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!

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?

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.

Hi all, anybody know of any good resources that have helpful info on the different ways to get help paying for law school?

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.

Does every law school require a law school report fee? And, if so is there any way to get a waiver for that?

I have 14 schools on my list on LSAC and that's almost $500 in total.

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?

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):

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):

Would really appreciate advice and guidance from former applicants and people in the process of applying to law schools! :)

Thanks!

Hi all!

I have a silly question that I couldn't answer on my own, and I feel it's worth the risk of looking foolish on here just to ensure I end up submitting this application correctly. I'm applying to Colorado Law and they have a somewhat specific prompt with a part 1 and an optional part 2. Here are the instructions from their website:

The personal statement requirement provides you an opportunity to present yourself to the Admissions Committee. It is to be submitted with your electronic LSAC application. The personal statement for fall 2018 is below. Your essay must be in your own words, double-spaced, and should not exceed 1,000 words. Supported file formats include: doc, htm, html, txt, PDF, wp, wpd, rtf, wps, wpt and docx.

Personal Statement Prompt for 2018

At Colorado Law, we seek students who advance our core values of character, diversity, leadership, and commitment to service.

Part 1: Explain how you can contribute to these goals. You may also discuss any other factors that you think may assist the Admission Committee's evaluation of your application, such as: background information; experiences, talents or special interests; adversities you have overcome; and your reasons for applying to law school.

Part 2: (Optional): In considering applicants for scholarship awards, Colorado Law considers not only academic merit, but also economic need and obstacles, personal background, and a wide variety of individual qualities, so you may submit a statement of up to 500 words on any one or more of the following: (a) aspects of your upbringing, life experiences, work or service experiences, or education that you believe set you apart from most law school applicants; (b) economic disadvantage or other obstacles you have overcome in pursuing your education or career thus far and in applying to law school; (c) how you think you will contribute to society with your law degree; and/or (d) your financial need for increased money to fund your legal education.

So, it seems that one could interpret this in one of two ways:

Additionally, if I decided to forego the optional part 2 portion, that would mean I could use the 1,000 words all on part 1.... right?

What are your thoughts? The main reason I'm putting so much weight on this being correct is because of this Q&A with Colorado admissions and USN which just got me all worked up:

The most common mistake applicants made is failing to follow instructions, which differ from school to school. Some applicants ignore deadlines and fail to pay attention to details, such as addressing our specific essay topics in their personal statements or not submitting our two required recommendation letters.

So yes, any words of wisdom you guys have on the matter would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance :)

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! :)

During my final year of high school I volunteered every Saturday morning for a local charity until I left for college. I know the advice is to leave high school off your resume, but this seems like worthwhile experience to list. Should I list it in my Activities section?

I want to know the pro's/ con's about transferring law schools after the 1st year. Is it a common practice? Is it difficult to do so? Any input would be appreciated!

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!

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?

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.

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.

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!

I'd love any feedback you all can provide. Thanks!

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 an Asian (non-US citizen) female working in a male-dominated industry.

But I was educated in the states and currently live in Asia.

Is this a diversity factor?

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:

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!

This post comes from an Ontario student, but it may apply to certain students applying in America/elsewhere as well.

U of T and Osgoode Hall, two of Ontario's -- nay, Canada's -- premiere law schools, do not want their applicants' resumes unless they're "mature" students (i.e. 5+ years out of post-secondary schooling). This presents a personal statement quandary for applicants like myself who are fresh out of the school game: do you tell that coherent, engaging story that omits several achievements, or do you try to fit in your achievements/extra curriculars where you can?

I feel that a lot of the personal statement resources offered throughout the internet are targeted towards students who can already use their resumes in the application process. Thus, they are implored to not "rehash" their achievements... but this advice does not seem as applicable to Canadian students who wish to apply to schools like U of T and Osgoode (among others).

What would you advise when presented with this difficulty? Do you sacrifice mentioning that award you received for graduating with the highest GPA in your department to talk about your (almost invariably) more personal accounts about volunteer positions/personal struggles/etc.? Do you sacrifice the telling of your accomplishments for consistency's sake?

Thanks for reading! If I could catch a glance from Mr. @David.Busis himself that'd be especially helpful :)

And don't say "because of it's ranking". I'm just curious based on your goals why you're choosing a particular school(s).

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to let you know that 7Sage editor @"maura.roosevelt" compiled the 2017 application requirements for T-15 law schools. You can find it here:

https://classic.7sage.com/admissions/lesson/application-requirements-for-top-schools/

We're working on even more free resources for you.

Should I also write "why x" essays if I am writing a diversity statement?

I honestly think it's really hard to write interesting why x school essays unless one has regional ties or other personal, compelling reasons to go particular schools.

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!