Is there any way to make my Stanford PS "pop"? Forum

[Aggiegrad2011]

Hey everyone. Just to put it out there, I am taking the October LSAT and am so far PT'ing: High 174, Average 171, Low 169 and I have a 3.98 LSDAS GPA.

My primary two focus applications this year are SLS and Berkeley Law. I already have everything set up for Berkeley, with a targeted LoR from a Berk. alum, and will be tailoring my PS toward the "esprit de corps" of Berkeley as it were, incorporating their big push at their camaraderie that is all over their viewbook and website. Additionally, I visited the campus, met with two professors in the specialty (Environmental) in which I'm most interested.

So now the time has come for SLS targeted letter + PS drafting. I don't have any professors who could write a letter that are alums, or that know anything about SLS, so I was thinking I'd have to again meet with someone from Stanford, perhaps from their Environmental Clinic, and would then be able to write that experience into my PS, and also discuss it with my primary letter writer (With whom I've had 3 upper division classes with, and am currently completing my Honors thesis under as well).

I was poking around the SLS site, and beyond their bare bones "Here's stuff to do while you visit Stanford!" I didn't see anything like I did for Berkeley. Has anyone visited Stanford and met with admissions officers or contacted professors personally to meet in office hours for a short time? The Berkeley professors seemed very receptive to it and enjoyed speaking with me, but Stanford seems, well, out of reach.

I appreciate any and all insight you sage TSL'ers have to offer!

[billyez]

I apologize for kind of ignoring your point, but I'd only worry about this once you take your LSAT and have an idea about how you've done. I disagree with the belief that now is the time for PS drafting. Sure, you can think about it and write some notes about what you want to write about...but until you're done with the test, this isn't what you should devote much of your time to.

Also, since your question is really targeted towards these schools it might be more helpful to go to C/O threads or their corresponding threads in the Acceptances Forum and ask this quesiton to the regulars in those threads.

[Aggiegrad2011]

I apologize for kind of ignoring your point, but I'd only worry about this once you take your LSAT and have an idea about how you've done. I disagree with the belief that now is the time for PS drafting. Sure, you can think about it and write some notes about what you want to write about...but until you're done with the test, this isn't what you should devote much of your time to.

Also, since your question is really targeted towards these schools it might be more helpful to go to C/O threads or their corresponding threads in the Acceptances Forum and ask this quesiton to the regulars in those threads.

Thanks for the advice - I would normally completely agree with you that this is rather preemptive; however, as I'm taking the October LSAT, I'll already be coming in behind all of the folks with their scores in-hand since June, and they will all therefore be much earlier in the proverbial stack than I will be. Hence, I feel that I truly need to have absolutely everything ready to go. If it turns out that I get <170 on my LSAT then I can still send everything to Stanford, whether or not I get in. So I have to respectfully disagree. I am not devoting a great deal of time to the endeavor, that's precisely why I am starting early, opting to spend a little time every day on it now, instead of rushing into it closer to the app. openings. Chance favors the prepared mind, and I like to be prepared! Since you brought up the LSAT, I have both Bibles, every Prep Test (the 30 in the books, then the additional, one-off ones) and have been spending between 8 and 12 hours during the school week on practicing LG (My big "-" area...) and then taking a full-length PT every Saturday morning in a public place.

Point 2: Great idea. I'm still trying to figure the nuances of TLS out, and I've gone through quite literally hundreds of threads ranging from "Hastings ($$) v. Davis ($)" to what schools are best for what region. I'll make my next stop the "Class of" threads, thanks!

[AR75]

Potpourri. That's how.

[billyez]

Thanks for the advice - I would normally completely agree with you that this is rather preemptive; however, as I'm taking the October LSAT, I'll already be coming in behind all of the folks with their scores in-hand since June, and they will all therefore be much earlier in the proverbial stack than I will be. Hence, I feel that I truly need to have absolutely everything ready to go. If it turns out that I get <170 on my LSAT then I can still send everything to Stanford, whether or not I get in. So I have to respectfully disagree. I am not devoting a great deal of time to the endeavor, that's precisely why I am starting early, opting to spend a little time every day on it now, instead of rushing into it closer to the app. openings. Chance favors the prepared mind, and I like to be prepared! Since you brought up the LSAT, I have both Bibles, every Prep Test (the 30 in the books, then the additional, one-off ones) and have been spending between 8 and 12 hours during the school week on practicing LG (My big "-" area...) and then taking a full-length PT every Saturday morning in a public place.

I was kind of suspecting that this would be your response and that's perfectly fine. For me, I just knew what I was going to write my PS about for quite a long time and dedicated the three weeks before we received the score to write it and perfect it. But hey, different strokes for different folks! Good luck.

[Bosque]

Make it in pop-up book form.