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Does 7sage consulting or other consulting hurt an application to YLS?

youbbyunyoubbyun Alum Member
in General 1755 karma

this is a general question, but also a question toward @"David.Busis"

I know some law schools like YLS require applicants to disclose whether they received consulting services. I think this was discussed in one of YLS's blogs (https://law.yale.edu/admissions/jd-admissions/ask-asha/new-questions)

My question is does receiving consulting services hurt one's application to YLS, or other schools that require you to disclose you received consulting services? What's the general consensus of what adcomms at like say YLS think when they see you checked off the box that said you received consulting? How, if it at all, will it affect your application?

Thanks!

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  • MissChanandlerMissChanandler Alum Member Sage ⭐
    3256 karma

    Bump because I've thought about asking this question as well!

  • jasminesadejasminesade Alum Member
    249 karma

    Bump as well

  • jmarmaduke96jmarmaduke96 Member Sage ⭐
    2891 karma

    While I'm sure that @"David.Busis" can answer this better than I can, I did ask this during one of the office hours webinars, so I will try to relay what I learned as best I can. Yale considers consulting services to be a soft factor. Its not catastrophically bad for your application, and many people get accepted that have used consulting services. That being said, it does cut against you to an extent, and if they are debating between you and another individual with similar scores and extracurriculars (and you used consulting services and the other individual did not) then that could cause the admissions officers to lean away from selecting you. But, on a good note, as far as I know the other T10 schools do not ask the same question. So consulting services for those applications (Harvard, Stanford, Columbia etc) should only be a solid plus for your overall application!

  • MissChanandlerMissChanandler Alum Member Sage ⭐
    3256 karma

    @jmarmaduke96 that makes total sense! I would also think that maybe the improvement to your app that would come from the consulting would make up for any slight loss

  • David BusisDavid Busis Member Moderator
    7375 karma

    Great question! As @jmarmaduke96 said, YLS seems to prefer candidates who did not use a consulting service. Former Dean Asha Rangappa noted as much in her blog. That said, it's certainly not dispositive, as our consulting students have gotten into YLS despite disclosing our help. This cycle, one of our consulting students even got into Yale Law with an under-median LSAT score.

    I can't think of another application that asks if you've worked with a consultant, but admissions officers are quite aware of these services. Those that I've spoken to don't penalize applicants whom they suspect worked with a consultant as long as the work is ethical. That is, the words still need to be yours.

  • youbbyunyoubbyun Alum Member
    1755 karma

    @"David.Busis" thank you!

  • Leah M BLeah M B Alum Member ⭐
    8392 karma

    There's also of course the calculation of if the help from a consulting service would benefit you more than it would harm you. If you feel like you're rusty on writing and need a lot of help, I'm sure that the benefits of having a professional editor would outweigh the slight negative it puts on the one application. It might be something more to consider if you think that you are really strong on your own and in less need of assistance. Would it be worth a slight ding? Maybe more to think about. But as David mentioned, people certainly get in to YLS all the time even while disclosing the assistance.

    (And it goes without saying, but the absolute only thing you should NOT do is be untruthful about it. If you received help, mark it as such.)

  • D2446829D2446829 Member
    109 karma

    How would law schools know you used any consulting service?

  • Leah M BLeah M B Alum Member ⭐
    8392 karma

    @D2446829 said:
    How would law schools know you used any consulting service?

    Yale directly asks on their application.

    Or sometimes, because something like your PS is phenomenally written, and then your writing sample elsewhere is sub par and totally different. They likely can guess you used consulting of some sort at least with your writing.

  • hawaiihihawaiihi Free Trial Member
    edited April 2019 973 karma

    @"Leah M B" said:

    @D2446829 said:
    How would law schools know you used any consulting service?

    Yale directly asks on their application.

    Or sometimes, because something like your PS is phenomenally written, and then your writing sample elsewhere is sub par and totally different. They likely can guess you used consulting of some sort at least with your writing.

    Former Dean Asha also warns against it coming to bite you in the future---which is unlikely, but carries serious risk with it. If, for example, you mention to another student you both used Mr. Potatohead's consulting, and in a casual conversation with an admissions person, that student mentions, "Oh, me and X both used Mr. Potatohead!" they could--while unlikely--possibly go back to your application and see that you lied, which would result in a whole world of problems, since ethics are everything in the legal world. Same goes if you take a test prep course with someone. It's really just not worth the risk, because getting caught in a lie could jeopardize your whole career.

    (Disclosure: I got into YLS and didn't use consulting.)

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