Hi! Sorry in advance for the very specific question. I am a U.S. citizen and am currently in the process of applying for Colombian citizenship (both of my parents are from Colombia). If granted citizenship, I will have it before I apply to law schools this Fall. This might be a silly question, but I am just curious, does having dual citizenship hurt against you for law school admissions? Are there any negatives (or maybe even positives?) of being a dual citizen? I am living in the U.S. and will be throughout the admissions process.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Hi everyone. This is a kind of specific questions but I'm wondering if anyone has knowledge about this. I'm not sure if I want to live in the US after law school. If I do, I'm staying in California but I'm slowly thinking about moving to another country for adulthood lol. Because of this (I'm really not sure one way or another) I'm not sure 1) which schools to apply to and 2) what type of law I should study to "cover my bases".

I'd like to stay in California for law school because I think it would be really beneficial to have an American degree. However if you are like no Ham, you have to go to this school because 90% get jobs outside the US I'd love to hear (even if outside California). And of course, any law schools in California besides Stanford, UCLA, USC that would be particularly good for my situation?

What type of lawyers get jobs outside US? What do they study and what are their respective fields of work? Diplomatic and non-diplomatic suggestions?

Thanks guys!

ALSO if your suggestion is for me to google please let me know what to google!! I don't know which stats I should be paying attention to for my questions.

Question - got approved for the full amount (20,500) but am now living with my parents for law school (1L year at least). I only need about 7k to cover first year costs. Stupid questions:

I have enough saved up to cover my 1L costs without taking out any loans this year. Would you take out the 7k and then invest the savings or just pay for it to come out of the first year debt free?

Is the FAFSA year by year or could I take out the full 20,500 now to cover the next couple of years?

Any help or resources you could direct me to is appreciated. Thanks!

I graduated from a university in Hawaii that issued A+s but it was still considered a "4.0". Can someone please tell me what the truth is: Does LSAC consider my A+ a "4.3" or a "4.0"??

Thank you!!!

Just wanted to create an off topic discussion and get my mind off the entrance exam aspect of getting into a good law school. In the grand scheme of things, who here is also starting to think getting into a top law school is a very tough emotional journey of self-growth? I would imagine for any of you 7 sagers it’s not an easy journey taking pt after pt- not even just the test aspect of it but how it emotionally drains you.

Hey guys I am applying this cycle and I am Thai but born and raised in the states. I know Asian is not a URM but is that an umbrella term or just for the “more common” Asians? Should I disclose my race when I apply? I am planning on writing a diversity statement as well. I am sitting at a 3.8X with a pending LSAT in September. Aiming for HYSCCN with strong softs. Thanks !

This program may already be well known among students (being that I'm 31 I may just be out of the loop) but just in case few have heard of it I thought I would share. If you are an underrepresented minority and still in undergrad, consider applying to the TRIALS program.

A little about it -

"Trials is a unique partnership of Harvard Law School, NYU School of Law, and the Advantage Testing Foundation. It is a fully subsidized summer study program for students of modest means whose backgrounds are currently underrepresented at the nation’s top law schools."

Sounds like a great opportunity to get exposure into Law School life.

Hi Everyone,

Trying to get a head start on my application material and I'm sure this question has been asked to death but I can't find a specific instance covering my situation. Just wondering if the following situation should be something disclosed in an additional addendum:

When I was a freshman in college in 2008 I was in a dorm common room where some other students were drinking (I wasn't). An RA walked in and asked to see people's ID's. Because I was underage, I was written up and had to schedule a meeting with the RD. I explained the situation and received a formal warning that I believe was put into my file.

I reached out to my University to get more details on the incident since I don't remember much else about it and wanted to confirm my recollection - but was told that the incident is not even on my student conduct record anymore.

Is this something that generally should be disclosed in a C&F addendum? I was planning to, especially since some schools specifically include expunged events - but wanted to know people's thoughts.

I looked at the packages and it doesn't seem so. I also couldn't find any threads on this. Just wondering if it's possible to do hourly consultation/personal statement discussion (not edits) with 7sage.

Thanks!

Hi! I'm working on my resume now for my applications, and I'm having trouble condensing it to one page. I've been out of school for about 5 years, and also had internships all throughout undergrad. I also have some significant volunteer and extracurricular things that I think would be meaningful to include.

On a regular resume for a job application, I simply cut my college internships because they are no longer relevant. What is more valuable for the law school resume? Awards/honors I received in college, professional skills, internships, or interesting extracurriculars?

I’m taking the September 2018 LSAT and would like to submit my law school applications as soon as I receive my score. I have one LSAT score and my undergrad transcript on file already so if I purchase LSAC’s CAS service now, will my reports be sent to schools before my (hopefully higher) September LSAT score is released? Should I wait until after the test to purchase CAS even though it’s recommended to purchase it four-six weeks before you plan to submit applications?

Hello fellow 7sagers.

I’m wondering how much of a factor an applicants work experience can be. I have been a firefighter and paramedic for the last four years. Will that be considered a plus? Or is work experience not weighed very heavily?

Thanks

I missed the July 23 deadline to register for the September LSAT and now have to take it in November. Assuming I apply with a 3.89 GPA (from an OK state school) and high 170 LSAT score, what are my chances of getting into a T14 law school, specifically a T3? Are my chances significantly worse? Should I just wait until next year's June LSAT and take a gap year?

Thank you

I find myself in a bit of a pickle here...

I have one professional and one academic letter ready to go, both of which are quite strong. The academic letter is from a former TA who is now a professor at a different university, but his recommendation is really thoughtful and supportive. I know a faculty member's recommendation would look better...

I had also planned to include a professor that I'd taken three classes with during undergrad, but when he responded to my email request, he said, "I do remember you, but not as well as I should. I'd be happy to write." Understandably, I've been out of school for three years and it's been four years since I've taken a class with him, but his email was less than encouraging. I'm wondering if I should not include his letter in my application...it seems like a gamble. Any advice would be super appreciated.

Okay, I know this is probably a VERY silly question, but I am getting super confused right now even after reading LSAC's official instructions and googling online.

So I have downloaded, printed out, and signed the Transcript Request Form. What should I do next? Should I send it to the schools that I attended and ask them to send the form along with my official transcript to LSAC by mail?

When I applied for grad school I requested my transcript online with my undergraduate institution, and the process was pretty simple and straight forward. I just go to the website, fill in the name of the grad school, select the right options and hit "submit". I tried this again just now, but when I searched LSAC/Law School Admission Council, nothing showed up.

Could anyone please tell me the exact process? I apoligize for asking this stupid question but I just don't understand what to do with my transcripts now.

Hey all, I am currently in the process of signing up for CAS Credential. During my undergrad, I double major in Cognitive Science and Sociology. How should I categorize "cognitive science?" It is an interdisciplinary subject. Is it a social science? or natural science? Either category does not have the major listed. Should I just go ahead choose "social science" and "psychology" instead? But I feel that would be a distortion, should I choose "other"? Thank you so much!

Hi Everyone,

I've been out of school for about 5 years now. I graduated with a BS + MS in Accounting and have completed the CPA examination. After college I worked for a large public accounting firm in a pretty selective practice group doing financial advisory for some of the largest investment banks in the world. I developed a great relationship with one of the Partners in that group and he will be one of my letter of recommendation writers.

I do know, however, that there is a preference many schools have for academic letters of recommendation. I've received two of those as well, one from a finance professor I TA'd for and another from my University's business school dean.

Originally my plan was to use all 3 letter of recommendation. However, I've noticed that some schools actually restrict you to just using two letters. So my question is, which two should I use? Is the preference for academic letters so great that it would be detrimental to use the letter from my professional recommender? I felt that given the experience I had the professional letter would help set me apart a bit. But now that for some applications I may have to choose just two letters I'm not sure if I should use the two academic or use the professional one with one academic?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

So I came across a previous posting on 7sage regarding topics and circumstances that are appropriate for an addendum:

https://classic.7sage.com/admissions/lesson/when-to-write-a-non-required-addendum/

However I wanted to seek out clarifying advice for my situation as it refers to a cancelation and not cancelations.

I took the LSAT four times, the first receiving a score, second was a cancelation, the third was a four point improvement from my first score, and my fourth take will be my second cancelation.

The two cancelations we’re under the circumstances of finding out about my parents getting divorced shortly before, and the second cancelation will be due to my aunt’s death two weeks ago which I know with certainty affected my performance to the extent that my score will not be an improvement.

I am not leaning towards a fifth take as I’m sure it wouldn’t look good and there is no guarantee for an improvement. But should I even bother writing an addendum for two cancelations regarding the circumstances?

Thank you all for any help/advice.

I was charged with "drinking in public" in California and got it dismissed. I was not arrested or convicted. Will it hurt my chanced getting into a good law school?

Hi everyone,

Not really sure where to post this, but admissions seemed like the most appropriate spot. For those of you who have been admitted to law school or are currently attending school, how did you handle "imposter syndrome." I am currently in a year-long fellowship program with cohort members that are vastly more qualified, both in a professional and academic sense, than I am; navigating the dynamics of these relationships is both new and somewhat overwhelming. It seems like I always "have to be on," and am constantly trying to prove to myself that I deserve a seat at the table. I'm sure dynamics at law school, especially @ T14s, are similar and I was wondering how people dealt with feelings of subtle inferiority.

Hello,

I am currently 19 years old. I worked my butt off and took 60 credits of college classes from a community college while I was in high school, which all transferred to a large public university. I'll finish undergrad in May 2019, two years after I graduated from high school. Ideally I would like to go straight from undergrad to law school, which means I'm applying to law schools this coming fall. It also means that I have had only one year out of high school to actually work on extracurriculars and such, and because of that, the Experience and Activities sections on my resume after high school are pretty much nonexistent. I shined Activity-wise in high school (Student Body President, Honor Society President, Valedictorian, leader of a Youth Nonprofit for multiple years, part-time job, etc.), but David has said repeatedly not to include high school accomplishments. My undergrad GPA is a 3.93, and I am currently PTing right at or right below the median for my target law schools. I am practicing full time before my LSAT in September.

I just want to know, do law schools care about how young I am? Does applying at age 19 hurt, help, or even have any effect at all on my chances for getting accepted? Does a lack of Experience and Activities on my resume hurt me, or will law schools be understanding given that I've had only one year out of high school? Should I use my Personal Statement to explain my circumstances, or would it be smarter to write an addendum? I feel like my age would be a good narrative for my Personal Statement, but what do you guys think? Any answers or advice would be greatly appreciated :)

Hello! First, I hope all of your studying is going or went well.

I am applying to Canadian schools this fall and I am writing the LSAT on November 17. I am worried that this date will put me on the later side of the applicant pool and hurt my chances. My GPA is not great, although I have a solid explanation for my poor performance during my first year and a good trend line during my last three. I have good professor recommendations and I am planning on scoring in the 165+ range.

I know that most schools in Canada have a November 1 application deadline. Please let me know if you have any information!

Thanks!

Hi all! I'm thinking about writing an addendum because my academic history is a little unorthodox. Considering the addendum is disliked, I wanted to get all of your opinions.

In high school I had a 3.92 weighted GPA. When I was studying for the SAT in 2012, I studied as hard as I could, but it was no use. I took a practice test and received a 1440/2400. Considering the predictive value of the SAT and future success, I was discouraged from even applying to colleges. I didn't take the SAT because I didn't want to waste money to confirm a low score and directly enrolled in a community college. When I was accepted as a transfer student to UC Berkeley I was terrified because high school was more rigorous than community college. However, I worked two jobs and graduated a semester early with a 3.92 GPA. My high school GPA was coincidently a direct prediction of my UC Berkeley GPA and future success.

When I took my first LSAT diagnostic I received a 138. I spent the next 6 months studying and in September 2016 I received a 147. I was devastated, but I continued studying because I was determined. I was working a full time job, with a 2 hour commute, and spending a minimum of 3 hours a day studying during the weekdays. (Weekends, of course, I spent 4 hours minimum.) I continued this schedule for a year and half until I took the June 2018 test and received a 161. Although this is a great score, I'm still convinced it's not reflective of my abilities*

My issues include:

My goals:

*Before, I hear another retake argument, I think it is safe to say that studying the LSAT for a total of 2 years is as good as it's going to get. I've memorized all the practice tests and taken them multiple times.

Do you guys think they will remove the LSAT as an admissions requirement? I've ran into a couple of articles about the ABA removing it as a requirement for the law school admissions process, leaving it up to the schools to decide if they want to use it.

I have been studying to take the November 2018 LSAT and I have some concerns regarding my chances of admission to Canadian schools.

First off, I graduated from the University of Oregon with a cumulative GPA of 2.93. Yes, I am painfully aware of how low my grades compare to every median. I do not have a high GPA because I suffered from clinical depression as a freshman and it tanked my average. It reached the point where the UO actually kicked me out of school and I had to petition to get back in after a year of community college.

I went to a psychologist and psychiatrist, received the help I needed and got myself enrolled in classes at Lane. After a year, I managed to get back into the University where I performed great and received A's and B's. I earned a 3.8 in my last year, a 4.13 in my last term and wrote a kickass undergraduate thesis.

Despite all of that, I am feeling discouraged that even with a solid explanation for my low overall GPA and a strong trend line upon my return, I will be unable to attend school. I am going to hit this test as hard as I can, but I am not sure how rigid schools will be regarding GPAs.

I am curious if any of you have a similar predicament to mine or know how strict Canadian schools are with their medians. I know UBC has a discretionary category and most other schools only take certain portions of an applicant's overall GPA.

Any help or information would be greatly appreciated! Also, good luck to you all!