Do our references have to have submitted the reference before NOV 1 or can I submit my applicaiton and still have their submission be pending? One of my references has still not completed it but it says viewed on my applicaiton.

Admin note: Edited title. Please do not post threads or comments in all caps. This is against the Forum Rules. Thanks!

I'm a non-URM with a 4.0 and a 172. PT average about the same with a few (recent) scores between 174 and 177. Is it worth taking again in November? My top choices are Michigan and Northwestern.

Greetings 7Sagers!

On Wednesday, October 30 at 8pm ET, join 7Sage admissions consultants Taj McCoy and Dr. Sam Riley for another panel discussion with law school admissions deans from across the country. For this conversation, hear from representatives of Boston College, Catholic University, Howard University, Loyola University Chicago, Loyola Los Angeles, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as they weigh in on strategizing character and fitness statements and various addenda. The audience will be able to submit questions on this topic throughout the session via the Q&A widget.

*Note: The session will be recorded and will be posted to our podcast after it's edited for sound quality.

Registration link: https://7sage.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0qdeyvqTspHNZIEW2NUAEUp7Os38rVcuC-

Hey guys, I am currently finalizing my applications but am on the fence if I should submit an optional essay for this prompt:

"You are not required to submit an optional statement. However, you may upload an optional statement regarding any economic, cultural, social, 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 a minimum of one-inch margins and a 10-point font size. Your decision not to provide an optional statement does not adversely impact the review of your application."

Am I wrong in interpreting this as a diversity statement? For context, my optional essay is about how Washington state mountaineering culture influenced my identity and instilled perseverance and tenacity in me. I do NOT want to submit this and come off as tone deaf or ignorant to admission officers if others are writing about URM status and going through real struggles rather than writing about hobbies. Any thoughts or advice?

Hi All, I am currently working on writing my diversity statement. I want to write about my experience living in poverty. I recently read the nonfiction book, "Poverty, by America" by Matthew Desmond and it articulates a lot about poverty that I want to reference in my essay. I am wondering if it is appropriate to use quotes from the book such as, "Poverty reduces people born for better things" or "Poverty is diminished life and personhood. It changes how you think and prevents you from realizing your full potential". I want to use quotes like above to try to define/explain the ways in which poverty has affected my life while also referencing an intellectual source not only to substantiate my experience but also exemplify my academic ability to analyze a piece of work in my own experience. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! TIA

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around some of these public interest essays (like Root-Tilden, Berk Public Interest Scholars, and general supplemental essays). I can't find a single example anywhere. Has anyone managed to find some?

Does anyone have suggestions on how to approach this? I am not sure if it needs to be a personal story or if I can just talk about my work experience. I'm running out of creative juice.

Hello,

I am working a full time job at Goldman Sachs. Just graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in May 2024. I hope to apply to law school in the 2026 cycle.

Since I am 1-2 years out of school. Any tips on: A) Who to ask for letter of recommendation? B) How to ask them? C) How much leniency law schools will give me about my LORs given that I am years out of school?

Thanks!

Dear all,

I had planned to take the October test, but my score was not good enough, so I withdrew my October test and am now preparing for the January one. I hope I have more time to figure out the test.

But is it too late to apply to well-ranked law schools after the January test?

Thanks a lot for the help!

Greetings, 7Sagers!

On Tuesday, September 24 at 8pm ET, join 7Sage admissions consultants Taj McCoy and Dr. Sam Riley for another panel discussion with law school admissions deans from across the country. For this conversation, hear from representatives of Boston College, Catholic University, Howard University, Loyola University Chicago, Loyola Los Angeles, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as they weigh in on strategizing personal statements and statements of perspective. The audience will be able to submit questions on this topic throughout the session via the Q&A widget.

Registration Link: https://7sage.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZArdu-urDgiE9B2qMtAQujHhwwD0Jmnlj56.

Note: The event will be recorded and posted to our podcast once edited for sound quality.

Hello. I am confused about the acceptance decision timeline for law schools. Since most have rolling admissions and Deans are eager to know as early as possible who is accepting, how is this done in practical and professional terms for the applicant? Is it typical and okay to wait until the deposit deadline to reply? Are you asked to explain that you are waiting for other decisions soon after a decision is made? This is a different process from undergrad so I am hoping to understand how to handle this in a respectful way. Thanks.

I was reading an article published a few years ago about personal statements, and it recommended to specify the personal statement to each school you apply to. It had two examples where the authors included 2-4 sentences showing some knowledge of the school's programs and why it aligned with their personal stories/interests. (https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/articles/2017-04-27/2-law-school-personal-statements-that-succeeded)

My question is, is necessary or even good advice? I haven't seen any schools recommending this on their website, and Harvard specifically states that they don't really want it (They say: "As for discussing HLS in your personal statement, we do not recommend it. The admissions team knows a lot about Harvard Law School — but we don’t know much about you quite yet."). I understand that you shouldn't make the entire statement about a certain school, but am worried that even the 2-4 sentences recommended by the US News article might be penalized.

I'd love to hear people's thoughts about this!

hey all! Looking for some guidance with my personal essay. I've been in the brainstorming phase of my essay for a while now trying to find my ending. I want to tell a story about myself that is genuine and stays with the reader. I want to write about my love of working with kids. i've done it all my life. it was my "thing" in college, serving as a camp counselor for kids with cancer. I could tell a million stories about how those kids shifted my perspective, made me listen more, etc. But i am having trouble connecting that to law. It seems like every university prompt that I read mentions "you should address your interest in law/why this makes you a good candidate" If you have any advice or have gotten over this same obstacle please lmk

Hi everyone! 7Sage Alum here. After a year or so of grueling practice, I finally got a score I wanted to shoot my shot for a T-14 this past August - a 170! I'm a bit nervous applying because I took the LSAT three times, with 2 previous attempts with logic game and the August one without (does that also matter? will the 170 be discounted in anyway because it was in the new format?) I wondering if I need to write an addendum to explain what happened and if so, what to write in it.

For more details, here is my LSAT history: November 23: 159, January 24: 163, August 24: 170

Hi, I just took my August LSAT and I like my score, however, I will be taking it again in October. I was wondering if anyone has any insight on when is a good deadline to have my applications in by.

I also know that some people are offered fee waivers to apply to specific schools by those schools. Is there anything people do in particular to be offered those?

Greetings 7Sagers!

As promised, Dr. Riley and I are going to address some of the most common questions from last night's Q&A that we weren't able to get to. We'll be adding questions and responses to this thread through the end of the week!

Warmly,

Taj

Hi everyone!

This year we got more than 1000 applications for our 7K scholarship! After combing through them all, we’re thrilled to announce the winner and runners-up. We’re deeply moved by the stories and determination of these students, and are confident that the world will be a better place when they have law degrees.

Okay, drumroll please:

The winner of the 7Sage 7K scholarship is Alexis Boehmer. Alexis will receive a scholarship of $7,000 to defray the cost of a legal education, a pro bono Admissions Consulting package, and a pro bono 12-month subscription to 7Sage’s LSAT prep course.

The runner-up is Liyu Woldemichael. Liyu will receive a scholarship of $1,000, a pro bono 12-month subscription to 7Sage’s LSAT prep course, and a pro bono Admissions Consulting package.

There were five finalists: Shayra Nunez, Jasmin Gonzalez Escobar, Joyce Giboom Park, Bree Pate, and Nayla Paredes. The finalists will each receive pro bono LSAT prep along with consulting or editing services.

In all, we are awarding $8,000, seven LSAT prep packages, and seven admissions consulting or editing packages.

To those we didn't recognize—thank you for taking the time to submit your applications. We know it took time and effort, and we’re grateful to have learned about your journeys. This decision was incredibly challenging; so many of your stories moved us. Your essays make it clear that each of you will achieve remarkable things in the legal profession.

We’ll open applications for the 2025 7Sage 7K scholarship this spring—stay tuned!

Winner:

Alexis Boehmer

Runner-up:

Liyu Woldemichael

Finalists:

Shayra Nunez

Jasmin Jasmin Gonzalez Escobar

Joyce Giboom Park

Bree Pate

Nayla Paredes

Was stuck between D and E, but decided to go with answer choice E.

Someone please explain why E is wrong

­In the course of his reading, George Orwell probably encountered certain storytelling conventions over and over again, and these are the devices he would have most likely used in his work. That is why it does not follow that, even though his 1984 resembles other books of its

futuristic genre, Orwell read those books; it is possible that he and the other authors were simply drawing on the same body of literary conventions.

(D) A recent film that involves car chases, explosions, and clever villains is not necessarily directly influenced by other films of the action genre.

(E) A historical romance novel does not fit into its literary genre unless it employs certain kinds of conventions.

I'm writing about a very niche topic, and I'm including a short background paragraph in my essay. Do I need to/should I include a citation for this information? My gut is saying no, but if it's information that didn't come directly from me I don't want to end up plagiarizing.

anyone interested in reviewing each other's personal statements, resumes, essays etc.? May be a good way to get ideas and also learn about schools you did not consider!

Hey y'all. I was hoping anyone could give me some advice or insight on how to pick a professor to write a letter of rec.

I had already picked my two professors for letters of rec and sent out emails to ask if they could write the letters for me. They are both professors that I was a research assistant for during my time in undergrad. They both got back to me and told me yes, however one of the professors wrote to me that I should also get letters of rec from professors who had me in their classes.

This completely stressed me out because I thought I had my letters of rec all figured out and done but now I'm spiraling and trying to figure out if it will look bad if my two letters of rec are from professors I did research with and were not in their classes.

So I guess overall my question is if it's okay if I have two strong letters of rec from professors I was a research assistant for (and they're both political science professors so within my major, and one of them is the dean of the social science department) or will it look bad that they're not professors who had me in their class.

Thanks!

Hello all! I've heard great things about this forum in my non-trad law school journey. I am 28 and wrapping up a PhD in Romance languages. My aim is to finish my degree in Spring 2026 and matriculate into a law program by that fall. I have thought about law over the years, but developed an interest in teaching & humanities research. But it's my research and experiences that have led me back to the legal world, especially anywhere that international, immigration and/or labor & employment law might intersect.

I had a meeting with a career services advisor (not pre-law) who was seriously concerned about my appearing to be a perpetual student when applying. She said I absolutely MUST get some kind of internship experience in immigration or international law before I apply in 2025 if I want to stand a chance for admission.

I have not fully "locked in" so to speak in securing that kind of position, but have a few contacts and programs in mind. I'm also considering how I can balance this with getting my research funded so I can wrap up my dissertation in time. My question is: how much am I jeopardizing my admissions prospects WITHOUT that specific internship experience, ex. if I got funded to research abroad? And will I truly be an irredeemable egghead in the case that I'm not able to land an internship?

Is the career switch (from academia to law) addendum-worthy, or is it something that can be adequately covered in the scope of a personal statement?

I'm fortunate enough to have several close faculty contacts from my undergrad institution. That said, I got my BA in 2018. Should I just focus on current faculty (like my dissertation committee) for LORs?

Thank you all!

Hello everyone. Understanding that the undergraduate GPA is an extremely important factor in your application, I have a hard time viewing the strength of mine. I went to a strong liberal arts college that’s known to be very anti-grade inflation. They also don’t give out A+ grades. CAS gives credit to A+ grades and it seems a 3.72/4.00 GPA is at a disadvantage compared to many people who have it out of 4.33 with CAS conversion.

I’ve been told conflicting answers and now I’m even more confused. I would like to hear input to see where I am so I can put my worries to rest.

Really would like some clarification on this! I know this is what it's like with medical school, and even undergrad. Does this hold true for law schools? For example, let's say I'm an applicant from...Minnesota; will I be held to a much higher admissions standard applying somewhere like...University of New Mexico?

Hi, I recently got my score for the September 2023 LSAT (I just finished the writing section) and I am wondering if I should cancel it. I got a 165, however, I am retaking the test this August (2024) and again this September. I have recently been testing in the high 160's and low 170's and so I was wondering if I should cancel the 165 or just let it stay. I would really appreciate the advice!

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