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Just saw this on my LSAC profile! Very cool....

"Starting September 28, 2017, you will have more coursework options to choose from when selecting your law school preferences in the Candidate Referral Service (CRS). Law schools use the fields of interest and law specializations you select in CRS to recruit you for programs that are most relevant to you."

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Last comment tuesday, sep 26 2017

Reapplying

Hey guys,

I am reapplying to Law schools this year, and I'm wondering if i should rewrite my personal statement for schools that i applied to last year? I may tweak it, but i generally loved what i wrote for my applications last year, and nothing has changed since then (except for an LSAT rewrite). But I am worried they may have my old one on file...

Thanks in advance!

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Last comment tuesday, sep 26 2017

GPA/Transcript Addendum

Hello,

I am in need of advice of whether I should write a GPA addendum for specific schools. My overall GPA when I graduated college was a 3.68. However, during my first year, I was unsure about my career path, and I faced surmounting pressure from my parents to follow in their footsteps (both of whom are dentists). Therefore, I majored in biology even though I had no clear passion towards it. During my first year, I struggled greatly in my classes and I was afraid to ask for help because I was embarrassed. No matter how much I studied, I could not grasp the concepts. Also, I didn't utilize the resources on campus (i.e. free tutoring, office hours, etc) and it came at the expense of my grades. By the end of my first year, I had a cumulative GPA of 2.78.

However, during the following summer, I realized I could no longer pursue a career I was not interested in. I withdrew from my physics course (leaving a W on my transcript) and changed my major to English because I had a genuine interest in law. After changing my major, I became more comfortable asking questions and I wasn't afraid to ask for help when I needed it. I began to visit my professors' office hours and the Academic Resource Center. Over my remaining years, I averaged a 3.97 GPA. However, my overall GPA is a 3.68 due to my first year of majoring in biology.

I read online that we should not write an addendum if we don't really need one. The article said, "Law school admissions officers can spot a 'failed premed' from a mile away—they don’t necessarily need or want you to explain it in an addendum." However, I feel like my case is not necessarily the same. I learned from my experiences and I have worked tremendously hard over the years.

Therefore, should I write an addendum to EVERY school explaining why my cumulative GPA is not necessarily as high as it could be? Or should I only write an addendum only to schools where my GPA is BELOW the median GPA of that respective school? Or should I not write an addendum at all?

I feel like my addendum could provide some insight into who I am and how I've grown over the years (i.e. How I am eager to learn, not afraid to seek help, and how my GPA is not necessarily reflective of who I am as a student or my ability to succeed in law school)

Thank you in advance everyone.

Hey everyone,

I'm stuck on some Character and Fitness questions/wording that keeps popping up. I'd copy the exact question, but there are so many differently worded question with the same issue at heart, I'll just paraphrase.

Basically, if a question asks if you have been "charged" of anything, does it matter if you were found not guilty in court? A few years ago I had some traffic citations, but the judge ruled them as not guilty. I'm not quite sure if I need to include it or not.

Thanks!

Edit: this is really just about traffic violations that were thrown out in court. I don't know if that stuff is supposed to be disclosed or not. Theoretically, anyone could be charged of anything, and have it thrown out later. A dude could be charged with rape because he looks like the rapist, have it thrown out later because he's clearly not the rapist, but still have that "charge" follow him forever? Doesn't seem just at all to me, but I know oftentimes the law isn't necessarily fair.

Hi,

I wanted to get an estimate of scholarship grants given by law schools. I am an international student applying to US universities and i will be giving the Dec LSAT this year. I am scoring in the range of around 165-166. I wanted to know if the lower ranked schools give full ride scholarships to students covering the tuition as well as the living expense? if so then what are my chances of getting one and which schools does that. I am targetting for a 5 point increase in these two months and even if i score a 168-169 i want to know if i can get a full ride.

Any help would be appreciated.

Hey everyone! I graduated school in 2014. I was a good student, but not 'the best' though some teachers did take notice of me and some served as recommenders for jobs, or school activities. I haven't spoken to these teachers in a really long time, maybe 2-3 years. Is there a way I can gradually get back in touch with them for LORs for the Fall 2018 cycle?

So I am a weird bundle of splitter mess, I really want to start getting applications ready but I'm just not sure where I stand and where I can apply. While predictor websites are a good start they also don't take into account my story. I don't want to short change myself but I also don't want to reach so high as to be disappointed. So I'm here to ask for advice.

Notwithstanding my LSAT score this is what I look like so far...

2.7 cumulative GPA/4.0 Degree GPA - about a 4 year gap of time between the poor grades and the 4.0.

Non-traditional applicant - Work experience between undergraduate and starting law school.

Military service for 4 years (USMC) with 3 years of my post 9/11 GI bill left (Don't really need scholarship money).

One year internship at a law firm.

One year job with the federal courts.

Letters of recommendation from one undergrad professor and the clerk of the federal court.

Resume includes legal professionals as well as military members.

How would you even go about deciding on what schools will look favorably on this weird track record? I feel like it's almost 100% dependent on my LSAT score...so should I just wait tight for that?

Hi Fellow Sagers!

I'm enrolled in the Admissions Course and I didn't see a section about law school in-person interviews - unless I'm missing something?

Have one coming up soon..does anyone have intel on what materials is appropriate to bring to one besides resume? Does bringing a copy of my personal statement make sense? Any tips if you've been on one?

Appreciate any insight! :)

I am sure we all have spent a little too much time poring over the median admission stats for our top choices and studying the spreadsheets of the info of all admitted students...and then comparing our own data and trying to figure out what it takes to get a little (or a lot) $$.

SO I thought it would be fun for us to share stories of people we know who have worked hard, gotten into their dream schools, and bonus points if they got a scholarship. I'll start!

I know a guy who went to a little-known undergrad school and applied to law school in two cycles. First year he got a full ride with a high 160s LSAT score to the University of Washington but wasn't feeling Seattle...he retook the LSAT the following September, got a low 170s and applied that cycle to most of the T14...and then retook the LSAT again in December, got a high 170s score and Harvard and Stanford admitted him almost immediately, which could have been coincidental timing buuut I doubt it. He went with Harvard. I wish I knew the exact stats, but to ask always feels just a little too nosey.

So moral of the story...don't be afraid to keep working for that high score because it will pay off!

Alright guys, I've been attempting to write my PS off and on for the last 2 months with no measurable progress. I've written two full PS's which I scrapped completely because they were brutally unpalatable. Any suggestions would be tremendously appreciated, especially in regards to topic brainstorming. I have gone through all the 7sage material available to me [Free account :(] and there are a lot of good ideas, but none that have unlocked my inspiration.

I am beginning to wonder what kind of impact my extracurricular activities might have on my law school applications next year. (Definitely hoping to apply to HYS, Columbia, NYU and UChicago, plus University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall in Canada).

So far, here's what my profile looks like (for context):

  • Major: Computer Science, Minors: Psychology and Classics. 3.75 GPA right now, 3.80-3.85 is definitely on the horizon. I just started 3rd year.
  • I just got started with the LSAT so don't know how that will go yet. I don't mind putting in a year of prep to hit the score I need though (or even 2 years, I'm not in a rush).
  • Would the following help in compensating for the lack of a prestigious undergrad degree? (I am at one of the lower ranked universities in Canada because I couldn't afford to go anywhere else):

  • I did Google's Summer of Code internship.
  • I currently work remotely for a tech company called Zulip (based in California)
  • I've contributed (as a volunteer) to various open source software projects for the last 5 years
  • I worked at an Atlantic Canadian law firm over the summer.
  • I have worked a bunch of odd jobs all throughout school. I worked all throughout school (didn't have a choice). Still do!
  • Participating in my first National Mooting competition in Canada in November
  • Would really appreciate advice and guidance from former applicants and people in the process of applying to law schools! :)

    Thanks!

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    Last comment friday, sep 22 2017

    Irrational Fear

    Hey so I have this irrational fear of being overlooked in the admission process because I am a Chinese-American who's family is solid middle class (so can't make any great donations and I can't say I have some hero struggle back story either). #chineseadmissiondisadvantage

    I have a friend (when applying for undergrad) who had outstanding achievements in high school (like A student, SAT 2400, and national champion in math or something) but really only got into one of her choice schools. She was wealthy too. This story just did not help with my irrational fear.

    This irrational fear affects me as I complete my application and I don't know what can I do to cope with it.

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    Last comment thursday, sep 21 2017

    Post LSAT... Now what?

    Now that I've completed the LSAT... what do I do?

    I get that I should start working on my applications and PS/LORs. I'm just completely unmotivated in all honesty. Even though I really want a good portion to be done before the score comes out incase I need to retake. Has anyone else had the post LSAT slump to try to shuffle through? Particularly with the needing to get on top of your applications?

    Politico just came out with a scathing report on USNWR and I am wondering if it is accurate to Law School rankings. The link to the article is below (ignore the political slant - I'm assuming they added that in the title for clickbait as the majority of the article is not political).

    http://www.politico.com/interactives/2017/top-college-rankings-list-2017-us-news-investigation/

    Sorry if this has already been addressed. Does anyone know how much law school admissions weight an applicants undergrad prestige? I'm graduating from a state school thats ranked outside of the top 100. How much would that adversely affect my chances? My GPA is in the 75 percentile for all the schools I'm looking at, and I am waiting on my September LSAT.

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    Last comment thursday, sep 21 2017

    Application Questions

    As probably many of you are, I'm turning my attention to my apps while I wait for my September lsat score. I've already got a couple things finished, like my resume and one addendum, but for the first time tonight I actually started looking through my target schools' applications to see what they ask for. I'm now a giant ball of stress, and I've got a few questions that I'm hoping some of you can help me on!

  • LORs: Some apps say they require 2 but accept 4, etc. Is it best to max out the allowable LORs or are they really just wanting 2?
  • Diversity Statement: I had planned to write a diversity statement, but after looking through the apps of the 9 schools I'm applying to, only two of them have an option for a diversity statement. So I'm guessing there's no way to submit a diversity statement for those schools that don't have an option?
  • Addendums: I have to write a character and fitness addendum because of a misdemeanor I got in college. I may also have to write an addendum on my lsat scores, seeing that my first score was abysmal, and I'm hoping my recent score will be significantly higher. On some apps, I noticed there's only one addendum option. Is there a limit on how many addendums you can write? Is more than one too many?
  • I'd love any feedback you all can provide. Thanks!

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    Last comment wednesday, sep 20 2017

    Admissions Analytics Website

    I remember coming across a site a few months ago where I could do some interesting admissions analytics. I don't remember the site, but do know the following:

  • It wasn't LSN
  • One of the pages listed applicants at the bottom (you had to really scroll down) and you could sort through them and they were color coded for decision.
  • I realize this isn't super helpful but for the life of me can't remember the site. So really any leads would be appreciated!!! Thanks!

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    Last comment tuesday, sep 19 2017

    School Culture

    Hi friends,

    Congrats to everyone who took the LSAT on Saturday. Potential RC crises notwithstanding, making it through an administration is an accomplishment in and of itself, I think!

    I'm shifting my focus towards applications to try and take my mind off the waiting time for scores to be released, and as I'm getting more specific with school lists, I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for getting a feel for the "culture" of the schools. Part of my motivation comes from wanting write a kickass "Why X?" essay, but the majority of my curiosity stems from a hesitance to shell out tons of cash if a school isn't going to be a fit for me. I've obviously read all of the website and application materials, but I haven't done the whole "apply to college" type routine for some years now, and my uncovering skills may be a lil rusty. I remember for undergrad, sites like collegeconfidential felt pretty helpful at the time, but I don't know what my resources are in that vein for law school.

    Any suggestions greatly appreciated. Thanks y'all!

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