Hey everyone,

I know i'm still studying like a mad-man for the LSAT, but I want to get my ducks in a row regardless of if i'm taking the September or December. As of today i've had four LOR offers from various people and I'm not quite sure who exactly I should take since I believe the typical amount is 3. I've heard four is overkill, but please correct me if i'm wrong!

Head of my major - I took his course and was the only person to receive an A in his class. I routinely went to office hours and he had me organize review groups before exams to help those who were struggling. I have a great relationship with him and he's even offered to proof my applications and personal statements.

Congressman - I am a summer intern for this Congressman who i've had a great experience with. There is a good handful of us who are interns, but I routinely get pulled to attend exclusive meetings/summits/interviews/roundtables/etc by him. I know the LOR would be a solid one, as he has told me himself that he would love to write one for me for law school.

Senator - I was a fall intern for this Senator who has remained in touch. This was another incredible experience from start to finish. She has well offered to write me a LOR due to the extra hours I always put in and flexibility in rather crazy situations. This woman threw me a surprise birthday party to put this into perspective.

PHD Professor - This professor was an amazing class with an even more amazing professor. She was incredibly kind, informative and helpful. She always took the time to send me detailed notes on my work and offered at the end of the semester to write a LOR for getting an A in her course. She's the youngest tenure professor in my major.

I've heard academic is always a better option but I feel all four would be excellent LORs that I'm lucky to have. What should I do? Who should I turn away? Should I take them all? I also still have two more semesters to get LORs if need be and I have a couple of tentative offers as well if you guys think these aren't a good fit.

Thank you so much!

Hey guys!

So I am going to begin writing up my personal statements, however I have no idea where to start. I am applying to Canadian law schools and I am not sure how to start writing especially if applications are not yet open.

I understand that each law school usually has a different personal statement topic but they are all similar to some extent... Any suggestions on where to find specific topics and how to get started? I also don't want to spend any money on the personal statement bundle.. What have been some past topics?

Thanks in advance!

I went through the admissions course, and am wondering what other's thoughts are regarding whether or not my situation would count as allowing for a diversity statement.

I am a Doctor. I am currently a Family Medicine resident but with the desire to practice law with my medical background.

I was hoping to mainly focus on the being a M.D. part as that is something I know that greatly separates me from the vast majority of law applicants and is part of the basis of how and what I would like to do with the joint degrees.

I also happen to have cerebral palsy, extremely mild, but did have to have 6 major surgeries, but I only walk with a minor limp and can ski downhill on expert runs, but it did greatly affect my upbringing.

Appreciate anyone's input, will provide some more information if it would better help with providing an answer.

Thanks everyone!

Hi 7sagers,

I am a few years out of UG and finally ready to apply to law school (hoping for fall 2018 start). My UG institution submitted my transcript the other day, and I payed for the CAS earlier this morning to get the ball rolling. I'm a little confused about my LSAC GPA and transcript. During my junior year, I studied outside of the Untied States from August to June. Although my UG grades are not calculated with the study abroad grades, they are listed under the category of "TRANSFER CREDIT ACCEPTED BY THE INSTITUTION" with the credit information and alphabetical grade listed next to each class. For example, Economic Development is listed with 1.00 and T A-. The T denotes that it is a transfer credit. Since this was a year's worth of study it's a significant amount of credit...

Now, when I got to my Academic Summary Report on LSAC, the LSAC GPA is calculated using my other three years of UG, not the year I spent abroad. The year I spent abroad isn't even listed in the yearly row at the top of the report. Even though my total credits add up to the right amount, it looks like I wasn't doing anything for an entire year. I called LSAC earlier today, but they weren't very helpful. They said LSAC will only calculate things in your GPA if the courses were taken at U.S. institutions or a foreign institution on one of the list of approved schools.

Is this something I should consider writing a short addendum so admissions know I wasn't sitting around for a year doing nothing? Anything else I can do?

This might be a stretch…but do any of you know of a guide of sorts to the T14 (and maybe beyond)?

.

Hey 7Sagers!

In terms of submitting LOR to LSAC - once the professor gets the link, do they submit only one LOR and then we distribute the same letter to each law school? Or do they need to provide multiple/ tailor each LOR to the school...? Let's say you're applying to five, do you ask your professor for five? So lost....

Thanks YALL.

What kind of questions are you asking yourself to get the creative process started? How are you going about crafting your personal statements?

Hey everyone! Quick question about the Academic Summary Report -- LSAC just processed my transcripts and the numbers are what I expected them to be, but I just noticed the statistics they include about your degree granting institution. Specifically, the story they tell about my university is that 65% of students got below average on the LSAT and too few students exist to calculate an average GPA. I was wondering how this is viewed by admission officers and what sort of impact it would have if I'm at the median for my top two law schools.

Hello 7sagers! Vague question alert here, but I took the June LSAT and am starting the application process - how do I go about narrowing down my list of schools? What kind of process are you using? Not entirely sure where I eventually want to settle down and practice (which is complicating things), but I scored a 166 and have a 3.85 LSAC GPA (OK softs, played a sport 4 years in college if that makes a difference). Do you think I can get into some of the lower tier T-14 schools? Any help is appreciated - thanks!

Hello! I was wondering if anyone knew anything about the process of attending law school in Australia and returning back to Canada/US for employment after graduating. I have read that certain states (CA + NY) are more friendly to international law students when they return back to pursue a legal career. As well, I have become aware to how more Canadian students attend school in Australia for law and return back to Canada to take some written exams before they can officially become a lawyer.

Does anyone have any more information about the process of attending law school internationally before coming back to practice in North America? Thanks!

Hi! I am confused about how the LSAC will calculate my GPA. My college just has A, B, C, etc. They do not give plus or minus. The college I transferred to gives plus and minus. I am just confused how this would all calculate up with the custom LSAC GPA.

I here we're gonna be the oddballs in Law Schools, and some people won't be so nice. I personally can grab a beer with anyone (guess it's just a laid back West Coast/CA thing), but I just wanna know I'm not gonna be all alone out there :)

https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/12/13/study-high-standardized-test-scores-dont-translate-to-better-cognition

http://worklife.columbia.edu/files_worklife/public/Pros_and_Cons_of_Standardized_Testing_1.pdf

I thought these were two interesting links about standardized testing. They may not specifically be about the LSAT, but they do offer some insight about the pitfalls of this type of testing. I think the LSAT (and as a matter of fact all standardized admissions test) should be done away with. I recognize the need for an equal scoring system, but I would imagine every year students are denied from schools because they didn't perform well enough on a test, when in reality could be the best and brightest students in a field and their class. I don't know what the solution should be, maybe less weight for the LSAT in the admissions process, maybe admissions officer do more research about an applicants school/major, perhaps more schools conduct rounds of interviews with applicants? All of these of course take more resources that may not be available to all schools, but I think a new system is needed. What do the might fine minds of 7 sage thing?

Good afternoon everyone!

Can one submit one's transcripts to the AACRAO so that one gets evaluation of one's UG performance, before taking the LSAT?

I have read that the CAS ( formerly LSDAS) uses AACRAO evaluation services to determine how good or bad one did in UG.

I plan on taking the LSAT this February 2018, but before taking, I would like to know where I stand as an international applicant. Or does the CAS calculate GPA only when you are applying to law schools?

In other words, if one's not applying to law schools immediately, can one engage transcript evaluation of AACRAO or CAS just to assess where one stands?

Alternatively is there anyone here who can provide a tentative LSDAS GPA for an international student like me, whom I can PM?

Thank you.

Hi guys,

I recently attended a law school forum in DC and met a lot of schools. Is it ok if I actually write about admissions officer I spoke to at the forum?

Something like: "My recent discussion with Ms. __ __ affirmed my decision to make (enter school name) my top choice. She raved the JD/MPH program......"

Is that ok? Of course I won't make up the conversation we had, but i highly doubt they will remember me anyways lol.

I've been searching for hours but haven't been able to find a useful or remotely comprehensive list. It seems like Northwestern and Georgetown do in-person interviews, and Harvard, Columbia, and UChicago do videoconference interviews. Does anyone else know about the other schools? I mainly ask because I'm debating whether I should even apply to the schools that require in-person interviews, as I will be out of the country next winter/spring and wouldn't be able to fly back without the school actually subsidizing my travel.

Thanks in advance for any useful info!

EDIT: Probably easier to organize by school and update as we get info.

Harvard: Video interview

Yale: No interview

Stanford: No interview

Columbia: Video interview

Chicago: Video interview

Penn: ?? (their website says their admissions committee occasionally asks to interview candidates, but it seems uncommon)

NYU: No interview

Berkeley: No interview

Michigan: No interview

Virginia: Interview (phone? video? in-person?)

Northwestern: In-person interview

Georgetown: In-person group interview

Duke: ??

Cornell: ??

So I submitted my transcripts a while back and also received an email confirming that they were processed. However, I am unable to view what my LSAC GPA is online. Any ideas?

I'm applying after already finishing my MA a few years ago, and am trying to figure out the best approach for letters of rec. I was hoping some of you might have ideas about the questions below!

When academic letters of recommendation are preferred, is there any preference for undergraduate vs. graduate recommenders? Obviously my grad school professors have more recent memories of me, but I finished my grad course work 4 years ago, so it isn't all that recent either.

Since my undergrad professors previously recommended me for grad school, would it be absolutely crazy to ask them to submit and/or adapt the existing letters for law school?

Will it reflect badly if I don't submit an employer recommendation, after having been in the workforce for a few years? I'm certain they'd write me a good letter, but I'm not feeling comfortable disclosing quite yet that I'm applying to law school, since I wouldn't be matriculating for over a year at this point.

Thanks, all!

The potential free personal statement edit for the webinar got me wondering. What are the potential drawbacks of posting your personal statement online to get advice?

I am not all that worried about my personal statement being exposed as mine, though the possibility could merit some slight censorship of any details about my school or location.

For me, the main concern that I can think of would be that it could be plagarized or that elements could be copied. This might make it less unique. Is that just paranoid? If it is, why do most people try to get edits via swaps rather than posting them?

Are there other drawbacks I am not thinking of? What are they?

Hi Everyone,

I'm still planning out my timeline to apply for schools to start in the Fall of 2018. I have a pretty low GPA (3.49) and don't know my LSAT score yet (will be taking in Sept). I've had about 3 years of working experience in law firms as a practice assistant.

Like most, I have a good list of schools I'm applying to with safeties, targets and reaches.

I plan on asking a teacher or work supervisor for recommendations when the time comes, but the problem is I'm embarrassed to ask for letters to my reach schools. I'm talking Harvard, Columbia, etc. as my reach and I feel like people would just laugh at my face.

Has anyone ever had this issue before? These are my dream schools, but with my GPA I don't seriously think I'll get in - I'm just kind of applying to "see if it could ever happen" (and obviously on the off chance that I would be accepted - I would attend). I'm aware this could be a waste of time/money, but I will regret it if I don't apply to these schools.

Hi,

I graduated from the UK with an upper-second class honours. I looked online and I think it translates to 3.4 / 4.00. My question is do law schools look at the converted GPA the same way they look at US graduates' GPAs? My dream school is Northwestern. with an LSAT score of 162-166 do I have a good chance of being admitted? all other things equal.

Thanks,

I really want to wait until my last semester grades are posted before applying, which would be mid-December. My PT score is 165, and 173 BR and I'll be taking the LSAT in September. I already have my PS, LOR, addendum, and additional essays prepared so really I could apply once the September LSAT grades are posted.

I would greatly appreciate any advice. I would like to apply in October, however, I recognize patience is a virtue. Looking mostly T-40 schools. Thanks!

I go to a Canadian university where the 4.0 scale isn't used and, rather, we receive percentages and letter grades on our official transcripts. I read on another website that when calculating the LSAC GPA in such circumstances where both percentages and letter grades are available, then only letter grades will be used. Can anyone confirm that this is in fact true?

My GPA is significantly different when I use percentages vs. grade letters to calculate it, so it's very important for me to figure this out. Thanks in advance!

Hey everybody! This is my first time posting here so my apologizes if this post breaks forum etiquette.

Right now I'm considering whether or not a need a GPA addendum. From my undergraduate institution, LSAC will calculate that I have a 3.94 and within my time at my undergraduate institution I have steadily raised my GPA by small margins every semester. The problem is that I have some old DE credits from 4 years ago that will come back to haunt me and bring my LSAC calculated UGPA all the way to 3.72.

My ideal school is Georgetown having a median GPA of 3.77 and I'm still four points shy of their median LSAT (sitting in September to hopefully immediately apply ED after the scores come back.)

My question is should I write an addendum basically confessing I was a stupid teenager who didn't take life seriously and has since applied myself and steadily brought my GPA up every semester since? I'm almost worried that writing that addendum will highlight past poor grades without helping too much as I'm only .05 below their median.

What do you guys think? Additionally, if you think I should write it, should I include that since going to college I've held a 3.94 or does that not assist the addendum?