Top Law Schools

TL;DR

Don't give up yet. Now's a great time to send in LOCIs.

As for whether to reapply, only you can decide that. I can understand being attached to your dream school since you only go to law school once, but think carefully and realistically about your long-term plans. For most careers, Chicago with 90K is a fantastic option. If you think more long-term about post-graduation outcomes and debt, you might be able to consider your options more rationally.

I wish you the best.

What kind of job does volunteering for a foreign army help with?

i mean what are you going to do if they reject you say next year? I mean if you actually care about practicing the law more than going to a school, you probably should consider your options a little more carefully. right now it really comes off as more you just want Harvard more than anything else. w/e niche you're thinking of, it really probably doesn't come with a "go to Harvard or you can't pursue it" note.

Do you have any reason to think that if you reapply, the result will be different? That's the question to ask yourself.

Desert Fox wrote:What kind of job does volunteering for a foreign army help with?

I thought OP was inferring that he wanted to work in Israel / get involved in Israeli politics

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Perhaps they saw through your prestige whorishness in your application. I am shocked that someone who confronts death every day as a member of the military would care so much about something so trivial as an acceptance at HLS v. Chicago.

wiglaf1228 wrote:Perhaps they saw through your prestige whorishness in your application. I am shocked that someone who confronts death every day as a member of the military would care so much about something so trivial as an acceptance at HLS v. Chicago.

As someone who relates to OP's post I don't think this is neccessarily fair. For me, I want HLS so badly, not because of the prestige but for the specific doors that HLS can open for me in my future career that NO other school can open. I'm interested in going back to work in Southern Africa after graduation and I'll be honest to say in terms of clinics, courses, and YES prestige, nothing can prepare me for that better than HLS. So I don't think its just a matter of prestige.

To the OP. I certainly hear what you're saying. I'm kind of in a similar position, applied to HLS last year and waitlisted, and withdrew knowing I'd be defferring as well. I was accepted to Columbia last year and rejected this year, and I'm pretty sure its like you said, why accept me when I've already turned them down? So i would certainly be wary of re-applying for that reason. And really the question is, would your application really be any different next year than it was this year? From what you've said I don't think it would be different enough, and as I've learnt this year, just applying earlier isn't enough. I'd say ride this one out and pray for a pull off the waitlist, send them a LOCI telling them what you told us but more eloquently . fingerscrossed for you!

A little unorthodox, but I say you should wait it out and reapply. Then when you apply again you should incorporate your application history into your PS or letter of interest. Emphasize that you've applied consistently for years and maybe VERY subtly work in having turned down other good schools in the meantime. This has huge potential to sound douchey, so be careful. My mother had a friend who applied to the Harvard dental school something like 5 times, and finally was accepted. Not saying necessarily that her situation applies, but with your numbers and strong (non-prestige) reasons for wanting H over all others, it might just take a little reminder of your dedication for them to take you.

ETA: Better yet, if you haven't withdrawn your app, DO THAT NOW. Send another LOCI and emphasize your application history with the school, subtly mention your other acceptances, and say that if your app isn't successful this time around you will be applying again in the fall. At this point you have nothing to lose. The goal is to get yourself to the top of the waitlist. Make them feel bad for breaking your heart, but be careful.

Honestly, you only get to go to LS once. Don't spend your whole life wondering 'what if?'. Good luck!

Does not seem like your preoccupation with HLS is typical/logical. That being said, if you want to go to HLS so badly keep improving your application until you get in.

Desert Fox wrote:What kind of job does volunteering for a foreign army help with?

Dammit! I'd decided not to read this nonsense post, then I saw your comment and said, "Huh? Foreign army?"

Now I've read it and I feel cheated. Both by the OP and by you. Shame on you both for wasting precious seconds of my life.

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While I'm sure HLS would be better than Chicago as far as prestige goes, Yale/Columbia/Stanford are not necessarily bad options either. Next year, you may consider sending applications exclusively to all five of those schools and taking "the best" (H > S/Y > Columbia > Chicago), and maybe even possibly transferring.

If you're not excited by Chicago, then don't go. It's going to be a long three years wishing you were somewhere else.

fingerscrossedxx wrote:

wiglaf1228 wrote:Perhaps they saw through your prestige whorishness in your application. I am shocked that someone who confronts death every day as a member of the military would care so much about something so trivial as an acceptance at HLS v. Chicago.

As someone who relates to OP's post I don't think this is neccessarily fair. For me, I want HLS so badly, not because of the prestige but for the specific doors that HLS can open for me in my future career that NO other school can open. I'm interested in going back to work in Southern Africa after graduation and I'll be honest to say in terms of clinics, courses, and YES prestige, nothing can prepare me for that better than HLS. So I don't think its just a matter of prestige.

You're example doesn't apply though. He's saying he won't go to law school basically unless he gets into Harvard. You from what I read will go to law school no matter what. No one is disputing the merits of Harvard vs any other school. The issue is are you going to go to law school or not just because you cannot get into a certain school.

lats19nys wrote:

fingerscrossedxx wrote:

wiglaf1228 wrote:Perhaps they saw through your prestige whorishness in your application. I am shocked that someone who confronts death every day as a member of the military would care so much about something so trivial as an acceptance at HLS v. Chicago.

As someone who relates to OP's post I don't think this is neccessarily fair. For me, I want HLS so badly, not because of the prestige but for the specific doors that HLS can open for me in my future career that NO other school can open. I'm interested in going back to work in Southern Africa after graduation and I'll be honest to say in terms of clinics, courses, and YES prestige, nothing can prepare me for that better than HLS. So I don't think its just a matter of prestige.

You're example doesn't apply though. He's saying he won't go to law school basically unless he gets into Harvard. You from what I read will go to law school no matter what. No one is disputing the merits of Harvard vs any other school. The issue is are you going to go to law school or not just because you cannot get into a certain school.

Indeed, for me the distinction wasn't great enough to justify applying for a third time, maybe for the OP it is. My only point was that attributing it to "prestige whoring" maybe isnt fair.

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I'm a 0L so I don't have any real knowledge of application but I don't understand how OP was waitlisted with those numbers. I thought HLS looked only at numbers and with a 3.8 and a 179, I thought it was enough for HLS...

Egzon wrote:I'm a 0L so I don't have any real knowledge of application but I don't understand how OP was waitlisted with those numbers. I thought HLS looked only at numbers and with a 3.8 and a 179, I thought it was enough for HLS...

The soft GPA Floor at HLS is pretty strict... Basically if you have a ~3.8 you need a 176+ to have a good shot at HLS. But even with a 176+ "a good shot" is still probably something like 60 or 70% chance so 1 out of 3 applicants with those numbers are still rejected.

Its just basically how medians work, so a person with say 3.9, 173~174 is going to have a better chance then someone with 3.8, 177

Egzon wrote:I'm a 0L so I don't have any real knowledge of application but I don't understand how OP was waitlisted with those numbers. I thought HLS looked only at numbers and with a 3.8 and a 179, I thought it was enough for HLS...

Retake. A 181 is sure to get you in. But seriously, I don't understand how those numbers aren't auto-admit. I met someone with a 3.5 and a 180 that didn't get in, but then again, a 3.8 and a 3.5 are worlds apart when it comes to Harvard. OP, even though you might not get Harvard (and I hope you do get it), you have great options that others can only dream about. While the school name may help, it's ultimately not the school that makes the man, but rather his hard work and drive. Plus, Chicago is nothing to sneeze at. Hang in there, and good luck with whatever decision you make.

I'm actually curious to hear how you intend to get into Israeli politics, HLS degree or not - wouldn't a MPP from Princeton/Harvard be better suited for that kind of thing? Why a law degree? Why law degree from America - do you plan on taking the American bar? Do you plan on working in big law for a couple years? Clerking? Academia? Going straight to Israel and doing ______?

wiglaf1228 wrote:Perhaps they saw through your prestige whorishness in your application. I am shocked that someone who confronts death every day as a member of the military would care so much about something so trivial as an acceptance at HLS v. Chicago.

wow really?

You need to determine whether your career goal really needs the Harvard branding behind it. If so, then don't go to law school at all unless you get into Harvard.

The fact that you continue to apply to CCN every year makes me skeptical that you believe only Harvard will do the trick. If you can achieve your goals from Chicago, I'd start trying to get excited about that school and looking into its impressive history. You might find yourself surprised about how much influence that school has had in other nations, especially the Chicago school of economics. I tend to think people discount the power of chicago's branding in elite circles.

The Brainalist wrote:You need to determine whether your career goal really needs the Harvard branding behind it. If so, then don't go to law school at all unless you get into Harvard.

The fact that you continue to apply to CCN every year makes me skeptical that you believe only Harvard will do the trick. If you can achieve your goals from Chicago, I'd start trying to get excited about that school and looking into its impressive history. You might find yourself surprised about how much influence that school has had in other nations, especially the Chicago school of economics. I tend to think people discount the power of chicago's branding in elite circles.

I agree with this completely.