@pcainti665 said:

Hey! So I did it. Honestly it was really difficult. Use the "practice" option frequently to get timing down and get comfortable with the format. You'll only have ~1 or 2 minutes to answer some thought-provoking questions so get to the point fast.

I just got off the phone with Monica Ingram - Associate Dean of Admissions at Cornell. She called me to let me know I was admitted :smile:. But anyway, she's the lady that's in the video you watch before you do the interview. I joked with her and was like "Hey! I remember you! You were the lady in the videos!"

She replied, "Hahaha don't remind me. You weren't the only one who had to record some painful videos!"

^I hope this gives you insight into how the Cornell admissions office looks at these interviews. They know the format is hard! They don't expect perfection, but I think they expect you to be able to speak well and handle yourself. Smile and be open and friendly to the camera, and just say some stuff that's coherent. To be honest, many of my answers sucked, but I think smiling and being confident took me a long way.

Congrats Paul!! When did you interview? I just got the invitation today!

Hey! I was just asked as well. I think it's pretty common. Hope it went well for you if you've done it already.

Hey! Kind of echoing what others have said above. I'm in an analogous situation except that I'm on the other end of the spectrum when it comes to average age. I would send in all your apps over the next few weeks and just see what happens. From what I've read from Spivey and other consulting sources, re-applying the following cycle doesn't hurt your chances at all. So why not apply now & see what you get? There's a good chance that you'll get some good money from lower T-14 schools. Good luck & I'm here if you want a quick edit on anything!

@ar660 said:

send it over!

Thank you so much! Will send it your way now!

Congratulations!

@leahbeuk911 said:

@7610 said:

@leahbeuk911 If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing about applying in the meantime? I think there's a lot of sense in what you're saying about not applying to HSY yet but outside of those 3, what's your strategy?

The highest school I am shooting for is Northwestern. I have a 168 which is median there, so I’m just applying now and will ask for them not to hold for my February score. If I beat 168, then I’ll use it for scholarship negotiations or for wait lists.

I think once you are rejected (not wait listed) then you might be done for the cycle with a school. Not sure if there’s any possibility to overturn that. So might want to take that into consideration. If you feel confident about at least being wait listed, then I think you should apply now.

Thank you so much! Good luck with the Northwestern interview if you haven't done that already!

Thank you everyone for the advice! I think as of now I am going to sit for February. I just have to figure out how to go about applying for this year's cycle. I'll probably apply to most of the T-14 and then send them an email to evaluate my app without waiting for the February score.

@leahbeuk911 If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing about applying in the meantime? I think there's a lot of sense in what you're saying about not applying to HSY yet but outside of those 3, what's your strategy?

Hey! I had to write one for a traffic ticket I got awhile back. Would be willing to swap if anyone wants to. @gregoryalexanderdevine723 @7610

I've gotten that a few times but it's gone away after I closed out the browser and tried again. LSAC is picky over not having 2 windows open even when there's not.

@gregoryalexanderdevine723 @leahbeuk911

Do you guys mean that you're writing one optional essay for all of your schools? Or do you mean that you're writing all of the optional essays for each school?

Thank you guys! @71888 @gregoryalexanderdevine723 I can always rely on you to reply.

My primary concern is that it'll hold up my apps that I hope to be completing in the next week or so. I would pretty much be strictly using the Feb. LSAT for the potential wait-list negotiations following a decision based on the numbers that I have now.

Another factor; I would be pretty happy with any of the T-14 schools. So if the numbers I have now are good enough to get in this cycle, is there much utility in retaking? I guess I'm just questioning the cost benefit of retaking again when my average is only 1-2 points higher than my test day score.

I would take some time to really work through the 7sage curriculum if you haven't already. A high LSAT score can really open up a lot of doors and it's worth the time to go through the curriculum.

As for LG, I recommend fool proofing PT's 1-35. That seemed to really help me a lot. As for RC, I would work on getting a solid reading methodology down. My specific strategy is an offshoot of the memory method that JY teaches.

Good luck!

@kimberleemcmillin935 said:

If you're unsure, I would simply call the admissions office. Unfortunately, they wont be open probably until Jan 2nd. To be safe, you could simply disclose it no matter what. It wont stop you from getting accepted if you do, but if you don't it could mean trouble with the bar.

Thank you! I was erring towards the side of disclosing but I just wasn't sure since it was obviously neither a misdemeanor nor a felony.

The specific language if it helps is as follows (if it helps).

Cornell: Have you ever, either as an adult or a juvenile, been cited, ticketed, arrested, taken into custody, charged with, indicted, convicted or tried for, or pleaded guilty to, the commission of any felony or misdemeanor or the violation of any law, or been the subject of any juvenile delinquency or youthful offender proceeding? Traffic violations that occurred more than ten years before the filing of this application need not be reported, with the exception of alcohol or drug-related traffic violations, which must be reported in all cases irrespective of when they occurred. Do not report parking violations.

Penn: Have you ever, either as an adult or a juvenile, been arrested, charged, cited, or convicted of a crime (including misdemeanors), or is any charge now pending against you? (This should include matters that have been expunged or subject to a diversionary program.)

Thanks so much for this Paul! Super useful.

I would've felt a lot better if I didn't find this out until the email was in my inbox..lol

Here we GOOOOOOO. LSAC finally starting to compete with GRE.

@gregoryalexanderdevine723 said:

Of course! I think you have my email, but if not, just PM me!

Great! I'll send you an email in a few. Thanks Alex!