Hola all I'm Mark I got a 169 in October and had around 20 apps ready to fire away as soon as I got my test results back. I'd like to share my results so far as well as some waitlist management advice. I've been obsessing about getting off the waitlist and have done a ludicrous amount of research (research sounds better than obsession).

I am what the Dean of admissions at Yale called a "super soft" aka military veteran and my ugpa was 3.42 which is notably low for t14.

Accepted with scholarship: Uga, Emory, Notre Dame

Denied: Harvard, Chicago, Cornell, Berkeley

Waitlist: UCLA, Georgetown, Northwestern, Penn, Michigan

My top choice is Northwestern and I'm doing everything in my control to get off their waitlist. Ultimately it will come down to how their class looks after their first and second deposit deadlines and what they class needs in terms of student demographic composition, and what the school's/Dean's goals are for that class (based on interviews I've listened to from Deans admissions officers etc).

Here is my waitlist advice I've gleaned from Harvard and Yale Deans, Michigan ad com officers, Harvard as com person, Michigan person, + my personal interactions with adcom.

Waitlist: do whatever the school asks in their waitlist email. Every 3-4 weeks and especially just after/before their deposit deadline write a letter of continued interest loci. You can print and handsign then upload as a PDF. Some schools don't care about loci format others may. In loci you can specify certain clinics, work programs, professors, courses that you're interested in. It really looks good if those are linked to a topic you expressed interest in in a PS or resume. Show how you love the city / want to live in the school's area. If you have a specific reason you like the school mention it. If it's your #1 pick and you would attend no matter what, say so. Be careful mentioning other competing offers - comes off as threat.

That's not exhaustive but it's a pretty good start. Best of luck!

For those interested in an extra data point, here was my cycle. nURM, average applicant, 16high 3.6low.

ASU- $$+

Fordham- $$+

GULC- dong

Cornell- dong

USC- WL

BU- WL

NDLS- WL

UT- WL

UMN- $$$

UF- $$$+

WUSTL- WL

UGA- $$$

Boulder- $$

I'm withdrawing all my applications.

To be honest, I was in a hurry to become a white-collar working professional and make a respectable salary. Not everyone (least of all the KJDs with zero experience in the labor force) would want to work in a law office 40+ hours a week, which is why I recommend taking a gap year to test the waters. Imagine doing something you hate AND having 6-figure debt to your name :( it doesn't have to be that way. There are many other professions that pay better than law, have better work environments and have serious shortages of smart, driven candidates who can get the job done. It's never too late to make that change (not in my experience, at least).

I wish you all the best!!!

I recently asked one more professor to write me a letter of recommendation. She wrote and sent it to me around mid Feb. If I plan to apply for admissions again this Oct/Nov, will it be okay to reuse the letter of recommendation without needing to ask to reuse?

Some accidents happened to my CAS Report and it probably will not be complete until mid-April. I am thinking about 1) just not do anything and see what may happen in the end, maybe some schools still want me (but probably not my dream schools) 2) withdraw my applications and apply early next cycle

The reason why I am considering option 2 is because I am worried I may need to rewrite my app materials all over again, most of which I just finished in January and the next cycle is just half a year away. Let's say if admissions offices read my app this May, my stories will become a "recent old news" for them in Sept. Is my worry justified? And if I withdraw, am I a reapplicant next cycle?

Thanks!

I hope everyone is keeping their heads up in these times.

I got waitlisted and would like to send an updated resume. Since I finished the LSAT, I have been learning the Russian language. I know Arabic, Hebrew and conversational Spanish and I chose Russian because I love the language and have always wanted to learn it. I also know that being a multi-lingual lawyer can only be a competitive plus. Does anyone know how I can go about sending an 'updated resume'?

This is what I have so far but it feels so bland. Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you everyone.

Dear Admissions Committee,

Thank you for reviewing my application for admission to XX School of Law. Since completing the LSAT, I have been teaching myself the Russian language. A multi-lingual lawyer is indispensable and learning Russian can only open more doors of opportunity for myself and put me at a competitive edge.

Furthermore, I would like to express my continued interest in the school of law.

Sincerely,

XX

Deciding between FSU and SMU

Which school should I pick??

hi - so I took the january lsat and my score was OK, but at the low end of my 10point spectrum. so I applied to my first choice regional school and just received their decision yesterday. I'm in, and have a 50% merit scholarship. I'm above their 75%s on lsat and gpa. BUT, I am trying to get as close to 100% merit, as I'm paying out of pocket (no govt loans). I've been planning to take the june test just to finish with a bigger score (even if I had gotten a 100% - - I really love this test). When I took the test in january I started to have covid symptoms the day before my test - - a headache that I couldn't get rid of for the actual test - - i ended up with worse mild symptoms a few days later. So, I think I can do better! I've been preptesting better at the least. Another thing is that I found out last weekend that I have to have surgery on my eyes, my vision has been blurry since mid-2020 and now I know why. That may have impacted my january performance, but the surgery might also interfere with june - although I think the recovery time is pretty quick. I'm even wondering if I might qualify for some sort of vision-based accommodation (long shot). Needing a surgery just adds a layer that interferes with the june test (and also why I can't do the april test, besides signups being closed)

Has anyone ever re-applied to a school that accepted them the next cycle? do you think the school will penalize me if I do this? I certainly don't want to seem ungrateful for the merit award they offered and I don't want them to hold that against me. I'm also not sure whether I should just pay the seat deposit, take the june test and then try to renegotiate a higher scholarship - although that would be early july and they may have given away all their money? Anyone ever done this? I hate to throw away 'good money' that I could use for textbooks/study aids later on. Thoughts?

I also don't plan to re-apply if my score isn't at least 4 points higher as it would be like resubmitting the same application and hoping for a different outcome. I only applied to this one school and if I do much better, I'm thinking of applying to a couple more, since I think I want to move somewhere new.

thanks everyone! I really appreciate any feedback

At my university a lot of the 3000 level courses are taught by PhD students and those classes happen to be the smallest and where I’ve been able to interact with the instructor the most. But I’m worried that because they are still in the process of completing a degree their letter of rec might be seen as a weakness in my application even it’s a positive recommendation. If anyone has any insight on this that would be really great!

I am already stressed about having professors write me LoR in the fall. My classes are small and my professors know me by my name, but I have never gone to a single office hour for any professor. Since everything is online, I would have to make a zoom appointment to meet with them in "office hour", there are no drop ins. I've always wanted to go to law school, so I'm a history major; how do I ask questions and form relationships with my professors when I don't want to go into the area of study that they are in? If I ask additional questions about the readings, additional materials, aren't they going to know I'm just BS-ing them?

I need some advice. I have missed not one, but TWO informational webinars for the same school. I am incredibly embarrassed and don't know what to say. I don't have any good excuses for registering and not canceling. I just forgot about them.

I feel like if I send them an apology email at this point it is insulting and points to my irresponsible errors even more. I haven't applied yet, but I really like this school.

Do any of you know if these absences will reflect badly on my application once I apply this fall? Should I just toss out this school from my list? Am I being dramatic?

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? I would really appreciate some advice!

3 straight rejections and I just spent several hours looking over law schools that didn't quite make the cut for applications the first time.

Definitely feel like I may have submitted a few apps to the wrong schools. I also know that this whole exercise is the result of getting nothing but rejections thus far.

Anyone else in this boat?

That extra scholarship negotiation school and the extreme reach that sent me an unsolicited fee waiver seem like foolish decisions in the face of schools that have decent programs but we're pushed aside.

Related note, has anyone actually been to Davis, CA? Is it rural or suburban? Chill small town, government center suburb or tech town?

I am bit unsure about getting letters of recommendation. I am an undergrad in engineering school (in my 4th year) who is looking at going to law school soon after graduation. I do not think it is very common for engineering undergrads to go to law school after graduation and so I don't really know how to approach the subject with any of my professors. I have worked with one professor outside of an academic setting, but I don't really believe I have a close enough relationship where they would be willing to recommend me for a field completely outside their field of expertise. Is there anyone else who has been in a maybe similar situation who might be able to provide any guidance here? Thanks!

help Sorry if this is stated elsewhere, but I couldn't find the answer.

I plan on applying for law school in 2022/23, but would like to get the LSAT out of the way this coming summer. I know law schools are accepting LSAT-Flex during the pandemic for the coming year, but will they accept LSAT-Flex scores in years after? I know your score is good for 5 years, but want to make sure the flex will continue to be accepted. Would it be better to just take the full LSAT once it returns?

Also, should I keep taking full practice PTs or does the flex option suffice?

Thanks y'all!

Hey Guys so I’m deciding between FSU(Tallahassee) and SMU (Dallas )

I have a month to decide

SMU ends up costing more by at least $75 k over three years ... 98K more over 10 years when you include interest

SMU for me I feel like has better employment numbers especially since most students end up working for private firms

FSU students mainly end up working in govt jobs and get paid much less on average by 22k a year

FSU obviously has a much nice campus and is in a much prettier state overall not that Texas isn’t pretty

What are your thoughts??? Especially about FSU?

I feel like if I go there it would be a career killer

I definitely don’t want to be a public defender ... prosecutor ... personal injury attorney ... or a criminal defense attorney

I’m really into politics ... tech ( IP law & cyberspace law ) ... corporate law

The SMU student body looks like it’s more conservative which is a plus for me since I lean more conservative

If anybody is at FSU or SMU ... give me your honest opinion!

Is anyone stressed just waiting for law school decisions ?

Hello all,

Does anyone have any tips or successful strategies to search for and apply to outside scholarships prior to 1L?

Most online tools are targeted towards undergraduates, and lists of law school scholarships don't usually allow one to filter out items that don't apply. This makes it difficult to search and prioritize which scholarships to focus on.

Any thoughts, tips, and/or resources would be appreciated - thank you!

Do you think you can only be successful so long as you go to a t14 or do you think you can be successful career-wise in any school you attend ??

Admin note: edited title to comport with meme

Hey, do letters of recommendation have an "expiration date" when they are no longer considered relevant? And more to the point — should I ask my recommenders to submit LORs again given the fact that they wrote them for me for the current cycle (20-21) but due to some unpredictable circumstances I had to postpone my admissions for the next cycle? I've read that LORs should be relevant to your current experience but I'm 2 years out of school and my job is the same as it was last year.

Thank you in advance!

Hello everyone. Wondering if anyone here decided, after receiving their last score for this admissions cycle, to wait another year and continue studying for a better score? I ended up getting about five points less than my goal. It hurts, but I know I can do better and have decided to wait. I also had several setbacks in 2020, aside from COVID: deaths in family, divorce, moving across the country, and health issues. Anyone here waiting a year? Care to share? Thanks.

I don't know much about this and was wondering if someone could fill me in on how competitive this current cycle is vs. how competitive the next cycle is supposed to be? have LSAT scores been higher with the flex/how is 4 sections expected to change that?

Is it okay or even wise to let a school know that they're your first choice and you would withdraw your other apps if accepted (via email or during an interview)? For reference, its a state school with around 65% in-state population and I'm OOS with loose ties. Thanks for your insight!

I got my LORs in Dec 2019 - I planned to apply for this 2020 cycle but decided to apply for the 2021 one instead. Should I reach out to LORs for letter resubmission? I checked my LSAC account and was not clear should I ask them to resubmit or to edit the existing one. Does anyone have an idea on this? Thank you so much for any input in advance!

Hey everyone! I'm finishing up my resume right now and just wondering if I should mention the pandemic as the reason for my unemployment? Post-graduation I tried to find full time work during a gap year to study for the LSAT, but the pandemic cut that search short and I instead remained unemployed while studying for the test instead. Opinions?

When is the last possible test date you can write this year so you can apply to start law school in Sept? (Canada)

So I got 171 in last Flex, but my GPA is like real low and ppl with170+ really increased a lot since Flex. Scholarship and location are not any issue if I can get into a T14. And I wonder if I can't be accepted by a T14, can I get into school like UCLA or UT-Austin?

Any opinion will be appreciated!