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Political views

criveracrivera Alum Member
in Law School Admissions 26 karma

Hi,

How does one's political views affect one's chances at admission, especially to elite schools which tend to lean left? I wouldn't say I'm a liberal, by today's standards of what constitutes left at least; if one defines "liberal" as "one who values liberty", then yes I am a liberal. However, I try to understand both sides of the political spectrum without being wedded to any particular ideology. By no means am I what many have called the "alt-right", however, there are some views that they hold that I am sympathetic towards; in particular, I believe that it is necessity to guard the freedom of speech. There are, of course, reasons for me to be sympathetic towards this idea: language evolves. To legislate on what constitutes "appropriate" speech is to attempt to directly and consciously control the evolution of language. If I were to reject this notion, I would have to reject the liberal value of liberty, which is distinct from license. Thus, to remain a liberal, it seems that I must defend, what is now considered to be, a conservative ideal.

In short, I am a centrist. But it seems that being a centrist, especially in this politically charged climate, would hurt my chances. Am I correct in being concerned?

Political Views
  1. Do political views affect your chances of admission?31 votes
    1. Yes
      12.90%
    2. No
      87.10%
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Comments

  • Paul CaintPaul Caint Alum Member ⭐
    3521 karma

    No I don't think so. But I also don't think they have a way of finding out your political views unless you articulate them in a personal statement or addendum (which unless you have good reason to I wouldn't).

  • AlexAlex Alum Member ⭐
    23929 karma

    No, your private political views like likely have zero effect on admissions. I'm not even sure how anyone would find out unless you volunteer the information?

  • LSATcantwinLSATcantwin Alum Member Sage ⭐
    edited October 2017 13286 karma

    I am totally pro Empire. Everything was peaceful in the galaxy until those damn rebel's and their Jedi friends decided to start blowing stuff up. Do you have any idea how many lives were lost on the Death Star? Man, the rebels are the reason the galaxy now lives in fear.

    empiredidnothingwrong

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member ⭐
    3679 karma

    Political affiliation has no bearing in admissions. If you touted your allegiance to David Duke in a PS I can imagine that would have an impact but unless your PS is centered on politics , I wouldn't worry. If you're that concerned just don't bring it up.

    In full transparency though I wouldn't bring up the phrase 'alt-right' as it has negative connotations.

  • extramediumextramedium Alum Member
    419 karma

    Don't mention politics at all in personal statements. Delete all mentions of politics, social justice and anything culture war-related from social media. Actually just delete all your social media. You never know who you're dealing with.

  • buno____buno____ Alum Member
    edited November 2017 19 karma

    :)

  • kimpg_66kimpg_66 Alum Member
    1617 karma

    Wait, what's this post trying to get at? It sounds like you're trying to convince us that you're not alt-right or liberal (although those are by no means equatable). Unless you wrote this as your PS, why would the admissions committee know this about you or care about this thought process? If you're concerned about the effect of your politics, just don't write about them.

  • thisisspartathisissparta Alum Member
    edited October 2017 1363 karma

    @LSATcantwin said:
    I am totally pro Empire. Everything was peaceful in the galaxy until those damn rebel's and their Jedi friends decided to start blowing stuff up. Do you have any idea how many lives were lost on the Death Star? Man, the rebels are the reason the galaxy now lives in fear.

    empiredidnothingwrong

    SNOW(FLAKE) REBEL IS TrIgGeReD!!1!!

    Also, @crivera, check out the videos I linked in on this thread: https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/10903/video-law-school-mock-admissions-panel

    In one of the panels, one of the applicants seemed to explicitly state his affiliations with the Republican party + his socio-political views in his statement, and the admissions personnel from several schools seemed to unanimously agree that they don't (and usually won't) hold an applicant's political views against them.

  • Rigid DesignatorRigid Designator Alum Member
    1091 karma

    @crivera said:
    But it seems that being a centrist, especially in this politically charged climate, would hurt my chances. Am I correct in being concerned?

    No, not really. But I would still avoid stating any of this to an admissions committee.

  • criveracrivera Alum Member
    26 karma

    My > @kimmy_m66 said:

    Wait, what's this post trying to get at? It sounds like you're trying to convince us that you're not alt-right or liberal (although those are by no means equatable). Unless you wrote this as your PS, why would the admissions committee know this about you or care about this thought process? If you're concerned about the effect of your politics, just don't write about them.

    Good point.

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