Data on atypical applicants

LawSchoolClassof_2022

Does anyone know how admissions are affected if you have a truly unique hook/atypical applicant? Rhodes Scholar, olympic experience, military hero, celebrity, NFL/NBA star, etc? I was on the US Paralympic team for a winter sport and was curious what kind of advantage that might give me. 3.7 GPA, diagnostic was 161, 77% done with CC.

NotMyName

I think it comes down to the story you have to tell. If the extent of your olympic description in the app is a line item on the resume, I don’t think it holds much influence. But if you have a unique story which conveys the overcoming of great obstacles and what you learned from that, you can probably turn some heads at the admissions office. I often hear about the growing important of softs at the top of t14 especially hys. Your story is the sort I imagine will set you apart and give you a real shot if your numbers are there. They should, however, make you quite a unique candidate and perhaps afford you some extra scholly $.

Your numbers will probably open more doors for you than your olympic history IMO. If that diagnostic was taken under strict test conditions, you should absolutely be scoring 170+.

In terms of data, i’m not aware of anything beyond lsn. But it would seem like a tricky thing to quantify since it cannot be nearly categorized.

westcoastbestcoast

@jkatz1488 said:
I think it comes down to the story you have to tell. If the extent of your olympic description in the app is a line item on the resume, I don’t think it holds much influence. But if you have a unique story which conveys the overcoming of great obstacles and what you learned from that, you can probably turn some heads at the admissions office. I often hear about the growing important of softs at the top of t14 especially hys. Your story is the sort I imagine will set you apart and give you a real shot if your numbers are there. They should, however, make you quite a unique candidate and perhaps afford you some extra scholly $.

Your numbers will probably open more doors for you than your olympic history IMO. If that diagnostic was taken under strict test conditions, you should absolutely be scoring 170+.

In terms of data, i’m not aware of anything beyond lsn. But it would seem like a tricky thing to quantify since it cannot be nearly categorized.

I agree with the above poster. Number are the most important, but since you have an unique and exceptional background, I wouldn't be surprised if you got into Stanford or Yale with even median or slightly below median numbers. Aim for a 170plus and you will open alot of doors. Most people make a 10 point improvement after gaining competency with the fundamentals, and once you make that gain, you will be sitting comfortably in the 170s range. Your background is nothing to worry about and you should spend all of your efforts on maximizing your LSAT score so that you can get into HYS.

goingfor99th

@Tongan_Rambo said:
Does anyone know how admissions are affected if you have a truly unique hook/atypical applicant? Rhodes Scholar, olympic experience, military hero, celebrity, NFL/NBA star, etc? I was on the US Paralympic team for a winter sport and was curious what kind of advantage that might give me. 3.7 GPA, diagnostic was 161, 77% done with CC.

You'll outperform your numbers if your story is truly interesting, unique, and well-written.

Seeking Perfection

The data is going to be murky on the magnitude of that sort of a boost. The sample size is too small. That said, I can see Paralympian as a line a law school would like to include in a list showcasing the experiences of their class so it could help a little.

What you ccan control right now isn't the size of that boost, but making sure you have as high as possible a score to set the ground expectation that any boost will build on. A 3.7 leaves most opportunities available if you can get a high enough LSAT score. Don't settle for less than a 170 or less than a perfect logic games section.