Does applying early hurt your chances if you don’t have the exact requirements they’re asking for?

My dream school is Duke law and its a challenging school to get into. I have the borderline GPA and I’m hoping that when I take my LSAT in September, I will get a high enough score to get into. Would applying early to duke get me a better chance of getting in, or would somewhere in the middle (thanksgiving , early December) time be better?

Waitlisted at your top choice school and you've scheduled a visit? In addition to sitting in on a class and taking a tour, make sure to schedule a meeting with an admissions officer.

Treat the visit like it is an unofficial interview (which it is). Dress nicely and be polite and professional. So much of what you might learn from speaking with an admissions officer depends on the tone of your conversation. If they are impressed with you as a person, they may be inclined to vouch for you and support your application when the school is ready to turn to the waitlist. If you are sincere about getting off the waitlist, show your sincerity and say you would definitely deposit if admitted. Do you have other offers of admission? Mention you have other offers but this school is your top choice. In a face to face conversation, it is highly likely that you will be asked what other offers you have, especially if you are an attractive likable candidate and don't offer the information in a threatening way. The school wants to make a fully informed decision so if they want you, they will likely want to know what your options are.

Definitely ask the admissions office what you need to do to get off the waitlist at this particular school. Be ready to ask 3-4 substantive questions about the school and its programming. Do some deep diving research so you aren't asking questions that can be answered from their marketing material. Be ready to talk about yourself and 3-4 ways you would make a great contribution to the law school community at this particular school. Leave them with a great impression.

Definitely do not ask them what your chances are of getting in off the waitlist.

Follow up with a thank you email to the admissions officer referencing enough of your visit and conversation that they remember who you are.

Good luck!

April can be a busy month in the admissions cycle. Here are some thoughts to consider as you navigate your options.

If you haven’t made a final decision on a program because you are waiting for more decisions from other schools, or you are in the process of ongoing scholarship reevaluations, or you are waiting to see what happens with waitlists, you have the option of putting down more than one seat deposit (https://classic.7sage.com/admissions/lesson/what-are-seat-deposits-are-they-binding/). This keeps your options open until the second seat deposit date. It is likely that seat deposits are nonrefundable, but in the grand scheme of things, losing a deposit is a small price to pay when making the best choice in law schools.

Different schools have different policies about deposit extensions. If you have a legitimate reason for requesting a deposit extension (for a specific and short period of time), there is no harm in calling the admissions office and asking. Someone might have something pending in their job that may prevent them from attending law school. Someone’s spouse may be waiting to hear about a professional opportunity in a different geographic location. Someone may have a family situation that prevents them from committing by a deposit deadline. The worst thing the Admissions Office can say is No. If the school is a top choice, you should definitely let them know. If you are sincere, they may be more inclined to work with you.

If you have been waitlisted (https://classic.7sage.com/admissions/lesson/what-to-do-after-you-get-waitlisted/) and it has been a while since you have contacted a target school with a LOCI (https://classic.7sage.com/admissions/lesson/good-loci/), a Why X essay (https://classic.7sage.com/admissions/lesson/how-to-write-a-why-law-school-x-essay/), or any updates, this would be a good time to touch base and send an email reminder about (1) how much you love the school, (2) what you have to offer the school, and (3) if admitted off the WL, you would definitely attend. Once the deposit date passes, the school will turn to the WL pool and see which candidates are most enthusiastic/most likely to come.

If you want to ask for a scholarship reevaluation (https://classic.7sage.com/admissions/lesson/when-should-i-start-negotiating-law-school-scholarship-offers/), it would be best to ask before the first deposit deadline. This way, your request is in your file before the deposit deadline and the school is aware of your continued interest. The school may follow up before or after the deadline to see if a revised award would be enough to secure your deposit. If the ONLY thing stopping you from depositing is the size of the award, you should tell the school.

Above all, strive to be polite, persistent, enthusiastic and likable in all interactions (email, phone calls, interviews). Admissions officers will notice.

Join us during 7Sage Office Hours this Wednesday evening at 9:00 pm (EST) when we discuss seat deposits and answer your questions. Here's the link to our office hours discussion: https://zoom.us/j/594695176.

Hey all!

So I was just accepted into one of my backup schools (#2 on my list to be specific). I was wondering if accepting at my backup school will have a negative affect on my prospects of being accepted into my first choice program. I'm relatively confident that I can still be accepted into my choice school (it isn't unrealistic, I specifically chose programs I was fairly confident I'd have a realistic shot of getting into, not swinging at the fences here). Would my first choice school see that I accepted elsewhere and think, "well, I guess he's already in another program so we don't need to pursue him anymore." That's my concern. My parents are all "go, go, go!" but I'm leery.

Thanks!

I am 29 y/o looking to apply in the upcoming admission cycle. I finished undergrad in 2012 and completed MA in 2013. Then I joined US military and did 5 years active duty. My LSAC GPA is 3.85, and I just took the March LSAT, but I expect around 165 give or take a few points based on my last few PTs. Now that LSAT is out of the way, I'm trying to make a list of schools to apply, but I'm not really sure how my "nontraditional" background will factor into determining reach/target/safety. I heard nontraditional applicants get a soft "boost", but I wasn't sure if such boost is negligible or not. I don't want to overestimate the impact of nontraditional background, but at the same time I don't want to undercut myself a possibility.

How much can I add to my numbers to compare with school's median for the sake of determining reach/target/safety? Any suggestions for my list would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

So I’m applying ED to BU this upcoming cycle. My GPA is below their 25th percentile and right now I’m PTing around their median, hoping to slowly raise that.

My question is- does it really matter how early I get my application in if it’s in their Early Decision pool? Their ED timeline is actually pretty late into the season; it goes from September until January. Thanks for any input you guys might have.

Hey folks,

I am a current applicant.

I am having problems with the LSAC transcript system. Among which, I am most pissed by the following: I told LSAC that my internship in Germany has no university transcript. They ignored my email and told schools that I applied to that I did not submit any transcript. To me that is lying.

They are still lying to schools: they refused to release my CAS report because they are conducting some magic with my transcripts.

I got rejected by a school because of this. The school simply said sorry we never received your full application.

Any ideas to kick their asses?

I was thinking perhaps local consumer protection agency.

-- A bit more about myself --

I had an US undergrad and an European LLM degree. I had undergrad exchanges, which amounted to less than one year of academic work in total. I asked schools and they said we would not require additional transcripts.

However, LSAC required some Germany University transcript with my internship abroad. They also demanded all exchanges transcripts. They made this demand two weeks after I submitted my application, while they already received my undergrad transcript a year ago and it looked fine on their website.

I quote their rules on international transcript for US undergrad here:

you were directly enrolled at one or more institutions outside of the United States, its territories/associated states, or Canada and the total amount of work you completed at all of these institutions combined is the equivalent of more than one year of undergraduate study in the United States, its territories/associated states, or Canada.

Thank you.

Hi all,

I submitted my FAFSA for law school months ago and I wanted to know if anyone knows when we'll hear back? I've been accepted to a couple of schools at the moment, but not all of them have given me merit-based scholarships and I would need to know how much the government is giving me, before I can safely financially commit to a school...

Hello everyone. As a fellow 0L, just wanted to let you know that I have been working with WUSTL'S career center to improve my resume and get some info about different career/internship options. They have been fantastic!

While I do understand a lot is factored into the probability of gaining admission to any certain school, I am turning to my fellow 7sagers for some insight.

I graduated 4 years ago with a (LSAC calculated) 2.65. I’m doing all I can to study and PT above that 165 mark and have made some significant progress (last PT was 161 after an 11/18 151 official).

To help my chances, I’ve accepted a position at a law firm in the city I’d like to go to school in. The job requires a massive relocation (CA to NY).

I’m struggling to realize my chances of actually gaining admission to ANY school with the above statistics.

Does anybody here have any insight into the probability of getting into ANY school with 2.65/165+?

Thanks all - Stretch

Hey all, I was recently waitlisted at Wash U in St Louis. A friend of mine told me that this was standard procedure and I shouldn’t be nervous. I scored a 167 on my LSAT and I have a 3.94 GPA. Anyone have similar experience or insight that they can share with me? Thanks!

Hi,

I'm about to graduate from a top ten school. I'm taking a couple of hard classes this last semester and my GPA has the potential to suffer a bit. Worst case, I'll graduate with a 3.85 unweighted (without the A+s included) and a 3.92 weighted (CAS GPA, with the A+s included), which will put me in the cum laude group. I'm a bit nervous because I had the potential to graduate with a 3.88 and magna cum laude. Does cum laude vs. magna cum laude vs. summa cum laude matter in the admissions process for law school? In other words, can a cum laude (as opposed to magna/summa) get into a top 3 law school (assuming they have a high enough LSAT of course)?

Thanks so much!

I applied for binding admission at a school and was notified by email that my application was received and completed on March 5th. Their website states you will be notified of a decision within 14 business days of completing your application. It has now been over 14 business days and I have not received any decision. I am looking for advice on how to proceed. Is a phone call better than an email? Should I give it another day in case their office is really backed up?

Is it too late in the cycle to apply to a top 30 school with a 4/1/19 deadline?

Hey all,

On my previous LSAT I did pretty well but not exactly what I wanted. Nonetheless, I have been accepted to UT Austin at sticker price and wait listed at Vanderbilt. on top of that, I received really big sums of money to go to Pepperdine and SMU. In the long run, is the sticker price at UT worth it? I have noticed that schools like SMU have private starting salaries that are still very impressive. I am also predominately interested in sports and entertainment law, which makes Pepperdine an interesting choice for almost free tuition. Would love to hear some advice!

I’m just starting my LSAT journey so I know I’m jumping the gun a bit by asking this far in advance but is it inappropriate to have a diversity statement as a white male that is active duty military?

Certainly my service is something that differentiates myself from other candidates, but I don’t want to presume that service holds the same weight as the very real hardships other people have had.

I saw LSATcantwin’s post on this a few years ago and didn’t seem to get a concise answer.

Any advice from any active duty or veterans on what they did?

Hi all! It's been so inspiring to see the success of this forum through every cycle. Just for fun/for reference/to help others out, since it's Admitted Students Program season, what are you all planning on wearing for your weekend? Congrats to all applicants!

I hope the title wasn't too misleading. I was listening to Daniel's video on being able to sell yourself in a personal statement and I'd like to hear some advice. I have been historically horrible at underselling my accomplishments. How do people identify what is impressive in their own life? How do you sell this without coming off as arrogant? As an aside, I dreamed I only had a -1 on the LSAT, in my dream I broke down in tears of joy. What a life. Thanks in advance

Hello All,

Does anybody know if being educated overseas is a disadvantage? I am Australian educated with an A average in college, with a graduate degree as well, and I have had some years of relevant work experience. I scored 173 on the lsat in January but have so far heard nothing from UCLA, USC, Lewis and Clark (had interviews with Lewis and UCLA, but nothing since). The only other school I was applied to was Berkeley, where I was accepted but haven't received any gift aid. Because I have not been admitted anywhere else, I have no bargaining power with Berkeley.

I am just trying to figure out what's happened here, as I thought a good lsat score was the key to admissions. I am very discouraged by the whole situation :(

Hi 7Sage,

Each year, we offer pro bono help to low-income and under-represented applicants. For the 2019–2020 admissions cycle, we’re giving away six consulting and editorial packages:

👉 In order to apply, please fill out this form.

Dear all,

I am waitlisted at some of my top choices, and I am a few points below their 25th percentile LSAT. I am wondering how even a point or 2 improvement on the March test (for which I am already registered) might affect my waitlist status. I also plan to write letters of continuing interest.

Hey everyone. I know someone who interviewed for Harvard in mid/late February and he has been eagerly awaiting a decision. If he was to be accepted, when is he likely to hear back by? Thanks!

So, I got accepted to my number 2 choice today with a very good scholarship. I am thrilled about this, but it does create a conundrum.

For my number one choice, I wrote a "why school x" essay and ended it with "if accepted, I will withdraw my other applications immediately". at the time, I honestly thought i had a shot at number 1 and didn't think I had a shot at number 2 at all. the other schools i applied to are very distant for me compared to these two and the two schools are similar enough to where if school no 1accepted me but didn't offer me money, i would seriously regret having to withdraw from school number 2 and losing out on the scholarship money. I applied to school number 1 first, but haven't heard anything yet, it is currently "In Review" status. So my question is should I 1) withdraw from school number 1 now. 2) is there some other option that i am not seeing that is an ethical alternative?

thanks

Hi everyone,

We've updated our medians cheat sheet with U.S. News and World Report's 2020 rankings. If you want to see how the rankings changed, you can look at our public Google sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tUI5y-Sw2utvXvUEk9IQDzC1Rc0NDb7Q4PFwzxYkZpw/edit#gid=2135953872.

So, I'm in a little bit of a pickle. I know I can score higher on the LSAT, and I'm still waiting to hear back from the majority of schools on my list. However, a few have admitted me with full scholarships. All of those are within the top 70-100 in terms of ranking to give you an idea of ballpark here.

Now, I know that increasing my score a few points and applying super early next cycle could better my chances for admission to some better ranked schools, but I just wanted to know if anyone had any insight or experience on if reapplying next cycle to some of these same schools that offered me full rides would hurt my chances at 1) re-admission and 2) similar scholarship offers from them.