I've received a few emails from several law schools offering me CAS fee waivers if I reached out to the school and ask. Does anyone know of any good narratives to use when drafting emails for waivers?

I took my first LSAT last September, got a decent score for me, and applied to several schools. I got some nice scholarship offers, but I ultimately decided to hold off due to financial concerns. I'm retaking the LSAT this November and planning to take another shot at applying this December (some of the same schools as last year, some new ones). I've heard a lot of people recommend at least updating the old PS. However, I'm considering a topic that is totally different from last year's.

In my first PS, I wrote about the area of law I wanted to go into and my passion for that industry. Since then, I've been pondering a childhood hardship that I genuinely think has shaped me as a person and could make a pretty compelling story that directly ties into my desire to go into law.

But would it be a bad idea to apply to the same schools as last year with this completely different PS? I made no mention of the hardship in my first PS, and it's not like this was an experience that happened since my applications last year. I'm not quite sure why I didn't write about it in the first place. It's possible I didn't fully see how it would make sense as a personal statement, or it just felt strange to write about.

I haven't used this discussion tab much before... If I left out important details, please let me know. Thanks so much to anyone that takes the time to read this!

Hello, everyone! First of all, huge thanks in advance to anyone who can offer any input for me.

So, I haven't applied to any law schools yet. I haven't taken the LSAT yet either. (I will be taking it in April.) Still, I feel like this may be something worth thinking about.

The law school that I want to apply to is T3. In general, applicants have an average undergrad GPA of 3.47,median LSAT score of 152, and the school has an acceptance rate of about 64.5%. I feel that my chances of getting accepted are good-ish, but I think that my letters of recommendation may hurt me. I graduated with my bachelor's in 2015.

Over the years, I have kept in touch with just one professor, but I haven't spoken to him in a while. It seems as though he has since left his position at the university and now works for a relatively prestigious prep school. It would be better, of course, to have his letter of recommendation on the university letterhead -- something that I imagine is now impossible. And, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure that he would even feel comfortable writing this letter for me. It has been a while since we last corresponded -- a few years now, at least. Consequently, the letters of recommendation that I come up with may have to be professional letters of recommendation as opposed to academic ones. Not ideal, of course.

My question is: Well, first of all, what should I do about my letters of recommendation? Any advice? But also, if the school happens to reject me, is there any way that I could perhaps meet with someone at the school and ask what my options are for reconsideration? Is this unusual/impossible? In other words, if there were some way for me to become a better, more deserving candidate that would help the admissions board to change their minds, I would love to know what it is so that I could make the appropriate changes.

Again, huge thanks in advance for any input!

Hello!

Some people state that you should go to admission events to get yourself know to the admissions office. What do I talk about/ do to stand out?

Hi everyone!

I'm wondering if anyone who has experience with LSAC's CAS Service knows if whether before or after you pay for it you can upload your Personal Statements and Addendums?

Does anyone know if being on your college's Honor Council is generally considered a strong extracurricular? I've been wondering this for a while, but I haven't found any information about it online. I had a leadership position on W&M's Honor Council, and I was hoping that would stand out a bit on my applications.

Hi! Does anyone know how to use the coda school tracker with the 2023 rankings put out by world news, or are they measured by several metrics? Thanks!

I scored a 153 on the August LSAT and I'm taking the October LSAT. I know 153 is an average score but I'm just scared I won't get accepted into my law school options and I'm not feeling to confident (because I studied less for the October LSAT). I want to have all my applications in by November 1st so I have a higher chance of getting in. I have a pretty decent GPA (3.81 and 4.0 Major GPA) and extracurricular but I feel the LSAT would hold me back. Should I consider taking a later LSAT and sending out my score to schools after?

I graduated from undergrad in the spring of 2021. I planned on attending law school the following fall put then ultimately came to the conclusion that I was not ready financially nor emotionally. Now I am planning on attending law school in the fall of 2024. Back when I planned on attending law school in the fall of 2021, I requested my transcript and it was processed in the LSAC system as it existed in that point in time (which was in December and therefore did not include my final semester grades). Do I need to request another transcript that includes my final semester grades? I feel silly for asking this question and my intuition screams "oh course you do, you idiot!!" but I did not seeing anything on the LSAC website addressing this issue. So I would like to confirm here: do I need to re-request my transcript? Thanks in advance!

Do the law school essays change from year to year usually? I am not applying this cycle but trying to plan when to leave my job. Will I not be able to start writing my supplemental essays until September most likely? Or will this year likely serve as a good base?

I was advised by a recent law grad to pre-write all of the optional essays for schools before their application opens. Because of the recent SCOTUS decision, I'm guessing a lot of those essays are going to be shifting around. I'm applying to a large amount of schools and working a full-time job, and I'm concerned that if I don't pre-write I will be swamped and won't be able to write all of the essays.

Is pre-writing something that is even a thing in the law admissions process? And if so, how do we go about doing it?

I understand that applicants with foreign undergraduate degrees do not fare well in admissions, but would an engineer with two years of experience in the US be a plus? I plan to apply to schools that rank from 70 to 100 (LSAT 150~160).

Alright here's my dilemma:

I just asked two people to write my letters of recommendation for law school. Assuming they say yes, most websites I've read recommend THREE letters of recommendation. However, I don't have that close of a relationship with any other professors/TAs.

I do play a club sport for my university and have a decent relationship with our coach. Should I ask him to write me a letter or is that too casual? He 100% knows my worth ethic, determination, etc., which could look good on a rec letter. Alternatively, do I ask a professor I've talked to maybe once, or just leave it at two people?

Any help is appreciated, thank you!

Question is I'm a rising senior and I failed a CORE -UA class in my freshman year, should I retake it (even if it does not replace the grade, so like solely for the CAS calculation policy)?

-Recently discovered that CAS averages the two grades taken for a repeated class and factors in any postsecondary course into their GPA recalculation. I'm assuming this is in favor of my application since I still have one year till graduation to fix things. However, the exact course catalog # is not showing up in my course registar searches so would it count to retake another course # under the CORE -UA (was originally a culture course, ex. on another topic)?

Hello! just choosing between Penn State, Stetson, SUNY Buffalo Law, Albany Law.

Which one is better for employment in the future?

thanks

Hey everyone! I took college classes in high school at a community college. I got into UCF right after high school, so they all got transferred to my college transcript. Question: When I submit my transcripts to LSAC, do I submit just one from UCF ( it includes my dual enrollment classes) or do I submit one from UCF and also one from the community college? If yes, will law schools think that I attended community college after high school? Thank you in advance!

I got my first LSAT score from Aug. back today and scored a 172. My original goal for admissions was 173+ and anything below I would retake, but this is just close enough I feel concerned about retaking/tempted to not retake. I’m already registered for October. I'm not sure if it's worth it compared to starting on my essays now and applying in Nov.

I was honestly fortunate to get the score I did. I didn't feel as well-prepared as I could have been study-wise (crammed for 4-5 weeks, totally my bad). I was averaging ~169/170 in the weeks leading to the test, highest PT was 174, BRs 175/6. However, I didn't -0 the LGs on the day-of, which had been my goal and which I am capable of doing on PTs (ran out of time toward end and guess-timated a few Qs on last 2 games).

If I really buckled down in the next month, I think I could do a bit better in Oct. I don't want to have any admissions/scholarship regrets down the line, but I'm just not sure if it's worth what seems to be a few points increase at best. I work 40-50 hours a week, so I couldn't focus on both LSAT prep and essays.

uGPA is 3.77, T3? softs (prev. grad degree, 2-3 years work exp. in policy/law, a few publications). My dream would be to get into NYU for PI, but aiming for T14s in general.

Any advice would be appreciated! (Also s/o to the 7Sage curriculum for even getting me here at all!)

Greetings, 7Sagers!

On Wednesday, August 30 at 8pm ET, join 7Sage admissions consultant Tajira McCoy for another panel discussion with law school admissions deans from across the country. For this conversation, hear from representatives of Boston College, Catholic University, Howard University, Loyola Los Angeles, Loyola University Chicago, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as they weigh in on the start of a new admissions cycle and continue talk on the Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action. We'll be reserving extra time to tackle more of your questions and hope to see you there!

Register here: https://7sage.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MOJN4mGZRLylp1jFLwAKkQ#/registration.

Note: A recording will be uploaded to our podcast once it's edited for sound quality.

Hi All,

I just started studying for the LSAT. I believe I’m a potential splitter because I graduated with Magna Cum Laude honors at the University of Washington with a GPA of 3.98 and my GPA at community college was 3.37 hence the average GPA of 3.67. I was also the training and resources coordinator of universities club council and the vice presidential of national honor society at UW. For a year now, since I’ve graduated, I’ve been working full-time at a municipal court as a judicial specialist.

I’m trying to get 170+ to get into the T15. My blind was 156. Idk if that’s possible. I’m studying 5-6 hrs every Saturday and Sunday. I’m not sure if I should (if I’m able to) study more if I intend to take the Oct/Nov LSAT and get preferably a 175. I am willing to extend the test date for the score but it’s a last resort given I don’t want to stay at my job.

I also regret not asking for letters of recommendation from my professors when I graduated last June. I was scared to ask them although I had made good impressions. Now I’m not sure if they remember me after a year and idk how to specifically approach the “asking” email.

Should I spend lots of time on each email to each professor and demonstrate what I learned and what I valued about the experience in their class and them as a professor and attach assignments completed with feedback from prof and my resume? I read the lesson on how to ask for a recommendation - but i don't think it’s enough.

I’m interested to know how you asked your professors for recommendations. Was it short and sweet or lengthy and in-depth. Why did you chose to do it one way vs. another.

Also, I have a professor I plan to ask that got her J.D from Harvard. Should I ask her to write one for Harvard and one for general applications? I know I’m looking really ahead here.

I went from 168 in June to 171 this Aug exam. uGPA is 3.96, T3 soft (1-2yrs of WE in tech company), nURM (East Asian non-US citizen), with two degrees. I'm signed up for September exam which is right around the corner but I think even if I retook, the max I could score is 173. I've also exhausted every single practice exam so not sure what to use anymore for resource...

Dream school is Berkeley (median for 2023 cycle was 170; 3.83) - planning on applying ED but not sure if 171 is enough as the median was 171 in 2022 cycle but dropped to 170

I am currently drafting multiple diversity statements with different topics to prepare for my law school applications here in the fall. As of right now, I have a few different topics that I'm considering to write about and would love to get other peoples opinion on the topics.

Background Information:

For the first three bullets, I could easily compile these issues into one essay with a good story. However, I feel like the topics may be a little generic. I'm really leaning towards my fourth bullet point. I've heard that admissions are kind of over reading essay about Covid-19, however, I think I could write my most compelling essay with this story. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on, 1. whether this would be considered a diversity factor and 2. should I focus my essay on points 1-3 or on point 4.

Thanks!

Hello folks! Hope everything is well during your application cycle.

Just wondering would part time bachelor studies affect our JD admissions?

I only have 5 classes left for my last two semesters and will take part time studies during the last two semesters. This is due to that I have transfer credits from Quebec CEGEP (College).

Anybody familiar with this issue? Would part time studies affect my admission to Canadian law schools?

Thanks and Good luck!

Hi all. I have two solid academic LORs and I'm wondering if I really need to try and get a professional one. I graduated in 2019 and my jobs post college haven't been very consistent (shorter stints in various different industries). I've also dealt with some health issues during this time as well. Do you think my application would be weaker if I only submit academic LORs since I've been out of school for 4 years? Any advice welcome. THANKS!

I'm currently studying for the September LSAT and I've been averaging a score of 159-160 on my last several practice tests. On one hand I'm proud of myself and excited because 160 was my initial goalpost when I started my admissions journey back in May. I also know that combined with my other stats, a 160 could yield great admissions results. However, I worry that if I do score the 160 as I'm averaging, I may not be accepted to some programs I want and/or won't receive a good amount in scholarships. All that is to say I'm wondering if I should apply with my average score (if I end up scoring that way) or if I should sign up for the Oct LSAT in hopes of a better score?

Note:

I'm applying to programs ranging in the 150s rankings to T14.

I have a 4.0 GPA, majored in Political Science, have a legal internship, high honors, owned a small business at the start of college, and have worked all throughout college.

Hi, I’m planning on taking the LSAT in July 2024 and I started studying a month ago. I’ve been working full time as a tattoo artist for 3 years and I graduated from my bachelors in 2021. I feel that I’ve acquired a lot of valuable skills as a tattoo artist such as communicating with clients, marketing, managing my schedule, I’ve traveled to work across Canada/ US, interacted with different types of people and learned how different shops manage/ operate. However, I’m worried that it wouldn’t be taken as seriously since I don’t work a conventional job.

I don’t have any corporate experience, I haven’t done any other work/ volunteer in the past 3 years and I didn’t assist in any research during undergrad. I’m wondering if I should pick up a volunteer or part time corporate job? I didn’t see any law related volunteer opportunities in my area but I did find some positions abroad. I’m open to all options and I’m still working but my schedule is very flexible. Thanks so much in advance for any advice!