I got a 172 on the July exam so I figured I would be contacted by a few schools with fee waivers and things. Will they only reach out after my transcript is submitted through CAS?

I didn't even think about this until I got to the NYU app and it specified to include my name and LSAC number. I had heard "Just start writing" elsewhere so was under the impression a header was unnecessary. Now I'm worried I might have just hurt my chances at several schools by looking sloppy. How bad is this?

Most of my apps ask me if my education was interrupted, then ask me to elaborate why. I wrote a very brief answer for most of them, but I'm not sure it's enough: "A protracted illness forced me to leave university in March 2012. I returned in August 2016." Columbia wants me to actually attach an addendum detailing exactly what happened. Do I need to detail my medical history or what?

The other thing is I was terminated four years ago from a job I held for two months. Two of my apps ask me to disclose this and they both ask me to elaborate. How detailed should I be? The answer is actually very simple, I was cashiering and my till came up five dollars over one day so I must have accidentally short changed a customer. To my surprise I was fired a few days later. Do I just say that, or do I talk about how I learned from the experience and so forth?

Sometime in the past couple days Columbia decided that if you graduated less than two years ago, you are required to submit two academic letters of recommendation. I graduated in 2018.

Unfortunately, I took a break from school for five years and when I returned as a part time student I took one professor several times for my major and then I took a handful of other professors just once. None of them would have much to say about me assuming they remember me at all, nor would the ones I took in 2009-2012 at this point. Getting another academic LOR is just not an option for me. Do I give up on Columbia or stubbornly submit anyway?

I'm not sure how exhaustive my resume should be. There's a six month gap in my work history in 2015 because I left my job in June for a position where I was terminated in August. I was hired by my current employer that following December. What should I do here?

Additionally, I left school and work in 2012 due to illness. I returned to work in 2014 and finally returned to school in 2016 where I eventually finished my undergrad in 2018. Again I'm not sure if this is something I should explain.

Seems likely my test center will be closed for this storm on the Gulf Coast, but I haven’t heard anything yet. How much advance is typically given for a test center closing and how would I be contacted? Email?

I know July takers will have the unique option to cancel their score and retake the test free of charge. What I want to know is, what if I want to retake but don't want to cancel my score? Does that mean I have to cough up another 200 bucks to LSAC?

What's the difference in LR where every passage is its own question?

I've read that personal statements should be 11 or 12 pt font, double spaced. Does the same apply to diversity statement, GPA addendum, etc? Additionally, do these ever begin with a salutation like "Dear Admissions"?