year, by contrast, it seems like schools admitted even fewer students through the regular admissions process but are now able to control enrollment via their waitlists.
The best way to get a sense of these larger trends is to follow the Law School Admissions sub-Reddit and lawschooldata.org. While acknowledging that both websites may have seemingly misleading and/or extraneous information at the micro-level (although who doesn’t enjoy a good Reddit cafeteria fight about rankings?), they are very useful for macro-level information. For the sub-Reddit, you can scan the headlines to see students discussing waitlist outreach and offers. The key is to then see if they mention their stats in either the post or their flair. While specific numbers are best, even ballparks are useful. For example, this post regarding an offer of admission from the Northwestern waitlist mentions the student’s stats in the flair—“3.sad/17happy.” Without debating the specific lines between:
3.despondant
3.sad
3.satisfied
3.happy
it suffices to say that the user is likely below Northwestern’s historic medians in the range of 3.85-3.90. Meanwhile, we don’t really need to know the specific LSAT because Northwestern’s median last year was a 171. It’s safe to assume that “happy” has a benchmark of at least that number.
But if we would like to dive further into Northwestern’s possible waitlist activity and to cross-reference what we’re reading on Reddit, we can go over to lawschooldata. We can see a few things immediately on Northwestern’s profile. First, let’s isolate the admits on the LSAT vs. GPA chart.
If we know that Northwestern’s medians last year were a 3.89 GPA and 171 LSAT, we can look at this chart and reasonably argue that they were aiming for similar stats again this year. While we see a more profound LSAT “wall” at the 172 LSAT on the x-axis, there are enough 171s with sub-3.90 GPAs who were admitted that it wouldn’t be surprising if either LSAT mark was the target.
So, let’s now peek at the “School applicants” section below, sort by the “Decision” date column, and see if Northwestern has been up to anything recently:
This is a pretty rich hunk of data and confirms a few things:
- Northwestern has been actively admitting students from their waitlist.
- They seem to be targeting at least a 172 LSAT and a 3.90+ GPA. Why? Because we don’t see anyone receiving an offer of admission who doesn’t have at least one of those two stats. We have that one student with a 171 in the first row and—if our screenshot was just a little deeper—we would see a few candidates with 171 LSATs who were waitlisted just two weeks ago. If Northwestern was targeting a 171 instead of a 172, it stands to reason that at least one of those applicants could have been admitted.
- Given these statistical parameters, splitters are fair game. For instance, maybe our Reddit poster is the proud owner of that 3.3 (i.e., 3.sad) and 178 (i.e., 17happy).
- Meanwhile, the students just short of both those figures are probably out of luck.
So if you are still on the waitlist at a school, this can give you some sense of your chances:
1) Is the school actively admitting students?
2) If so, what are their statistical profiles?
If the answers are “Yes!” and “Stats like mine—I’m also 17happy!”, then it could be a good time to reach back out to the school’s admissions office to reiterate your interest. However, if the answers are “No…” and/or “My stats are a little more towards the southwestern end of that chart…,” it may be time to turn the page mentally. In the case of Northwestern, it seems unlikely that they will reach out to students with a 3.75 and 170 no matter how good the applicant’s résumé is or how deeply interested the student is in attending. This can be a tough pill to swallow. But after a well-deserved scream or cry, it can be a good opportunity to follow the best advice anyone has ever given on the r/LSA board—go get some ice cream. While you’re cooling down, think again about all the high points of the admissions process like the schools where you were admitted and the place where you’re deposited. An exciting chapter of your life is about to begin! This is cool! Or, if you didn’t receive any offers of admission or any offers of admission that you could act upon, consider your game plan for the coming year. Think about how awesome it will be a year from now when you get to have celebratory or revenge ice cream and how those are totally your favorite flavors! Your life will be a long journey and it’s alright if it has to take a few more twists and turns before it gets to where you’d like it to go—i.e., tossing that cap at graduation in a few years.