I don't know if anyone here can help me out with this, but it's something that has been nagging me since I took the LSAT in November. I went to a small liberal arts school that refuses to engage in college rankings and grade inflation. The average graduating GPA is around 3.2, and it has been this way for over 25 years. In that same span of time only 8 students have graduated with a 4.0.

My GPA is 3.4 (undergrad, not CAS), with my grades improving year to year (I received academic commendations during my Junior and Senior year). I'm genuinely proud of my GPA within context, but lurking certain admissions forums I get scared by the narrative that admissions officials only care about numbers in relation to averages. Can I trust admissions officials to take where I went to undergrad into account while considering my application? I know in theory I probably should, but I also have some doubts. I feel bad saying this, but I feel very confident I would have gotten at least a 3.9 at most other schools. I took 3 summer courses at an elite university before my Junior year and got A's with less effort than I needed to put in at my undergrad institution.

I hope this post doesn't across as me bragging or making excuses. I would really appreciate any input at this point honestly. I think the T-14 or bust mentality is toxic, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't matter to me at all. My LSAT is 174.

Thanks so much for any help.

Does anyone know if it’s possible to apply for money for your second or third year if you don’t receive any when you get accepted? I just got off the waitlist at my top choice school and am so excited but don’t think I’ll get any money and am really scared to pay full tuition in the long run. If there’s even a chance I could get a small merit scholarship down the line that would be amazing but I haven’t heard of that happening.

Hi all! This was my first time applying to Canadian Law Schools and I just received news that I was rejected from my dream school. This isn't my first rejection so I don't think it's going to happen for me in 2020. I just wanted to find out if it is normal (ish) to not get in on your first try? I'm feeling really embarrassed to let my friends and family know that I didn't get into any of the schools I applied to. Has this happened to anyone before?

I just wanted to express a thanks to all who share their anxieties on this forum because it really helped me hurdle the pressures of apps and studying throughout my journey.

I started studying in summer 18 through 7sage. I ended up putting my career on hold to get married and move abroad. All the while extending my account periodically because I knew I would want to eventually take the lsat and go to law school. Just keeping connected to this community and the dedication of the constant posters helped me muster up enough courage to get back on the horse. Either way I started studying again in June 2019 for the Oct test. I took a diagnostic at 147 timed. That was upsetting but I knew I couldn't just assume I was gonna kill this test without work. I took all but the last 12 pts and got a 160 on the Oct test. I knew I was able to get a few points higher and pushed myself for the January test. I applied to a bunch of schools with that score but told them I was taking a future test and they held my app until my next score came. Finally to my joy I received my Jan test score back. A 164. At that point I was content and decided thats the best I can do I tried twice let's see what happens.

Ok. So a 164 3.86 from an online college BA.

Here's my cycle can't remember dates but my score didn't allow my apps to get to review until the middle of Feb.

University of Houston- accepted with big Scholly

University Cincinnati- same as above

Scu law tech edge program- same as above

Cardozo law- huge Scholly

Loyola L.A.- accepted

Asu-waitlist

After my new score I applied to a few more schools

Bc- accepted half Scholly

Emory- priority wl

Bu- wl

Gw- accepted w some Scholly

UcL.A.- wl

Wustl- accepted with more than half

The reason I'm writing this is not to show off. It's because everyone gets too caught up in the numbers and I see it really holds people back from not only studying but also even applying to schools where they are way below the median. Keep healthy.

Thanks 7sage for making my ride a lot more informed and fearless.

Hi! My school does not weight A+ any differently than A so it is all 4.0. After using the GPA calculator provided by 7sage I have discovered that my LSAC GPA is about 0.1 higher than my CGPA. My question is which one will be used to evaluate my viability as a candidate. If I maintain my current GPA, I have a shot at getting in some good schools and I have 11 classes left as well that can potentially improve my odds.

Hi! I am graduating college in a week! With that being said- I plan on starting work in July. Currently, the plan is to take the LSAT in August and work for 1-2 years. I have asked 2 professors to write me letters of recommendation and informed them of my timeline, they both were delighted to. Should I have them write the letters now or in a year when I plan to apply to law school?

Thanks!

Can you round up your GPA from a 3.918 to a 3.92 for your resume?

Has anyone ever heard of anyone who began studying for the bar before 1L year? I know it seems like a bit much but I am looking to prepare for 1L year, have lots of time, and am taking out so much debt I need to absolutely kill it 1L year, at least in my head. It seems like the bar focuses on 1L material anyway.

I have already studied most of 7sage Law School and am hungry for more. I would pay for the bar prep courses but I am wondering if those who have been through school and the exam think this is senseless.

Finally, when do students usually sit for bar? Do they generally take it in July and then subsequently begin work, or does work begin earlier?

Thanks for the help.

Hi! I was accepted at my top choice with ~75% tuition scholarship (tried negotiating, no change). I have accepted the $20,500 Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan in order to cover the remaining tuition. To cover the remaining cost of attendance, the school has offered ~$40K in a Grad PLUS Loan (I am assuming I am eligible for the full amount because I have a good, long credit history, but the application doesn't actually open until June/July).

Here's where I'm running into trouble. I do not need the full $40K and did not plan to accept the whole thing. I have also applied for numerous outside scholarships, which have the potential to make a big dent in my COA need - but I haven't heard back yet. However, the school requested that I respond to their financial aid offer by the end of the month.

Will I be able to make changes to the Grad PLUS Loan amount later? I am really scared to take on all this debt and applied for scholarships to minimize it! Should I accept the whole thing? Accept the amount I anticipate needing? Thank you so much for your help!

Referencing the post on "What To Do After You Get Waitlisted," there is a section addressing students who have not heard back yet. While it says it is okay for a student with no decision to send a LOCI so long as one's application was submitted at least 2 or 3 months prior, I was wondering what the nature of follow-up LOCIs should be? On timing, the post's suggestion was to send follow-up LOCIs to schools on a monthly basis after the initial (and especially before the seat deposit deadline). I sent LOCIs to a number of schools I'd not yet heard back from at the very beginning of this month, writing the LOCI in a format similar to a personal statement, submitting a "Why X" essay in cases where I'd not already submitted one, and also writing a shorter LOCI in the body of the email.

That having been my initial LOCI blast, should my follow-up basically just be a cut-and-paste of my email statement? I don't want to make things unnecessarily strenuous by drafting a new statement with "new" interests, but not sure if a copy-and-paste of an email I already sent is that helpful. Any suggestions on how to approach this?

Hi,

Does anyone recommend a specific consultant to use to look over personal statements and additional essays? I don't need help with the admissions process more just someone to look over essays and offer suggestions throughout the writing process.

And preferably a service that doesn't cost thousands $$$

Thank you!

Straight up, does the .04 matter? Didn't think ITAL 101 would be the class to kill perfection, but here we are. I plan on applying to a T14 law school. I am reaching for HYS, but if a fall short, I would be perfectly content. That said, would a small difference in GPA carry significant sway at a school like Harvard or Yale that likely see many 4.0 applicants? If my LSAT score is around their 25th percentile, would falling short of the golden "4.0" actually have any significance in their admittance decision (ceteris paribus)?

Not pulling my hair out over the issue, but I am curious about the implication small differences in GPA make in law school admissions.

Hi guys. First, thanks to everyone here for building such a great and friendly community.

My undergrad degree is from Russia, CAS did evaluate it but didn't provide a GPA score. The only thing I see in their report is following:

Quality of academic record for this institution (according to AACRAO): Above Average

And they give a grade rating as B.

How do schools look at this? Do they convert it to a GPA score by themselves, like I would give it a score 3.0. Or they don't consider it and just look at LSAT. Is it an advantage or more disadvantage?

Thank you and may you all stay safe and healty!

I'm planning on applying in the next cycle, and I'm hard at work on improving my LSAT in preparation, but knowing that my top choice school (Columbia) is a definite reach, do you think it would be worth it to apply ED?

While my GPA is easily in within range for Columbia, I'm worried about how I will end up performing on the LSAT, especially now since the LSAT-flex grading system isn't really clear to me.

My thought is that with a school like Columbia it'd be pretty difficult to get a substantial merit based scholarship anyway, so I might as well increase my odds of getting in at all by applying ED. Would it be better to roll the dice with regular admissions in hopes that I might be given some kind of financial help, even if that decreases my likelihood of getting in?

On an LSAC candidate webinar this afternoon, LSAC said the LSAT-Flex will be offered on May 18 and 19. Results will be available on Friday, June 5.

Candidates have until 11:59pm on Friday, April 17 to decide whether or not they want to take the May test.

Scratch paper will be allowed for the Flex test.

The questions will not be harder and the questions will be created in the same way as they have been in the past.

LSAC is available to answer your questions so feel free to contact LSAC directly at 215.968.1001

Hi,

I was admitted to NYU Law early decision. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I did not receive any institutional aid. I am now confronted with taking out 300k and am admittedly more nervous about this than I thought I would be.

On the bright side, I do not have any undergrad debt but I also have very limited savings (20k in bank and 20k in 401-k). My biggest fear is failing to excel in law school and struggling to make debt payments after graduating. From what I have read, 300k would be between 3-4k a month in loan payments. Even with biglaw pay, I think I would lose all my money to debt/rent (in NYC). I just need a listening ear and some advice from those who may have been in a similar situation.

Thanks for the help.

So I want to go to law school for environmental law.

I got accepted into Pace Law which has the #1 environmental law program, but the school overall is not ranked well. (I'm also not a huge fan of the East Coast, and don't want to work over there for long after law school.)

I got accepted into other law schools that are nationally ranked higher (T2 & high T3) and have better bar pass rates. These schools have environmental law programs, they just aren't top notch.

In summation, what is better to go by, the school's overall ranking & bar pass rate, or the specific program's reputation and ranking?

Thank you in advanced for the advice! :)

Dear all,

I am curious if any of you fellow users are students of or hav opinions about my waitlists to further shed light on my final decision if admitted to any of the three schools I have been waitlisted to. The schools are GW, BC, and Vanderbilt. I have an interest in international and comparative law. Any input would be helpful!

Thank you all!!

Hi! I was hoping if some of you could share your thoughts on a concern of mine. I am worried that if law schools decide to hold their classes online this fall that we may see a lot of admitted students deferring their admissions to the following year, making the applicant pool for anyone applying in this upcoming cycle of admissions harder. Worst case, if this is true, I’m thinking it could be worth waiting a year to apply. I know it is too early to tell, but I wanted to share this concern in hopes that someone might have some interesting thoughts or useful info on the matter! Thanks!

I took the January LSAT which is late for this cycle but I have heard from every school except one. The school I haven't heard from is one I am very interested in but I also have some good offers. I have been holding off on paying any deposits until I hear from this one school but most deposits are due on April 15. This school has my file completed on Feb 11, it is now April 13 and still nothing. I am considering contacting them, any advice on how to do it? Or maybe don't do it?

Please lmk if you're willing to read my gpa addendum! Happy to return the favor for any other essays. TIA :-)

Hello 7 sage community!

Just wanted to give those studying hard for the LSAT a glimmer of hope during these hard times. 3 years ago, I was studying for the LSAT for the 3rd time. I had been studying on and off since I graduated undergrad in 2014. It was not until I committed to 7sage and studied full time in 2017 that I began to see results. My first score was a 148 and my final score was a 159. I was one correct question away from a 160. Although that one point was extremely frustrating, I took my chances and decided to apply to schools anyway.

I know there are a TON of overachievers on this site and you'll find plenty more in law school --- but my 159 helped get me a full- tuition scholarship at Northeastern University School of Law (NUSL). For those wanting to go into public interest, I highly recommend this school. It has solidified my path to pursue social justice and luckily, I will graduate debt-free! That being said, a 159 is still below Northeastern's median LSAT score of 162. I had a ton of public interest experience, am a minority (child of Mexican immigrants), and the first to graduate college in my family. I think this diversity came to an advantage as over half of the school is white. Nevertheless, the big picture is that I am not perfect, I did not have super high LSAT scores, my GPA was a 3.25, but a full ride is attainable! I am now a 2L at NUSL and would be happy to answer any questions you may have!

Happy studying,

Stephanie

Hello 7 Sagers,

This is a shout out to all you folks who are stumbling along in the LSAT, maybe not getting as high a score as you want, and probably (like me) getting frustrated. After studying for 6 months, I took the LSAT for the second time last January, and I scored a point LOWER than a year prior.

I struggled with the LSAT, and although I scored in the 90th percentile on some practice tests, I was in the 150s for both my exams.

But I put together a very good application, and wrote a strong personal statement. There was only one law school in Canada that I wanted to attend, and that was here at the University of Alberta.

I was accepted today.

So for all you folks that are struggling and frustrated, keep fighting. And if you're planning on a law career because you have a strong sense of justice, and it's not about the money, then fight even harder.

I was waitlisted at Tulane, my top choice school in March. This was before the March LSAT was cancelled. I was wondering if given the cancelled March LSAT, the modified LSAT for April, and the uncertainty of future LSATs, schools will go to their waitlists earlier than they normally would have? It seems to me that waiting for April and June LSAT scores to round out their Fall 2020 classes bumps up against seat deposit deadlines and other logistical considerations. By contrast, I also wonder if applicants who have LSAT scores from February or earlier benefit at all by applying now to some schools that may have initially seemed out of reach? In essence, I am wondering if less competitive applicants who have LSAT scores from February or earlier will receive a boost to their chances for admission?

Hi,

This might be a stupid question to those who are familiar with law school application process. However I am a very confused international student, so here is my question.

I have a masters degree and currently pursuing PhD. While sending my transcripts to CAS or OLSAS for evaluation, do I need to send these transcripts as well as my undergrad transcripts ( if these push my law school a little bit)? Does these qualification help in application (given that my application won’t have any GPA but only LSAT) ?