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[Ended] Post LSAT Live Lightning Consultations—Wed, Sept. 28th @ 9 pm EST
David Busis
Member Moderator
7Sagers,
On Wednesday, September 28, at 9 pm EST, I’ll do a very special post-LSAT 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. I'm also happy to answer questions about any stage of the application process.
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. Info below:
Webinar: Live Lightning Consultations
Wed, Sep 28, 2016 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM EDT
Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/848402525
You can also dial in using your phone.
United States +1 (408) 650-3123
Access Code: 848-402-525
First GoToMeeting? Try a test session: http://help.citrix.com/getready
Comments
2. Well after the LSAT I'm really stressed about my score. I'm planning to retake in December either way, but I'm not sure if I should cancel my Sept score. I feel like I uncharacteristically bombed the LG section. LR felt too easy, like maybe they had really good trick answers. RC I only completed 3 passages. Also, my proctors were extremely distracting and I reached out to LSAC about it (ringing and vibrating phones, tearing paper, mis-announcing time remaining). I need help deciding if I should cancel my score.
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?
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).
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?
4. Yes, no.
2.) I think my biggest worry is finding the right topic for my personal statement for law school. Additionally, I worry about my gap years, of not having a traditional job post-grad. I don't know if Admissions would like the fact I worked as a private tutor for some years.
3.) I don't really have specific topics yet. I'll decide in a few days and edit it here.
Edit:
A.) I was thinking about writing my PS on how I became passionate about Social Justice and interested in law school in general.
B.) Another topic is summarizing/narrating my academic career, where I performed poorly in high school, had to go to community college made a 180 degree change in my life and graduated in the top of my class.
4.) No/No.
II. My biggest concern is the reputation of my undergraduate institution. Because I was an active duty Marine deployed to Afghanistan, my options were quite limited --- I needed the flexibility of an online program. I graduated from American Military University with a BBA in Economics (3.7 GPA) in 2013. The school is accredited through the Higher Learning Commission, but I still fear that I may be at a disadvantage compared to more traditional T-14 applicants.
The rest of my application is good to go. Scoring high enough on the LSAT prep tests. On the soft side, I quickly earned an MBA in Finance at a mediocre state school after leaving the military in 2013; while there I also worked under a professor, helping with research and teaching undergrad corporate finance classes. Then I interned under the chief economist at a well-known D.C. think-tank for a while. Also, I'm a CFA Level 3 candidate, have published academic research, fluent in Arabic, etc.
III. My initial thought is to walk them through the level of adversity I've had to overcome BECAUSE it's not going to be apparent just reading my resume. Yes, my education is from an unranked online school. But in getting that degree, I had to teach myself statistics from a textbook in an armored vehicle rolling through Helmand Province. I'd return to base from night ops and, instead of recovering for the next couple days like everyone else, just pound a couple Red Bulls and get started on a 30-page paper about comparative economic systems.
Another example: I have an MBA, sure. That's cool. But there will certainly be other applicants to the T-14 with grad-level education from better schools and possibly harder fields (like science-related). So to provide more color on adversity, I'd point out that while in grad school and only 22 years of age I had to find a way to support seven people. Back story is dad got sick and couldn't work; mom is too old now and never worked a day in her life so no Social Security; no reliable family, either; Syrian Civil War causes my uncle, his wife, and three kids to flee here as refugees. Very hard for them to find any work due to language barrier and no marketable skills. I feel responsible for my family. So I take all the money I'd saved in the service and start applying theories from my education in practice. Fully utilizing my campus resources (Bloomberg Terminal, Compustat, SPSS), I developed a sophisticated trading strategy and went live with everything I had, day in and day out (combined w/ full-time classes and working as a low-paid teaching assistant). Slept maybe 4 hours a night. The more I made over time, the less risk I had to take and less time I had to devote in studying each trade. Now I've fully amortized all my family's liabilities with this separate income stream, and it doesn't take very much of my time anymore to maintain. By the time I start law school, I'll have enough capital to float my living expenses while continuing to support them and quit my current job. That's an oversimplified narrative glossing over the stress I had to overcome, which will be emphasized eloquently in the essay.
IV. No, no.
Apologies for the wordiness. Had to explain. Thoughts?
-Chris
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 half-Brazilian and grew up in New York, New Zealand, and Georgia (state, not country). I graduated undergrad in 2012, and spent some time traveling, working for my state Dem party, and now work in undergraduate admission at my alma mater. I have been interested in law school since undergrad, but wanted to take some time to make sure it was the right decision.
2) Your biggest worry about your application.
I haven't taken the LSAT yet (signed up for September), so I'm not sure about that component. Otherwise, I'm worried about writing a personal statement that stands out.
3)Two ideas for your personal statement.
1-Why I've finally decided to attend law school. I've always had a passion for policy and social justice. Although I had to quit working in politics (for financial reasons), I've managed to carry some of those interests into my current position. My favorite day of the year is when we lobby at the state capitol. Also, my work with recruiting underrepresented populations (including DREAMers) has given me an interest in immigration law. After fully and deliberately weighing the decision, I am ready to whole-heartedly pursue a law degree.
2-Biographical. My upbringing in a multi-cultural family and spending time internationally. For much of my childhood I was a foreigner, regardless of where we were living at the time. How this non-identity identity has shaped me. (May be better for a diversity statement?).
4)Did you attend last time? Did I get to you?
Yes, and I posted my info, but you didn't get to me.
2. I failed a class in community college. The class that I failed was just a random elective class and I got an A when I retook it. I transferred from a CC with a a 3.8, and now have a bit over a 3.9 going into my senior year at UCI. LSAC processed my GPA as a 3.71. Should I write an addendum showing sympathy for not taking CC seriously enough and emphasize that I did better in university? Should I figure out my GPA for my major and add that in?
3. Topic 1: (too much of a sob story??): 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. I also started volunteering with kids this summer, maybe I can throw that in there...emphasize my empathy...
Topic 2: (possibly won't have enough to write about??) I could write an anecdotal story about my job which will revolve around the fact that I see the legal field as a progressive and inclusive field which I hope to help progress even further. We've worked with clients of all ages, races, sexualities, financial backgrounds, etc. We mostly do commercial litigation, but we also do some family law and BKs. I could talk about divorce cases, BKs/loan mods, gender/race/age/disability discrimination cases.
- or I could throw in the fact that I'm a gay woman and talk about an abuse case we handled with a lesbian couple. I had to organize their correspondence and redact certain details so I had to read through hundreds of pages of abusive convos. If tactfully playing the gay card can benefit me in any way, I will do it.
I just worry that this "I want to go to law school bc I work in a law firm" topic is boring, unoriginal, and possibly shows that I don't have much depth and my extracurriculars aren't very diverse.
4. I did comment and attend last time, but you did not get to me.
1) I'm Daniel, a twenty-four-year-old Midwesterner who has in almost every way lived the prototypical American life. A post-graduate for about two years now, I have since worked as an applied behavioral analyst for children with autism, a position I still hold today. Quite literally, my lifelong dream has been to become an attorney, though the reasons for this particular aspiration have predictably become more substantive over time.
2) At this point, my diversity statement and whether I even have a topic for one.
3) This is a topic I've been mulling over for my diversity statement more so than for a personal statement, though I'm really on the fence about using this topic at all. I don't know how this won't come across as offensive, arrogant, naive, or entitled:
Despite both my parents' having triumphantly overcome poor life circumstances, I had never viewed myself as anyone even remotely unique. Given their respective pasts, both of my parents instilled a sort of inevitability for my road to being a first-gen college graduate, yet I saw no support for seeing myself as someone who could distinguish himself and truly achieve during and after college. While my father started a small business on his own and has since grown it into a firmly successful one, I knew I certainly was not my father. Both of my parents have probably achieved more than I ever will, and I don't think their personal triumphs bespeak anything of excellence that could be attributable to me. So, while I was truly blessed with a solid upbringing for which I will always be thankful, I had nothing but my parents' successes and my standard childhood to craft a perception of myself for myself. It was not before my senior year of college that I began to have the nerve to strive beyond what was "preset" for someone completely standard, and I will never look back in my earnest ambition to achieve the most I can, whatever that may be, for myself and for others.
4) I did not attend the last meeting; the last one I attended, you were able to get to me.
2) My GPA. I was so fixated on having two degrees that I received more B's as I took 18-22 units each semester.
3) As generic as this may be, 1) First member in my family to attend and graduate college. 2) Diversity? I am Assyrian with a quarter Armenian. I speak three languages. The crux of my personal statement will revolve around Perseverance.
4) No, this is my first time!
Your three-sentence biography: Graduated undergrad with a 4.15. Huge feminist and very into social justice. Chinese but I speak Farsi.
Your biggest worry about your application: I hate hate hate writing personal statements.
Two ideas for your personal statement. Working with refugees at my job (teaching English and helping them find employment). Or my passion for social justice.
Did you attend last time? Did I get to you? Never attended one before.