I was cruising through some applications today filling out the odds and ends, and saw at least 1 app that said it required you to submit parental financial information with the FAFSA. Yikes... is this common?

As a 33 year old non-traditional student, this seems patently absurd. I really don't want to involve my parents in this process. And as a very grown, very independent person, it seems crazy that they would want my parents' info. And also extremely unfair if they want to consider my parents' finances into this whole thing. (FWIW, they're definitely not wealthy, but also can a school really expect a 33 year old to have their parents be responsible for school funding?)

I have no idea what to do. I really don't want to write this school off, but I really don't feel like including my parents' info on the FAFSA is reasonable or honestly something I could even get them to do. Thoughts? Commiseration? Sigh.

I've been self employed for 6 years. I've noticed some schools want LOR's from employers. Should I get them from my old employers. They would willingly write them but im 6 years or more out and seems kind of pointless? Also lol at getting them from professors I'm 15 years out of college. I have a federal judge and several lawyers that have offered to write LORS for me. Will this suffice considering my circumstances?

Hello!

I have a question for this wonderful community. Does it work against prospective law students to take time off after college?

If I take the LSAT in June 2018 and start in the fall of 2019, I'll have taken 2 years "off." I'm concerned because I worked for an attorney who told me it wasn't good for my application to take time off. He said people who do take time off usually hold prestigious positions, e.g., in politics, before they attend law school and that has helped them get into top schools. I've got a a decent resume and a very high undergrad GPA. But I'm taking time off because I want to do very well on the LSAT. What do you all think?

Hi all!

I know the advice is to have a professional style email address for use in admissions. But what counts as professional? For many years I've used a hotmail account which is simply my first and last name @ hotmail.com

Is that suitable? Or should I be ditching hotmail after all these years?

Hi 7sagers,

So I was initially planning to write my exam in Sept but then I decided to push the exam to Dec. Now that applications are in full force, I am lost. I am finding it difficult to study, hold an executive position on the school's board of directors, applications, and take classes all at the same time. I am nearing the end of my degree and I am not enjoying it at all. I have never been this stressed in my life before, a part of me doesn't want to apply at all this year and simply take a break before law school. But then a bigger part of me feels like I would be wasting a year of my life. If I don't get into Law school in fall 2018, I will have to wait until fall 2019. I don't know what to do...

Like everyone else here I'm worried about the loans, and I was looking into the early decision full tuition programs, like the one at Northwestern University. Ideally, I wanted to attend school in NYC or Philly, but the chances of getting a really good scholarship are looking slimmer by the minute.

I actually don't know much about Northwestern (other than it's a great school and it's brutally cold in the winter), so I'd obviously look into it a lot more and try to visit the campus before making such an important decision. On the surface though, I was wondering if anyone had any insight on whether or not it's worth it, or whether it's better to see what kind of financial aid/scholarships I could receive.

Thanks!

Was wondering if i could get some feedback a PS idea i have been mulling over.

A little while back i participated in a cycling race/marathon to raise money for a camp that helps terminally ill children and there families.

Its 180 miles in mountainous terrain, it took 5 months of prepping and conditioning.

Aside from working my butt off to raise a couple grand for the camp, i really wanted to place well during the event and i got kind of lost in the competition.

I wanted to write about how the minute it took to get from the entrance of the camp after 180 miles to the finish line, seeing these kids waiting for us to cross that line completely changed my perspective on what i had spent the past 1/2 yr prepping for and has significantly affected me today.

Majority of those kids wont live to reach the age of 18 but the appreciation and hope i saw them and there families exhibit when we crossed that finish line has had an immediate and lasting effect on me.

This experience helped me realize that i want to spend my life making a difference in others, wherever that will lead me in the law field.

Thoughts?

Hey All,

If my graduating GPA was a [] and I received summa cum laude at graduation, but my LSAC GPA is a [] (darn you high school college courses...and I also transferred from a university where my GPA was a bit lower), should I indicate summa cum laude on my resume? I'm having a hard time figuring out how to present my GPA in general, considering the drastic difference between my graduating GPA and my LSAC GPA...Should I indicate both? I was originally planning on leaving my GPA off, considering they have my transcripts, but 7Sage's admissions course recommends adding your GPA unless your GPA is horrendous.

Thanks.

Would anyone be interested in swapping personal statements and providing some constructive feedback?

Hello everyone,

I'm struggling a bit with this question. It is a Necessary Assumption question, and when I read it, I thought I had identified the assumption. I thought "To be considered a planet, a celestial body could not have formed in orbit around another planet". The question that seemed must appropriate was E, which stated kind of the same but worded out differently (And it was actually the correct answer). What threw me off about E was the last part of the AC "It must have formed around the sun exclusively". The stimulus never refers to he sun, nor to this solar system specifically. It just says "Pluto is not a Planet, because it formed around Neptune". Maybe, if the AC said "for a celestial body to me considered a true planet within our solar system, it must have formed in orbit around the sun exclusively", it would've made more sense to me. What threw me off is that there could be other unknown ways in which a celestial body is formed in other solar systems that do not involve "the sun" (taken that "the sun" is exclusively the only star that is within our solar system and not other stars). What if a celestial body in another solar system also is considered a planet because it was formed in orbit around their star/sun? Then that celestial body would not be considered a planet according to answer choice E.

Any help is appreciated!

https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-66-section-4-question-17/

Does anyone know if law schools can see when you've opened their applications? I am wondering if opening and beginning to fill the applications out would affect my chances of receiving a fee waiver from those schools, as they might already consider the fee a guarantee from you based on the interest demonstrated from beginning the application. Money is tight for me right now, but I feel embarrassed to email schools to ask if I would qualify for one of their waivers. I've received some merit fee waivers already. I'd appreciate any advice about how to go about requesting them if I should.

Hello!

I wanted to ask if anyone knew of any reputable application consulting companies that offer need-based discounts. Spivey's $300 per hour is well out of my affordability, and I've seen that many LSAT tutors/companies offer discounts for individuals who qualify for the LSAC fee waiver.

The $600 unlimited edit option from 7sage looked attractive, but it appears to be sold out and I'm looking to have everything submitted within the next three to four weeks.

Thanks for the input :)

Hello,

I was hoping to get some advice on a failed class my Freshman year of university. It happened my second semester and my professor failed me because she accused me of plagiarizing an essay however nothing was ever recorded or reported to the school in anyway. She simply called me into her office to tell me she was going to fail me she didn't even let me see which parts she claimed were plagiarized and when I went to the Dean they said they would have to do a formal investigation so I opted not to go that route. There was no preceding, no record, nothing formal. I continued on to get straight A's in every class until graduation. I plan on disclosing the true reasons behind my grade in an addendum. It sticks out and needs an explanation regardless and because I do not want problems being admitted to the bar later. I just want advice on what my realistic expectations should be. I graduated with a 3.5, worked as a paralegal for a while after graduation, and got a 160 LSAT. Should I realistically be applying to grad schools? Should I consider hiring a professional to help with my application? Any help would be appreciated as long as its actually attempting to be helpful thank you!

Edit -- now I'm realizing youre supposed to waive your right to read the letters.

so do I ask 2 professors who I was very friendly with often went to office hours and helped the profs with outside of class things and took 6+ classes with each, but didn't necessarily take the classes seriously,

or 2 professors who I took 2 classes with, didn't really know them on a personal level, but went to some office hours, really tried in class discussions was always on time to class etc and got 100% on many papers...I feel like they might write I don't really know her but she did great in class. These were both upper division classes, one of which was for my major.

The one that was my major -- I got the only 100% on the midterm after having to miss 2 weeks (had to tend to a sick fam member in a diff country and handle funeral arrangements etc), the prof was really impressed. The one that wasn't my major I had to drop the class but she was very sympathetic and understanding and she had agreed before to write me an LOR.

Re the professors I was friendly with but didn't try too hard in class -

What font size do you use for your personal statement?

I have read some posts recommending about using font size 12. But, is it okay to use the size 11? (if there is not requirement from the school).

It is extremely hard to accomodate my thoughts in 2 pages with font size 12..

What are you thoughts?

Hey all,

Since the LSAT scores have come out, I've received fee waivers from some pretty prestigious schools. Like schools that my LSAT score is below the median (my GPA is above most of theirs tho). Like, I just got one from UChicago.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN!? Is it an indicator you have a decent chance of acceptance?

Does it mean they like me and I might get accepted :'(? The e-mail says I've demonstrated a "strong academic record." What does it meeeeeeaaaan?!

Hello! First, wanted to say how much I've appreciated this community. Haven't said much, but through prepping and then waiting for the LSAT results, watching this forums has been a great help.

I wanted to get thoughts about a possible diversity statement. I had never really considered myself diverse. I'm kind of the staple for what being non-diverse looks like (straight, white, male, middle class). But going through the admissions course on 7Sage, it really emphasizes that diversity can look a lot different than is normally considered and one of the main examples they go with is whether someone was homeschooled. Which I was.

So I wrote a diversity statement and my main point was that being homeschooled taught me that even though I don't always have surface-level commonality with people who experienced a more traditional educational experience, there's always a commonality that can be found by going deeper. Example I give: playing on the golf team for my local public school.

So, two questions:

Thoughts would be great! Thanks!

Wondering if anyone know how long it generally takes for spots to open up in the Admissions course? It looks like all of them have been sold out. Fault's on me for being a late-bird :(

Edit: Already sent an e-mail to reserve a spot

So I'm in my final semester in undergrad and I'm considering taking a class pass/fail, I know the LSAC GPA calculator doesn't penalize you for this, but do admissions officers at elite law schools frown on it? I've never taken a pass/fail class before

Hi all (: I just joined so I'm sorry if I'm not doing this correctly.. I've never written in a forum before! I was just curious if you guys had any advice on personal statements? I just finished mine but I'm not sure how great it is, or if my topic is ok. Thanks!

Hey friends,

This is just a lil encouragement post for those of us who may have been underwhelmed by our LSAT performance, and anyone reading the boards who is thinking about joining 7Sage.

When I started studying for the LSAT over the winter, I was dead-set on taking the June exam, ace-ing it, and being admitted early to Harvard (a girl can dream). I've always been kind of type A, and sometimes I get discouraged when I'm not immediately the best at something. However, I quickly realized I wasn't ready to sit in June, and began studying nearly full-time with 7Sage in March. I have this to say: the community here, from the instructors to the other students, has completely changed my mindset. I'm learning to trust the process, and to take absolute ownership for my own study habits.

In high school and college, I loved trying to blame a professor or the test if I didn't do well. When I walked out of the LSAT in September, regardless of how shaken up I was, I just kept thinking that the test was incredibly fair. When I got my score last week and it wasn't quite what I wanted, I was disappointed and truly shaken up for a couple of hours, but then immediately mapped out all my options. And I realized: the absolute worst case scenario is that I don't start law school next fall. And if that's my biggest problem, I'm going to be just fine.

I guess I'm probably not explaining this too well, but I wanted to say that the 7Sage community and program has totally changed my outlook, for the better. I am more patient, I am more logical, and I am more willing to work as hard as I can for an end goal I believe in. BIG thanks to everyone who has been encouraging, supportive, and knowledgable. I hope everyone else in the same boat is able to find some peace with their own outcomes as well----it's gonna be ok!

After reading through a lot of online resources regarding whether it is appropriate to write an addendum explaining a score difference I'm still unsure of what to do because of the mixed opinions on this topic.

I went from a 159 in December 2016 to a 179 in September 2017 (even I find this unbelievable) and I'm not sure if I should write an addendum or how I should go about explaining this and how it will affect my chances of admissions. The only explanation I have is that I didn't study adequately for the first take because I misjudged the time I needed to set aside for the test while juggling academics, an internship, and other personal problems (i.e. family illness). I was very close to cancelling the day before but I went ahead with the test anyways hoping for the best because I wanted to make the deadlines for that admissions cycle. Consequently, I had to pass on that cycle, and I stopped all LSAT studying and instead focused on school. It wasn't until July (after graduation) that I started preparing for the LSAT again, and this time I had set aside the summer to study so that I would have adequate time to prepare. I was expecting a score somewhere in the mid-170s according to my PT average but never expected to score 179 and so now I'm wondering how to go about explaining and applying with a 20 point increase (especially if I'm now aiming for the top law schools because I know they might be more skeptical about multiple scores and such a large gap)?

Any help is appreciated :)

X

Hey everyone,

Just got my LSAT score back and got a 171! I'm super pumped about it, it's expanded my school list considerably.

My GPA, however, might be a problem. It's below the median of most T14 schools (3.48). However, my major was in Civil Engineering from Rice University (not the easiest engineering school).

So probably my LSAT/engineering major is what will get me into schools. Are there any T14 schools that value LSAT more than GPA or value engineering majors more?

Thanks guys ... 7Sage is the real deal!

Hey everyone,

Check out our new spreadsheet of law school medians. Someone on TLS did this a while ago, but didn't update it for 2017. We've also added application requirements for T20 schools. The sheet is free to anyone:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kE98659Gp_T828edsUZRKrhcxnK6xF1mR5RICN_FDYs/edit?usp=sharing

Edit

View on site:

https://classic.7sage.com/admissions/top-law-school-admissions/