PLEASE WITHDRAW FROM SCHOOLS YOU'RE NOT GOING TO ATTEND Forum

[joshhoward]

I know this is a dumb question, but what's the proper way to withdraw an application? Will a simple e-mail to the admissions office suffice or is there typically a more formal process?

i think most schools are okay with email. some, like probably harvard (if only one was so lucky!) would want a physical letter.

I think merit-based scholarships should only be awarded after grades, on a per-semester basis. Let people who really want $$ self-select into the best school they think they can earn $$ from.

From what I can tell, post-acceptance merit-based scholarships are rare and/or laughably small. And it's sort of lame if Mr. Full Ride is perpetually at median while your heavily indebted ass is sitting at the top.

its all about rankings. getting the best numbers into their school. once your there, why would they care anymore.

[b.gump81]

Yes, you're correct in that people have the "right" to see out their cycle, but I was referring to people that have no intention of attending a certain school anymore or using it as leverage, yet still refuse to withdraw.

I agree that some people have no intention of attending a certain school or using it as leverage, but for the most part, people don't disclose their intentions or motivations. And I'd rather not cast a value judgment on these motivations with limited information. Each person has a different reason for applying to any given school. I understand the frustration of not obtaining the desired outcome in applying to a certain school--I have been rejected by plenty of schools, but just because I see someone on LSN who has gotten into Harvard and Penn State doesn't mean I feel the need to get that person to withdraw from PSU so I have a better chance of getting in.

Do you think if some people had withdrawn from schools you were waitlisted or denied last year, your cycle would have turned out more favorable? I would argue yes, and I believe I am doing something about it for this cycle. I think making people aware that they affect people's futures because they are too apathetic to withdraw is a start. People obviously have reasons for applying to certain schools, but that reasoning changes throughout the cycle as they may get into a reach or get offered money to another. All I am saying is, that as those peoples' cycles change and they become aware they would no longer accept an acceptance from a certain school, to withdraw.

Yes it would have changed drastically. More favorable? Who knows, but I didn't sit around on my computer wasting time and energy being mad at other 0Ls for not withdrawing at certain schools. You believe that you're affecting people's futures by writing on an internet forum, good for you. But instead of worrying about other people, I decided to retake the LSAT, get WE, and boost my resume. Maybe it's just being being a cynic or an asshole. I understand that my cycle is contingent upon other people's decisions and actions, but I think that most other people's actions are out of my control and I don't waste time trying to change that.

IMO this argument is irrelevant because by the time people apply they have all their WE and a LSAT score they are comfortable with (if they are smart enough to study before taking). After what you just said, I could just turn around and say that "ok you were smart in building your resume and retaking but this thread still applies to you even after you have boosted your application because you are still competing for spots, just like last cycle". I feel that most applicants believe they have done the best they can up to this point (sidenote- I already have taken a year off after UG, and my lsat is higher than your 156). Yes, we could all wait out a cycle and try again like you, but I think the energy I'm putting into this is well spent if I can avoid that scenerio.

[rookhawk]

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[joshhoward]

I think merit-based scholarships should only be awarded after grades, on a per-semester basis. Let people who really want $$ self-select into the best school they think they can earn $$ from.

From what I can tell, post-acceptance merit-based scholarships are rare and/or laughably small. And it's sort of lame if Mr. Full Ride is perpetually at median while your heavily indebted ass is sitting at the top.

That's an interesting theory but I don't see it in practice. I'm eager to garner is much scholly as possible from the best school possible. I also aspire to have grades at the 50th percentile because frankly, I have better things to do than study to get to the top percentile. (like earn a living while attending FT, work on my lecture work, perform business advisory, etc.)

The flawed assumption is that people that go to T-14 aspire for academic greatness...many of us just want the damned diploma so we can go right back to what we were doing and make more money. (the networking within law school is the other intrinsicly valuable point)

agreed. for me, the whole scholarship negotiation is not to determine where I go to school, but how much I will get at the school that I would go to anyway, which is basically (with some, small variation) the school that is highest ranked.

It would have to be an incredible scholarship disparity for very little drop in rankings to draw me to a lower ranked school.

[rookhawk]

+1

So glad to have met another pragmatist on the forum.

[rookhawk]

-1

[booby87]

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[PDaddy]

People need scholly money (as has been states many times) and can't visit the campuses until they have vacation time. And they need to hear more decisions just to pare down the lists.

[PDaddy]

OP quit whining. When a person pays the application fee (or has it waived), he or she has the full right to decide on schools and has as long as he/she wants. Are some people ridiculous in blanketing TTT to increase an offer at T2 or blanketing top 50 to get money at T14? Probably. And yes, it sucks, but it's part of this game. That's what the whole concept of wait list and yield protect are for.

I understand the frustration, but there's nothing you can do. This is my second cycle and I had to learn things the hard way last year but life goes on.

Yes, you're correct in that people have the "right" to see out their cycle, but I was referring to people that have no intention of attending a certain school anymore or using it as leverage, yet still refuse to withdraw. Do you think if some people had withdrawn from schools you were waitlisted or denied last year, your cycle would have turned out more favorable? I would argue yes, and I believe I am doing something about it for this cycle. I think making people aware that they affect people's futures because they are too apathetic to withdraw is a start. People obviously have reasons for applying to certain schools, but that reasoning changes throughout the cycle as they may get into a reach or get offered money to another. All I am saying is, that as those peoples' cycles change and they become aware they would no longer accept an acceptance from a certain school, to withdraw.

Let me ask you this. If you met someone on the street that took your spot to one of your top choices last cycle who ended up not attending but said they didn't withdraw because they had the "right" and wanted to brag about it, and then, on top of that, told you to get over it and quit whining and that you can go through the application process all over again next cycle...what would you say to that person?

Just withdrew from the UCLA waitlist.

thanks

Yes that is douchey, but that is what seat deposit deadlines are for. My guess is that the majority of applicants (those outside of the TLS world) don't bother withdrawing.

Naw, I don't believe that. I would withdraw just out of consideration because I know what it's like to sit all summer on the waitlist.

[rookhawk]

+2

[joshhoward]

this is five pages now, but i now just wonder if others withdrawing actually changes anyone's chances of admission.

schools know within pretty narrow ranges what their yield rate will be, and therefore how many they need to accept to fill their seats. and they have waitlists just in case they're wrong.

people withdrawing earlier than normal doesn't change the total amount of people who are going to withdraw.

at best, if most people withdrew pretty quickly, it would fool the schools for a short period of time (and they might accept lesser qualified applicants), but they would catch on pretty quickly anyways. it might help (a little) for the current cycle, but for all future cycles, they would know.

[Doodsmack]

Here's a choice quote from just a couple days ago by a member of this forum:

"In today via checker, ready for review since 1/7, sent 11/12 with December retake. 3.66/168. I doubt I'll attend, but I would like to at least see the scholarship before withdrawing."

[echoi]

It's retarded how controversial this thread has become.

[PDaddy]

I think merit-based scholarships should only be awarded after grades, on a per-semester basis. Let people who really want $$ self-select into the best school they think they can earn $$ from.

From what I can tell, post-acceptance merit-based scholarships are rare and/or laughably small. And it's sort of lame if Mr. Full Ride is perpetually at median while your heavily indebted ass is sitting at the top.

Interesting theory. This may get a few laughs, but that sort of meshes with the diploma mill philosophy: admit a bunch of students and let them fight it out. Yes, it's profitable, but they also do it because they live by "survival of the fittest", an irony considering that elite schools would claim to have the best students.

This is why some of the most financially successful attorneys do not come from top schools but places like Cooley, Akron or Dayton. Their top grads are tough. Maybe along with the above suggestion, ALL law schools should admit classes of 600 students but keep 2L and 3L classes of 250, guaranteeing that only the best get through. Then the rank of a school wouldn't matter and firms could confidently recruit from all of the schools. it would be more like med school. Oh, and in that case, we could also reduce significantly the number of law schools while we're at it.

The less competitive students could leave with less debt and go on to something more productive.