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Status and Sensitivity

speedwagonspeedwagon Alum Member
in Law School Admissions 393 karma

Based off the "declined from a safety" thread, I am actually curious what people think/how you are addressing this in your world.

This whole law school admissions process is so status-conscious. Scores and GPA dictate where you can go and what your career might look like in very real ways. Someone's safety is someone else's dream school. I got into a safety with a killer scholarship (killer enough it's making me reconsider it as an option tbh!) and it's a school a lot of people would be happy to go to but I am unsure that I would go. I also work in a law office right now and am having to be careful because that safety is some of my colleagues' actual law school. I'm a splitter so who knows how it'll turn out but I am hoping to be considering T-14-level offers.

How are you playing this with your friends, colleagues, families, people on messageboards, etc? Any thoughts on this?

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Comments

  • AlexAlex Alum Member ⭐
    edited January 2018 23929 karma

    I don't really discuss it with people outside 7Sage anymore. Best decision I've made in years, haha.

  • LSATcantwinLSATcantwin Alum Member Sage ⭐
    edited January 2018 13286 karma

    REMINDER

    • This can be a heated topic. Please remember that everyone will have different opinions. If you disagree with someone, it doesn't necessarily mean they are wrong. Please keep the discussion civil!!!

    I use my past experience and change it into encouragement. People are not limited in as many ways as they think. They just need someone to push them, and show them the right direction. It was true for me and it is true for everyone else.

    So if I get into a T-14 school, I will thank everyone who pushed me in the right direction, and then I will turn around and look at everyone still trying to figure it out and say; "Look! I did it, and I'm the most lame and uninteresting person on the planet. You can totally do it to."

    Who cares what their goals are? As long as they achieve them.

  • Paul CaintPaul Caint Alum Member ⭐
    edited January 2018 3521 karma

    Yeah I'm with @LSATcantwin - it's a pretty touchy subject. Some of my "safetys" are other people's dreams, so personally I never call a school a safety anymore as it can be sort of demeaning.

    I also think it's a bit arrogant to call a school a safety in general, since the admissions process can be a bit more nebulous than what just LSAT and GPA predict.

    After all, 50% of admits are below the school's median scores, so having numbers below them does not necessarily classify a school as a "reach." Also if you look at Law School Numbers, many people with higher scores end up getting denied from some schools they could classify as their "safetys." Personal statements, resumes, and an all-around great application are all still vitally important!

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member ⭐
    3679 karma

    I like to avoid the word 'safety' as well and if I am discussing the type of school I want to get into I just say I chose this school because of the way I'd like my law school journey to develop. I guess I kind of want to make it clear that I don't see one school better than another or that one should try to get into the highest ranked school they can. Everyone's journey is different and none is better than the other.

  • Leah M BLeah M B Alum Member ⭐
    8392 karma

    I've honestly never thought about it much because I don't interact day to day with many people who are familiar with law schools. If anything, I bring up employment statistics because that is one of the most valuable metrics to me. I want to go to the school that has the best chance of getting me decent employment, and I think that is reasonable. Even some good schools have not-so-good employment numbers and vice versa. I generally am a person that isn't too interested in "prestige" but I don't think it's unfair to say that the point of this whole thing is to get a job. So for me, I think it's helpful to frame it that way rather than prestige. Also some of my "safeties" don't give out very much scholarship money. Smaller school, smaller endowments. So some of those just aren't practically a good fit for me either.

    There are just so many variables involved. I do think it's a good reminder though to be sensitive that some of our "safeties" are others' dream schools (or alma maters). And a lot of times, lower ranked schools can have really good individual focuses or good job placement.

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