So I scored a 169 LSAT, but due to a really low GPA from a long time ago(2.8). My more recent academic GPA was a 3.3. Would I be in the running for heavy scholarships at schools with average LSAT of 157?

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I've got a 3.94 out of WashU, and a 171 LSAT, currently finishing my senior year and applying in the next week. These normally seem like pretty safe numbers for Penn but I have a few main concerns.

I had a 166 LSAT before, and some schools like to average. I had just flown home from europe two days prior so I feel like I can write it off as being jet lagged, but still feel like this is going to hold me back in some way

I have a minor weed related citation I received a few years back, but charges were dismissed. Again nothing serious, but it's making me consider playing things safe.

I'm applying rather late in the cycle.

I'm a senior still, with little real work experience (just internships). Plus I'm a Finance major, heard law schools aren't such a huge fan of business majors.

I would prefer Chicago, but just marginally. Given these numbers, should I play it safe and apply ED round 2 to Penn? Or roll the dice and see if I can get into Chicago or Columbia? I've been looking at all the numbers on lawschooladmissions and such, but really hard to get a feel for my particular circumstances.

Thanks guys!

I only have one publication, but definitely want to include it because it was the featured cover article (and am kind of lacking in other resume areas). Should I include this under my Education section? Or make a separate section? Thanks for any thoughts!

I've decided to retake the LSAT in February. I scored a 162 on my December exam, but there were some circumstances that I believe affected my score, which is why I know that I can score higher. Should I send in my applications prior to the exam (in January) with an addendum letting them know that I will be retaking in February or wait until after I have taken the exam.

Any advice? Thanks!!

Is anyone available to read my Personal Statement and Diversity Statement? I am super stumped and need some advice. Any help is much appreciated. :)

I'm a URM (black male)

For Georgetown Law's optional responses I'm torn between doing the generic "Where do you see yourself in 10 years after graduation from Georgetown" or a "Top Ten list." For my top ten I thought about listing my top 10 favorite pokemon and talking about some of my competitive battling experience (totally dorky, I know) or like a top 10 favorite book list, top 10 favorite Harry Potter characters, top 10 favorite TV shows, etc. Are those way too informal and goofy? lol any thoughts are appreciated! 166/3.85 so pretty borderline right now...

How does the LSAC determine undergraduate GPA? I had attended multiple schools from the same system during my undergraduate and have varying GPAs from each. If the LSAC deferred to the GPA of our graduating institution that would be great ?

Where are good places in the Northeast for someone with a 175 LSAT and 3.8 undergrad GPA to apply if they're hoping for full or close to full ride merit scholarships? Thanks for your thoughts!

I have a very atypical background and many personal reasons for studying law. From junior high school through getting my undergraduate degree my family struggled a lot: immigrant parent, lower middle class, police involvement, parents divorced etc. I ended up taking 3 courses per semester, getting mostly As but a couple Cs and have several withdrawals on record, ending with a GPA just over 3.5 (cumulative GPA over 3.6). My recent LSAT score was 160, my PT average after about five months of part time study.

I'm working on my PS and addendum for my target school where my scores are in the lower quarter percentile. My current draft is almost two single spaced pages. Does that seem too long? I think I sound pretty objective, just describing the events that distracted me from school, but I'm afraid of being a drama queen. I wouldn't tell anyone about these things if I didn't have to, but I know my transcripts would otherwise be a poor reflection of my abilities and spark all kinds of questions. I'm also afraid of sounding like I'm just blaming poor choices on the drama in my family.

Any suggestions from other people with ghetto backgrounds?

Hey guys! Anyone want to swap personal statements/ diversity statements?

I'd like some feedback from people that don't know me.

I don't remember the source, but I vaguely recall hearing that out of the top schools, UChicago especially loves high-GPA applicants (=as in they put more emphasis on that more than other top schools do even if it means foregoing some high LSAT ppl) Has anyone heard this as well? Can someone validate or invalidate this rumor?

So I am currently debating whether or not to use the 7sage one time editing package for an edit of my personal statement. My dilemma is coming from the questions on the Yale app regarding whether or not you've used an admissions service for help on anything. Dean Asha's post about this on her blog seems to indicate that using a service could negatively impact your application. Given that I'm a splitter for Yale (178, 3.67 cum GPA) and that Yale is such a blackbox anyways, I'm pretty conflicted on what to do. I was pretty set on it before I read that part of the application. On the one hand, I know I'm an extreme long shot at Yale to begin with. Everyone is no matter what their scores/gpa are, so the edit might not help there but it could on other applications. Making a decision about an integral part of my application because a concern about just Yale seems a little ridiculous. On the other hand, I'm worried that what chance I do have at Yale will be hurt by using such a service. And Yale is just the dream for so many reasons. Anyone have any advice on this? It's a needy question, so my apologies in advance.

SO! I feel like I am the king of needing addenda. I need an addenda for my GPA, I need an addenda for my LSAT jump, I need an addenda to explain my ugly face...oh wait..

I am having an issue with balance on my applications. My PS talks about the change that took place during the Marine Corps. It starts to draw a clear line of me before the Marines, (1.7gpa) and me after the Marines (4.0 gpa). I don't mention my exact GPA but I do show them that I was a loser playing WoW before the Marines, and now I'm just a loser with a 4.0.

I also want to write an addenda that goes into more detail about this change because it's really drastic.

I also went from a 157 to a 163 to a 171. So I need to explain that in an addenda.

Where's the balance? How far into detail should I go on the LSAT? GPA? I don't want to overwhelm the schools and beat a dead horse, but I also want it to be very clear that I AM NOT the kid with a 1.7 gpa but I am the kid with the 171 and 4.0...

Any suggestions on how to strike this balance?

Hi guys, I'm an international student from a foreign undergrad that took the Dec Lsat.

Basic information about myself

LSAT: 174 (First try)

GPA: It's 3.9 on a 4.0 scale, but I think foreign undergrads are classified as Superior (with this level of GPA)

Softs: Some moot court competition wins, about a year of intern experience at a domestic law firm

LOR: 2 from professors, 1 from the lawyer I worked under (All strong)

I have two main questions!

I understand that Yale and Stanford don't admit too many foreign undergrads and that out of HYS, I have the best chances with Harvard. I think the earliest I'll get my applications in is by mid-January. Would that be too late in the cycle? I might be able to intern at another law firm starting from late January. Should I maybe just wait for the next cycle?

If I applied and was accepted to Columbia but rejected by Harvard, could I defer the Columbia offer and apply to Harvard the next cycle? This is pretty common in my country, but I get the feeling it wouldn't be acceptable in the States.

Some people might wonder why I seem obsessed with Harvard, but it's because I plan to return to my country later on. All the domestic lawyers I've met tell me that name-value is everything if I want to enter a big firm here D:

Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I'm in the process of firming up my personal statement with the goal of having it submitted at the beginning of Jan. I've gone through a few drafts, but have settled on something that I like. I've had a number of friends and family review it, but would love to get some feedback from someone who doesn't know me personally.

Is there anyone that would be interested in a statement swap or providing me some feedback on my statement?

Thanks in advance.

I've written a very personal (ha) personal statement I would like someone to review - with an eye to whether it dreams into the overly sentimental/illogical.

Would someone - preferably someone who has been active on this site (for my own paranoia reasons) - be willing to take a look?

Hi guys--

I submitted applications for two target schools yesterday and noticed today that I made a very stupid typo in the second paragraph (duplicated word... I wrote 'are are'). I read through my essay more than 5 times before submitting each and didn't notice this! I don't think there are any other issues with the optional statement and my PS is good to go.

Do you think it is worth it to email admissions and ask them to review an updated version or should I just let this one go rather than bringing more attention to it?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Not sure what to do with this question on one of my applications:

Please list any diversity characteristics that you would like to provide [cultural, sexual and/or gender minorities, disabilities, age, religion, immigrants, socio-economic, etc.] Applicants may also attached a Diversity Statement to their application as an addendum.

I have already written a diversity statement that I plan on attaching. Should i write "see diversity statement attachment" in the box and then just attach my statement or should I write something else pertaining to the question. There is only room for 300 characters including spaces.

Hypothetically speaking, what happens if you break a binding early decision acceptance? I know ethically it's not a good idea but are there any actual repercussions? (Besides a guilty conscience)

I took the september LSAT and got a low score so decided to retake in december.

I went ahead and sent apps to a few schools including one early decision (binding) because I thought with my low LSAT score I would need the advantage of submitting early. I also thought these schools would wait to make their decision until after my december score was released but surprisingly enough the early decision school accepted me one week after I submitted my application with just my september score.

I just got my December score back and did way better than I expected. I know with my new score I now have the possiblity to apply to much higher ranked schools.

So what should I do now?

Do I have to attend this coming fall because I was already accepted?

Or can I still submit new applications even though that breaks the binding early decision?

Should I just wait until next cycle to apply to different law schools?

If I defer and apply to different schools next cycle, is it still binding?

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated!

Is anyone else having trouble accessing applications? I keep getting a session error when I click on an active application.

Situation.....

A certain law school has three levels of merit scholarships based on GPA/LSAT

Level 3- 5000, Level 2-8000, Level 1-12000

If you get accepted at a level 3 because of a low lsat and submit a seat deposit, would most law schools bind you to that amount? or could you retake the lsat and with a higher score and get a higher level scholarship, even though you have paid a seat deposit?

Thoughts?

So I did it! I got a great LSAT score. And now I am completely lost on what to do.

Before I got my Dec score back I had a planned list of schools I was going to apply to and I had a decent personal statement written out. Now with this higher score I'm having to adjust the schools I am applying to and I feel like my personal statement needs to be completely re-done. I'm also a super splitter with some amazing softs but I'm not sure which schools will even consider that. Part of me wants to blanket the T-14 schools with applications and hope for the best. Another part of me wants to be more surgical with my applications and target schools that are more friendly to my situation.

Basically, without the LSAT, I am now completely lost...

Any suggestions?

Stats:

LSAT: 171

cGPA: 2.8

Degree GPA: 4.0 (64 units straight)

Non-traditional with a 5 year gap between bad grades and 4.0.

Softs: Marine Corps, Working for a higher level court for a year, Internship at a state court for a year and a couple more.

What would you do? What do I do? I am feeling pretty lost.

Hi guys,

After much delay, finally took the lsat and my Dec score wasn't what i wanted (164), have a 3.76 gpa from a top 15 for ug, think i have a relatively strong personal statement. what are my options for this admission cycle? cannot fathom (for my own mental stability) punting going back to law school for another year so that's really just off the table for me, unfortunately.

Two questions: