Hi guys, I am filling out the applications for schools, and under the Education Section, there is a question that says: "List the academic honors and awards, or other recognitions you have received." Isn't this just a repeat of what you would have on a resume?
Also, does latin honors count in this section?
They ask for a description as well and it's limited to very few words. I was wondering how people gave those descriptions. Thanks so much!
I've heard people say their scores went up a few points with the new digital version. It does seem to eliminate the hassle of bubbling.
I don't think there is any advantage to applying ED to Columbia. The best possible plan for you is to retake and get a bit higher. I was on the lower 25th percentile and contemplating ED last year, but I'm glad I didn't apply ED. I also heard that they don't give you much $$ if accepted. I went with RD and also got aid at a few peer schools, so I was able to negotiate some money from them (about 80k). Columbia is SUPER stingy and the Financial Aid office is a nightmare to work with.
I took one in Beijing last year. It was pretty good overall. The proctors are super nice and it was pretty quiet except for a small bit where there was construction outside, but I think it should be fine by now. There is a clock in the front. The tables were just enough to fit the test packet. It can get a tiny bit cramped, but considering that I took the first test at OSU where they had those tiny flip tables attached to the chairs, this was paradise compared to that. Hope this helps!
Congrats! It's always amazing to see hard work pay off! That 174 is going to open so many doors for you!!!
Congrats!!!!! Wishing you a fantastic application cycle in the future!
Congrats! You don't really have to do anything. Just wait for later emails. They will indicate when they want something from you.
I definitely got slower on the LR sections past the 70s when I was doing test prep. I personally feel that they make the answers more vague, and sometimes I can get down to 2 contenders but will often choose the wrong one...
I'll be 25, and looking back, I have to say that taking a few years off was the wisest choice for me. Could not handle kJD
Aww, thanks for the shoutout!
Go with retake, but I suggest maybe taking one or two weeks off to destress and relax. You sound like you're super tired of test prep and it really helped me when I took a few weeks off to relax my brain. It actually made my PT scores go up. If you are applying for next year, it wouldn't hurt to retake again, but you have an awesome score already!
Congrats! You've been such a help on this forum! Good luck on your 1L year! Also headed to law school in the fall. Super excited!
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WOW freaking amazing!! I'm so happy for you!! And so honored for your special shout out lol. (3 CONGRATULATIONS!!!(/p)
https://media.giphy.com/media/yoJC2GnSClbPOkV0eA/giphy.gif
Thank you!!!! I know you'll kick ass at Northwestern!!!!
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Congrats! Still struggling around 150...
Stick with the blind review method and you will improve. The LSAT is a very learnable skill, but it's going to take time for your brain to adjust. Wishing you the best of luck!!!
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I am currently in the process of Applying to Law Schools for 2021 that is! How is Law School? As hard as the LSAT? Mainly reading? what to expect?
Law school is hard, but I think in a different way from the LSAT. It's a ton of reading, mostly cases from your casebook. You have to pick out the useful bits yourself, and that probably won't become evident until much later in the semester. Some professors also assign supplemental readings, those are useful for the policy discussions in class/policy question on the exams. I think the workload depends on the professor in question. I had a brutal class that took up about 80% of my time because of the way the prof chose to teach it. I would suggest trying to compile your notes electronically as you go along. I didn't really do that this semester and it was a mad rush at the end, and I had forgotten a lot of the stuff.
Expect to spend a lot of time reading. Cold-calls are not that scary, and don't feel pressured to volunteer to speak or say something super novel. Your final grade in the class just rests on that one exam at the end, and it's graded anonymously.
Good luck with applications!
Hi fam, I just finished my last exam of the semester, and I thought I'd return to this safe place and soak in the eagerness for law school that has been stripped from us 1L in the past four months. Oh and also to contribute to the community that has so graciously answered my questions when I was applying to law school. If you have anything you would like to ask about law school, please comment below. Judging from the memes on the Facebook group, my experience should be roughly the same as other 1Ls...
Omg, current law student here. Don't do too much that will cause you to burn out before you get here. Getting to Maybe is a good choice, but it might not make sense until you're midway into the semester. Take some time off and do something you enjoy!
You're really early in the process, did the T20 tell you to get back to them with a decision at a certain date? If not, I would maybe wait and see what you get from the other schools that are closer in rank. Last year, I was able to negotiate a FA raise from Columbia using a higher amount from a slightly lower school, and they're SUPER stingy...Hope this helps a little! Congrats on the admissions by the way!
I would suggest some interesting hobbies for that section...interesting in the sense that it adds to your character the stuff they can't get out of the other sections of your application.
Hi guys, I'm kind of freaking out a little here. I sent in my first applications yesterday and I realized that I had made a mistake on one of the multiple questions part. Do I need to reach out to the law school by email? How should I do that? Please help!!!!
@ I majored in Biochem and had a near-perfect GPA. And no, I didn't really do much reading in the humanities, so I definitely had trouble with them in the reading portion.
Hi guys, I’ve mostly been a lurker on the forum, but now that my cycle is officially over, I wanted to share a little bit about my LSAT journey and methods. It might not help, and I am no way attempting to plug my study methods. This is just for reference.
My LSAT journey started out in 2016 with the Blueprint Games book. I spent a whole semester on and off familiarizing myself with the games section and going through the book. I took a lot of notes (which in hindsight was not very helpful at all). Then, I learned about 7Sage and purchased the starter pack. At the time, I was still in school full time (STEM major) and working part-time as well, so not a lot of prep time for the LSAT. I was PTing around 160-164, and because I wanted to head straight to law school after graduation, I decided to take the test and wing it. Definitely do not recommend this. I did horribly and did not finish four of the five sections. There was a terrible game section that I believe was an experimental. There was a game about beer companies and different types of beer that I completely blanked on. Got my first score back, it was barely over 160 and it felt like my whole world was ending when I decided to take a year off to study and better prepare. Now looking back, the year was totally worth it, both in terms of the score increase and my mental health. I was able to focus on my classes and enjoy graduation without stressing about the LSAT.
After graduation, I tried a few different approaches to learning the LSAT. Velocity LSAT, LSATHACK, Powerscore, LSAT trainer, etc. In my humble opinion, and everyone is different, I think my score increase mainly came from perfecting the games section, and that I have to attribute that to 7Sage and Blueprint. I preferred using the Blueprint method when drawing diagrams for games and using 7Sage when it came down to reviewing the games. My diagramming technique ended up being a blend of 7Sage and BP, which I found super helpful.
The Blind Review method was very good for the LR sections, but didn’t really do much for me in RC. There were just always a few questions in reading comprehension that I got wrong regardless of how long I looked at them. I honestly don’t think I ever mastered RC, which is my my final score wasn’t as high as it could have been.
In summary, this is what I think worked for me:
NOTE: I would recommend trying to memorize the formal logic component like the back of your hand, but also understand that it is only a small portion of the points, and that grasping the skill of finding the conclusion/supporting claims and being able to figure out the logic gap is the most important part of LR.
It took me about three to four months of full time study after graduation to get to 177-178ish blind review scores. I averaged 170 during the last few PTs (PT80-84) and I barely made it over the mark on the actual test. Although I did hear multiple people say the test I sat was super super hard, I don’t really think it would have affected my score too much, maybe 1 0r 2 point upward fluctuation?
I don’t think my method was actually the best or the most comprehensive, and I honestly don’t know if I can say that I succeeded on the LSAT, but I did end up somehow getting accepted to Harvard (after much struggle and the most awkward interview of my life), so I think that it might be safe to say the LSAT is just one (albeit very important) component of your entire application.
Honestly, this is such a supportive place. Special shoutout to @"Leah M B" for answering so many of our questions. Hope everyone can get into their dream school!
I think you'd definitely have a better chance of admission by applying early next year. Do you anticipate taking the LSAT again? If so, it would for sure increase you chances if you get a higher LSAT score. But also understand that each admission cycle is a bit different from the last, as you will be competing against a different applicant pool. Good luck!
Umm, I'd go with Yale. It would open doors for you that other law schools won't be able to. But hey, that's just my opinion. I didn't even apply to Yale.
So, I come from a STEM background and I am a bit nervous about my upcoming 1L year. I heard some good things about the former 7sage law school course (now Larry Law Law), but it's pretty expensive and I was wondering if it is a good investment. Or if there are any other courses that are good, I would love to learn their names. If prep courses are not recommended, I would really appreciate it if you could elaborate why. Thanks!
Personally, I think you should write an addendum. Schools will want to know. And this way you can control the situation instead of leaving it up for their interpretation. Also, they might end up asking about it anyway. Best of luck! That's a fantastic GPA, btw
Hi guys, I have trouble distinguishing between the so called 'pseudo sufficient' questions where you are asked to use one of the following principles to justify the conclusion vs. a regular sufficient assumption question. Can someone please explain or distinguish the steps to doing them? Thanks!
Hi guys, I have a question about ED applications. Do they give you the details of your possible financial aid package with the acceptance offer or do you not know? What if you cannot afford to attend the school with what they give you? Does that allow you to back out of the ED acceptance without any consequences?
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@ Ah, sorry that note was more meant for the LR and LG sections. Should have been more specific. Hope that clears things up!
Ahhh, so you meant the existential and universal quantifiers?
Yup!
@ Ah, sorry that note was more meant for the LR and LG sections. Should have been more specific. Hope that clears things up!
Hi guys, for Columbia's optional part, they say you can include a "brief" supplement diversity essay if you'd like, and the website says to use "best judgement" for the length. Can someone comment on what would be a good length for one? Thanks!
@ Yes, I loved my biochem years. Wouldn't trade them for another major.