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Hi everyone! I feel like I've been around 7sage forever at this point, and want to say thank you so much to everyone here. From help with LSAT studying to listening to my rants in the admissions process, the 7sage fam has made an incredibly long and difficult process so much more bearable and enjoyable. :) It's totally terrifying to say I'm actually done with everything, but here we are.
As many of you know, this was my 2nd application cycle. I applied late last year and got shut out a lot of places. Despite getting a couple of tempting offers, I decided to push back a year. I am 100% happy with my results and confident that it was indeed the best choice for me. I attempted to increase my LSAT score between cycles but that backfired, haha. Scored 4 points lower on my 1 re-take. Despite that, I had a much better cycle and am so excited to say that I am headed to Northwestern this fall!! I still feel like at any second they are going to realize they made a clerical error and I was never supposed to be accepted haha. When I began studying, I never would have thought I'd be accepted at any T14, let alone 2 of them, let alone get a scholarship large enough to make it financially possible. I owe so so so much to 7sage, JY, the admins, and everyone on the board here. Thanks to 7sage, I brought my LSAT up 13 points and am headed to an incredible school. Unbelievable.
For anyone else considering delaying, my biggest advice is that you should only do it if you have a specific reason that you think you underperformed, and it is something you can correct for the next time. Maybe that's a low LSAT, or you applied late, or something else. If you can't narrow it down to a specific reason or you actually performed on par with your numbers, I don't think rolling the dice is always the best plan. It worked out for me, but I'm sure it doesn't for everyone. I got in to 3 schools that WL'd me the first time, but WUSTL gave me less scholarship. Many increased their medians this year, so at a lot of schools where I had a median LSAT the year before, I was 1 point under this time. I think my 2nd cycle played out about like you would expect for my numbers, but it's significantly better than last year.
Here's some data on my cycles...
Stats: 168 / 3.85, non-traditional, 12+ years of work experience
2017-2018
Michigan: WL
Berkeley: Rejected
Northwestern: WL
Cornell: WL
UCLA: In w/$90k --> $105k
USC: WL
WUSTL: In w/full tuition
UCI: WL
UIUC: In w/full tuition
U Washington: In w/$36k
Seattle U: In w/$105k
2018-2019
Michigan: WL
Berkeley: Rejected
Northwestern: In w/$120k
Cornell: In w/$84k --> $135k
UCLA: In w/$93k
USC: WL
WUSTL: In w/$105k --> $150k
UCI: In w/$120k
U Washington: In (didn't apply for $$)
Lewis & Clark: In w/$120k
U Oregon: In w/$114k
Seattle U: In w/$120k
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42 comments
Congratulations Leah! Your contributions to the 7Sage discussions are always thoughtful and encouraging. It has been amazing to see a fellow non-traditional applicant go through the journey and get accepted to a T14!! Seeing your post makes me think it’s time to get back in the study groove for this upcoming cycle and shake things off. Congratulations!!!!!
@leahbeuk911 I found many, many of your contributions on the forum to be very helpful and you have even directly responded to some of my own questions in the past. So glad that you got the results you are pleased with.
@leahbeuk911 said:
Thank you so much! Are you applying to PNW schools too? It was such a hard decision. This year I was thinking even more seriously about staying nearby to be close to family and such, and I love the NW. But, it's very hard to pass up the flexibility of the T14. I'm sure at some point I'll end up back here though, it'll always be home! (3(/p)
Yeah, I’m in the LSAT study process for the fall 2020 cycle. With my UG gpa, I’ll be a splitter, working to get above 75th percentile LSAT for PNW schools to maximize scholarships. I am curious if you or anyone else happens to know, how does being a splitter affect scholarships? Like if you’re 75th for LSAT but 25th for GPA, would it even out to median level scholarships, or would even more still be possible? No worries if you don’t know as both of your stats are excellent!
Good for you, congratulations!
@wesleybward464 said:
Congrats @leahbeuk911! I was in Chicago a couple weeks ago and took some time to walk around Northwestern Law's campus. Absolutely beautiful place to be, and a great school to boot.
Thanks for your posting and support of others. It's invaluable for the whole community!
Aw, thanks! Seriously, I could not have done this without everyone else in the 7sage community too. And yes, it is sooo gorgeous! I'm so excited.
@doneill3389668 said:
Many congrats to you! Also nice to see recent scholarship amounts for the PNW schools. So awesome that you were able to get such great scholarships for two T14 schools!
Thank you so much! Are you applying to PNW schools too? It was such a hard decision. This year I was thinking even more seriously about staying nearby to be close to family and such, and I love the NW. But, it's very hard to pass up the flexibility of the T14. I'm sure at some point I'll end up back here though, it'll always be home! (3(/p)
@jasminesade220 said:
Congratulations!!!! :)
Thank you so much!! (3(/p)
@saharasooter936 said:
Congrats !!! So proud of you!!! You have been so helpful to so many that you don’t even know;) you totally deserve such a wonderful outcome! So happy for you!!
Thank you so much, that is so nice! (3(/p)
@lucykelly459 said:
Congrats fellow non-trad and 2022er! What an amazing cycle and outcome. So happy for you!
Thank you!! Where are you headed? I love seeing other non-trads making decisions too!
@laurenleonard1213682 said:
Congrats! You've been such a help on this forum! Good luck on your 1L year! Also headed to law school in the fall. Super excited!
Aw, thank you so much. Good luck to you too! Where are you off to?
Congratulations!!!! :)
Many congrats to you! Also nice to see recent scholarship amounts for the PNW schools. So awesome that you were able to get such great scholarships for two T14 schools!
Congrats @leahbeuk911! I was in Chicago a couple weeks ago and took some time to walk around Northwestern Law's campus. Absolutely beautiful place to be, and a great school to boot.
Thanks for your posting and support of others. It's invaluable for the whole community!
Congrats! You've been such a help on this forum! Good luck on your 1L year! Also headed to law school in the fall. Super excited!
Congrats fellow non-trad and 2022er! What an amazing cycle and outcome. So happy for you!
Congrats !!! So proud of you!!! You have been so helpful to so many that you don’t even know;) you totally deserve such a wonderful outcome! So happy for you!!
@wesleybward464 said:
Amazing! There's no clerical error -- you worked hard and it paid off! Congratulations!
Haha it still feels like it. But the more you get into things, it turns out that everyone has imposter syndrome. so I’ll be in good company hahah.
@h737 said:
Congratulations @leahbeuk911 !! When you said you applied late, when exactly are you referring to? When did you apply your last cycle and when did you apply this cycle?
Good luck at Northwestern!! I'm sure you're going to kill it!! No mistake--You deserve this. :)
Thank you so much! 💜 The first cycle I applied end of January and then some mid to late February. Last cycle was a year that was particularly unfriendly to late apps though. There was a significant spike both in volume and in higher LSAT scores, so it appears many schools filled up their classes early, unfortunately. And there was hardly any waitlist movement. This year was predicted to be very slow, so I think that made it friendlier to late applicants. I ended up applying mostly early January. Berkeley was in mid December though and a couple were mid February (Michigan and I think Oregon). So not a ton earlier, but I actually think there is a big difference in early vs late January at a lot of schools. And then these 2 cycles just had specific quirks to them.
@marine4life6798246 said:
Those are amazing numbers. Congrats on scholarships to T-14 schools. Good luck at Northwestern!
Thank you so much!! I’m so happy. I do wish I’d applied a little broader in the T14 to see if I would have any competing offers, but for financial reasons decided to only apply to T14s I would actually consider attending (both because of the school itself, and because the schools were known for generous scholarships). But, I’m really really happy with my final result. And can’t wait to go to NU! 🙌🏻
@gregoryalexanderdevine723 said:
If there is anyone who deserves such a wonderful cycle, it is you @leahbeuk911
Congrats my friend!!! 🎈
Thank you so much buddy!!! I’m so stoked for you to be at NYU - that seems like such a perfect outcome for you. You’ve crushed it and have awesome things ahead for you.
@phoebefebeli315 said:
Congratulations!!
Thank you so much!! 💜
@wesleybward464 said:
Congratulations, beautiful city to be in !
Thank you!! And I know, I fell in love with Chicago on a vacation a few years ago and am so happy to get to live there!!
Those are amazing numbers. Congrats on scholarships to T-14 schools. Good luck at Northwestern!
Congratulations @leahbeuk911 !! When you said you applied late, when exactly are you referring to? When did you apply your last cycle and when did you apply this cycle?
Good luck at Northwestern!! I'm sure you're going to kill it!! No mistake--You deserve this. :)
Amazing! There's no clerical error -- you worked hard and it paid off! Congratulations!
Congratulations, beautiful city to be in !
Congratulations!!
If there is anyone who deserves such a wonderful cycle, it is you @leahbeuk911
Congrats my friend!!! 🎈
@ctsoucalas903 said:
Congrats! You've added a whole lot to this site and I wish you the best!
Thank you so much! I’ve done what I can to return the favor, 7sage has done SO MUCH for me!
@michaeltheodore140 said:
Congratulations!!! Your advice has been impeccable for many of us 7sagers. Well deserved.
Thank you thank you! I’ve gotten so much support from others around here, I do what I can to give back. 💜
@jenz835 said:
Congrats!! Im surprised USC was a waitlist. I think they do that sometimes with very good applicants because they don't think the person will come to their school.
Thank you! I know, I was pretty bummed about that one. I figured the first time it was because of the late app but no real answer for the second WL. 🤷🏼♀️ TBH, I think UCLA would have been a better fit for my interests, so maybe USC just knew that too haha. But I’ve always considered them a very serious option, so kind of a bummer. Happy with the way things turned out anyway!
@pgb0469327 said:
Congrats, but WTF why did Berkeley reject you.
Haha thank you! And 🤷🏼♀️ I was hoping at least for a WL the second time but I guess that holistic process does not always go in your favor lol.
@ctsoucalas903 said:
Excellent work and happy to hear you got a really good scholarship.
Thank you so much! I’m endlessly grateful for the scholarship money. Law school is so freakin expensive - finances are a huge part of the decision for me. I feel so ridiculously lucky to have the options I do! It really goes to show that studying hard for the LSAT literally means earning tens of thousands in scholarship $$!
@wesleybward464 said:
Congrats!
Thank you so much! 😄