Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Categories
- 33.6K All Categories
- 28.2K LSAT
- 17.1K General
- 5.2K Logical Reasoning
- 1.4K Reading Comprehension
- 1.7K Logic Games
- 70 Podcasts
- 192 Webinars
- 11 Scholarships
- 194 Test Center Reviews
- 2.2K Study Groups
- 112 Study Guides/Cheat Sheets
- 2.5K Specific LSAT Dates
- 36 November 2024 LSAT
- 18 October 2024 LSAT
- 9 September 2024 LSAT
- 38 August 2024 LSAT
- 28 June 2024 LSAT
- 4 April 2024 LSAT
- 11 February 2024 LSAT
- 22 January 2024 LSAT
- 38 November 2023 LSAT
- 43 October 2023 LSAT
- 14 September 2023 LSAT
- 38 August 2023 LSAT
- 27 June 2023 LSAT
- 30 Sage Advice
- 5K Not LSAT
- 4.1K Law School Admissions
- 13 Law School Explained
- 10 Forum Rules
- 649 Technical Problems
- 288 Off-topic
[Webinar—Ended] Live Lightning Consultations—Mon @ 9 pm EST
David Busis
Member Moderator
7Sagers,
On Monday, September 19, at 9 pm EST, I’ll do another round of live lightning consultations.
What’s a lightning consultation? Basically, I’ll try to be as helpful as I can in five minutes. We might brainstorm personal statement topics, strategize about addenda, or discuss LORs.
If you want a free five-minute consultation about your law school application, I’ll need you to post a few things in the comments section:
- Your three-sentence biography.
- Your biggest worry about your application.
- Two ideas for your personal statement.
- Did you attend last time? Did I get to you?
I’ll get through as many people as I can in one hour, working in a mostly random order. Please don’t post to this thread if you can’t show up for the consultation. If you do show up, test your microphone beforehand. Make sure you have a strong connection to the internet, and that you can speak and be heard on GoToMeeting. If your microphone isn’t working, I’ll have to skip you.
To join, just follow this link: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/590465709
You can also dial in using your phone: United States +1 (408) 650-3123
Meeting ID: 590-465-709
Comments
1. I'm a 38 year old restaurant owner in Toronto. After completing my undergrad in Philosophy at UofT I travelled, and, with very little money opened a successful upscale bistro and ran it for 8 years. I've decided to leave the business to help people, primarily low income Canadians, and so I want to go to law school to gain the tools I'll need.
2. My biggest worry is my undergrad marks 2.95cgpa, 3.25 in the last 8 courses (on a 4.0 scale). Plus my LSAT, scored 155 on my first real LSAT, but am now testing between 160-166.
3. a) Play up my restaurant ownership and the fact that I ran a very successful business for 8 years as a way to show that I'm capable of hard work and success and b) Talk about the fact that I want to go to law school for more than just personal gain, but to benefit the community and people around me.
4. Didn't Attend last time.
Thanks for your time!
Casey
2. Being a non-traditional applicant, it's hard to find good advice for LORs. I have two underway—(1) a practicing attorney and recent law-school grad who I have a close relationship with and who can vouch for my skills and (2) a former professor who can do the same. Should a third be a former manager? Or one of my employees perhaps?
I also attended the PCR hearing for Adnan Syed (subject of the Serial podcast) back in February of this year. Would that be beneficial to include and where would it make sense for that to go?
3. (1) I have a history of accomplishing what I set out to do—When I was young, I wanted a horse, so I bought and cared for one (with my own money) when I was 13; I wanted to graduate university with honors, so I did; I wanted to be on my sorority's executive board, so I earned a spot; I wanted to be the first person in the 25-year history of my company (of former employ) to be promoted in under a year, and I was; I wanted to start and own my own small business, and I do. Now I want to become a lawyer.
(2) My personal history with becoming interested in studying law. And how I've made many decisions (big and small) viewing life through a legal lens—whether I realized it or not. It finally clicked within the past year that I had a passion for law. (This seems like the weaker of the two ideas, but you tell me).
4. No, no.
2. My LSAT/GPA scores. I have a 3.62 right now, but am working on bringing that up. I have yet to take a test, but I'm aiming for the 165 range
3. Talk about how debate has allowed me to realize my potential. Also talk about why law school is a good fit for me (maybe talk about how I pass out when I see blood! Medical school is a no no. hahaha)
4. No
2. I got a 164 on my last LSAT before taking a class, so I'm thinking this round will go much better. Assuming that is true, my biggest issue on my application will be crafting a cohesive narrative about myself, my past, and my goals. I had some trouble after I graduated high school, so I spent a few years messing around and screwing up before I finally got my act together. I didn't get into Yale last year, and I wonder if that is because of my narrative.
3. Last year, I wrote about how I excelled at roller derby and presenting my research at academic conferences because I am able to recognize conventions, adapt, and think on my feet. Obviously, that approach didn't work. I'm thinking about writing about my experience moving to MA and falling prey to a housing scam, and not having the resources or the training to seek a legal remedy (the idea being that I am committed to helping people without those resources). My other possible topic would be writing about my experience working my way through community college. I've been told to emphasize the regional diversity I can bring to a school in the Northeast, because I grew up down South.
4. I have not attended before.
2. LORs! My biggest worry would seem to be that low GPA, however as an URM I understand that I'll have some leniency with that- especially since I'm looking to go to my in state school, UNLV or attend a lower ranked school in Florida. I'm looking to apply next October/November and have zero leads for LORs.
3. As a troubled youth, I'd like to touch on my past transgressions and illustrate how I've rehabilitated myself and changed for the better. I'd also like to talk about my single mother raising her children in a poor part of town, sacrificing everything for us.
4. No and no.
2. That my LSAT score is going to be average, along with my GPA, so I need to really work on my personal statement. However, my interests do align with the university's mission, I am just worried about articulating that correctly. Often my writing can fall into a trap of emotion instead of academic writing.
3. (1) Focusing on my leadership positions in athletics as well as within academia, more specifically my interests in Aboriginal rights and empowerment, grassroots initiatives and community-based programs. (2) Crafting a not-boring personal statement about a challenge I have overcome but all the while strongly articulating my skills and ambitions.
4. No, no
You didn't get to me last time!
1. I moved to Canada once I finished grade 11 in Tehran. My English was not perfect so I decided to repeat grade 11 and carry on from there. Even though I was struggling with English I managed to get mostly As in my core courses and didn't have to do TOEFL to get accepted to university as I scored high on both English 11 and 12. I got my bachelors degree in psychology last year.
2. I did horribly in my first two years of undergrad. I have one fail, a few WD and ton of Cs. However, once I changed my degree from science to psychology things changed. I have mostly As and some high Bs on my record. Increased my CGPA from 2.9 (almost going on probation) to 3.2 and sitting at 3.6 on my last 60 credits.
reasoning : Immigration + mother's mental health problems (I basically took the role of being a mother to help my teenage brother turn out ok, I started focusing on myself once he got accepted to university) + I was working 3 jobs to help the family financially (I applied for a loan after two years and started focusing on school). ADHD diagnosis only after I graduated. I could have done much better if I knew what's going on.
Statement idea:
Give them my life story on how I got interested in logic and law:
I took intro to law and psychology and started working in two labs: Couple's relationships lab and forensic psychology lab. Having been through my parents divorce procedure and mother's mental problems which lead to her divorce + studying about couples relationships and their problems, I started noticing that I am enjoying working at the forensic lab much more. I was going through the past cases, looking for data hours a day and I was not getting exhausted. I started realizing that I was mostly trying to help my mother through the use of logic even though I was studying psychology at the time. Turning my life around also happened when I turned away from thinking with emotions (thinking it's my responsibility to help mother, that I am the one who has to save the family both financially and emotionally) to thinking more logical about the problems and resolutions (referred mother to a specialist, explained to my brother that he has to focus on his future and I can't guaranty his future for him, had my father figure his financial situation, started focusing on my GPA and increasing it little by little even though I used to think it's not fixable, that the damage is done). Due to all the family problems and immigration hardship I was suffering from depression; however, I helped myself out of it once I changed my way of thinking (I didn't look at myself as a victim anymore, rather I chose to act the way I did to help my parents and younger brother, it was my choice to put emotional pressure on myself and depression was a payoff).
Finally, I got involved in a persona injury law suit which gave me little taste of being involved in the world of law. We won the case. I loved every bit of the process.
Diversity statement:
you recommended we shouldn't focus too much on race, religion and immigration (should I mention these at all?). Should I mention: ADHD diagnosis once I graduated. It was a struggle to increase my GPA but I had put my mind into it without knowing that part of the difficulty was attention deficit . I know I could have done even better, but I had already graduated once I got diagnosed.
Born in Egypt, and immigrated to Canada when I was 3 years of age. Worked in sales for 10 years while and after doing undergrad. I did a Sociology major, and am 30 years old.
Your biggest worry about your application.
Applying too late, because I am applying after the Dec LSAT, and decreasing my chances of getting into a top law school (I'm applying to schools with rolling admission). Should I wait until Sept 2018 admission to increase my chances of getting into a top tier school?
I don't know how heavy the empty semester gaps between my courses in my undergraduate degree will hurt me. I did not know that taking full time course loads was important to law schools. There were semesters where I took part time, full time, and no courses.
Two ideas for your personal statement.
1.) How I cofounded an NGO, and travelled to a rural impoverished community across the world, and am in the process of doing something with the fundraised money ($10,000, if that helps the PS).
2.) Overcoming my fear of public speaking by taking many public speaking courses, and preforming a stand up comedy routine as a final project for one course, in front of an audience.
Did you attend last time? Did I get to you?
YES, and YES, but I have new questions.
2. My biggest concern is that I will be submitting most of my applications before taking the LSAT for the first time in December.
3. The one idea I am working on makes a connection between my childhood and my recent internship experiences to explain why I am pursuing an education in Public Interest. My parents divorced when I was very young, and there were strict rules for when I would be picked up or dropped off to spend time with one parent or the other. I never worried about how these rules came about because I was accustomed to my routine, even though the schedule sometimes caused tension between my parents. I am currently interning with a judge who hears civil cases, mostly for domestic violence, and must work with parents who share custody of young children. I have seen many cases where the judge lays down strict guidelines for when each parent will spend time with their child. The parents almost never agree fully, but the orders issued give priority to the child and the need to create stability in the child's life. I believe that the orders issued by a family court judge 20 years ago helped create the stable childhood that fostered my successes thus far, and I want a career where I can help young people and families receive similar assistance or protections.
4. I did not attend last time.
1. Your three-sentence biography.
28/Male, born in Russia, formative years in Montreal, Canada followed by 5 years in a BSc. in Enology in Argentina with 3 more years working in the field before coming back to the wine regions of Canada - currently working in the wine industry in Nova Scotia, Canada. I finished with a 7.62/10 - a grading scale used country-wide - with the conversion to a GPA scale being around 3.65. I am fluent in Russian, French, English and Spanish and I volunteered during 4 years with the Junior Chamber International.
2. Your biggest worry about your application.
Applying in Quebec, Universities do not take the LSAT result into consideration (from what I hear), but as I am coming from an education abroad, I wanted all the possible chances to get in. The worry is primarily being good enough to be admitted, more in detail would be how to best approach the application process, the structure of the Letter of Intent and explaining my foreign studies.
3. Two ideas for your personal statement.
(i) Adaptation to any challenge, from a young age I have moved around and integrated my new place of residence - the language mastery is a clear result - as well as the completion of a university 100% in Spanish, with very little language knowledge at the time of the move to Argentina. Once I set my mind on a goal, I will follow through until the end. (ii) During the 8 years in Argentina, I helped re-launch and run a family business - a winery - which meant that I was to shadow my step-father during all the business interactions, interpreting all of the meetings he had (Spanish-English), dealing with lawyers, notaries, accountants and consultants. From the age of 19 I have been in that boardroom environment, laying a foundation for a return to university in Law, while getting the practical life experience.
4. Did you attend last time? Did I get to you?
No, I did not attend last time.
Thank you.
Alex
I am a military veteran who became a police officer, where I have been for twelve years. I have been slowly working on my degree, which will be conferred in a couple of weeks, 3.75 GPA. Practice tests so far are high 150’s/low 160’s, sitting for the Dec and Sept LSAT.
2) Biggest worry? I completed my first two years of undergrad at a community college simply because it was cheaper and I could pocket the remaining GI Bill money. I also completed a substantial amount of coursework online at Colorado State University because I was on-call as a police detective so it just vibed well with my life. Will this be a problem? I was just trying to be smart about it, but I am reading a lot of information that some schools may not like the lack of pedigree.
3) Ideas for PS – Articulate my experience in court and with working with attorneys in investigations to explain the progression into the legal field. Other ideas include: I am an Ironman triathlete, so maybe outlining the hard work and commitment required to reach long term goals? I am not sure how to plug in the military line, as my job in the service was not even closely related to the legal profession. I was just a teenager searching for adventure (Army Sniper).
4) I did not, I mostly use the explanation video features and rarely log onto the forum.
Biggest worry: GPA and LSAT. GPA was around 3.5 in STEM field, but still seems low compared to other. LSAT I'm studying hard for.
Ideas for PS: 1.How being an immigrant has shaped me
2. How undergrad mock trial shaped me into who I am today
3. Decision to no longer be an actuary
A combination of all 3?
And yes I attended last time, and no you didn't get to me.
My biggest worry is my low GPA: 3.56 and a low LSAT score. Haven’t taken the test yet, but I’m not a great test taker. I’m scoring around 155.
Idea 1: Discussing my passion for giving back to the community. During middle school and high school I actively raised awareness against the genocide in Darfur giving presentations to over 300 students 2 times per year and raising over 2000 dollars for the cause. I also volunteered at a teen to teen help hotline at cedar Sinai medical center during my high school years where I answered phone calls dealing with suicide, rape, child abuse, cutting etc. While I was studying abroad during my spare time I would volunteer at the local animal shelter.
Idea 2: Discuss my passion for Environmental Law. While I was studying abroad in Israel, I learned how in a region where ideologies cause instability and conflict throughout the territory peace can be established through environmental resources. (Ex Jordan). Jordan has very little water and Israel was able to establish peace with the country by providing them with Israel’s extra water from their desalination facilities.
Did not attend the last time.
I am an Engineering student attending the University of Waterloo in Canada. I wish to pursue corporate or patent law. Since Waterloo has the largest co-op program in the world, I have had 6 co-op job placements at 5 different companies during my time at University, including a patent law firm, financial companies, a manufacturing company, and an insurance company.
Biggest worry about my application:
Whether the difficulty of my program will hurt me or benefit me when it comes to evaluating my GPA. In Canada, there is a percentage system and my average is around 84-85%, but I'm not sure how that translates to US Law Schools and whether the difficulty of my program will be considered when determining my GPA.
Two ideas for personal statement:
1. Engineering at the University of Waterloo has allowed me to develop my problem solving mind and analytical skills to an advanced level. However, I believe communication of ideas is the key to actually implementing ideas. I want to pursue law in order to arm me with the skills to convey and put together arguments with knowledge and problem solving mind Engineering has given me.
2. Even though I've worked in various industries, I've seen one constant organizational concept. There is the technology side which are the coders/technicians/engineers and then there is the business side who do the financials/operations/processes/marketing. Often, there is a gap between them and the people who bridge this gap to me have the best job. The middle man. That is what I have learned Management Engineering is all about. At each one of the 5 different companies I've worked at, my role has been the middle man, the one who integrates the technology with the business to produce and implement innovative solutions that result in efficiency and financial improvements.
Yes, I was here the second time, but didn't get a chance to speak and haven't gotten a chance to attend the other ones.
I studied mechanical engineering at Colorado State University and I have been working as a field engineer for a couple of years. I lived overseas in many different countries growing up. I thoroughly enjoy learning.
My biggest worry regarding law school applications is having the time to deliver my best quality work. I would like to discuss addenda.
I have already written a few drafts of my personal statement.
I have not attended a session on 7Sage this in the past.
a.) I'm 23 years old and graduated in 2015 from a private, liberal arts college and majored in History. I was a first generation college student, having grown up in a small, unincorporated town in West Virginia. Since graduation, I have been working in the child care field, transitioning from a lead teacher at a child care center to private care, working now as a nanny.
b.) My biggest worry is my low GPA score compared to the average law school applicant and other graduates from my college. I had a few hardships throughout my college career, including two close friends dying which had an effect on my mental health, but no vacation terms. I would be considered an extreme splitter, for I have a low GPA but have been practice scoring in the 170's.
c.) I'm pretty clueless on the personal statement. My main idea would be focusing on how my background (coming from WV, 50th in adults with post-secondary degrees, cultural environment that doesn't promote academic success) has shaped me, for better and for worse.
d.) I have no attended a lightning consultation lesson before.
2. My worries are about my personal statement coming off either disingenuous or overly emotional. I don't want to just spit out my resume but I also don't want to focus on an emotional sob story that might make me sound emotionally unstable.
3. Topic 1: The (brief) intro is about how my mother left her home behind to come to the US at the cost of her emotional well being. She struggled to adjust to living here with her new husband. She would often stage suicide attempts, leaving empty pill bottles on the floor, and she would pack all of her suitcases and drive off. This happened a few times a month from ages 5-12. This will tie into the body paragraphs of how my past made me a stronger and more empathetic person. I'm able to work with anyone: even in the hectic environment of a small law firm, I can make clients feel at ease when they're in the middle of an emotionally taxing case. Dealing with instability in my childhood made me crave stability within my own life by dedicating myself to maintaining a high gpa and pursuing a legal career.
Topic 2: immigrating to the US made me more aware of cultural differences and thus more curious to learn new things and that's how I became interested in the legal system. It'll be hard to make this sound personal and unique.
4. I did not comment nor did I attend last time unfortunately.
2. I have good, not fantastic, numbers. My LORs are also very good. I just need to nail my personal statement.
3. First: Write seeing the downward spiral in Turkey and the coup attempt and its effects on me. Second: Write about influx Syrian refugees in Istanbul and my volunteer work with them.
4. Didn't attend last time.
I have not taken a full LSAT yet, but i appear to be scoring in the mid to high 150's. This worries me, as i will only be applying to one school (so as not to uproot my family). The school i'm applying to is quite competitive. However, i will be applying under the discretionary category (i'm 36 yrs.), which allocates more merit to life achievements.
My personal statement will focus on my achievements thus far, work, volunteering, family and how i am able to balance all that while studying.
I did not attend your previous session.
2. I worry that my uniqueness will not come across in my application and that a decent but not terrific LSAT score will keep me from getting much-needed scholarships.
3. First idea: Developing creative solutions and persistence while dealing with a boy I have since named "the cot runner" during my first job at a daycare. This boy would take every naptime as the opportunity to dash across the room and jump onto others. I had to stand near him and return him to the cot without commentary or emotion and eventually trained him to make the "best" choice for the time. He was a comical little man so lots of great dialogue and descriptions are possible in this story. The dramatic content but also lessons learned don't feel forced as I work on this one.
Second idea (which I have since abandoned): An exploration of my life-long concern with fairness and rules, beginning with a historic trip to the animal shelter at four years old in which I convinced my mother to get a kitten instead of a cat because "a kitten will last longer," and ending with a highlight of my favorite parts of teaching (but an overall dissatisfaction with the career path). I like that this one addresses my career change however, it feels more forced and less authentic.
4. I haven't been able to attend a session yet but look forward to this one!
I did not attend last time so this would be an awesome opportunity!
I am a recent graduate from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia where I was raised. I will be taking a gap year before attending law school to teach English in West Africa on a Fulbright grant. Coming from undergrad, I was super involved in many of the arts and language based clubs. I also traveled abroad my sophomore and junior year in college to get some out-of-classroom experience for my International Studies major.
My biggest worry about my application is my LSAT score. I took the June 2016 administration (my first official LSAT examination) and scored a 141. Granted, I was coming to the test without much practice. I will be retaking the exam during the September 24th administration. My practice scores have been in the mid-to-upper 150s, but I am aiming to score in the 160s on the actual exam in order to be a competitive applicant. I really would like to attend a law school in NYC, so I'm trying to set a high standard for my score. This trend of low standardized test scores is not new for me because my applications to undergraduate programs from high school reflected the same thing (high GPA/varied extra-curriculars and low test scores).
My first idea for the personal statement is to write about my experience teaching English to a 5-year old Parisian boy while I studied abroad in France. To say the least, this opportunity taught me a lot about determination, cultural sensitivity and how to be creative with the rules I was given by the agency on teaching methods. It was also an experience likened to the practice of law of interpreting set rules for a specific situation because it was hard to reconcile this young boy's behavior with the English teaching standards I had to get across to him.
My second idea is to focus on my passion for the arts and fashion and how I can bring legally-minded ideas to those industry. In addition, I would focus on my goals of turning my career trajectory of intellectual property law into an international project.
2) Personal statement and why X law school essays
3) a) Elaborate on why I am interested in transactional law, plus talk about my transfer. b) just talk about my transfer, including more details about the ABA exception
4) I did attend, but you did not get to me
1. I'm a recent grad, one year out of an Ivy League college, who majored in sociology. I work for the local government of a major city now, and I really love my job; it's great to be able to be part of the political process. I'm Asian American and female.
2. My GPA is rather low (3.47) because I started out as a premed/science major due to parental pressure and then decided to switch into a major that I liked. I do have a strong upward trend in my grades, but I feel like law schools get a lot of former premeds who have the same story. I was told I can explain this on my app, but how can I do so without sounding like I'm making excuses for myself/like everyone else who has this problem?
3. Two ideas: A) being Asian American and being underrepresented in leadership positions in society, bamboo ceiling, etc. and how I hope to change that (I don't like to write about my ethnic identity as I find it extremely difficult, but was told by my advisor that I should in the supplemental essay(s))
4. No, I did not attend last time.
2. My biggest worry is that I won't score high enough to get into my dream schools. Also, not having a compelling reason to be a lawyer.
3. a. How my experiences living in Asia over the last four years have shaped who I am. I don't think I can tie this into why I want to be a lawyer since I took the LSAT while I was still in college so the interest was there beforehand.
b. My twin was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer shortly after I arrived in Asia. Really makes you think about life and all the "why not me?" questions. Perhaps I could talk about the randomness of life and how you need to take advantage of opportunities as they come up. My twin is fine now by the way.
4. No and no.
2. I am worried that I will not stand out as a candidate or will be unable to let my true personality shine through my personal statement.
3. (1) I want to write about how I live my life by doing things that scare me. Traveling, participating in moot court, running cross country...all of these things have been some of the best experiences of my life and have helped me grow as a person even though I was scared to start them.
(2) My two favorite types of places are the country and the city...no suburbs. I was in 4-H but was also an intern on Capitol Hill. I know how to raise and breed rabbits and chickens but I also am well versed when arguing issues of Constitutional Law. There are two sides to me that surprise many people but they intertwine very well when it comes to my work ethic.
4. No/NA
2. My grades. My transcripts have W's everywhere and I took a pretty small course-load because I was a) Lazy and b) Pre-occupied with extracurriculars and work. I'm afraid admissions officers will view me as someone who doesn't know how to do well in school.
3.
(1) Social justice focus. How working with incarcerated women and justice-involved folks has impacted me and led me to want to pursue a career in public defense. Specifically, a desire to work for one of the public defenders offices that are working in preentry/reentry, with a focus on not only the legal barriers for indigent clients, but associated and intertwined challenges like housing, employment, substance abuse, and mental health.
(2) More of a personal narrative re: my competitive nature and drive to succeed, incorporating my success in college debate, my passion for muay thai, and my grant-writing/fundraising work. I did some job shadows at my city's public defender's office and have some good quotes from them about how a competitive nature is key to success in what can be a frustrating and sometimes emotionally draining legal field.
4. No, N/A.
I was raised in a single-parent family in Taiwan and due to our economic disadvantage I stayed in a children's home for 7 seven years for better education. As the first generation receiving a bachelor degree in international relations, I've been working in my government for 3 years after my military service. Meanwhile, I am awarded a government scholarship and also have prepared for the LSAT on-and-off in the past three years.
2. Your biggest worry about your application.
I don't know if the two ideas below are suitable since it's a controversial political issue and some of them are a reflection rather than first-hand, real involvement or personal participation. But it shows why I'm going to law school and what I believe.
3. Two ideas for your personal statement.
As majoring in international relations, I want to help overcome Taiwan's challenges for international participation, because the unequal status reminds me that my family situation in the past. 1. deepening the rule of law/democracy domestically (from my military service that a national protest broke out) and 2. establishing substantial international economic cooperation with other countries (from my work experience in government)
So, I hope to obtain these skills (the practice and implication of the rule of law and helping my government to negotiate international trade legal issues) via going to US law school.
4. Did you attend last time? Did I get to you?
No.
Thank you.
Jason
1) I'm a 25 year old white male from North Carolina who graduated (with honors) with a BA in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. My GPA is 3.55 and my highest LSAT is 172 (I took it three times and the scores were 166, 169, 172). Since graduating, I've worked in publishing and for nonprofits, mainly doing communications work, and now serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA for a homeless shelter for families.
2) My biggest worry is that my GPA, while decent, is not high enough to get into T14 schools. I think it should be okay for the lower tier of T14, but I'm worried that it will set me back quite a bit from the top 10 schools.
3) One idea is to focus on how my writing has prepared me for law school. I've had fiction and non-fiction published and always wanted to write novels, and even went to school for it (studying English and Creative Writing). I'm interested in discussing how my identity has changed from someone wanting to be a writer to someone wanting to be a lawyer (using the specific moment of getting a story published as the moment this shift, strangely enough, began), how this process involved me working in social justice and seeing legal/policy work as a better way to help others, and comparing the process of figuring out a story to figuring out policy problems.
Another idea would be discussing my work in nonprofits and AmeriCorps and how that's informed my policy/legal interests, but this is admittedly still a vague idea that I'm sure other essays will also cover. I would also go into my interest in the law and how I see it as a social fabric that affects all aspects and avenues of life, and being able to affect that fabric gives me the chance to both try to change things in many areas, and also be a versatile public servant.
4) First time attending.
2. My biggest worry with my application is my application is not worded as strongly as it could be and I also worry about my overall GPA, which is not remotely close to my GPA
3. The two ideas I have for my statement is about my race and how hard it was immigrating to Canada with a single mother. We were not financially stable and I have been working helping out the family since I was 14. The other idea I want to emphasize is about how much I love my job at my non profit. Love the idea of helping low income people, which is one of the reasons I want to attend law school.
4. I did attend last time and you were just getting to me but before you could help someone from a prior workshop entered and you had promised to help them out.
What a cool thread! Can 7sage bring this back? But where we send you the answers to the questions privately versus publicly? Thank you for considering!!