If you send in your transcript and apply to law school the fall or spring before you're actually admitted the next fall, wouldn't your transcript be incomplete if you don't graduate until after the spring semester? Or even fall semester depending on when it was sent in.

Hi,

My question is regarding my GPA and how it looks for law schools. My GPA is really low right now its a 3.56 Poli Sci major and Minor in Environmental Studied. I was hoping to take extra classes to boost my GPA and was wondering how that would look for law schools. In addition, I was wondering if it looks better to take the courses at my University than at the extension school of the University or at a local community college.

Since attending classes at my actual university is really expensive I was hoping to take extra classes at the extension school or at a community college, but I was thinking that Law schools might look down on that. I attended university straight out of high school and the GE's during my freshman and sophomore year of college really killed me. I was wondering what was the best recommendation.

In addition, I am able to graduate earlier than expected this year, during winter quarter, and was thinking of taking extra classes for spring, summer session 1 and summer session 2 to hopefully get my GPA higher.

I'm planning to take a year off after graduating to apply for Law school. I'm taking my LSATs in February and possibly June if the February score isn't where I want it to be.

I'm trying to get my application as competitive as possible and hoping to get advice.

Thanks!

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I asked a professor to write a recommendation in 2013 for me. However, I didn't apply that year and the letter is still in the system. Can i use it for application this year?

Does rank matter if you do not intend to get into a big law firm? I want to be a family lawyer, potentially work as a states attorney. Recently, my professor, a previous public defender, stated that going to law school not in tier 1 would overall be a waste of money and time. I was wondering if this is true to those with my aspirations, as listed above? I am not entirely foolish I know better schools have higher hiring rates and they often have higher salaries, but I want to know if I were to go to a school ranked somewhere between 100-150, would this entirely ruin my chances of doing what I want to do?

I am currently in the middle of my applications and I have ran across a bit of trouble in the Character and Fitness portion of the exam. If anyone could please PM me so that I may ask a few questions and get some advice I would greatly appreciate it!

Hello! After reading through many topics about LORs, I was hoping that someone could help/offer me your opinions.

I am 4 years out of university and I have one letter in the LSAC system from a professor. I had planned on getting a second letter from another professor that I had worked closely with (2 classes + 2 independent studies), however, due to some health issues and oversight from him... I don't feel comfortable asking him for the letter for a third time. (I had asked him twice, followed up each time, but his response to any request for the LOR is to ignore... if I email him about anything else, life updates, etc. he's all ears.)

Therefore, is it okay just to have one letter from a professor whose class was negligible to my credit hours?

Also, is there a specific type of class/professor I should be looking to get a letter of rec from? (I went to an engineering school, so I figure I should be looking towards the humanities professors.)

Side note, after working at a fortune 500 company for a bit, I moved back to my home state to work for the 'family business'. Is it in poor form for me to get a letter of rec from a colleague (unrelated to me in any form; we have a great working relationship/have worked on many projects together)?

Apologies in advance for how awkwardly worded this is... but thank you for any insight!

I know the smart decision would be to limit myself to some number of schools I will apply, but the thing is I cannot. I feel like applying to each and single one in the top 25 law schools. I also think about not having any safety schools on the list and applying only to those I will absolutely love to go to, not simply be "okay" with. Does it sound like a mad woman plan?

Hi all,

Most of the schools that I am applying to give the option of a DS which is awesome, because I have not so great stats but a very diverse/unorthodox upbringing. One of the schools that I am applying to (UCLA) doesn't say anything about a DS specifically, but there is an optional addendum section where it says "If there is additional information you would like to include in your application, please attach an addendum" so I was thinking about just uploading the same DS I am writing for all my other schools under this section, so that I can also use the PS that I have written (which has little to do with my upbringing).

Does anyone know if that is frowned upon or anything? I just want to make sure I don't make them roll their eyes at me when they are already looking at subpar stats haha. Thanks in advance!

Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone had helpful tips on attending info sessions/tours. I know it's not an interview but I read somewhere that some admissions teams briefly take note of your behavior sometimes.

Should we be dressing in business professional or business casual? Also, should I bring resumes to law school fairs just in case?

Thank you!!!!!

I started filling out applications this week and noticed that Columbia requires a professional LOR for anyone who graduated before 2015 (I graduated in May of 2014). The LORs I secured at the beginning of the year are both from old professors. I immediately reached out to my previous supervisor of 2 years (not my current employer -- for obvious reasons) and asked for a last minute LOR. He happily agreed to write one and I know that he will write a positive recommendation; however, I have never seen him write in any capacity (he's a brilliant data guy -- not necessarily a wordsmith). I will be waiving my right to read the letter, so I'm a bit nervous. Does anyone have any advice as to what I should pass along to him in order to help him write the best LOR he can, we're both clueless about what admissions is looking for in a professional recommendation from a field that isn't particularly relevant to the law. Are there certain characteristics in data analysis/cost forecasting that he can expound upon that would be seen as a bonus to my application? Anyone been in a similar situation? Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I'm signed up for the LSAT this month. I already have a score from October 2015, but am considering postponing until December 2016. If I do this, I'll miss early decision and won't have complete applications until late December, presumably.

1.) Do you think that timeline puts me at a disadvantage for Northwestern, Cornell, and Georgetown range schools? Or is it better to have a potentially lower score and apply RD before Thanksgiving?

2.) Do people get into ED programs with slightly lower LSAT scores?

I have the opportunity to submit an optional addendum. The course suggests that the optional addendum is there to explain extenuating circumstances. Can I use this addendum to discuss why this particular school is my top school? The essays outside of the personal statement are 1. what uniqueness you bring to the school and 2. career goals. I am applying early admission to this school and I'd like to explain why it's my top choice, but wondering if that's best to save for the interview rather than include it as an addendum?

I am taking my first LSAT in December, but I am leaving open the possibility of pushing it back to Feb if my PT are not where I want them to be. If I do decide to take the Dec test, should I submit my applications as early as possible with no score, and ask for them to be held until my score becomes available? Or should I wait until I have a score and apply later? My biggest concern with submitting without a score is with applications to schools where my GPA is a little below average, but where I think I will be able to achieve an average or above LSAT score with more time. I am worried about what impact it will have if I end up scoring lower than anticipated.

For example:

My UG GPA is a 3.55

Current PT average is a 160, my goal is 165+ and my biggest weakness is LG which I know will improve with drills and practice.

Some schools I'd like to apply to have 3.6/3.7 GPA averages, and 165-168 LSAT averages. I have been out of school for 3 years, have a solid work resume and letters of recommendation.

Any thoughts on this? I'm feeling like every piece of this is so uncertain since I don't have a real score yet! If I am rejected this round from those reach schools, and decide to wait, take the LSAT again, and apply again the following year, does anyone know how a rejection will impact my chances of getting in the following year?

Hi all,

Just looking for a little feedback/wanting to confirm I'm making the right choice here. I am 3+ years out of school and committed to applying to schools this year. I took the LSAT over 2 years ago with minimal studying and scored below the 25% at all T14 schools that I now plan on applying to this cycle. I will be taking the LSAT in December and my current PT average is at the median for about half the schools I plan on applying to in the T14. I hope to raise my score 3-5 points over the next few months, for a little bit greater margin of error for a score I'd be happy with. My GPA is at or above the median for most schools.

My questions is, since I could technically submit a completed application at schools now and then indicate I am retaking the December test, is there any advantage to doing this? I am leaning towards preparing all my applications and then if all goes as planned submitting my applications within a few days of LSAT scores being released in January but just wanted to make sure I was thinking this through correctly and not putting myself at any disadvantage.

Thanks for any advice :)

I've heard a few mixed reviews on the best time to apply. For example, one article expressed that if you do not apply by the end of October the chances of you getting accepted are substantially more slim. Then another article expressed that as long as it is before January there is no rush. Basically, what I want to know is when is the best time to apply before waiting begins to handicap the chances of being accepted?

Hello! I studied LSAT 3 years ago, then I thought it was premature, so I went to a grad school.

I took 2013,December LSAT and at the time I received two LoRs from my undergrad professors, didn't apply. They are still in my LSAC account.

Now I am taking September LSAT. Do I need a new LoR to apply for 2017 or can I just use those ones I already have?

Thank you guys in advance!

Good luck for everyone!

What key factors makes one letter of recommendation better than another? What would be the wow factor from an admissions standpoint for the letters of recommendation?

I'm just curious as to if getting a high school physics professor to write a LOR for me would hurt my application.. He's been a close mentor throughout my years in Undergrad and through my professional career and knows me much better than my college professors. He's a very respected and knowledgeable individual, but I fear that because he works at a HS instead of University it might not hold as much weight. I couldn't find anything on TLS after searching so I thought I would ask here before starting a post over there.

For what it's worth I also plan on including 2 of my University professor's as LOR's as well.. just stuck between my HS Physics teacher and a supervisor at my engineering company as number 3.

My professors said they need it so they get an idea of what my plans are for law school. I'm interested in commercial litigation or corporate law, not really sure yet.

From googling statement of purpose, it looks like it's something for students applying to graduate schools that pretty much says "this is why I want to apply to this program".

I don't feel comfortable giving them my personal statement as it's very...personal. I open it up briefly talking about rough sh*t that happened to me when I was young and that leads into how I'm a stronger person today etc. I'm also only halfway finished with it.

Should I just give them a more generic and less personal version of my personal statement?

I want to get it in to them by late September as I know they won't want to deal with writing a letter of rec during midterms (November) or finals (December).

I'm an old 7Sager who's (f i n a l l y) done with the LSAT but has returned for some much needed advice on personal statements! I've started writing four or five different statements, but I've hated all of them. I know I just missed an opportunity recently with the seminar thing, but does anyone have advice on narrowing down personal statement topics? As in, what to avoid? It's too early for me to spend money on an essay editing service, because I don't even like it myself!

The 7Sage community has given such sage advice on all things LSAT that I thought I'd throw out a rather unconventional topic to see if anyone cares to weigh in and illuminate me. I was introduced to the dean of my target law school by a friend of mine who is on the board of trustees at the university. He set us up for a lunch meeting on Friday! I'm curious (and a tad nervous truthfully) how to best approach the meeting. I'm confident in my ability to get in to the law school based on my numbers, but I'm working on a higher LSAT score to maximize my scholarship chances. I am curious: what would you say or do if you were in my situation? I have a few ideas but would love the benefit of this group's input.

I feel like this is an incredible opportunity and I want to get it right. Thanks in advance for any tips or ideas!

Hi all. Does anyone have any advice about the deferral process? I'm looking at Top Tier (really top 6) schools and thinking about applying this fall and potentially deferring for a year if I get in. I don't want to put off applying because there's a chance that I may not want to defer. Does anyone know how difficult it is to get a deferral from Harvard, Yale, Columbia etc.?

I just had a professor that is writing a LOR for me ask for a CV. After a Google search, I now know what that is. What all do I need to include on a CV?

Hello all,

I am currently a third year student in law and political science at the university of Lyon, France, and I am planning to go to the US or Canada for the first year of my masters degree in international law. We have access to several universities for that kind of exchange, and I thought it would be interesting to have American students give me advice on which ones are better and why. The universities I'm interested in are:

- USA: Boston university, the university of Southern California and Brooklyn law school

- Canada: McGill, Montreal, and the university of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Could you guys tell me what you think about them and which one would be better according to you, especially for someone looking to study international law?