Time to geek out over data.

http://abarequireddisclosures.org/Disclosure509.aspx

Have you guys ever gotten EMAILED admissions decisions on the weekend?

So by looking at the ABA disclosures I realized that a lot of law schools don't offer full tuition scholarships no matter what. And even fewer schools offer money to pay for housing. So is having my housing covered just out of the picture? Also, should I be prepared to not receive a full scholarship. Is this normal in most cases? Do most have to take out loans to finance law school and cover housing?

I dreamed of one day being able to make one of these posts...

In mid 2016, I quit my job, moved back home and began pursuing my path to getting into a Canadian law school. I had completed a 4 year honours BA in 2011 and an MA in 2013. Upon graduation, I began a job in the social services that was rewarding but very low paying and ultimately unfulfilling in regards to my broader goals pertaining to social justice. For two years I worked this job while struggling to make ends meet living alone in a big Canadian city. In the summer of 2016, I made the decision to leave my job and begin pursuing law school, which had been in the back of my mind since beginning undergrad.

I began studying for the December 2016 LSAT in late August of that year in my parents' basement. I took a part-time research job with a professor from my alma mater, which I only thought would last for a few months to a year at the most. Despite my best efforts and having read the PowerScore Logic Games and Logical Reasoning books cover to cover (huge waste of time), I still couldn't pull off a score higher than 145 by the time late October rolled around. Panic and anxiety clouded my judgment as I clumsily threw together many poorly written and unfocused personal statements mere days before the November 1 deadline for applying to law school. When the test date rolled around, I knew I was doomed but something compelled me to write it. I walked out of the test with my head pounding and knew I had failed. Why I didn't cancel my score, I have no idea, but it accurately reflected how I felt walking out of the test... 145. I realized how poor my approach was and the extent of my mistakes once I discovered the 7sage forums...

I discovered 7sage shortly after writing the Dec 2016 LSAT and began doing the core curriculum. I would spend the entirety of 2017 on 7sage and doing research for my part-time job remotely... all from my parents' basement. My girlfriend was living in another city with her parents and we had to commute to see each other this entire time. I kept thinking I was getting better at the test but would only improve in small increments. I kept booking new LSAT test dates and then cancelling them one or two months before the date. Eventually, I settled on a drop dead date of February 2018 to get in for September of that year. I had a mini breakthrough and began scoring in the mid 150s by December of last year. I eventually got a tutor from 7sage (shoutouts to Daniel). I spent all of January doing prep tests and thorough blind reviews. My triumph was hitting a 160 and my low point was scoring a 150 two weeks before the test date. I wrote the Feb 2018 LSAT and felt much better walking out of the testing room. My partner and I took a long planned three month vacation to travel throughout South East Asia two days after the test date. I remember reading my score in an airport in Laos... 156. I was elated. Even though I didn't hit a 160, I had told myself previously that I would settle for anything above 155 in hopes that my age, work and academic success would make up for it.

Between March and August of this year, I must have checked my application pages to the four law schools I applied to in excess of 2,000 times. I knew the LSAT scores were delivered late for the Feb 2018 test and wondered how this was going to impact my chances. Once May rolled around I learned I was waitlisted for U of Ottawa and this excited me. I was sure I was going to get in because the year before, the majority of those on the waitlist ended up getting accepted, according to lawstudents.ca. One week later, I was waitlisted for Windsor... I got this in the bag, or so I thought. My hopes were crushed significantly upon finding out my place on the waitlist in late June for Ottawa... 221/298. Devastating. I began dashing any hopes of going to law school and began thinking about career opportunities in my field of research.

I really hunkered down for the 2019 application cycle. I arranged for a second strong academic reference and the professor from my alma mater, whom I am still working with presently, wrote an exceptional letter of recommendation about the work we had done together since 2016. My personal statement was now clearly worded and well-focused. I submitted my applications but without high hopes after having such a negative experience in the previous cycle. The past two months were miserable, as I faced the prospect of unemployment in the near future as my research grants are coming to a close. I had essentially given up on the idea of becoming a lawyer and was certain that I would not get accepted this cycle, similarly to last. However, on Tuesday night I learned that I received admission to the University of Ottawa for next September. I was so elated that tears streamed down my cheeks.

My partner and I are moving to Ottawa in September and I will go to law school. Even though I felt like I was in a rut for the better part of two years, this all makes it worth it. So for anyone who is struggling, doing PTs, and feeling like they are going nowhere in their pursuit, I encourage you to keep going and don't give up. If I can do it, you can. This was long but brief in relation to how my life has been for the past two years so I encourage you to ask me any questions about LSAT prep or admissions that you may have and I'd be happy to share my experiences with you.

Thank you for reading

tl;dr - spent two years studying, writing LSATs, finally got a decent score this year, but ultimately was rejected last cycle, got depressed, applied one more time not thinking i would get in, got into law school this week

From NYU--

Improvements to the Law School’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program—now LRAP Plus—provide new options for graduates in public service careers.

Most participants in LRAP Plus will be able to earn up to $100,000 a year and have no monthly payment on their law school loans. If participants stay with the income-driven plan for 10 years until completion, their loans can be fully forgiven with the lowest overall out-of-pocket expenses possible.

See links below for more details:

http://www.law.nyu.edu/news/lrap-plus-loan-repayment-assistance-program-public-service

http://www.law.nyu.edu/financialaid/lrap

If I assign a letter to a school that has not been submitted to LSAC from the writer, can I still submit the application? Will LSAC forward along the letter when it's turned in?

Hello! Hope you all are having a nice holiday season and studying hard.

I recently wrote the Nov LSAT and earned a 159. I want to retake, but I am unsure if it is better to use my November score than wait until Jan, which might only be a marginal improvement. My overall GPA is a 2.93, but I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder during my second year. I came back and earned a 3.44 (last three years) with a 3.83 in my final year. It is a major part of my application and I was curious which score I should be using. I have applied to every Canadian school with the exception of Lakehead. I know that the vast majority of schools only keep a limited number of spots for January takers.

Love to get some feedback.

Thanks!

Hi all,

I was wondering if it's really important to indicate areas of interest on the application. I am torn between two, I know it will definitely change in law school. So is it better to check the "I am not sure" box or just choose one of the two?

Thank you!!

If I get an LOR for 2019, but don’t end up applying, and instead apply next year for the 2020 cycle, would that be ok?

Hypothetical question: Would you rather be a run of the mill student at HYS or one of the top students at a lower t-13 school? Why?

Hi guys,

I really need you guys' input on what I should do with my application. Here's the background:

I've had a background in business, and have 6 years of work experience. I've initially thought about going into Bschool. But last year, after some serious consideration, I decided that business law is what I'm really interested. And decided that I was going to take the LSAT and apply this year, to law school alone. I was confident that I'd be able to get into the 170s, and did PT really well in my last few tests. But life slapped me in the face and I got a 166. I had a meltdown because it was 8 points below my average PTs. I know it's not a bad number, but I REALLY want to get into Northwestern.

Numbers about me:

GMAT: 750

LSAT:166

GPA: 3.6 ikr =(

So, should I a) bet my luck and use 166 to apply to Northwestern law alone? or b) reapply to their JD/MBA program through Kellogg?

I did apply last year to the JD/MBA program but I didn't have a LSAT score. And I was waitlisted. I just really want to get into the school this year. I could retake the LSAT and apply again next year, but the thought of waiting another year really scares me.

I have an embarrassingly low uGPA from my first pass in college with a cumulative 2.86 from 2010-14 as a result of being a lazy and unmotivated college student. I spent 2014-2018 on active duty with the United States Army and have re-enrolled in college to complete a second Bachelor's degree before attending law school. I just completed my first semester back with a 4.0 on 15 credit hours.

What will be taken most into consideration by admissions offices - the 2.86 from 2010-14, 4.0 from 2018, or an adjusted cumulative of 2.99 that combines 2010-14 and 2018? Do I bother writing an addendum?

I know a solid LSAT score will help pick up some slack and I will be taking the January 2019 exam.

I am not attempting to make it into a top-notch law school, just one located locally as my wife and I are homeowners in the area and plan to be here for quite sometime. Their class of 2021 profile is 155/3.64 - 152/3.42 - 148/2.93. I have read as a rule of thumb that if one of your GPA/LSAT is in the 25th percentile then the other should be in the 75th - can anyone offer any insight to this?

Hi Peeps. I'm looking to swap / send my personal statement with the hopes of receiving very honest and critical feedback. I would love to get some fresh eyes on it from all you brilliant 7Sagers, and would be happy to also review others' statements in return.

If interested let me know! Thanks.

Is it ever possible that your personal statement/ diversity statement leads admissions to consider you URM even if you are not part of the categories they mention as being URM?

Hi,

So parts of my resume seem to make sense only with jargon like "Implemented a web application using Java, Spring Framework etc". I feel like adding that level of detail indicates the challenge related with the work or the research process that goes into it.

However, I think the general advice for LS applications is to cut down the technical jargon and write it differently. For anyone who's been through this or is going through this-How do you address that?

For example, I also had a research assistantship where I had to do some challenging R&D to develop a small tool. How do I say this without sounding pedantic or overplaying/underplaying myself?

Any information will be appreciated.

Hi folks, I just wanted to know what specifically are the reasons why many Canadian law schools "encourage" you to have your November LSAT as the last LSAT you take? is this due to rolling admissions? if so, how much more of an advantage do you really have not doing the January LSAT - potentially increasing your score (sorry for the long question).

Hi everyone,

A student initiative at Harvard Law School called the Financial Justice Coalition has helped us compile data on the Loan Repayment Assistance Programs of T14 schools: https://classic.7sage.com/admissions/lesson/lrap-programs/

I finally got my LSAT score, and I went from a 163 in September to a 166 on the Dec 1 test. I am pretty happy with that, as it puts me above the 75% at every school I want to apply to, except one that I don't even know if I really want to attend. However, a 166 is lower than every score I have had on a prep test after I began studying.Before I began I got a 160 and 158 on prep tests. During my studies this summer I got I believe a 168,169, and 170. However, because of a very hectic semester, I had to stop studying before I took the actual tests. Should I retake in January? The only reason would be to place myself at the LSAT median of UVA (the one school I mentioned earlier) and to increase my chance for scholarships at all the other schools.

My current numbers are 4.00/166, and I think I have strong recs and pretty okay softs. How likely am I to get significant or full scholarships? Would retaking make much of a difference? Would applying late December/early January still put me in a position to get these scholarships?

Right now, I think my first choice is Wake Forest, but I still need to visit other places like Washington & Lee, William & Mary, and others with similar stats in NC and VA.

So I got my scores from the November LSAT and have now decided to cancel the January LSAT that I preemptively registered for. I had no idea this would be so complicated and I just sent in the refund request form, but LSAC replied that the process will take three weeks. In the meantime, I've realized my applications are now on hold until those scores theoretically come in or LSAC cancels my registration.

Has anyone dealt with this before? Is there a faster way to get them to cancel the the registration or do I just have to email every single school and explain the situation?

Thank you!

Hi, all!

I got a 164 in June and a 159 in November (yeah, that drop was pretty painful). I submitted applications to schools where the 164 is at/above the 75th percentile mark, and one of them sent me an email that my application has been marked PENDING because I registered for the January LSAT (I understand that's typical practice for some schools).

Question: should I leave the application as pending, or ask them to review my application with the scores currently on file?

Additional info: weak GPA, 7-8 years out of undergrad. Decently strong softs and work history.

Any advice welcome! Thanks!

I have seen the academic summary report that LSAC has generated for me that has all the summary data from my transcript, but do law schools get my real transcript and see which classes I have taken?

Already thanks to the feedback of some great 7sagers I have rewritten my personal statement. Now I need some feedback on my latest version. Is anyone wanting to do a personal statement swap?

My resume also needs review. I have a science background and currently it contains a lot of jargon. I need to decide what to keep in while not taking away the meaning of an entry. If anyone would like to do a resume swap please let me know.

Thank you 7sage for this kind of group feedback! The discussion board and admissions course has really helped guide me in how to approach applications.

Hi all,

Is it ok to elaborate on things that are listed on the resume on to the DS?

Thank you!

.

Hey everyone, I'm wondering what trends this admissions cycle will follow. I've recently read an article that said this cycle will be slow and that applicants are down. I've also read that less people are reaching top scores. But I've also seen some saying this year may have a surge of applicants (just like last year) due to the "Trump Bump". Can anyone give any insight or direct me to any articles that are helpful?