Hi all,

Writing my app the school asks a series of C&F Questions. Particularly asking to explain the situation fully.

Now, this doesn't fit. If I fit it in fully, I don't really get a chance to explain as I would like, plus I'm adding an addendum for this anyway.

Do you suggest writing whatever you can in and then attaching the addendum?

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!

I went to a big research university and all of my lectures were 200+ people. I didn't get to know my professors really well but did get to know two professors at the university with whom I did research with (not as a job but just because I was interested in their fields). But since they didn't actually teach me directly (as in a class), is it still ok to count their letters as "academic"?

Will law schools and/or LSAC consider a GPA differently based on what institution it comes from?

I went to an UG liberal arts college known for rigorous coursework/ harsh grade deflation policies (i.e. in a class of 30+ people, only 2 students receive A's). Sometimes I was one of A's in the class, but often I was an A-/ B+. My GPA isn't bad, but I am wondering how it will stack up next to a higher GPA from a less difficult institution.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Background: 163 on LSAT first try, 166 second try, and a 3.78 LSAC GPA.

While I realize I'm not in absolutely the best position to get into either of those schools, their admission stats give me the impression that it's a coin flip (mylsn and other law school number sites admittedly paint a more pessimistic picture). My 166 is exactly the median for Berkeley, and my GPA is 0.01 below their median. For Cornell, I'm one point below their LSAT median and 0.05 above their GPA median.

So I decided I wanted to strengthen my chances by doing early decision. However, I'm not sure which early decision is more practical. I'm also not sure what kind of law I want to practice. Another factor to consider is that I don't really have any experience that is amazing on its face.

Also: Will the specialties and programs of even top 14 schools lock me into a certain career path? What other factors should I consider?

I'm a month into LSAT Prep and took my first practice test a couple weeks ago with a 156. I find the material learnable but definitely think that improving my performance on logic games, in particular, is going to be a very strenuous process. I wouldn't be able to sit until June of 2018 or January of 2019 due to logistical constraints. So I was wondering if it's worth getting a GRE score in beforehand considering the recent changes in admissions policies. Is it that much easier/shorter of a preparation process?

I've been told that it's limited to reading comprehension, writing, vocabulary, and geometric/algebraic concepts, which seems like much less daunting of a process. And I could still look into taking the LSAT at a later date. I'd also have more opportunities to take the exam, considering I'll be abroad and my host country only offers the LSAT twice a year.

I know it's limited to only a select few schools, but Harvard and Northwestern would literally be my two dream schools. And I'd be just as ecstatic with Georgetown. I'll be on a Fulbright for ten months starting in January and will be working in financial services for at least a year. I am also intrigued by having the opportunity of pursuing an MBA or a joint degree program down the line. I have a 3.98 GPA under a more math-intensive undergraduate degree than most pre-law students. I also came across an Economist article that implied that above a 3.87 threshold, schools don't even have to report the GRE score (source: https://gre.economist.com/gre-advice/graduate-school-admissions/which-exam-take/gre-vs-lsat-which-exam-should-you-apply-harvard-law). Thus, would you guys think it might be in my best interest to get a GRE score in over the next few months before the LSAT?

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?!

My plan is to blanket the T14 schools with no expectations of acceptance. As far as I can tell, my best shot is University of Austin Texas (or #14). According to the LSAC GPA/LSAT browser, applicants with my GPA and LSAT had between a 54% and 64% chance of getting accepted into Austin in 2016. The same people only had between 27% and 40% chance of getting into Cornell, which #13.

If I get accepted into any one of them, I'll go. If not, I'll take the LSAT again in June 2018 and hopefully beef up my resume along the way.

My personal issue is that I don't actually know the national reach of a lower T14 school; this is especially a concern for Austin. I don't know where I want to practice, and I haven't evaluated any job markets yet.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

My priority school is UW.

My GPA is quite mediocre (3.57cumul/3.7 degree)

I’m aiming for 165-167. Am I not doing myself any favors with that expectation for that school?

I've been trying for a month to get an LOR submitted. The professor is saying that they keep following the link and submitting it but it doesn't even show that it's acknowledged on LSAC. Has anyone had this problem before?

I took the LSAT for the first time in June 2017 while I was abroad. I don't even want to mention what my score was (157), but I think there were a lot of contributing factors to that, as I consistently tested in the 165-170 range on practices. I really want to go to NYU for a variety of reasons. While I am not technically a URM, I am a former ward of the state/ foster child and I have a powerful backstory and personal statement as well as an interest in practicing public interest law. I have a 3.7 GPA, and I think that if I can score on the actual test within the range I mentioned earlier, I should have a real shot at NYU. Thoughts?

Grey day has come and gone taking my dreams of a 175 with it ? Yesterday I was distraught, today I am resolved. I'm planning to retake in December and finally get a score that matches my PTs!

I have all but finished several applications, just need to sign and finalize my essays. My question is how the process of updating an app goes. Is there an advantage to applying now with my sept. score, and then updating when hit a 178 (lol, as if) in december? Or should I wait to apply until January?

Financial aid is a big concern for me, so I badly wanted to apply early, but I realize that a 2 point bump would help more than a 3 month wait. Advice? Thoughts? Comfort food suggestions? Haha

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/

Anyone applying to H/Y/ and/or S who wants to do a personal statement swap? Mine is (broadly) related to wanting to do social movement lawyering.

So I posted a couple days ago about LSAC miscalculating my GPA on the Academic Summary Report; they treated eight hours of high school test credit as a C. They fixed it today, but I'm posting this to remind people to verify their grades. I know LSAC has their own way of calculating GPA, but this was pretty blatant and took my overall GPA down by 0.10

Good luck all!

I just got back my third LSAT score and was crushed - a full 10 points lower than my practice tests where I was consistently getting around a 171, and 2 points lower than my last test (163). I've been studying for over a year at this point so I think its time to move on and just apply already.

My question is: is there any way to spin these scores as a positive in an addendum? I want to believe the admissions officers will see my three scores over a year and a half span and see perseverance. And if they were to look at my section scores, if you put all my best ones together I would have gotten around a 174. Would it come off badly to highlight these facts?

Thanks for the advice!!

My September score is leaving me in purgatory.

I got a 170 and I have a 3.57 GPA. I want to apply ED to UChicago (I know, it's a reach) while applying to Michigan, Duke, Virginia, Penn, Northwestern, and Cornell.

Looking on Law School Numbers, even a 175 (my PT average) in December wouldn't do much for my application chances anywhere, and would marginally help with scholarship money. My thoughts are if Chicago were going to reject me, seeing that I'm taking in December would at least get me waitlisted.

I'm in the middle of a gap year and I burnt myself out going into the September test, and I don't want to go through it again.

What should I do?

Hi,

How does one's political views affect one's chances at admission, especially to elite schools which tend to lean left? I wouldn't say I'm a liberal, by today's standards of what constitutes left at least; if one defines "liberal" as "one who values liberty", then yes I am a liberal. However, I try to understand both sides of the political spectrum without being wedded to any particular ideology. By no means am I what many have called the "alt-right", however, there are some views that they hold that I am sympathetic towards; in particular, I believe that it is necessity to guard the freedom of speech. There are, of course, reasons for me to be sympathetic towards this idea: language evolves. To legislate on what constitutes "appropriate" speech is to attempt to directly and consciously control the evolution of language. If I were to reject this notion, I would have to reject the liberal value of liberty, which is distinct from license. Thus, to remain a liberal, it seems that I must defend, what is now considered to be, a conservative ideal.

In short, I am a centrist. But it seems that being a centrist, especially in this politically charged climate, would hurt my chances. Am I correct in being concerned?

I have 3 former professors who agreed to write LORs for me. Can I pick just 2 to send to law schools even after all 3 submit their letters to LSAC? I got the third letter just in case as a backup and don't want to send it if I don't have to..

ss

Hello, Im in the beginning stage of writing my personal statement, however i am having super writer's block and i'm stuck. I dont know what direction i should take my essay. Its so difficult because i am a career changer , from medical to law and all my experience are medical related. so if there is anyone who would like to review it and maybe throw some ideas in that would be helpful.

Hey all,

I'm concerned about something in my personal statement. So I'm basically writing about my family's refugee story and how that pushed me to go into law.

I was originally going to be a doctor (my mom wanted a doctor in the family to take care of her when she gets older), but through some experiences in college regarding racial discrimination and then the rhetoric of the 2016 election, I found myself called to pursue law - specifically immigrant law, public policy, etc. Appropriately, I took ~1 year off school to work on the presidential campaign - hence sparking my transition from pre-med to pre-law.

I am worried though about talking about the 2016 election, specifically about Trump's immigrant rhetoric. I'm worried about making any politically charged statements and any backlash I may face in the admissions boardrooms. What do you all think? I would be respectful of course, but I'm worried just mentioning it could be bad.

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

Two schools I'm applying to want two pages max. Three other schools want approximately two pages. And the other seven schools either don't have a page limit or it's max three. I'm at about two and three quarters pages right now, and am wondering what to do. I know the "two page max" schools are a hard line, and I plan to edit shorter for those, but what about the "approximately two pages" schools. How flexible are they when they say approximately?

Having a very hard time editing down while still telling the full story I want. Any advice or help would be appreciated. Thanks!

For those that are currently applying to law schools, I was wondering how much you guys tweaked your PS for each application. My generic statement is two, double-spaced, pages, but some of the schools I'm applying to allows up to four double-spaced pages. Are you guys sticking to the generic PS, or are you guys adding additional stuff into your PS for schools that allow longer PS?