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Since I got my September LSAT back, I have been toiling with the decision about whether or not to apply ED to a school. My previous score was a 165, but now my stats stand as follows: LSAT: 170 (THANK YOU TO 7SAGE!), LSAC GPA 3.9 mid, Softs are T2, with legal experience post grad and political work during undergrad.
When I had the 165, I was planning on EDing to Georgetown. Now, with the 170, part of me wants to see what my admission decisions will be if I apply everywhere RD (knowing even if I ED to GULC, I still may not be the most competitive). I also know that this cycle is going to be extremely competitive and I want to put myself in the best position to get into a great school. Georgetown would still be one of my top choices and is generally good for the type of Government/Political work that I want to do. But I can't help but think why not just see what happens at other schools, like NYU, Columbia, and even super reaches like Yale. You never know, right? There are conflicting reports on how much ED does for at Georgetown or NYU anyway. I know that I may not be a realistic candidate at any of these schools, and I want to prioritize giving myself the best chances to succeed this admissions cycle. While merit scholarships and aid would be nice, it is not necessary, but part of be can't stomach close to 350k on life and school. EDing would greatly diminish my ability to negotiate anything, and I have heard that I shouldn't expect any money from a school if I get in ED.
Appreciate any advice on this. Hoping to apply to my top schools in the next 3 weeks.
I've been drafting personal statement after personal statement (not always to completion) over the past month or so, and once my LSAT take next Saturday is over I am 100% in "admissions mode," but I still haven't found a PS topic that feels convincing. I have quite a few good anecdotes, and those read well, but when it comes to drawing connections to law, and almost giving it that "juice" that many of the examples I read have, I find my attempts lacking. Does anyone have any advice or resources they've used thad has helped them with this sort of issue? I want to have all my applications in by November (hoping that is early enough) so need to make a bit of a breakthrough soon so I can start working on Perspective and optional essays.
From what I have heard, you should include it and not be too worried. Many schools are looking to put together an ideologically diverse class and want to see that you are engaged and doing something... probably less concerned about what that is unless it is truly abhorrent. Especially if it was something you were very involved with and spent a significant amount of time on, include it.
@JacobBaska Thanks Jacob! They didn't notify me that I needed to submit anything else, but I thought I should try and get it anyway as some schools want it. That's not going to be fun but oh well.
I have had the same issue at times. I know 7Sage and others recommend to read more outside of the testing setting. When I took my first test, I found that it did improve my ability to get through an RC Section. Try to find something substantive, that you have to pay attention to in order to understand. My go-to was The New Yorker. I also made a change early on in my RC practice to tackle the passage accompanied by the most questions first, and I found that approach helpful (but you may not). While practicing, try anything and everything to see what works.
@Kihla333 They dont appear with any grades, so they werent calculated based off my undergrad transcript. I have a copy of my abroad transcript and supposedly so does my undergrad university. I guess my concern is including it with every application instead of only the ones that require it, even though the grades arent bad. For instance, Columbia says this "Candidates who studied abroad for one academic year or less are strongly encouraged to submit official copies of their transcripts if the grades do not appear on the home institution's transcript. If candidates run into difficulty having these transcripts sent from institutions abroad, then an unofficial copy of the transcript (PDF format preferred) may be uploaded in the "Addendum" section of the application. In most instances, the Admissions Committee prefers to consider a candidate's performance in study abroad courses, and requesting transcripts can often slow down the review process."
@nr yeah, this might be the play. But do you know how/if they calculate it into your LSAC gpa?
I've started attending some law school information sessions, and one thing that is exceedingly unclear is requirements around study abroad transcripts. I studied abroad one semester during undergrad, and per LSAC, as long as that experience is included on my undergrad transcript, I do not need to submit my transcript from study abroad (even though my grades are not shown). It seems like some schools may still require me to submit an official study abroad transcript, like BC, GW, and others. I am not really sure where to start if I need to submit it via LSAC, or just to schools directly. Further, will it recalculate my LSAC GPA, even if the grades are on the European standard?
Would love for an admissions consultant to answer this. If anyone has past experience or insight also, please let us all know! I am sure I am not alone in my confusion.
Hi all, listening to the most recent Dean Z Mini App read, she starts off the episode talking about grammar and spelling issues in the applicant's essays, specifically the LSAT argumentative writing. I had put this out of my head completely but listening made me remember that, back in April when I took my first LSAT and thus did my argumentative writing, I made the same spelling mistake a few times, using "tenant" instead of "tenet." Now, I have no reason to believe I made any other egregious mistakes, nor am I a bad writer, or will errors like this show up in the other areas of my application, but I am taking the LSAT again in September, so is it worth it to redo the argumentative writing? I do enjoy writing in my free time and plan for that to focus in some way on my applications, so I do not want to appear inconsistent or disingenuous.
Side note, I guess this is what I deserve for trying to use a more obscure word, and not just going for "fundamental principle" or something of the like.
I've taken the LSAT twice, and both times the last PT I did (both a week before) went pretty dang bad. I did better on each test I took and just got my goal score. While not everyone is the same, don't take the week before PT score to mean much. Treat it as a rep so you know you can get through the test. Dont worry about it now and take it chill before the test. Do some (easier) drills in the couple of days before and build confidence going through your process. You will be fine.