So I was blessed to be accepted to all but one school to where I applied (*I did NOT apply to any T14 schools). I was also incredibly blessed to get scholarship at them all (ranging from $5,000 to $40,000 / year). I am a non-traditional student with kids, (and a full-time job that I'm taking a sabbatical from for 1L), who would either stay local and attend a school barely in the 100s, so my family is not uprooted -- or I can go to a higher ranked school (50-70 range) where I'd also be happy living...but would have to hope my spouse can find a job, the kids aren't waitlisted on daycare/preschool, that we can find a home and sell ours, etc. etc. etc.

I'm struggling with my decision. Do I stay local at the University of Buffalo and not change my life drastically? The local school probably would work out the best financially, not only because the spouse could keep their job, but we would already have living, etc., figured out -- so I'm JUST looking at tuition/fees/books in that case. Or do I go to either higher / lower ranked schools both in NYS or New England where I would love to live (e.g., I'm from CT and always imagined my children growing up there) where I may not have as much scholarship (e.g., UConn offered the least) or maybe more scholarship but cost of living is higher?

If I stay local, I can continue my job post-1L (I am a professor). However, almost all my instruction is online classes, so I could technically go anywhere; I just have to put in one more year at my professor gig after taking the sabbatical for 1L. On sabbatical, my salary is cut in half, but I'm still paid (so there's that). I could also just quit completely, but that's not ideal because I carry the healt benefits, and well, half salary is better than no salary. If we move, we'd be going back to where I have friends / family, but is very HCOL ("gold coast" / Connecticut; Massachusetts). If I choose one of the highest offers (Albany), if I decided to go a political route that might be smart because that is our state capital. In terms of goals, I'm not looking Big Law. I'm already a professor so I don't care so much about T14 / academia. I'm more interested in children, immigration.

I should also mention I placed first deposits at all 8 schools I got good awards from because I was hoping to use them all as leverage. I just withdrew from two, knowing I probably wouldn't realistically go to them. However, I'm really struggling with the others. Two emails just came in asking for a confirmed enrollment form to be completed. These emails strongly suggested I withdraw from the other institutions, which I get, and they do not have 2nd deposits. Everywhere else does.

I'm very torn. And can I also say how hard it was to withdraw?? I just withdrew from MSU and Syracuse. Considering withdrawing from Case Western because they offered the least in comparison to total cost of attendance.

Thanks for tips / commiseration.

Hi everyone,

I just put together an FAQ about LSAT related questions. Let me know if I left out any big ones!

Full lesson: https://classic.7sage.com/admissions/lesson/lsat-faq/

Contents:

Throughout my undergrad years, I started taking (non-transferable) community college courses through my local CC for purely recreational purposes. My UG didn’t offer much in the way of law-related or criminal justice-related courses, so it wasn’t hard to take two or three per semester through the CC. Now that I’m looking at applying to law schools, I’ve just found out that these courses will count towards my LSAC GPA. This is good, it seems, because they bring up my 3.7 UG GPA to about a 3.9. However, I’m also worried it may look like an attempt to game the LSAC GPA system. Should I write an addendum explaining that or will it not be a significant issue? My LSAT is a 176 so I’m hoping to apply to schools that I assume will look pretty carefully at my full transcript. Thanks so much!

Hi everyone!!

If anyone is interested in looking over my first (very) rough draft, I would be so thankful!

If you are, just PM me!

Thanks!

I don't know where to start. Most of the schools I am applying to state that the PS is optional but I obviously plan to write one. That being said, these schools do not have topics or anything to write said statement on and I was wondering if anyone could give me a guideline for this?

Hi all! So I'm starting to organize all the paperwork I will need to ask professors for letters of rec from my undergrad. I graduated in December 2016... which was a while ago.

I want to ask three professors. One professor who I took two courses with in Fall of 2015, and two others, one in 2015 and one in 2016. How do I go about starting an e-mail to professors I haven't seen or spoken to in a while? All advice is appreciated! thank you so much!

Hi guys,

So this has been an ongoing conversation I've been having with family, mentors, professors, experts, etc. I just graduated from college and am starting work in a couple of months. After many discussions about whether to go straight to law school or take a gap year, I decided to take a gap year and work for a year before going to law school.

However, now I'm also thinking about whether 2 years is better than one. I've gone to many top law school visits at my college and spoken to the admissions deans and it seems that all of them encourage students to wait as long as they can before starting law school in order to gain work and life experience. I know this is a very subjective and personal decision, but I want to be as prepared for law school as possible and I'm not sure if taking one more year is worth it - will the benefits from the work and life experience I gain outweigh the costs of losing a whole year? I just don't know.

Would love to hear any thoughts on this! Happy to provide more specific information about my background or anything else, if needed. Thanks!

Hi everyone! I have consistently read that the recommenders should be academic but can be work related if you have been out of school for some time. I graduated undergrad in the year of 2015. Now that I have been out of school for 4 years, I have been working, starting as a barista and am now the General Manager to one of the top stores in the company. I am planning to have two of my previous professors write letters of recommendations, however some people have mentioned that I should have the CEO of my company write a letter, considering he hand picked me to run the store that I am currently working at. I am unsure if asking him is the right thing to do. I am not one to name drop (not that his name is huge) but that is how I feel it would be if I asked him for a LOR. I am convinced the two professors I have chosen will be able to write about my strong academia and talent that I presented through the classes I took. Any thoughts? Am I too far out from college to be focusing more on finding a work reference?

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/

How reliable are Loan Repayment Assistance Programs? How can school guarantee that the programs will exist well into the future? I know that we can't predict the future, but how likely is it that schools would cancel or drastically change their LRAPs in the near/distant future? I'm considering GULC specifically, but also asking for evidence from law schools in general.

I think I am FINALY done with my essay! Its taken me so long to finish it. I've reworked it so many times and had so many things to write about but I think I'm finally done. So far I have a good friend and a lawyer friend reading it. I will also probably have someone from David Busis' team read it. Is that enough? Should I ask more people for more comments and critiques? What have you guys done? I just need it to be perfect. Thanks.

I was put on the waitlist at colorado and they told me they would probably not give me feedback until july. I was told 2 weeks later that their class is full and I am not longer on waitlist. Do they put applicants on the waitlist before reviewing applications? also, does a rejection off the waitlist mean I could have a better chance of admission next year if I apply early? I applied april 20th. Will my chances be better or the same if I reapply early next cycle?

I am meeting with a professor on short notice who offered me a rec letter. He wants me to come in with 3-4 points I'd like him to touch on in the letter. Any ideas for what should be included?

I currently have a 3.9 GPA at FSU with hopes in getting into a T14 law school. My only concern in regards to my transcript is that I have a relatively light course load.

In my third year--I'm entering my fourth year in the fall--I experienced multiple and erratic seizures which forced me to be on medical watch and prevented me from driving or using electronics for some time. Later on in the year, my girlfriend became pregnant with my little baby daughter (:D) and I had to travel and stay in Colombia to accompany her since she lives alone. These impediments forced me to drop the majority of my classes which consequently led me to complete a mere total of 9 credit hours in my Junior year. I explained all of this to my university and they were lenient and cleared me from any heavy academic obligations.

In regards to my credits and graduation pace, I am not off-track since I have taken multiple Summer courses over the years. I am just a bit worried that my lackluster course load, specifically in my third year, may dissuade the T14 law schools from taking my application seriously.

Could my case deter T14 law schools from considering me? I know I should mention this through an addendum but to what extent would that help with their considerations?

Hello! I know there are a TON OF posts about this topic but I just wanted to see if anyone has any opinions/gotten into law school with the similar circumstances.

I have a dual degree in Cell biology and Women’s studies and ended up with a 2.8 cumulative gpa. If I removed all of my science classes, my gpa would be about aBout a 3.8 (not sure if this matters at all). Since graduating, I have been working for a large medical device company in quality on a large project. By the time I apply, I would have been in the industry for 2 years. I eventually want to get into patent/intellectual property law. I am retaking the lsat again this fall and am aiming for ~165 + .

Has anyone else gotten into a good school with a low gpa, a better than average lsat and work experience?

Are there certain schools that really value work experience?

All opinions are appreciated! Thank you!

I went on their website the other day and doesn't really tell you anything. Anyone know someone who has gotten in or anything? like what marks and scores they had?

Hi 7sagers,

With deposit deadlines looming, I could use your thoughts on law school choices. I am stuck between Georgetown and Washington University in St. Louis. I was offered almost half tuition $$ from WashU and nothing from Georgetown, which isn’t all that surprising given WashU’s tendency to lure student with $$ and Georgetown’s lack of generous scholarship offers. I want to do public interest immigration law in Chicago (or possibly D.C.) after graduation. I have already tried negotiating with Georgetown (though maybe I’m doing that wrong since it doesn’t seem to be working). Any thoughts or advice?

Thanks!!

So, I am applying for a seasonal job outside the US for the Fall and/or Spring. My plan was to use the Summer to have my essays and letters of rec ready to go. Then, I would send out my application ASAP once my school's apps were ready for submission. I am deciding when to put my availability for work based around when I may need to be back in the states to interview (is that a thing? I don't know)/be present generally in case I need to visit a school in regards to scholarship or any other circumstance. Can I get some thoughts on my plan or situation?

Now that the first deposit date has passed, you may find yourself sitting on a waitlist. How long do you have to wait? How long does a school maintain its waitlist? This will depend on the school. Some schools will notify and release candidates from their waitlist after a certain point. This would provide some closure for you as an applicant. Other schools may maintain their waitlist up through orientation in case of any “melt” throughout the summer. If deposited candidates withdraw because they get admitted off waitlists elsewhere, the school will turn to their waitlist to maintain their class size or their medians. A school may turn to the waitlist all the way up through orientation in some cases.

So how long should you stay on a waitlist? This depends on how badly you want to attend the target school. Preparing to attend law school, perhaps in a new city or state, can be a complicated process. Students have ended up sleeping on a couch or living out of a hotel room for a few weeks having accepted a last minute offer of admission from a school. They might start the beginning of law school orientation at one school and finish orientation at another school. If it’s August 1st, you probably will have deposited elsewhere, and you may decide it is better just to prepare for school with the concrete offer you have. At that point, if you haven't been released from the waitlist yet, you may decide to withdraw from the waitlist. Or, you may decide that you are only as committed as your options. If so, you should be aware of and be ready to meet these potential challenges of relocating in a hurry.

If no obstacle is too great between you and your target school, then what should you do right now as you sit on the waitlist? Well, you shouldn’t just “wait” quietly. There is no way to know what a target school is going to do with their waitlist, how big or small it is, or if they will pull 5 or 50 people from it. Nevertheless, if a school turns to the waitlist, and your application meet their requirements, you want your file to be one of the notable ones with current activity. Keep your file up to date by letting the school know that you are ready, willing, and able to commit to the school immediately should you be selected. Connect with the admissions office periodically by phone or by email (once every 3 weeks or as directed by the admissions officer) and say, “I know I am on the waitlist but I wanted to let you know that School X is still my top choice and if admitted, I would definitely enroll.” Be aware of the tone of your conversations, be professional, and take direction from the admissions officer with whom you are communicating.

Hi all!

It's been about a year and a half since I began my journey of studying for the LSAT and applying to law school, and (in no small part due to help from 7Sage) I now have the best, but hardest decision to make.

I have about two weeks to decide whether to accept a T10 school's top scholarship, which would allow me to leave law school debt-free, or to accept my admission to Yale (at full cost). Basically, Yale would cost about $225,000 more than the other T10 school (and more once interest on loans is considered). The T10 scholarship covers full tuition/fees and includes a sizable yearly stipend. Both are great options, and if the cost differential weren't so great I'd probably go to Yale, but, well... That's a huge amount of money to pay considering the alternative that's available to me.

After law school I'm hoping to clerk, work for a large firm for a while, and probably eventually move to the public sector. Those goals are quite attainable (obviously) from both schools, though Yale holds a special place in the minds of many employers (and attorneys).

So I'm hoping ya'll can share your thoughts on a question and vote in the attached poll. The question for the comments is, how much more would you be willing to pay to attend Y/H/S vs. another T10 law school?

Many thanks to those who respond! I'm really fretting about this decision.

I was waitlisted at American and plan to attend a waitlist information session and sit in on a few classes. I was wondering should i notify my admissions counselor that i will be visiting? I don't want to be annoying. This would be my second visit (i visited last summer before applications). I was waitlisted in March and so far have sent 2 letters of continued interest (1 each month).

removed

Hi All! I've heard back from all my schools except for NYU. I'm pretty sure which school I'll be committing to, but wondering if I should check in with NYU or just wait it out? I wasn't expecting to still be waiting in May! Applied early January.

If anyone has any insights, I'd love to hear them :) Thanks!

So I recently got waitlisted at my top choice. I guess it is better than a no!

I just had a quick question, will the schools ever tell you that you are rejected, or is it just assumed when the first day starts?

I am fine with going to my second choice, I just feel nervous about signing a lease and trying to figure out everything about moving to a new city with the potential of being taken off the waitlist for my first choice.

Thanks,

Alyssa

Hi everyone,

Would anyone mind helping me out by proof reading, criticizing, and editing an already proof read and edited personal statement?

I would like as much feedback as possible! Don't be afraid to really get into it!