Trying not to make this too long winded...

I'm applying to Boston College soon, and I was wondering if I should write their optional essay. The directions are as follows:

"You are not required to submit an optional statement. However, you may upload an optional statement regarding your salient experiences; economic, cultural, or social background; impactful connections to Boston and BC Law; or other factors that you wish for us to consider when reviewing your application. Your optional statement should not exceed two pages (double-spaced) with one-inch margins and 11-point font size."

Obviously, I want to write it if I should. I understand that many "optional" essays really aren't optional. However, I'm having trouble figuring out if this is a diversity statement or a general optional essay. If I write a essay for diversity, it would harm my chances, but if I don't write an optional essay that will harm my chances as well. Any advise would be awesome!

Applying hopefully for the 2027 cycle, most of my schools are rolling admissions. Hoping to get applications in by Thanksgiving, should I be aiming sooner?

Might be a stupid question, but does 7sage have a service where I can get a quick review of my resume?

hi! i am planning on weaving some "why nyu law" content into my application essays. i am applying for the AnBryce Scholarship and did it there. i was wondering if that was enough, or if i should put it in my PS. i am not sure if the committee actually checks those scholarship essays or waits until after a decision has been made

Hello,

I graduated in June and have been struggling to land a full time position. I have applied to over 150 jobs across both legal and non-profit work since March, and am struggling. In the meantime, I have continued volunteering with an org. I was with during undergrad for a few hours a week and am working on turning my thesis into an article for publishing, helping my family with their small business, while also focusing on the LSAT. I am aiming for T-25s and will be applying once November LSAT scores are released - I know I am already at a disadvantage with timing. How much of a disadvantage am I at for not obtaining a full time position? Should I indicate that I am seeking one as an addendum? Does helping my family out with their small business in the service industry count as work? This is all weighing on my heavily and making me question if I should even bother applying this year. Thank you in advance!

Any fellow applicants in the South Florida, Palm Beach / Broward area? Looking to go over Personal Statement, LSAT, admissions, with anyone around here.

I am noticing a lot of the schools have ~very~ similar personal statement prompts, but occasionally will mention specifically their school.

For instance Stanford's is "Please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests, and character would help you make a distinctive contribution to Stanford Law School"

versus other schools just saying "Please describe what aspects of your life or experiences have led you to apply to law school, or will allow you to make a contribution to law school."

For the schools like Stanford that mention specifically their community, is that also functioning as a "Why Stanford?" prompt, or is it basically the same thing as the other questions just written differently?

I am essentially asking are they expecting I specifically tailor it to their school, or can I just like add "Stanford" somewhere in there and call it a day?

Hi all, I am a first-generation college grad, so law school isn't even something anyone in my family ever considered. Because I don't really have anyone to ask about this process, I feel even less prepared to navigate the admissions process for law school than I did for undergrad - especially because I would love to go to a T14. It feels so far out of reach that I'm not really sure where to start, but I have wanted to go to law school since undergrad (I graduated in 2021 but have been working since), and I know this is my next career move. I am improving consistently in my LSAT prep, which is exciting, but I've been dreading starting my essays and applications. Any tips?

Wondering if anyone with an admissions background has advice on professional recommenders. I have been out of work for 3 years and am going to submit 1 academic letter and 1 professional letter to each school. I worked closely with an attorney who had managerial influence (had decision making power in an adjacent department) but was not my direct manager. He is offering to write me a letter of recommendation, but I also have a letter from a direct manager of mine.

If I am only submitting one professional letter, is it better for it to be from a direct manager or a lawyer I worked closely with? Both are from the same company I am currently employed at and can speak to my role.

Appreciate any guidance here!

I am a reapplicant for this cycle, and I have been struggling with the task of capturing my identity, experiences and goals succinctly within a Personal Statement. As a result, I have written a number of draft Personal Statements (both for this and last cycle) in the hopes that once they are on the page, there will be an obvious standout. Unfortunately, it was not that simple.

Current options include:

• An "overcoming difficulties" essay

• An essay regarding my passion for a specific field of law

• An essay about how my childhood shaped my worldview

• A "my values and beliefs" essay that establishes my interest in law

• Several essays regarding leadership traits/qualities I gained through various experiences

There are also many others, often with some mixture of the elements above. All of them include personal stories and a description of why I want to go to law school (with room for school specific details to be inserted). I would love advice on how to narrow down to the essay that will be the most effective at persuading an admissions committee that I would be a great candidate.

Hi! I am planning on applying this cycle and am wondering if I need to write a character and fitness addendum for a traffic ticket? Some apps are very clear in pertinence to this, but some others are more vague.

Basically, I got a traffic ticket earlier this year (going past 70mph on a California highway). I did traffic school, and the court case is closed. The wording for this offense is slightly different for each app, so it confuses me a bit. For example, some apps say to exclude "minor traffic violations," while some only say to write if you've been charged with a misdemeanor or felony (which I guess this is considered an infraction? but again, just want to make sure.)

TLDR: Do I need to write a C&F for a speeding ticket? and is speeding a minor traffic violation?

Thank you!

Hi everyone, I hope LSATs are going well and no one is (too) stressed out! I noticed today while working on an essay the Northwestern has two different deadlines for Early Decision applications. Per their website:

October 15

• Deadline for receipt of JD Early Decision (ED) application

• JD Early Decision (ED) application closes 

October 31

• Deadline for receipt of all JD Early Decision (ED) required materials 

What does this mean? I'm especially worried about the Kira interview, but does this mean I could theoretically apply before the 15th but not complete that interview (or for another example, get my letters of recommendation in) until the 31st? I've tried looking this up and am running in circles. Thanks!!

Hi,

Please comment if you offer law school application services such as reading personal statements editing, grammar, tips, if you review additional law school statements. If you review any admission related applications etc

Drop down what, price and how to book!

I was not sure that this mattered at all but if I apply with one recommendation letter (barring the school does not have a two letter minimum), if my other recommender happens to send there's in a little later, does that recommendation still become available to that school? Even though originally I only applied with one? For example, I send in my app with one rec letter on file on October 15th, but my second rec comes back to me November 1st, does the latter still get thrown as an "update" in my app? or is it just too little too late?

Hello, I apologize if I am overthinking with this concern but I was wondering if I would have to add an institution that I never ended up taking courses at? I would assume no, but again I wanted to be entirely certain! I was set to go to one university but ultimately unenrolled before classes officially started. I did live at the university for a week prior for a program they had but I never took any official classes there. I just do not want this to affect me in anyway with my application.

Hello,

I'm reaching the endgame of essay writing, and I just realized: how are we formatting them? I have them double spaced, times new roman, etc. Specifically, are we doing a blank line between paragraphs and no idents, or no extra line between paragraphs and idents?

Also, if one of my essays is 11 point font and another is 12 point font, is that fine as long as it's above the school's minimum font size?

Hi all, I'm a reapplicant and planning to get my application in by mid- Oct or so. Looking for 2-3 serious people who can work together on a 2-3 times/ week basis to polish our personal statements. we can use the space for a writing group and to help each other pace ourselves. If you're interested and want to join, want to reply in the comments with your email and Ill start a group email thread to see how it goes?

Thanks! Luck to all!

Hi everyone! I took both the June and September LSATs this year and already have an approved Argumentative Writing sample from June. I'm wondering whether there's any real benefit to submitting another sample after the September test.

I'm actually fine with my initial sample -- while not the best essay ever, it was reasonably coherent and didn't have any glaring issues. I'm mostly asking because I've learned that schools actually do look at writing samples and that there's a possibility they may receive a bit more attention in future cycles, given AI and all.

My hesitation is that, as I understand it, schools can receive up to the three most recent reportable writing samples, so doing another one would technically give them another sample to potentially compare, rather than replacing the first. I just don't want to try again and somehow end up writing something less coherent than my initial sample. If there's a meaningful benefit to doing another one, I'd definitely spend some time brushing up on my timed writing first so I could produce something on par with or better than my last. I'm not applying this cycle, so it wouldn't be taking time away from applications, just time I spend watching shows.

I realize that, in the context of an entire application, this may not matter much at all, but I wanted to see whether anyone has any up-to-date information or admissions expertise on this.

So, would having more than one equally decent—or slightly improved—writing sample be a positive for an application, or is it mostly a waste of time? Likewise, if all your writing samples are fairly run-of-the-mill rather than Pulitzer-level, does it mostly function as a check on basic writing ability and perhaps a way to compare against potentially AI-assisted application essays?

Thank you!

I am wondering if there is a comprehensive list of law school informational/admissions info sessions? It's a bit exhausting to dig through every school's admissions page to find their webinars.

Hello everyone! Long story short, I took the LSAT in 2025, took about 6 months off from studying, studied again, and retook it about a year later after my first test. When practicing, I was scoring higher than my first time by quite a bit, around 3-5 points, which is what I was going for. However, when I took it, I scored the same as my first test. I was super disappointed because I felt good that day, and I really have no idea what happened. I took the LSAT a month later and increased my score by 7 points, which was great! The thing is, does it look bad that I increased my score by 7 points in a month? Technically, it was around the score I was getting on most of my practice tests, and that extra month of studying got me an extra point or 2 but admissions only sees the numbers, so I don't know if I should explain, and if I should, I don't really have an excuse; I guess I just had a bad test day. I don't know how else I can describe it. Is anyone else in this situation, or does anyone have advice?

Many of the schools I'm applying to have questions about whether I've ever been a party in a civil action; here's an example from one application:

"Have you ever been a complainant, party or witness to or otherwise involved in any civil or criminal action, proceeding or investigation?"

I haven't yet been involved in something like this, but coincidentally a few months ago, I was in a pretty serious car accident, and I'm currently working with an injury attorney on a personal injury claim. The case may be settled in the next month with the insurance company, but it may not--it's a whole mess having to do with the possibility of opening up the policy, and I'm guessing that would end up involving a civil suit of some kind.

Any advice on how to answer this question? One other factor is that I'm taking the November LSAT, so my application likely won't be reviewed until December anyway. Should I just wait a few months to see how this turns out? Do I need to update the Admissions department for each school if a lawsuit ends up being filed after I submit my application?

Hi Everyone,

Just finished the September LSAT and do not feel confident with how I did. I was PTing at 170-174 range in the leadup and I am worried the score will come back lower than this. So my question is can I submit applications to law schools in October as I originally had planned and still take the November LSAT? I heard that LSAC will send your updated scores to the schools you already applied to.

@JacobBaska I want to include synopses of relevant research projects I conducted throughout college in my law school applications. However, I can't figure out if I should include the synopses in a CV or PDF. The first option puts my resume and research in one tidy place but the document goes over the 1-page standard for recent college graduates. Conversely, the second option separates my resume and research but at least then my resume will be a single page. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you!

I know most schools accept 2-3 letters of recommendation. I've asked 4 contacts (2 academic and 2 professional) for letters and all have said yes.

Obviously I won't submit more than the maximum/recommended numbers of letters to each school, but I'm wondering how, in LSAC, you can assign specific letters to specific schools. Would that be through the "description" for each LOR?

Hey would anyone be interested in peer revieiwing some of my essays. I have my personal and diversity statement. I've been playing around with the ai but I'd l some human eyes that aren't from reddit or family. I'm hapy to return the favor