First denial (surprise)

sk144404

Last week I posted about my first decision where I got a full ride to one of my safety schools.

Today I got an email from another comparable safety school informing me that I was denied.

I am perplexed. The school that denied me only had my application for one week, which makes me very confused how they could reach a conclusion so quickly.

Even my reach schools haven't rendered denials (decisions) yet and the t14 schools I applied to have been in constant contact with me leading me to believe they are taking my application seriously.

While it is only one school - I am beginning to get fearful that this denial will is going to be a bleak forecast of things to come.

Does anyone have advice how to cope with this? It is quite disconcerning.

nnnnnnzzzz

Don't fret! You must be overqualified and they are positive that you won't go there even if you are admitted. If you are given full ride at a comparable school, you are most likely over these schools' median or 75 percentile for LSAT scores and GPA. A lower tier school also cares a lot about your personal statement to see if you mention the school or whether you write the optional Why X essay if applicable.

Schools give out rejection letters to keep their yield high. Schools need to report their yield percentage I believe. Low yield looks bad.

sk144404

@nz889910 thank you so much - I really couldn't figure it out but this makes so much more sense.

99thPercentileOrDieTryin

This is called "yield protection" where a school rejects your application because they think there's no chance you'd actually attend.

TimeIsMoney

Don't be worried. I got denied at a school that i had a 98% chance of getting in. Guessing they are trying to yield protect. Also got waitlisted at a safety school. But then i got in a school i was not expecting... i think it is a very strange cycle. But just think of any school that denies you as one who doesn't want you, so why would you want them?

karko2525

I agree with the people above, but I also want to add that this cycle just seems weird and brutal tbh. Don't get too worried about this one decision though. It's probably yield protection as mentioned above! Especially since you got a full ride at a comparable school. Be aware though that apparently a lot of the T20 and T14 are bumping up their LSAT medians so it's just a tough prediction for this cycle.. can only cross my fingers now lol

Best of luck to everyone who applied! Congrats on the full ride as well