Does anyone know if going Early Decision provides a tangible boost at any schools in the T14? Especially for reverse splitters and/or those lacking any elite/law-related softs. Is this a viable strategy if you really have your heart set on a couple particular schools?
8
7 comments
Seconding this question but for splitters! Also wondering if any T14s besides northwestern and Berkley give an ED specific scholarship/aid
I'd say that it's less a "tangible boost" and rather it's the self-selection of people who would be good fits for the school. Here's what I mean! One piece of advice I give people when/if they're trying to figure out early decision is to answer the question: "at what school could you most directly, clearly, and convincingly make a case for your fit?" That's the school where you should consider applying for Early Decision as long as the financial aid policy at the school makes sense for you.
So back to what you're seeing on lawschooldata. You're noticing that there are schools that had some bigger "super" splitters get admitted via ED. My perspective from the admissions side is 1) we know we're going to admit some people who are in that statistical bucket this year, 2) applying ED is one more nudge to encourage me for these "riskier" statistical candidates because I know that they're going to attend, and 3) but it's just a "nudge" and I'm only voting to admit if I feel like all the other pieces of the puzzle are making sense.
I'd also offer that Early Decision has never been a huge thing in law school admissions. I really doubt that any school enrolls more than 5%ish of their class via ED (with the possible exception of the Harvard JDP program which is kinda/sorta ED). Law schools don't need to use this tool to fill up their classes right now. So why still have it? Because it's still useful to know in December/January that you have this cohort of 2-5% of your target incoming class, you know their stats, you know their demographics, etc. and now you can build off of that cohort.
@JacobBaska Thanks for your detailed reply. So, say someone clears one median (GPA or LSAT) but is right at or just below the other rather than being over it. Assuming everything else about their application is good, is this the kind of candidate who is more likely to see an acceptance via ED, especially in this competitive age of admissions where even candidates over both medians sometimes do not get in?
@MiaGray In this case, their statistical profile is totally normal for admissions (ie, they're a splitter). If their resume is good, and if they have good statements that indicate a clear legal interest that makes sense for them, and if hey can articulate their interest in the school and why they would be a good fit (ie, why they're applying Early Decision), then - sure! - this is someone who should consider applying ED to a school. But is this candidate more likely than a super splitter (which is someone who may have one state far above the medians and the other far below)? More likely than someone who is above both medians (which I can tell you from experience is rare to see in Early Decision - those applicants typically want to shop around in Regular Decision)? Not necessarily because the other factors (resume, statements, fit) may be better for the other candidates.
And just let me know if we're talking past each other a smidge! My guess is that you're considering applying ED to a few schools and are trying to figure out which one (ie, is there a school where my statistical profile puts me in the right position for ED to nudge me over the top?). If so, I'd encourage you to take this out of the Stats Realm and go more basic. 1) Is there a school who is so clearly your #1 choice that you would not only commit ASAP if admitted but you would also withdraw all your other apps you've already submitted? 2) And have you checked out their fin aid policy for ED admits and you're ok with it (since these policies vary so widely)? If you can give an enthusiastic "YES!" to both questions, you should consider applying ED to that school. But if you're stuck on one of those two, you're better off applying Regular everywhere!
I think it's a bit hard to say because we have no way of knowing whether or not the folks admitted ED would have been admitted regardless. Like, even with ED, they're not going to admit a candidate who doesn't catch their eye, and it's not as though they don't have plenty of strong candidates in RD, you know.
Now, I imagine there could be. ED gives a school confirmation that you will attend, so they don't need to worry as much about their yield, especially if you have some quality that might be deemed competitive. I think the biggest beneficiaries of a possible ED boost would be people above both medians and splitters.
@TRenato I had the same thought, but viewing the ED data on LSD, it’s a little easier to get a picture. For example, at my top choices, I saw quite a few people accepted in the early decision pool that were far below either GPA median, LSAT median, or occasionally both, where people with those same numbers in the regular decision pool were rarely accepted. I assume that sometimes this is down to having some kind of really special softs, but some also reported only T4ish softs. That does make so somewhat hopeful (?) that it creates a solid boost for some people missing at least 1/3 of these factors, but I agree it’s impossible to know for sure without knowing if they would’ve been admitted anyway.
Yes, 7sage did a post on this that you can google and find (I am too lazy to link) TLDR; you give up the ability to negotiate for scholarships in exchange for that boost.