Top Law Schools

djfe4president wrote:does anyone know when we will get responses for this?

Yeah, my experience was different from MartianManhunter. I submitted some time in early january and got invited for an in person interview less than a week later. But then it took a reeeally long time to actually get accepted. I think the process is very different for everyone. Just be patient, but it is probably cool to check up on the situation if you know that things probably shouldn't be taking as long as they are. But mileage definitely varies.

And yeah, the default of everything SEO related is to be as conservative as possible in all manner dress, hair, and decorum.

Anyone know if they would consider 2 1/2 years out of school a 'recent graduate'?

What on earth is SEO and why was this thread necro'd.

ahduth wrote:What on earth is SEO and why was this thread necro'd.

What the heck does necro'd mean haha?

SEO is a program for minority senior students or recent graduates who will be entering law school.

ksimon2007 wrote:

ahduth wrote:What on earth is SEO and why was this thread necro'd.

What the heck does necro'd mean haha?

SEO is a program for minority senior students or recent graduates who will be entering law school.

Ah cool thanks.

Necro as in, necromancy, as in brought back from the dead.

AfroThunder1212 wrote:Anyone know if they would consider 2 1/2 years out of school a 'recent graduate'?

Yeah, they do.

From what I can tell, as long as it's the summer before law school you're pretty good. There were plenty of folks that had some work experience in finance for a couple years.

MartianManhunter wrote:From what I can tell, as long as it's the summer before law school you're pretty good. There were plenty of folks that had some work experience in finance for a couple years.

What do you think makes a candidate a likely admit to the program? I assume you got a feel for the type of people admitted during the sessions and what not. Do you mind giving your stats?

I heard that they'll basically take anybody in the T14, is that true?

Do they have preference for some types of URMs (ones that are less represented than others) over others (i.e. blacks over asians)?

ksimon2007 wrote:

MartianManhunter wrote:From what I can tell, as long as it's the summer before law school you're pretty good. There were plenty of folks that had some work experience in finance for a couple years.

What do you think makes a candidate a likely admit to the program? I assume you got a feel for the type of people admitted during the sessions and what not. Do you mind giving your stats?

Go to a t14 (or better yet, t10) school and don't screw up your interview. I know that sounds kind of pessimistic, but it's the truth. In my interview when I told them I recently received an acceptance from NYU my interviewers eyes brightened up and he took down a bunch of notes afterward. I got a second interview, and I'm 90% confident I would have gotten an offer if I weren't so slow in submitting all of my final paperwork (I wasn't sure I actually wanted to do the program).

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I will say that Top 15 seems to be necessary, but Top 6 is not sufficient.

Harvard - 14
NYU - 13
Columbia - 11
Stanford - 5
Chicago - 5
Yale - 3
Boalt - 3
Georgetown - 2
Cornell - 2
Virginia - 1
Northwestern - 1
Texas - 1

This breakdown belies the fact that there were also T6 applicants that did not make it into the program. I think the interview is the biggest determinant once the school is at least T10 or so.

ksimon2007 wrote:

Stanford4Me wrote:

ksimon2007 wrote:

MartianManhunter wrote:From what I can tell, as long as it's the summer before law school you're pretty good. There were plenty of folks that had some work experience in finance for a couple years.

What do you think makes a candidate a likely admit to the program? I assume you got a feel for the type of people admitted during the sessions and what not. Do you mind giving your stats?

Go to a t14 (or better yet, t10) school and don't screw up your interview. I know that sounds kind of pessimistic, but it's the truth. In my interview when I told them I recently received an acceptance from NYU my interviewers eyes brightened up and he took down a bunch of notes afterward. I got a second interview, and I'm 90% confident I would have gotten an offer if I weren't so slow in submitting all of my final paperwork (I wasn't sure I actually wanted to do the program).

My numbers make me an unlikely admission to a t14. I have gained admission into Washington and Lee and UofR thus far. How much does your "soft" record matter?

The general consensus seems to be that the program is even more of a prestige whore than the field of law is. Some say this is because the only gauge of quality of performance the program has is the school you plan on attending. While that is certainly a flawed stage, you have to consider the fact that SEO places its participants with firms who are going to be paying 0Ls a lot of money, most of whom probably won't return to work with them in the future (for one reason or another). Here is a list of schools represented in during the 2010 summer. Apparently NYU made a huge donation to SEO, which may explain why so many students from NYU were accepted -

anmo wrote:

APimpNamedSlickback wrote:congrats to all who got it, and sorry to everyone else. in any case, here is a breakdown for this summer

NYU - 13
Harvard - 12
Columbia - 11
Stanford - 5
Chicago - 5
Yale - 3
Boalt - 3
Georgetown - 2
Cornell - 2
Virginia - 1
Northwestern - 1
Duke - 1
Penn - 1

UT Austin - 1

ksimon2007 wrote:

MartianManhunter wrote:From what I can tell, as long as it's the summer before law school you're pretty good. There were plenty of folks that had some work experience in finance for a couple years.

What do you think makes a candidate a likely admit to the program? I assume you got a feel for the type of people admitted during the sessions and what not. Do you mind giving your stats?

About the interview: Yes, try not to mess it up. But you'd be surprised at how many of us showed up late/committed some other major mistake.

One of the big things the program directors told us was a factor was being personable, outgoing, charming, etc. Most law students/future law students are a little...awkward. They're parading you in front of firms twice a week or so, they need you to be able to hold a conversation and win people over. Everyone I met seemed to be able to do that very well.

And handle the 'bad cop' interview with the case problem by keeping your cool, giving a thoughtful answer, and smiling and you'll be fine.

Wade LeBosh wrote: I heard that they'll basically take anybody in the T14, is that true?

Necessary but not sufficient. It takes more than just an acceptance. They also seem to prefer other schools over others (though some of that could be self selection). There's a heavy Columbia/NYU presence. Houston had someone from UT. So location of the program probably has some influence. They also like to have students that will be going to schools that the CLI professors teach at.

Wade LeBosh wrote:Do they have preference for some types of URMs (ones that are less represented than others) over others (i.e. blacks over asians)?

No. The program itself seemed to have a fair distribution amongst asian, hispanic, and black students. Though SEO DC was pretty much all black, with 1 or 2 exceptions.

MartianManhunter wrote:No. The program itself seemed to have a fair distribution amongst asian, hispanic, and black students. Though SEO DC was pretty much all black, with 1 or 2 exceptions.

Wow, didn't even notice that till you mentioned it. The NYC group was much more diverse, but that could have to do with self-selection.

MartianManhunter's advice on the interview is solid stuff.

It is also worth noting that SEO has added a west coast set for the summer, which is cool to see.

And the numbers I listed above take into account the fact that the Penn and Duke people ended up as Harvard matriculants.

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Anyone been invited for interview yet?? I sent in the app 11/16 and sent in acceptance letters about 1.5 weeks ago.

Can any SEO CL alums give advice on the case interview portion? Anybody want to share his/her experience?

lizzard209 wrote:Can any SEO CL alums give advice on the case interview portion? Anybody want to share his/her experience?

If you want to know specifics, its probably best to PM people who you see have done the program. I, and I'm sure others, will answer any SEO related questions.

On the application, when they ask for cumulative GPA, does anybody know if they're asking for LSAC calculated GPA? Or are they asking about the GPA calculated by your undergrad? Thanks!

Does anyone know the specific dates of the program? Because I reallllyy was planning on spending June and part of July traveling before law school...

MissLucky wrote:Does anyone know the specific dates of the program? Because I reallllyy was planning on spending June and part of July traveling before law school...

The program will be occurring during those months. I believe it usually starts Last week of May/First Week of June and goes through the end of July (if not into August).

Interview invites are going out

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ksimon2007 wrote:

tkgrrett wrote:Interview invites are going out

When? And when do you think we will get them? I sent in my app, but no acceptance letters yet...Honestly I will be lucky to receive an invite

I got my interview invite earlier tonite.