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:

I had a quick question regarding the character and fitness sections for a few specific schools. I know most of the schools in the T14 add a stipulation to their character and fitness questions that reads something along the lines of "excluding minor traffic infractions." However, there's a few that I've seen (Cornell, NYU, Penn) that don't include this proviso and ask for . I was ticketed for failing to completely stop at a stop sign about 2 years ago and although it turned out to be a parking ticket in the end, is this included as something I should disclose/explain?

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays everyone!

I have a hypothetical situation-question:

I'm waiting to hear back from a bunch of schools, but let's say that I get waitlisted at some of them. Do waitlist reviews by the schools still go on at at the end of June/during July? Would taking a June 2018 LSAT and scoring higher than my current highest score help me get off the waitlist? If anyone has experienced something like this or knows more about the waitlist process during the summer, please chime in! This is all a "maybe" for me and I hate the thought of retaking the LSAT but I'd like to prepare for different scenarios. I don't want to take the February LSAT because I heard weird stories about those and undisclosed tests scare me.

Thank you~

Does anyone have any advice on how I go about putting research papers I presented at conferences on my resume? Do I just put them under my education section like so:

Conference Papers:

o “Scotland is Ours: The Impact of Youth Voters on the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum” (With Mathers, E). Great Plains Political Science Association Conference, Overland Park, KS Fall 2016. (Won Best Undergraduate Paper Award),

o “Flexible Politics: Mobilization strategies of youth activists in the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum” (With Clancy, K and Mathers, E.)

It just seems like it takes up a lot of space and makes my education section way too long. The papers were never published, so I can't put them under a publications section. Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I have some good news- after averaging ~170 on my practice LSATs, I managed to pull off a 175 on test day. I couldn't have done it without the help of the 7Sage community, so thank you all for your continued support and advice!

At this point I'm trying to figure out what my next steps should be. On the LSAC scale I have a cumulative 3.98 GPA, and on the OLSAS scale my cGPA is 3.84, while my B3 is 3.92. So, I know that I have a fairly competitive numeric profile, but since i was scoring in the low 170s before I only applied for the University of Toronto and UBC law schools. Now, however, I know that I have competitive enough scores to apply for some of the top schools in the world- I want to apply to Yale, Harvard, and Stanford.

My main question is whether you guys think that I should apply this year (I likely won't have my letters of reference completed until late January) or if I should wait until the next cycle. Any advice would go a long way; thank you all so much again!

Arlo

This might sound messed up to be potentially taking away housing from someone else if I ultimately decide to go to a diff school..

The school I was accepted to is likely where I will end up going unless a miracle happens and I get into a reach school. The housing form just asks for your student ID which I have, but the only form available online is for last year. Can I just send it in anyways? IDK if it’s inappropriate to call and ask like “hey I’m pretty sure I want to go to your school but not 100% and I want to make sure I have housing by the time I make a decision”. It’s really difficult to find affordable and nice housing in this area. I’ve seen many students complain over the years about on campus housing being full. I don’t mind losing the $300 deposit if I end up choosing to go to a diff school

Hi all, if you are reapplying for law school, do you need to pay for Credential Assembly Service again? I received a fee waiver the first time and am wondering if I need to pay for it again. Thank you!

Hi, I'm wondering when admission officers take their Christmas Break (do they have new years break too?), because I don't know if I should hand in my apps NOW or write an optional statement and send it in next week....

My GPA is way past their percentiles and my LSAT score is median

They accepted me a couple weeks after I applied!

This was the school I was hoping to get the most $$$ from

What gives??

Do I ask for more scholarship money now or wait til other acceptances come in later

I took the December LSAT and scored a 153. My scores had been averaging out at around 155-157, so I scored a bit lower than I would have hoped. However, I have an undergraduate GPA of 3.85+ in sociology (concentration of law) with a forensic sciences minor. I graduated in my program with distinction, and I am certain I will have glowing letters of recommendation at my disposal (my undergraduate academic advisor adored me and would be willing to say nothing but the best about me, I had a foreign language professor for 4 semesters straight in a course with section sizes of no larger than 15 students who I had established an intimate relationship with and who would do the same, I had a course on religion in which I had the second highest score of anyone in the course; the professor actually emailed me at the conclusion of the semester to congratulate me on a job well done, to inform me that I was only .37% away from the highest score, and to simply articulate that I was a pleasure to have in class, and so on).

My top school choice is Notre Dame, but it is quite competitive (even the 25th percentile LSAT score for the past incoming class is several points higher than I scored). However, I AM above the typical GPA 75th percentile.

I was wondering if a few other factors may play a strong enough role in my application to tilt the odds more favorably (and if they are points that I should even shed light on in my application):

In short, I am wondering if it is inconceivable for ND to admit me given my undergraduate GPA, my LSAT score, and any of the other five aforementioned criteria. Opinions are greatly appreciated

Thank you.

Hey, everybody.

Just found out my first LSAT score of 165. 3.82 GPA, getting Bachelor’s in three years, several years of work experience, etc., etc. I was wondering if anyone had any input on likelihood for UC Berkeley and Davis based on that tiny bit of information? I would love to go to Berkeley, but I would also like Davis. Since I just found out my score, I’m curious on any input. Thank you for replies and congratulations on your scores.

I just received my December score and it's 3 points lower than my highest score (I took June, September, and December). I'm super disappointed because I thought I did much better than September(my highest). How do law schools take this?

Was going over policies for lsac transcripts and saw ap courses listed?? Can someone clarify this for me? Took ap classes in HS and took the exams but didn't receive a high enough score for my college to give credits. Probably overreacting here but just wanted to be sure