AHHH. Im trying to decide between two versions of my personal statement that I've had written. They're both similar but go in slightly different directions. Two schools I'm applying to have their apps due tomorrow. I spoke to someone previously involved in law school admissions at an ivy league and they really liked the first version. But also had some negative feedback from others on the first. I haven't had the chance to show my second version to anyone involved in admissions though and I'm worried if I take the leap and go with the second statement I'll be hurting myself. Im really procrastinating aren't I. Yep. Don't need serious feedback, just wanna know which to submit :)

If you know anyone that could help with a last minute decision like this, let me know!! Thank you!

Schools that have honor programs that you can apply for do these hurt your application at all? For instance, scholarship consideration if you don't get in? Also, can you still get full tuition if you don't apply for these programs (given that your GPA and grades are right)?

Hey all! I have a friend who is in the process of transferring law schools and could use some advice from the 7sage community. Anything would help, here it is:

Hello, I was accepted at UCLA and Northwestern as a transfer; i.e., I will be paying sticker at both, but if I go to UCLA I will not have to take out any loans (savings). I will have to take out loans for the last year at Northwestern (80k).

If, ideally, I want to work in SoCal BigLaw, what would be the smarter course of action: attending UCLA or Northwestern?

After performing a basic cost-benefit analysis, I am leaning towards UCLA, on the theory that the benefit of attending Northwestern (ending up at median and still getting BigLaw) has largely disappeared, while the benefit of attending UCLA (attending school and networking in my target market) is still in play. Further, the cost of attending UCLA (the risk of ending up at median and doing poorly at OCI for that reason) has already dissipated, while the cost of attending Northwestern (taking out loans for the last year) is still in play.

Given my SoCal focus and above-median grades (top 25% at BC/BU), I don't see much of a benefit to attending Northwestern, other than the added prestige of being in the T14 as opposed to the T20. Are there factors I'm missing here?

Said another way, will I see any meaningful boost in SoCal employment prospects by going to Northwestern, or will my top 1/4 GPA at BC/BU be sufficient at UCLA for my OCI process to be similar as between both schools (if I am targeting SoCal biglaw). I am thinking that at this point my OCI process will be the same at both schools and that it will really come down to my interviewing skills. If so, I don't see a point to take out loans to attend Northwestern.

Thanks for your responses! I’ve attached a poll below as well.

I've been out of school for 3 years. Going to law school only became a goal of mine my last semester of college. I ended up getting 5 academic recommendations the summer after graduating just so I'd have them on file when I was 100% secure in the decision to go to law school and likely rack up debt. Since I've heard academic letters are preferred to non-academic, I never really thought about getting one from work because I already have more than I can submit to any single school. Should I be getting one from an employer?

For some context on the letters I have, two are by STEM professors (I double majored in STEM & non-STEM), one is from a non-STEM professor, and two are from non-STEM professors who were also my thesis advisors and law professors at my undergrad's law school.

Since graduating I've worked at two law firms and am about to switch to a third firm. The areas of law I've worked in are pretty relevant because they all combine my interest in law, technology, and science in different ways: my first job was as a legal assistant/paralegal at a boutique firm representing start ups and individuals in IP (mostly trade secret) litigation, my second job has been at a boutique criminal defense firm representing clients facing computer crime charges, and my third job will be as a patent litigation paralegal in big law.

Even if I get rec letters from employers which letters should I submit given that most schools accept 2-4?

I feel like my STEM LORs help me stand out, especially because one is from a professor whose lab I worked in and co-authored a peer-reviewed scientific article with. My thesis advisors have a really great picture of why I want to go to law school because my honors thesis empirically studied an area of patent law I'm pretty passionate about (and about to work in w/my third job).

Hi guys!

I'm in the process of applying and came across a school that wants an explanation for the variance in the LSAT score. My LSAT scores are 161 -> 167. I wasnt too sure what the "correct" explanation is or what they are looking for here. Thoughts?

I had a question for people who are applying as a STEM Major who are in a similar position as me. I finished college with a 3.77 GPA and a chemistry degree. However, I am not great at standardized tests, and before taking the actual test, am guessing I will score roughly 155 on the test based on PT's. I believe this is considered a "reverse splitter" applicant. I wanted to know if you are similar to myself, if you were accepted anywhere and what scholarship offers you have been getting? Also if there are any schools that look more favorably upon reverse splitters. Thanks so much for the help, I really appreciate it!!!

Hey ya'll

Im planing to take Feb LSAT, the first time I took LSAT I got 127 in June 2020, and now my highest PT LSAT score is150. It been a while that even though I study a lot with BR Im not improving, My GPA 3.80 ( from UCI) is more than the 75 percentile for the school that I love to attend (chapman law) but my LSAT is bellow 25(154) percentile. I was wondering what do you think my chances are to get Into chapman at all or get in with scholarship?

Hi all,

I am still waiting to hear back from a couple of schools, I applied end of December/early January. With deposit deadlines coming up/some already passed I believe sufficient time has gone by. I have seen mixed advice online whether or not to send a LOCI before you hear back at all.

Is it inappropriate to send a short email reiterating my interest and commitment to the school?

Thank you!

Hey 7Sagers! I'm doing some research on schools at the moment and would love to connect with any current Cornell Law students or alums who could give me some thoughts on their experiences there, both academically and personally.

For some context, I don't know exactly what field of law I'd like to practice, but I'm interested in immigration law and international law, potentially labor law. I'm definitely intrigued by the alternative dispute resolution program Cornell has as well.

If anyone on here is a Cornell student or has a friend there who would be willing to connect via email, that would amazing! Thanks in advance.

On UVA's application there is a section titled Activities & Interests as I am sure many people know. I know what I want to put for my answers to each question in the section, but I'm confused as to how I should format my answer for the first box. I originally just made a bulleted list type format for all of my significant extra-curriculars, but when I reviewed my application it all just comes out as a cluttered blob of a paragraph. Does anyone have any idea how to properly format the answer in this section? Or should I just assume that UVA admissions knows that my list is going to come out as a cluttered blob?

Here's an example of my formatting vs how it comes out in the preview:

XX Student Affairs Senate, XX, XX

Elected Student Senator, Academic Affairs Committee, 5 hours/week 8/2015–12/2015

• Helped conduct student review of changes in university admission standards.

XX Model UN Team, XX, XX

Team Member, 3 hours/week 8/2015–12/2015

• Represented XX at the American Model United Nations Conference in Chicago, IL.

vs

XX Student Affairs Senate, Lincoln, XX Elected Student Senator, Academic Affairs Committee, 5 hours/week

8/2015-12/2015 Worked on student legislation, allocation of budgets, and coordination of campus events. Helped conduct student review of changes in university admission standards. XX Model UN Team, XX, XX Team Member, 3 hours/week 8/2015-12/2015 Represented XX at the American Model United Nations Conference in Chicago, IL.

Hello 7Sage community,

I am working on my law school applications, and need to submit transcripts from every credit-bearing institution I've attended to LSAC CAS. The transcripts from the university I actually graduated from have already been processed, but I also need to include the organizations I received transfer credit from. Problem is, these organizations aren't listed in the dropdown menu under "Add Other Institution."

The site will not let me progress without selecting a school from the dropdown, and I see no option to manually input an institution's name.

Can anyone help?

Thanks in advance,

AptitudeLSAT

I had a few questions dealing with addendas that I was hoping to get input on. A few weeks ago I did tune in for the webinar on addendas and learned alot about content for each topic, so my questions deal nothing with content or length.

My main question is this: how many addendas should you provide? I want to add a diversity statement for sure, but for example, if I felt that I needed to address a shortcoming in my application or LSAT score that will be beneficial to my application and not be redundant, can I have two?

Also, how do I format them?

Should I use a simple title in bold letters? Should I use fancier format options or keep it simple? Font? Size? Anything related to addendas are foreign to me, sorry if these questions seem pointless. Also! For personal statement essays do I add a title or just jump into the essay right off the bat?

I'm planning to apply to a merit scholarship ED program, but I'm torn between BU and GW.

Here's the deal: I'm currently planning to pursue some type of criminal or national security law (either at the DA, US Attorney, or other federal law enforcement agency like FBI or NSA.) I'm drawn to GW, just because the location will afford me to be closer to lots of national agencies and make more connections. Additionally, they have a national security law specialty, which is rare at most other schools.

However, I've heard some negative feedback about GW and am also slightly deterred by the huge class size. Additionally, I'm worried about making a decision based solely on location because there's a chance I won't end up pursuing this type of law.

As for BU, I've read that they attract some really renowned professors and scholars, which is very appealing. Also, the class size is much smaller and it is still located in a large city, which will afford me some connections.

I really want to apply to one of the merit scholarship ED programs and I do feel like I can confidently choose one of these schools, especially with some additional insight for all of you. Thoughts?

Hello fellow 7sagers!

I'm sorry if my post is outside the usual scope of 7sage discussions, but I was curious to see if anybody else is in a similar situation as me or has any advice to share.

When I originally decided to go to law school, I was planning on going to law school in the United States (where I'm from), but after evaluating some extenuating circumstances in my life, I decided it would be best for my health to go to Ireland for law school where I can get better access to medical care (I'm a type one diabetic if anybody is wondering). I'm still planning on taking the LSAT, but I was wondering if there was anybody on here who knows anything about international law school admissions (specifically in Ireland) or if there's anybody who's in a similar situation as me. All replies are greatly appreciated! Also, if you took the time to read my post thank you! Stay safe everybody!

How long should it be?

Hi 7sagers!

I've been placed on the Reserve group for Columbia Law a few days ago. I wrote a LOCI and was wondering if anyone would care to take a look/edit both the substance and format as this is my first time writing one. Please let me know and I'll PM you the letter. Thanks so much! :)

Does one have a better chance of getting into a school if they are applying to a specific program/ field of study ?

Hi all. I applied to a school during the first week of September and received a wait list notice today. I'm wondering if I should send a letter of continued interest ASAP, or wait until later on given it is so early in the cycle. Or, if I should do both, one now and another later on if I have not heard anything? Thanks!

Does anyone know if you can purchase the Edit Once option twice, as in once for a resume and once for a personal statement??

Hi guys,

I know that it's not good to start in the Spring semester compared to the Fall semester but let's just say that I start in the Spring semester then plan on transferring after 1L to a better law school.

Is it actually possible to transfer after 1L with spring semester start? or do you know any schools that do accept?

I know that you can for the Fall semester start and I know that it's going to be difficult and people will say I shouldn't attend if I plan on transferring to a new school.

But besides all that, is it possible?

Any experience or opinions?

Thank you.

Hi all! I'm planning to apply to law school this cycle and am confused about ordering my CAS transcripts on LSAC's website.

When I submitted a transcript request to the community college where I dual enrolled, it says the LSAC mailing address for transcripts (Box 2000-M, Newtown, PA) is invalid. Has anyone else submitted this address? If yes, have your transcripts been delivered?

Also - do I need to wait until my fall classes are reflected on my current university's transcript before requesting it? I know I don't need to wait until my fall grades are posted, but I'm not sure if it's okay for me to submit now without my current enrollment reflected.

Thanks!

Received a 164 in July, my average for PT is a 165. Is it worth waiting for October to take again, or should I try applying in September for a reach, like Georgetown? I have heard conflicting advice so I am interested to see what all of you smart people have to say. I know it’s towards the 25th percentile of 163, but I’m hoping that my GPA from a top 30 undergrad university will help me get over that.

Last year I got a lot of unsolicited fee waivers when my LSAT score was released. I'm trying to apply as early as possible this year but would also like to take advantage of free apps. Anybody have any personal experience with when the fee waiver emails start rolling in?

Is back and forth dialog acceptable in a personal statement? If so should it be formatted as normal dialog?

I applied to HLS/CLS/Chi a few times, but since then my score (171) has expired and I retook this Oct.

I wrote a new PS for this cycle (using partly on my previous apps' PS) that's based on my long work-ex in tech industry.

Would be interested to know the feedback from those with law school experience.