Hi guys!

Quick question for you all. My university offered me a position in one of it's study abroad centers, as an assistant to the program. The program starts in January 2018 and is a big reason why I decided to take a gap year between undergrad and law school. I've spent the interim between graduation and starting work by studying for the lsat and perfecting my law school applications.

Now, I had originally planned to explain this gap year in an addendum but I've noticed a couple school's don't have an option for it and for example, U Michigan notes that it should be instead mentioned in the resume.

So my question is basically how? Can I put it under experience if I haven't even started it?

Or would it be under "Personal" section?

Any enlightenment would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!

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I just came across this bit from the Top Law Schools forum (http://www.top-law-schools.com/writing-effective-why-x-addendum.html):

"Second, if you're applying Early Decision, a Why X addendum is redundant. Applying ED tells them you are certain to go there if accepted, and with that already true, they probably do not care about your reason. In a sense, applying ED is the ultimate Why X essay, with an action that says more than a 500 word addendum ever could. If it's early enough, you're sure it's the school of your dreams, and your numbers aren't good enough to get scholarship money (early decision applicants rarely receive scholarships on admittance because they are bound to that specific school and don’t need extra incentives), you're better off applying ED than trying to write a Why X addendum."

I'm planning on submitting an application by November 10 for my early decision school, and was prepared to write a Why X essay. So I'm just wondering how true the above is. If it is true, I'd love to submit my app even earlier.

This question mainly stems from lack of proper information and not trusting TLS; plus I think this is a subject many people aren't sure on. What is considered having good ties to a city/region?

Is having lived in a city since early teens to graduating high school and doing 2 years of UG enough? I moved away to finish my UG but am thinking about coming back, but it has been almost 4 years.

Do I need a family connection? A decent amount of friends/people I know there?

What do y'all think? I feel this community is much more level headed and understands not everyone wants big law, so I'd appreciate your thoughts.

I originally planned on taking the LSAT in December but since then have decided to push it back until June and upgraded to the ultimate package. I am hoping to get some advice on choosing the right schools to apply. I realize it is a bit early to ask this question but I already signed up for CAS on the LSAC website and my email has been blowing up from many different schools. I knew there were a ton of schools out there but woah the amount of emails I have received is a bit overwhelming. I have 2 main focuses in choosing a school. The first is a scholarship and the second is finding a school that has a program and/or clinic for child advocacy law or juvenile law. The first focus I understand will depend greatly on my LSAT score but also finding a decently generous school. The second focus is important to me because I would really like to find a school I can get involved in what I am interested in. I really want to help kids and plan to focus primarily on child advocacy, juvenile and adoption law. I have done a lot of research and have found a few schools that I have my eye on but I am curious if anyone knows of any schools with these programs. Or at least have any advice on how to narrow down schools. Is there a recommendation on the amount of law schools to apply to? I was granted a fee waiver and have already received application fee waivers from some schools so I wonder, if there is no fee then, would it hurt to apply to many different schools and see what kind of scholarships I receive? I have talked to some family and friends on the subject and I am curious what my fellow 7sagers think on the subject. Thanks so much :)

Hi guys,

I've received offers from both these universities in Australia. UNSW has also offered me 36 credits for previous study (i.e. six subjects), while Melbourne hasn't. While I see that Melbourne is #1 in Australia, UNSW is not far behind (#3 or #4?)

Should I not worry about the time and money (since it won't be a lot in the long run) and go for Melbourne? Which university will have more value and better job prospects?

I applied to Duke towards the end of October. File complete on 10/30. Just went under review today. I'm not on the priority track. Does anyone know how long non-PT applicants generally have to wait before hearing back?

I know that some schools automatically wave your app fee if you have a LSAC fee waiver. Will I see this reflected on my LSAC portal once my app is finished? Would I have to reach out directly to each school? Also, which T14 schools do not automatically waive the fee? Thanks in advance!

figured it out

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

Anyone else having trouble fitting their descriptions in on the electronic applications?? haha any advice?

I got my Associate's for transfer in a bit less than 2 years and finished the rest of my credits at a University in 2 years. So total education time was 4 years. I took a couple community college classes while I was a high school senior and I took classes every summer and intersession. I guess I should have requested transcripts not just for LSAC but for my own personal review as well bc I do believe there was a period of time like one semester when I was just taking one or two College classes (technically part time??). I think my IGETC transfer was already approved at the time and I just had to wait until the Fall to start university. I was working 35 hours a week during that period as is evident by my resume.

I guess from looking at my transcript one might wonder why I didn't finish my education in 3 years. I just didnt think it was necessary and didnt even think about it until now bc I finished my 4 year degree in 4 years like normal and I honestly dont entirely remember how many classes I took.

I already sent in 3/8 applications and one of them was my [Realistic] Top Choice as it's a top 50 school in a location I love and just based on my GPA and LSAT I should get in with like a 20k merit scholarship.

Did I just ruined my chances of getting in?

I'm bad at writing my resume, and I don't think it's a natural skill at all. I don't think I'm unique in this way. Anyway, I did find a great resource called Creddle which is FREE. Don't worry I'm not an affiliate! It helps you organize, and format your resume. Even better it pulls from your LinkedIn so you don't have to compile it from scratch. It helped me create my first decent (fingers crossed) resume ever. It has a cover letter section too. If anyone has any questions about using it feel free to PM me since I've gotten pretty comfortable with it. Hope it helps. :)

If all goes well and I'm admitted into law school, I will have been living in my state for 11 months when law school begins. You have to live in a state for one year before you can be considered a permanent resident. There's an option to write a non-resident addendum to qualify for in-state tuition, but I'm not sure what to say/how to begin the addendum. Any suggestions?

Is there a wait period for a rejected application to a law school with rolling admissions? For example, if you apply in the fall and get rejected, can you reapply in the spring, or do you have to wait until the following calendar year?

Hey everyone,

Hope everyone's grey day went well! Although I appreciate getting the score before the holidays, that does mean that I have less time to work on some of the school specific optional essays. I'm wondering if anyone would want to team up over these next couple of weeks and work on editing each other's optional essays/keep each other on track? It would probably work best if they were the same schools & I'll be working on essays for most of the T-14 over the next couple weeks.

Let me know if this sounds interesting to you!

Hi all,

For a school that you REALLY want to go to, how many optional statements would you do? All of them?

In my case, I am applying to Penn (I'm a bit above the 25 percentile for LSAT and GPA, so it is a reach for me). The school offers 4 optional essay topics: 1) standard DS, 2) 'Why X school?', 3) question about teamwork, 4) typical addenda question.

I am already planning to submit #1 & #2 in addition to my PS. The instructions say 'You may answer more than one essay topic if you so choose.' Of course no reason to answer #4 if unnecessary, but is it bad form not to come up with something for #3?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

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Hi all! Is anyone interested in talking through interview questions/doing mock interviews together sometime in the next week or 2? I don't have a super clear idea of how we could structure it. If so, please DM me with some info about you and what you're interested in studying/where you've applied. Thanks! (3(/p)

I was wondering if anyone would be interested in reading my Diveristy Statement and giving me some feedback? I'm happy to do the same.

Prompt: "If there is any information you would like to bring to the Committee's attention that has not been covered in the application or your personal essay, you are welcome to do so by attaching a separate statement. You can include information about your family background, reasons for a weak semester in college, or any other information that you feel should be considered when your application is reviewed."

I understand the first portions of of the prompt for diversity, background, and academic record but if I have done other additional essays, in my case adversities and achievements in my elected office bid, should I include it or not? For context my personal statement talks about my career and my motivations for going to law school, but doesn't address adversity or achievement within the campaign itself.

Hey guys, I am debating whether I should write a diversity statement or not. I am already writing about a socio-economic challenge that I overcame in my socio-economic addendum and I don’t really have a topic to write for my diversity statement aside from the fact that my family was dirt poor but we still moved around the world in search of a better place to live and so I got to live in different cultures and learned to adapt. Is that a good enough topic? Because I don’t see how that could contribute to the classroom disscussions. Maybe I just don’t know enough of what they want

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.

Hi all! Can anyone who has completed an interview with CLS describe your interview experience? In terms of what questions were asked and how it generally goes. Thanks!

I am pursuing a dual degree at one of the law schools I applied for (JD/MES). The school recently contacted me and said I did not meet their minimum academic requirements because I received a major in Anthropology rather than an Honours Specialization in Anthropology. I have been asked to write a rationale form to apply as a non-standard applicant with the following:

-Why I do not meet the minimum admission requirements

-How my professional/personal and academic experience have prepared me to be successful in the program 

I have a pretty direct and logical reason for not receiving an Hons. Spec.: I was 1 credit away from an Honours but the only 4000 level course my school offered in my program was for students intending to pursue a masters degree in Anthropology and I did not want to do that, and decided to pursue electives that would better assist my admittance to a dual JD/MES (i.e. environmental law courses). Similarly, I know what to say re: how my academic experience has prepared me to be successful in the program.

However, I have no idea what to write for 'personal experience.' I don't really understand how personal experiences could make up for the fact that I was 1 credit away from an Honours Specialization and decided against it. The only thing I can think of is that I was the president of a lot of committees and councils in my undergrad while maintaining a 3.7 CPGA, and thus believe I am well prepared for the workload a graduate degree would provide.

Otherwise, I don't really know what else to say and I'm worried the rationale form will come up short.

I spoke to a guy involved at in the MES program not too long ago, and he said admittance to the graduate program might help in getting into the law school itself (i.e. the dual degree is really unique and would look good to the law school as a fringe applicant). I want to make sure the rationale is really good in case that is true -- anything to help my admittance to law. Has anyone had any experience writing a rationale form? What do you think they are they looking for when asking about how "personal experiences" have prepared a student to be successful in a graduate program?