I applied very late in the cycle for 2026 admission and did not get into schools. Do I completely scrap my admissions essay and start over? I am re-taking the LSAT in October.
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I applied very late in the cycle for 2026 admission and did not get into schools. Do I completely scrap my admissions essay and start over? I am re-taking the LSAT in October.
11 comments
As much as it stinks to say/type it - yes - as a reapplicant, you should prepare to submit a new personal statement and new optional statements. SIGH!
The reason for this is purely practical. If you're applying to a school that you already applied to last year, they'll already have last year's app on file. They'll then review it briefly to see what you wrote last time. This provides them with a baseline to see what's new this time. And if what's new is "... nothing...," that's not the best look.
Good luck! You've got this!
@JacobBaska thank you!
@JacobBaska would it be bad to write something along the lines of in my last statement i was in this position, but this is where i am at now since time has past. Essentially addressing the reapplication, or should you just briefly be like this is why i chose to be a lawyer and since that decision, this is what has happened/ things i have done that have further reaffirmed my decision.
@CalebTurner My suggestion is that your personal statement should be about why you want to go to law school and be a lawyer. It’s good to address “here’s what has happened since my last application,” but that’s usually best left to the addenda or a school specific doc.
@CalebTurner I actually reached out to ask for constructive criticism on my application and most of them said no but one did review their notes with me and helped! I even asked about how I was planning to change my essay and asked their opinion. This years applications (if I don’t get into my last waitlist school) will be shorter but I feel have more depth as to my why.
@JacobBaska thank you for your feedback! I drafted a new admissions essay from a blank document and it is very different from my first but somehow I still thinks fits perfectly.
Perhaps redoing your personal statement might help, or even retaking the LSAT to get an even higher score. But you might have a better chance if you apply early. Applying late puts you at risk of all seats beings filled for the incoming class. Even if all your application materials are perfect, schools might no longer have a seat to offer you if applying late.
If it makes you feel any better, I did the same exact thing. Made the decision to go to law school in December-January. Applied extremely late in the cycle for Fall 2026. Although I did get waitlisted at more than half of the schools I applied to, I did not get accepted anywhere. Retaking the October LSAT And submitting applications as soon as the scores come back. Good luck!
@AndrewGreen Thank you! I took a break from studying and I feel like I shouldn’t have counted so heavily that I’d possibly get in somewhere. I’m hoping studying from now till October will help yield a few points difference in my lsat score.
Can I ask how late you applied?
@soleluna883 I took the April lsat and applied after that. I re-entered the job market after having kids and made the decision to go to law school in January.