Essay Assistance - Will it count against me at top law schools?

HopingforT14HopingforT14 Alum Member
in Law School Admissions 32 karma

I am a fairly strong candidate (high GPA, hopefully high LSAT, with strong resume etc), however I am finding the personal statement writing process to be a bit nerve wracking as I second-guess every decision I make. I am considering getting some editing assistance (likely 7sage's unlimited editing of one essay); however I wanted to know how this would be viewed by law schools. I read that Yale asks if you have received help and their Ask Asha blog recommends against it. I was wondering if anyone knows of individuals that got into T-14 schools and also received essay assistance. Is it worth it or could it ultimately count against me in the application process?

Thanks!

Comments

  • Adam HawksAdam Hawks Alum Member
    990 karma

    What? That's absurd. It's none of their business if you got help. What if I have my mother look over my essay? Or your friend? Does that count as assistance? This is the single most important piece in your application beyond your LSAT & GPA and allows your to present your best self to the school in sometimes your first and sometimes only impression they get.

    If I had to go to a Met Gala, I'd look to get some fashion advice so I didn't look like an idiot going to the party. Yale sucks.

  • akistotleakistotle Member ⭐ 🍌🍌
    9382 karma

    @HopingforT14 said:
    I am a fairly strong candidate (high GPA, hopefully high LSAT, with strong resume etc), however I am finding the personal statement writing process to be a bit nerve wracking as I second-guess every decision I make. I am considering getting some editing assistance (likely 7sage's unlimited editing of one essay); however I wanted to know how this would be viewed by law schools. I read that Yale asks if you have received help and their Ask Asha blog recommends against it. I was wondering if anyone knows of individuals that got into T-14 schools and also received essay assistance. Is it worth it or could it ultimately count against me in the application process?

    Thanks!

    Yale has a prompt which asks you if you've worked with a consultant. You'll have to say yes if your essay is edited by a consultant.

    For other schools, I don't think they will ask so they won't know/care. (I'm tagging @"David.Busis" to make sure!)

  • studyingandrestudyingstudyingandrestudying Core Member
    5254 karma

    What is the text of the question so we can all see it? Thanks!

  • Tom_TangoTom_Tango Alum Member
    902 karma

    Just lie.

  • JPJ July2021JPJ July2021 Core Member
    1532 karma

    I just don't see how they would ever know if you did use a consultant.

  • LSAT_WreckerLSAT_Wrecker Member ⭐
    edited July 2018 4850 karma

    Just tell the truth.

    Integrity still counts for something in this world. Be careful of taking advice from anyone willing to throw away yours on an internet forum.

    People tend to lose sight over the fact that admissions people are, in fact, people. You think the admissions committees from top law schools don't think their candidates have received outside assistance in all aspects of their application (LSAT prep, LORs, essays of all flavors)? I imagine that they would be surprised if any competitive resume they look at didn't receive more than one set of eyes on it during the preparation progress.

  • David BusisDavid Busis Member Moderator
    edited July 2018 7404 karma

    Hi everyone,

    @HopingforT14 and @akistotle last year, Yale was the only school that asked if you've worked with a consultant or editor. We don't expect that to change this year, but applications haven't been released yet.

    For reference, these are the questions that were in the "assistance" section:

    \10. Assistance
    1. Did you receive any assistance in preparing this application?
    2. If your answer to Question 10.1 is yes, please specify from whom you received assistance (e.g., prelaw advisor, admissions consultant, family member), the nature of the assistance (e.g., proofreading, generating essay ideas), and whether or not you paid for this assistance. (maximum characters 1000)
    3. Did you take an LSAT preparation course or work with an LSAT tutor?
    4. If your answer to Question 10.3 is yes, please specify (e.g., Kaplan, PowerScore, Princeton Review). (maximum characters 600)

    @Tom_Tango Don't lie. First of all, it's unethical. Second of all, the upside to lying is small, but the downside is potentially enormous. If Yale were EVER to find out that you lied, they could report you to LSAC or kick you out of law school, and you might fail the bar.

    @LSAT_Wrecker is right. All else being equal, Yale would doubtless pick an application that received no assistance over an application that received assistance. But admissions officers at Yale and other schools know that students routinely receive help in varying degrees from both professional and non-professional sources.

  • samantha.ashley92samantha.ashley92 Alum Member
    1777 karma

    Oh, God. DO NOT lie on your law school applications. As mentioned above, if any part of your application does not represent the truth, and someone finds out about it, you can be kicked out of law school. Do you want to go through 3 years of law school knowing that you could be kicked out at any time?

  • HopingforT14HopingforT14 Alum Member
    32 karma

    Thanks all and particularly @akistotle and @"David.Busis" - very helpful context. I have absolutely no intention of lying for exactly all reasons stated above, but had been interested in finding out if using a consultant would count against you.

    I'm interested to know if any of you fellow 7sagers have friends, colleagues etc. that used a consultant, honestly reported they did, and still got into the school of their choice.

  • akistotleakistotle Member ⭐ 🍌🍌
    edited July 2018 9382 karma

    @HopingforT14 said:
    Thanks all and particularly @akistotle and @"David.Busis" - very helpful context. I have absolutely no intention of lying for exactly all reasons stated above, but had been interested in finding out if using a consultant would count against you.

    I'm interested to know if any of you fellow 7sagers have friends, colleagues etc. that used a consultant, honestly reported they did, and still got into the school of their choice.

    People who got help from the 7Sage consultants did not report to their schools and many got into the school of their choice. There were no schools that had prompts asking you to disclose last cycle (except for Yale). No one voluntarily says that they got help.

    So I don't think you can find any data because the only school that asks you to report is Yale.

    As you may know, Yale admissions is unpredictable and we don't know what's the determining factor (except for the numbers). As @"David.Busis" says, no one can tell if having the essays edited was the reason they were not accepted.

    To figure this out, we have to compare the results of a group of applicants with 175+/3.97+ who received professional help and a group of applicants with 175+/3.97+ who did not receive professional help. But unfortunately there's no such data.

    Unless you are dead set on going to Yale, I think you will only benefit from getting a consultant.

  • David BusisDavid Busis Member Moderator
    7404 karma

    @HopingforT14 Yes, many of our clients got into their top-choice schools last year, including T3 schools.

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