I am currently applying for Law School and notice some schools have slightly different requirements. Harvard allows for two pages resumes- Yale doesn't. Columbia and Duke want specific things in your Personal Statement, others don't. Chicago wants hours worked on your resume, Penn makes no such requirement. Obviously you should do what they say, but how drastically are you guys noticing your materials change from school to school? Should I alter slightly for each school or change drastically? Just interested in opinions.

I don’t see a feature on the LSAC website to read a submitted LOR before we assign it to a school and send it. Has anyone else accomplished this? Obviously I want to make sure I’m only sending the strongest letters.

So... I think I have my resume cut down to short and sweet and applicable to law school. I have a few odd jobs going back to high school, and I don't think it's helpful to list everything I've ever done. So, I just listed things I have done in recent years that did seem positive. I know some schools will ask for it all, and I would provide if they asked for it.

Anyway... I wanted some input on a few issues, if you good folks will oblige :)

I snuck a little humor in there. At the end, I have a "Talents" section. Some have "hobbies" or "interests" or whatever. I am open to changing this, too. But anyway... I listed some talents that I have that are also interests for me, and "ruining murder mysteries for my family." It's funny, but true. Do these people have any sense of humor? I always hear that we should show our personalities -- glimpses of ourselves-- through our applications in some way. Inappropriate?

I have some stuff that is under some iron clad NDAs. I can't say specifics, or even the companies it was for (the ones who hired me/any that the work was for). I condensed it all into one job listing instead of separate projects, and gave a really broad overview of what it entailed. It's frustrating, because it entails a lot of things over a number of years. Would this raise massive red flags? How would I even prove any of it, due to the heavy handed non-disclosure agreements? I really want to leave it in, because it covers a lot of time I spent at home raising my child, and it shows I was doing something. Thoughts?

Would it be best practice to submit documents (resume, PS, why X, etc) as PDFs instead of word documents? In my overly obsessive little law school applicant mind, I'm imaging all sorts of unintentional formatting / processing errors occurring at some point after I hit submit to the point where the document appears before a decision maker. Is this just a symptom of too-much time thinking about this or would it help to submit documents as PDFs?

....the dumbest thing I will read all day:

https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2018/09/duke-law-applicant-sues-after-his-application-is-dismissed-because-he-did-not-take-the-lsat

I mean.. we all joke about doing that.. Some, I'm sure, have been angry enough to say it out loud. But no one has been dumb enough to try it. Until now.

I was just in the admissions webinar hosted by David but didn't get a chance to ask some questions. I hope David can see this :)

But also, it would be tremendously helpful if you 7Sagers can comment if you have any thoughts!

So, I've got essentially three questions.

I am a foreign student (UK educated) and UK institutions do not have GPA system per se. I've already submitted the transcript to CAS for their individual evaluation but their academic summary report does not say anything about GPA (it only says "Foreign" under the institution section and 'Above Average' for quality academic record) although the transcript has been already processed. How would this work? Should I just care about LSAT score since undergrad GPA is kind of unknown for now?

I know Law school admissions are mainly about the numbers (LSAT and undergrad GPA). But where does having a graduate degree (Master's) kick in as a factor? Does it only count as an academic/research experience?

I am in Asia so I'm obviously taking the LSAT this October. But depending on the score, I'm willing to travel to US/Canada territory to take the November LSAT. Would this say something unsettling to the admissions process? I mean I was fine and still am fine with the idea. But I have consulted one of my professors and he suggested that taking 2 LSATs in a row within two months may send a wrong signal to schools although I'm not really sure what he meant by that signal. He said that 1 more month wouldn't make a difference but I personally experienced that even 2 weeks of intense PT-ing makes a difference. Since even 1 point increase in LSAT score boosts your admissions chance by many points, I'm more than willing to take both OCT/NOV LSATs.

So.. questions got a little lengthy haha but I would appreciate it if you could share your thoughts on these matters!

Good luck everyone!!

Hi Everybody,

I have a pretty dumb question for all you 7Sagers out there....

So I know what a median is (I think) - half of the applicants accepted had stats above that number and and half had stats below that number. Please correct me if I am mistaken.

If you have the median LSAT and GPA for a particular school, should you feel pretty good about getting accepted to that school or should you feel more like you have a 50/50 shot? Now I know acceptance depends on other soft factors - work experience, personal statement, LORs, etc., but I am pretty average when it comes to those things. I have 3 years work experience as a paralegal, I am not a URM, my essays and LORs will be well written but won't have anything absolutely incredibly special to say.

My maternal grandparents are from Spain. I have always checked off the European caucasian box, however on the UPenn law application the hispanic box explicitly includes Spain. Do the "hispanic/latino" options for other law schools also include Spain or is this just unique to Upenn?

Thank you!

Hey guys,

I’ve been practicing in/out games for a while and although I understand most of it, there are a few things that still confuse me enough to throw me off. Hopefully someone can help clear that up :)

I normally get confused with conditionals. For example:

I understand /A—>B is an either or rule so at least 1 has to be in. I would put a place holder in the in group to visualize that.

B—>\C is a not both rule so at least 1 has to be out, so I would put a placeholder in the out group.

I seem to get confused when there is either a chain or a biconditional.

Ie: /A—>B—>C ( I would usually put 2 placeholders for /A—>B and /A—>C ) I get confused when A is in because then b and c become floaters and the 2nd placeholder doesn’t necessarily need to be there.

Or

If I’m given a couple of rules and they happen to link up as a biconditional. I.e -pt 83 game 3

We have

/N—>R

N—>L

R—>M

L—>/R

before I link them up I would place my placeholders. 1 in the in group (/N—>R) and one in the out group (L—>/R)

After you link them however, L, N and R become a biconditional so we know LN Always together and R is alway apart.

When I compare this to my original placeholders, I’m not sure what happened lol

Any advice would be appreciated. Please let me know if you guys would like me to clarify anything :)

Thanks!

This may be a stupid question, but I can't find law school applications online for the two schools to which I most want to apply. 7sage recommends researching the applications to discover what questions I'll be asked and so I can prepare my essays - and I wholeheartedly agree - but I can't seem to find them anywhere. Can anyone help?

Anyone ever heard of Kibin? Just randomly came across it a few minutes ago. Not sure if it's any good (please comment if you know), but thought I'd point it out for those of us who can't afford $1500+ for help on essays. Says in their FAQ that the average essay assistance costs about $30. Not sure if we're allowed to post links; try Googling "Kibin personal statements"

First things first, I understand that the LSAT score is definitely the most important piece of quantitative information on a law school application.

That being said, does anyone have an idea of exactly how much GPA matters? Is it given almost as much consideration as the LSAT, or is it much less significant when compared?

I think that my GPA will be above the median at more schools than my LSAT score, so any advice here is appreciated.

Thanks, and best of luck to everyone applying this cycle.

Hi everyone,

One of my letters of recommendation is coming from an elderly retired lawyer who was clerk of the circuit court for almost 30 years. The catch is that he is very nervous around technology. He's old school and even wrote out court dockets by hand. He's told me the idea of typing up the letter on his computer is making him anxious.

My question is - would it be an ethical violation if I typed it for him? I wouldn't change anything, I would have him approve the final product, and I would keep his handwritten letter in my files. Then I would submit it electronically.

But I do not want to do anything shady.

The other option is to have him mail in a handwritten letter. At first I dismissed this idea, thinking it would look unprofessional, but my mentor (not the same person) told me he actually thought it would stand out in a positive way. He said there aren't many handwritten LORs anymore and it could make a good impression.

I've looked for formal guidelines on LOR ethics and haven't found very much. Any advice is appreciated!

New round starting 16 Sept. Based on feedback received from some fine members here, I've made substantial modifications to my PS. Anyone up for another round of edits and comments, this time PS only? Although I kept my original topic and narrative arc, I have made significant changes to the structure and details within my PS. Would love to trade PS's with someone, new eyes or previous viewers. Hit me up if interested.

https://media.makeameme.org/created/if-thats-what-2jdpp7.jpg

.

Was wondering what role if any the undergrad school you attended plays in the law admission process i.e. if a higher ranked school looks better, lower looks worse - increasing or decreasing chances respectively?

The following is the wording of a question on the Character and Fitness portion of the application for the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah:

"Have you ever been disciplined in connection with any misconduct matter related to any educational, personal, professional, military, business, or employment behavior or activity? Being disciplined includes, but is not limited to, being sanctioned, placed on probation, suspended, dismissed, resigning in lieu of termination, surrendering a professional license, or having a civil judgment obtained against you."

Beings the wording of this question states "any misconduct matter related to ANY educational ... behavior or action," would that include disciplinary action in high school? There is a seperate question that specifically asks this type of behavior at post-secondary institutions, as well.

I am concerned because I was suspended for two days in my Senior year of high school for making a sexually suggestive joke toward a teacher. While I don't think it will keep me from being admitted if I disclose, any behavior related to misconduct of a sexual nature can be very detrimental to your show of good character. So does anyone think I should answer "Yes" to this question based on high school disciplinary action?

Thanks for the insight!

First of all, I am an LSAT 154 and GPA 2.64.

I definitely am not aiming for 1st tier law schools, I was wishing if I have a chance for 2nd tier.

With my terrible GPA, I start to worry even if any of the 2nd/3rd tier school would take me.

A little bit about myself, I am now 29, I moved out and became financially independent when I was 19, started my first law firm job when I was 20.

I have been working as a paralegal for 9 years, and my current position is in a fairly big firm, with my years of paralegal experience, my salary is now at 80k plus bonus and overtime.

However, when I worked and being financial stable for past years, I can only finish my Bachelor Degree with much longer time - 7 years. I was reckless to not care about my grades, I just wanted to finish the degree. I thought I will be fine being a paralegal for rest of my life.

But after 9 years of working, I now want to become a lawyer.

I am worried if I go to low ranked schools, I will get into attorney positions that offer lower salary than my current pay.

Some people advise me not to be a lawyer, because it may not be financially wise. I will have to stop working for 3 years plus law school loans, not to mention I still have a mortgage to pay.

But deep down I know I really want to be a lawyer.

What should I do? What do you guys think?

If I get rejected from my desired schools, should I go back to college and take more classes to bring up my GPA?

Another LSAT? Just go to low ranked school, my experience will help?

Or do you guys think I should just stay being a paralegal....:(

I am trying to decide who to ask for letters for law school. I am going to ask one of my college professors, but since I have been out of college for about 5 years, I was also thinking about asking my boss, who managed me for three years. While I could ask another professor instead of my boss, I am not confident they'd be as capable of writing a great letter. Is better to have two professors or one profess and one manager?

I'm 3 years out of undergrad and I'm trying to figure out how many jobs to include in the employment history of my law school applications.

I have 5 full time jobs listed on my resume but I started working at McDonald's when I was 16 and in high school. Should I include all of my part-time work from high school and college? (retail, hospitality, food-service, etc.)

If I list every job (part-time/full-time) and include internships I will be at 17 jobs.

Any thoughts?

When I graduated undergrad I ended with no extracurriculars. Worked 35 hours a week with 15-18 credit hours most of the time. I'm planning to take this lsat January and March. And apply ED to a school. Hopefully a t14. Which I guess would put me to attend law school fall of 2020. I was wondering if I should just attend grad school/ post bacc in that time. I'd basically be doing nothing anyway and I feel like I may want to get a dual law degree. Also I feel as thought doing well in another program would make my UGPA look like less of a negative on my application. I need guidance.

Apologies if this has been asked, but I have been in a semi-spirited debate with my wife about this. I've been in the workforce for the past 14 years (5 years as a federal employee at a three-letter agency and 8 years in the Army with extensive leadership experience and a combat deployment).

I was medically retired from the Army due to a mental illness that manifested itself immediately after I redeployed in 2014. (I am considered a disabled veteran by the VA).

Is this something that is worth brining up through a diversity statement? I am a little worried that disclosing an issue like this could impact me negatively, despite the fact that I am able to live/function with a service-connected issue.

Thanks in advance.

I originally wrote a diversity statement about the challenges of being an ethnic minority but I wrote another after learning UCLA has a section for socioeconomic disadvantage. Most schools only offer a place for one diversity statement. I've been struggling with which statement I should send to the other schools.

Is a socioeconomic diversity statement or ethnic diversity statement more compelling? Would it be better if I consolidate both at the risk of eliminating detail and having a less cohesive statement?

Hey there! So many questions now that I've started digging through apps...

Do people typically list hours/week on resumes?

When apps say "list all educational institutions attended," does that include high school?

Does a speeding ticket from 5 years ago count as a C&F issue? I know Emory says explicitly it does and should be disclosed. Should I be safe and disclose for other schools too?

Is there a good piece of advice anywhere on whether to do a GPA addendum? I'm leaning against doing so, because I don't have a great reason. (It'd be something like: I was very involved in a time-consuming extracurricular/didn't think I was going to school beyond undergrad/it's been 3 years since I've graduated and I've grown, yada yada...) AKA, I think it'd sound whiny and excuse-ridden.

And lastly, an unimportant technical question: on some schools' apps, LSAC auto-fills in a *****XXXX for my SSN. Should I re-type my SSN in full in the box below that?

THANK YOU

Hi everyone,

I identify predominantly as Latina (Mexican-American and Spanish) but I also identify somewhat as Native American because my father (whose family I do not know well because he passed away a long time ago) have a lot of Native American blood. Because I am not in touch with his side of the family, I wasn't even 100% sure that I was Native American until I did 23andme and it proved that I was nearly 40% Native American. I am still in the process of getting more in touch with my Native American heritage and thus, do not have the paperwork to prove that I am Native American or which tribe I'm from. And to be quite honest, even if I were to reconnect with my father's family, they would likely not have any paperwork or proof to assist me.

The problem is: A school like UC Davis requires me to list which tribe I am part of and my Native American card number--all things I do not have. What should I do? Should I apply to other schools as Latina and Native American and just apply to UC Davis as Latina--or should I reach out to Admissions and explain my situation?

I am planning on writing a diversity statement and now it feels like I'm in an odd place because I can't identify myself as Native American on one application even though I know I have more Native American blood than some people who have the paperwork to prove it (no offense meant here--but I have met people who are like 12% Native American and have all their paperwork and it feels frustrating that I can't "prove" myself).