Received an email encouraging me to take part in an optional interview from this school. They are not my first choice and probably will not even go if admitted. My question is two-fold. Why have been selected for the interview and what kinds of questions do they ask. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I've just been asked to do the Kira interview for Cornell. I was wondering if anyone here has done that interview and can give me some guidance as to how to prepare.

Also, are all applicants asked to do this? is it a good or bad sign?

Hi all, for schools like U Mich (where there’s no specific separate scholarship application process), how does the Darrow or other merit aid work if you are admitted in Jan or Feb? Thanks :)

I'm curious. For the GPA averages that law schools report, do they use the LSAC GPA of applicants at the time they are admitted, or at the time students enroll in the program? In other words, does a law school report a college seniors LSAC GPA from march when they are accepeted, or from May after they graduate? Thanks!

Hi all-

I have a meet and greet with William & Mary Dean's Office next week, and am assuming that I should approach it like an interview. I have the basics down (aka her bio, answers to the usual questions regarding why I chose the school, why I want to pursue law, etc) but was wondering if anyone has either/or:

OR

Thanks and good luck to all on admissions!

Alright guys, it's crunch time for me and HYS. I've been furiously reworking, editing, and tuning my PS for the big boys, and I think it's ready! The only thing preventing me from submitting my apps is whether or not to submit a GPA/LSAT addendum, and ewhich will help my cause more.

Background: 3.56 GPA from a highly-rated private college in Mechanical engineering, a very tough program where I was in the top 10 percent, but unfortunately my school does not keep records of class rankings, so I can't prove that :( I also had a very rough first semester (2.7) and very steady improvement for the next three years

I took the LSAT 3 times as some of you know, June '17: 170; Sept '17: 170; Dec '17: 176. I know Yale for sure is going to discredit my 176 slightly because of it being my third attempt, probably S and H slightly or not at all. I didn't have a meltdown or issues on first two takes, just improved gradually over months of study and my 10000 hours came thru in Dec, but I did score regularly in 175-178 range since June, so it was by no means a fluke.

Softs: nothing that will help my case. 2 years of WE in an unrelated field, a little volunteering

My question is if it could possibly do any harm to submit an addenda if it is well-founded and well-written, which I feel both are (I have written a separate addendum for each situation). I am worried that my GPA is prohibitively low, especially for Yale if they give any weight to my multiple LSATs. If I went to UofM and majored in anything other than astrophysics I'd have a 3.9 minimum, but can I convince admins?

I'm thinking the GPA addendum would be stronger and probably addresses a more apparent red-flag in my apps. Validation? Opinions? Advice? A Time machine??

Need to write an additional essay on why I want to go to SMU, anyone have experience writing something like this/ have tips for what admissions officers are looking for?

So Duke's personal statement prompt is a bit different than most other law schools. They want to hear about significant experiences, and career and personal goals. The issue is I covered a lot of that with my diversity statement and my "Why Duke" essay. In-fact, I'd say I covered all of that in my Optional Essays 1&2. So I'm a lot less sure what to cover in my PS. I don't want to rehash what has already been said in my other essays, but I do want to address their prompt.

Should I risk sounding a little repetitive in order to make sure I hit the check marks, or should I just keep my PS individualized and address things not already covered?

I got an email from a law school that I applied to but have not received acceptance into yet. The email said that I should apply for this full ride scholarship, but then it said the requirements are that I must be accepted to get the scholarship. Do you think I got in and the school accidentally sent a scholarship opportunity email before my acceptance email? I just thought it was weird.

Hi everyone,

looking for advice on whether or not to write an addendum. I cancelled in Oct. 2015, got a 159 in Dec 2015, cancelled in Sept. 2017 and finally got a 167 in Dec. 2017. Should I address my score increase, cancellations, both or neither? I don't have a good reason for the cancellations besides extreme anxiety during the exams, and I don't want to make myself seem like I wouldn't be able to handle law school exams or the bar exam. But on the other hand, I feel like I can't not address the cancellations.

Anyone have any suggestions??

Thank you!

Hello Sages,

I just had a quick thought/question about doing the early decision programs, particularly for Gtown and NU. I am probably going to ED for both or one of the schools as they are my top two choices. My June LSAT score is just below the median at both schools, so I think ED will be advantageous, right? Although I am going to retake in September, I doubt if it's going to be a drastic increase. I noticed that for NU, their website states they do not allow students to apply ED at any other schools, but Gtown has no such rules. Thus, my question is can I apply ED at Gtown before or after applying to NU, if I get rejected at one school before applying to the other? Will they know if I have applied? Has anyone done it before? Anyone in similar situations?

Thanks and good luck to everyone. Happy LSATs!

Hey guys,

I'm wondering if I should write a GPA addendum for UT. They're kinda a long shot (below 25th LSAT). Their application says to explain if your academic performance for one or more semesters was markedly different from that of other semesters.

The thing is I don't have a valid excuse other than it was my first year of college and I took all my hard sciences and maths that year.

I ended up with a 2.81 that year but graduated with a 3.79. I don't know how it would look if I don't have a good reason.

Would it hurt to write one?

Hi! Know it's already a little late in the game but hoping I could get some opinions on my PS & DS, any comments/suggestions at all would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

I'm planning on visiting Georgetown next week. There is no tour/info session so I can only take a self-guided tour. Has anyone ever done a self-guided tour? Is it still a valuable way to learn about a school?

I had my interview with WUSTL last Friday and I wanted to tell you about my experience!

It was a Skype interview but the connection was terrible so the interview ended up being over the phone instead. The Admissions Officer that interviewed me was super friendly and the interview overall was pretty informal.

She started off by asking me about a few specific things on my resume such as my recent job change and what I do for work now. I was also in the men's rowing team at my University so she asked me what that was like and how I balanced schools and a sport at the same time. I think this question was more geared to seeing how I handle multiple responsibilities at once.

Next, we talked about why I wanted to go to Law School and why WashU in general. I think my answer hit the nail on the head because I talked about specific clinics that WashU offers that I would be interested in and the interviewer responded very positively to it. Doing your research before the interview to interject school specific answers in super important. Also, having a solid answer on why you want to go to law school is definitely a must. She also asked if I had even been to St. Louis which I responded that yes I have and that I've actually self-toured the school to which she was surprised/happy about. Where in ultimately want to end up after graduating was something she also asked.

The second most important question I thought was asked is what I hope to get out of law school. I prepared for this question by doing research into the classes and clinics WashU offers and how I could adapt that after I graduate. I also threw in a part about certain organizations that I would be interested in. This question was so important in my opinion because it had you cover a wide arrange of topics, specifically: Why this school? Did you do any research on the school? Did you research the city? What can you do in law school other than academics? How will you use your skills gained after law school? What is most important to you? Do you have any idea what you want to do after law school?

The most IMPORTANT question that you NEED to have an absolutely solid answer on is a time when you showcased leadership. I was not going to prepare for this question nor did I even come across my mine before a buddy of mine who used to work for the Center for Career Development at our University told me to prepare for it and I am so happy I did. I definitely would have struggled with that question by it catching me off guard and not having some sort of formulation of the answer beforehand. It was then followed by a time I had to overcome a struggle, but my answer for the leadership question actually encompassed this question as well so the interviewer did not ask for another answer to it.

I hope this helps anyone who has an upcoming interview!

Hey gang.

I'm trying to set a baseline for myself and there seems to be A LOT of knowledge here so I feel like I can get some good feedback.

I'm attempting the LSAT for the third time at 29 (the last two times I took it was straight out of undergrad at 22 and then again 2 years ago). Both times, I went in completely unprepared and paid the price for it, scoring the in the mid to high 140's both times. As has been the case since I was young, I'm an excellent student and average standardized test taker. I know I'll have to put in a lot of hard work but I feel confident I can get into the 160's.

My undergrad GPA was a 3.76, which seems fairly competitive for some of the schools stats I've looked at. My main question...what is a realistic score to start seeing scholarship money. I have literally no interest in going to law school by taking out more loans. I went to a private undergrad in Nashville that I'm still paying for. I expect I will have to take out loans to live off of, but I would absolutely base my decision of where to go based on how much scholarship money I'm offered.

So what scores does that start happening at? I know T-14 are different, and that's another thing I'm confused on. How big of a difference is it to go to a T-14 vs. a lesser ranked school. I'm from the southeast (Currently in Nashville) and I would actually like to stay in the area but I guess I don't even know where and what programs I should be looking into.

Basically, I'm just trying to find a target to aim for.

I'm also not on a time crunch. Maybe at my age I SHOULD be, but right now my goal is to take the June test. If I'm not PT'ing high enough consistently, I will wait until October since I've missed this cycle anyway.

Anything you guys have or know would be much appreciated!

Lately, I have been considering writing an addendum showing an explicit history of standardized test results accompanying a strong academic performance but I need help in deciding if this applies to me.

I grew up in Nicaragua and thus, I was not exposed to standardized testing until I was 11 years old. It's not part of my education foundation. In High School, I took the SAT a total of three times.

The maximum score for each section is 800 points:

Using the 2011 scale, I first scored 500 writing, 610 math, 560 critical reading meaning I scored in the 55th, 78th and 71st percentile respectively.

Next, I scored 530 writing, 550 math, 610 critical reading meaning I scored in the 64th, 62nd and 83rd percentiles respectively.

Lastly, I scored 490 writing, 550 math, 610 critical reading meaning I scored in the 51st, 62nd and 82nd percentile respectively.

The total score for each test put me around the 70th percentile. Meanwhile, I was performing very well academically. I never failed any of the 10 AP exams I took, which to me felt different from tests like the SAT because they were graded on what we directly learned in the classroom. I scored a 5 on the AP Calculus exam and yet I could not score anything higher than a 610 on the math section of the SAT. I received a 4 in AP English Language and Comp but could not score higher than a 530 on the SAT writing section. I had As in almost all of my classes.

When I got to college my SAT scores did not accurately predict my success. I graduated in 4 years with 2 different bachelor's degree. 150 credit hours instead of the normal 120. I had two majors and two minors. My final GPA was 3.967 on a 4.0 scale. I also conducted independent research, which I presented at a research conference at Harvard. BUT, I scored a 160 on the LSAT. I took it once because the other two times I had planned to take it, I had to cancel my registration ahead of time because of the Hurricane in Florida and for being sick.

Thus, I am asking for help in deciding if I should write an Addendum. I really do not want to make an excuse for my LSAT score so I only want to write it if doing so is acceptable for my situation.

Does someone mind reading my quick blurb for Columbia's "fun facts" optional section? It's only ~1,000 characters but I'm shooting for a relatively more relaxed vibe & want to know if it's coming across effectively.

Thank you!

So I'm pretty confused on this. I had to check the "yes" for academic probation because when I attended community college in 2008 I was put on probation for bad grades. Some schools seem to require Dean cert letters, but I'm not sure which do? I know Cornell and Duke do, Stanford was mentioned as needing one, but I can't find that anywhere.

I'm now really worried. I also called my community college and they said I wont need one. I applied to like 15 schools so now it is a huge mess. Does anyone have any clarity on this?

So this is the list I have so far;

Columbia: Yes

Stanford: No

USC: No

Duke: Yes

UVA: No

Cornell: Yes

Hi there!

I recently attended the group interview for Georgetown in Miami and wanted to share my experience to help others know what to expect.

It was not a conventional group interview with the usual questions, and there is little you can do to prepare. The format take an hour and is like this: you will be split up into groups of three or four and you will role play as an admissions committee for GULC. He will give you a handout with descriptions of different application scenarios (all of which have ambiguous and difficult to resolve conflicts) and he will ask you to either talk as a group or will ask direct questions about a certain interpretation of the facts, and then he gives his actual interpretation and how he decided on the application.

I would recommend that during the group conversation portions that you be more vocal and make sure that you make your voice heard, but not annoying, because it is easy to be lost in the conversation.

There were four scenarios but we only got to three: one was about a student who got put on academic probation for plagarism but slightly misrepresented the situation (he considered this a huge character issue), someone else who didn't fully disclose information after being accused of plagiarism and withdrawing from a graduate program (also a huge issue), and someone who made typos and mention to another school in their personal statement (also huge issue).

The purpose of the interview is to see how well you can articulate your position and support it with evidence. Apparently Dean Cornblatt favors applicants who can get to the point of their argument quickly.

Make sure to prepare one fun fact about yourself, as he'll ask everyone in the room to share something at the beginning.

Best of luck!

Hey folks... I keep thinking and re-thinking my decision here. My original goal was to take the December LSAT, get my apps in by mid-December so they could be reviewed ASAP in the new year. Well, life happened and here I am, January 11 and still working on finishing my PS.

I did better on the LSAT than I thought I would so that made me think I definitely should apply this year. But now that we're getting to be relatively late in the cycle, I'm thinking I'd be better positioned if I delay. I could of course still get apps out for this cycle and cross my fingers. I'm going to be very dependent on scholarship money though so I'm worried that it won't be enough to make this year work. The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning toward delaying, whether or not I apply this cycle. I ended up with a really good LSAT (168), but I think if I kept studying and took it again like in September, I could likely break 170. Is that worth pushing school back a year? Also I'm non-trad, 33 years old. So while I'm already wayyyy past the usual age of law school students, I'm hesitant to push it back another year. But I guess whether you're 37 or 38 at graduation is tomato-tomahto. Yeah?

Does anyone have experience in re-applying? Do many schools look down on applying twice in a row? If I turn down an acceptance for this year and re-apply, will I be any more likely to get dinged or WL'd?

Poll attached with the options I'm considering.

The topic is roughly: how I've spent half of my life in the US and half in Asia. I had different "personas" in each place, and I made some choices that I regret that were made based off of those personas. The essay ends with me talking about how I can now be me regardless of context.

I've written a couple rough drafts, and I'm fairly pleased with the essay.

I'm not completely sure if it addresses diversity though.

What does you guys think?

Thanks in advance

So I'm a bit confused by this section of Cornell's application. No one influenced me to apply to Cornell (except secretly Andy from the office...) but it is a mandatory part of the application with a little * and all.

Now I'm pretty sure all I have to do is write something like: N/A or Not applicable here.

What I'm stuck on is if I should maybe write more about my decision to apply to the school here instead? This sounds wrong, but I'd like to hear your thoughts.

https://media1.tenor.com/images/b04fd4704fcc9b5602e8c1999cae133f/tenor.gif?itemid=5368207

My essay is about how I overcame insecure instincts that tried to keep me from a volunteering experience. The experience ended up being worthwhile and made me a more confident person.

Here's an issue that an editor friend brought up. While I described the experience of insecurity in what I felt was enough detail (e.g., "I'm such an awkward person, I thought."), my friend said that it didn't constitute a compelling internal obstacle. She suggested that I add an explanation for why I was so insecure.

While I can certainly understand her reasoning, my issue is that my experience with insecurity was more like personality trait, like shyness. It's really difficult to explain. In any case, I think showing how I got over this internal personality issue is more important than why it existed in the first place.

So what do y'all think?

Did anyone else get an invitation to a YLS video webinar? Unfortunately I did not see the email invite until after the fact because it went to my spam folder (whyy would that happen?! It’s YLS!!)

But anyways, I’m curious as to what I missed out on.

Best!

:)