Advice Needed #help

karko2525

Hi guys, so I applied to around 15-16 schools and so far heard back from 6 and still waiting on 9 or 10 to get back to me. I have to admit, this cycle is feeling very bleak.. so I'm bracing myself for the worst case scenario which is that I receive no other acceptances than the ones I already have.

For context, I am based in CA and would like to practice here in the long run. I am by no means a big law/ federal clerkship or bust type of person, but would like to keep the option open. I would like to work in house at a company long term and go for patent law or healthcare law, maybe even broader IP. I really haven't decided... But that said, right now, I only have UC Hastings and ASU as acceptances. Both have given me decent scholarship and I am very grateful to have gotten into these places. But I need realistic opinions on whether these two schools are good options for what I would like to do in the future and my desire to move back to CA. I am highly considering ASU and their 2019 ABA stats check out, but I've read that they're mainly good for AZ placement. They did place in CA but it seems like most stay in AZ which is great, but it's just not what I'm looking for. So with that, what do you guys think of ASU? Any advice or opinions for my situation? Would it be a good fit or would I have a massive headache trying to get back to CA? I know they recently climbed the ranks like crazy and their 2019 ABA seems to suggest they are trying to slowly place outside of AZ. I take these as good signs but i really don't know lol any opinions/ outlooks would be appreciated. Feeling quite lost rn

Edit: I did apply to schools in CA, but my options are dwindling given that I only have one more to hear back from and it seems like another R to me lol probably should have applied to more CA schools but I didn't anticipate this cycle to be so gnarly. I also know I should probably hold out some hope for my other apps, but I am just so down in the dumps from the past 2 weeks of crappy news lmao

canihazJD

The general consensus is that this is going to be a far slower than normal cycle. The increased volume of applicants and high scores mean schools will wait for the pool to develop more before making the bulk of decisions. This seems to be reflected in admissions data favoring mostly above median applicants so far.

No decision isn't a bad thing at this point. I believe in the last spivey podcast (a week or two ago... I dont remember), he estimated schools were at 0-40% of admissions decisions so far. I've spoken with admissions at several T14s who all said that this would be considered approaching the halfway point of the cycle... Chicago in particular said that in a normal cycle we would be in the prime application window, but in this cycle, it's early still.

All that to say, you got your stuff in early so I wouldn't sweat it. I would just try to relax and wait for those decisions before stressing yourself out.

karko2525

@canihazJD I completely agree with what you said and it's reassuring to know that it's still early. I'm mainly feeling the pressure because I received 3 rejections in the span of two weeks and it just doesn't seem to be a good indicator for the rest of the schools. Some of these schools I really thought I would at least get a WL or have a decent shot, but it's been pretty surprising to say the least. Of course law school admissions are arbitrary to a degree so anything can happen and it's possible I receive other acceptances, but I guess I'm bracing for worst case scenario. The favoring of above median applicants is what's worrying me tbh I am crossing my fingers hard for that last CA school and some other T14/20 but I don't want to expect too much haha but thank you for writing to me. I appreciate the input and will definitely try to keep things in perspective and not stress too much over things I can't control.

VerdantZephyr

Regarding the ASU thing, obviously we can't speak to hiring, but I would think with as fast as ASU has climbed the ranks, even if they only maintain the next few years, they are going to get a much broader pool of firm/employer connections and begin to command more respect in the market. Employers aren't necessarily looking at yearly rankings or anything like that, they have images and ideas of schools already which are slower to adjust than rankings. I would think that ASU would be a fine option for you and that by the time you graduate they will have more pull in California than they do now. If nothing else firms and companies will have seen them presumably place in the top 25 or 30 three more times. Don't feel discouraged if a top 25 program is your fall back.

karko2525

@VerdantZephyr Thank you for your input! That’s my logic as well regarding ASU and how they will expand in the next few years. I was just a bit worried because I’ve read some mixed opinions on Reddit and it sounded like ASU doesn’t have leverage outside of AZ and that it’s only good if you want to stay there... but I think the 2019 ABA speaks otherwise or suggests as you do that they will slowly gain more influence in bigger markets.. including CA. Their CA bar passage wasn’t too bad either so I’m holding out hope. Thank you for the reassurance about T25s though. I really needed that. It’s so easy to get lost in rankings and prestige sometimes. I’m just glad I’m not big law/ federal clerkship or bust so I have more options

VerdantZephyr

Yeah. I don't spend a lot of time on reddit, but I also hear that there's a good bit of snobbery regarding T14 versus T20 or T30 there so maybe you can take what they say about ASU with that grain of salt as well.

This isn't relevant maybe, but I looked at ASU a good bit early on when I was considering schools and was pretty impressed. They don't really have any human rights focus unfortunately, so I ended up taking them off my list, but I was sad to do so. Seems like a great spot that's investing in their students.