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Applicant with Learning Disabilities

LegalityLegality Member
edited October 2021 in Law School Admissions 280 karma

Hey everyone,

I have just taken the October LSAT (hoping for the best!) and have been starting work on my law school applications. When deciding what to write about for my personal statement, I felt compelled to write about my experience going through school as somebody with a learning disability. I intend to talk about the challenges I faced due to my neurodiversity and the ways I overcame those obstacles.

I am a little concerned that because this is my topic of choice, law schools will assume I took the LSAT with accommodations. I did not, in part because I did not have documentation of my disability within the past five years and in part because I honestly felt I didn't need them to succeed. I know that law schools should not and probably do not judge test takers with accommodations any differently, however I have in the past experienced discrimination in academia due to my learning disabilities and am nervous about law schools somehow looking at my test score differently due to any possible assumptions.

My instinct tells me I'm being ridiculous and should let go of that fallacious assumption and have faith that the admission deans aren't biased and take comfort in the fact that if they were, that's not a school I'd want to go to anyways. However, another part of me feels that I should add an addendum specifying that I didn't have accommodations on the LSAT, maybe adding that it's in part because I didn't qualify for them due to a lack of recent documentation.

If anybody has advice, please share it. That said, the a central theme of my PS is getting past the shame and stigma associated with neurodiversity, so it does admittedly feel disingenuous to even be writing this post and I feel more inclined to simply not write this addendum and let things unfold naturally. Just curious to see if anybody else has a different perspective.

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Comments

  • sarakimmelsarakimmel Member ⭐
    1488 karma

    It is a risk. I would love to say that you are right and that you will not be judged for disclosing a LD, but it is a very real possibility that since law schools are essentially judged by their numbers which are driven by the success of their students, it could be a real factor. Accommodations are not disclosed for a reason, I would be hesitant to mention them at all.

    All that being said, overcoming adversity can make for a powerful statement, and if your GPA and LSAT scores reflect success in spite of the challenges you have faced, it could work in your favor. If not, it could possibly hurt your chances. Just something to think about.

  • mattwhitworth56mattwhitworth56 Member
    316 karma

    Maybe you could mention a learning disability for the reach schools? I made my essays all about these two times I got arrested as a teenager lol, not doing it this time, and a lot of the safety schools rejected me but I got into two schools with pretty good scholarships that my scores and gpa were pretty far below average. I spoke with an admissions person from one of my safety schools and we reviewed the application and he said I should focus less on it, maybe a quick mention.

  • mattwhitworth56mattwhitworth56 Member
    316 karma

    I don't know how to feel about the double time stuff, I definitely believe that some people need it, but students in wealthier districts with easier access to health services can get a diagnosis so much quicker and they'll get more attention from educators.

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