URM 2014-2015 Cycle Thread Forum

[Oskosh]

Congratulations, LC! Still waiting to hear from other schools. Only two years out of college... if I don't hear good things from other schools/money situation, I might consider staying another year, since this is my first official cycle... I would just hate it if I shot myself in the foot.

I have thought of good diversity statements/personal statements/200 word essays, though. :p

If you're considering retaking, I definitely would urge you to consider reapplying next cycle. It is my humble opinion that essays have not mattered much (thus far) this cycle - believe me when I say mine are mediocre to average at best. And I did not write a DS either. If you're at all open to an LSAT retake (I don't know your stats though so maybe this is unnecessary advice) I would definitely do that.

This advice goes for anyone disappointed with their cycle thus far. I just think that in the current applications environment (high LSAT wasteland) it could pay off enormously.

Of course, I know many (most?) URMs ITT have better softs than me - I'm pretty much counting on my numbers so that does bias my advice.

I have to say I disagree somewhat. I think the fact that I have "unique" softs (whatever that means on TLS) is what's getting me into some of these schools. And I spent a lot of time on my essays. I wrote like 15 versions of tailored PSs and did all the optional essays (within reason). Granted, my GPA is 3.7-3.75 but that's not stellar. And my LSAT.......well........If they had an April one I'd retake. I think URMs as a whole are unpredictable. We have so many varying factors.

I have to say that I am incredibly sad that a GPA as good as this one is "not stellar" in the law school world. I'm in the same range and I busted my natural behind to get it and I'm sure you did to get your GPA too, Dini. Sorry, mini-rant.

I think it's incredibly unfair that law schools give individuals who attended schools that grant an A+ designation an advantage. UT began doing the +/- system my freshman year, but not A+. I got some A-, and some would be A+s (that didn't count), giving me a 3.72...

[DiniMae]

+1, y'all should be proud of your GPAs because mine is similar and damn that shit was not easy.

I also want to say that I'm not disagreeing with you Dini - I just meant for those of us without super softs, boosting the LSAT can help tremendously.

No argument over here, LC

[Oskosh]

Just got the Chancellor's Scholarship at Texas--full tuition...that definitely enhanced my day.

Didn't see this! Congratulations! Austin is beautiful! And in Texas UT is king...


I hate talking about "softs." I did TFA, and I don't know whether that is a great "soft" or not. I was also an ambassador for a scholarship for low-income students. I served as a quasicounselor for students who were matriculating to UT and who were graduates of my high school. But these were 2 out of the 4 things I listed (soccer coach and regular work experience). I see it quantitatively, and I don't consider my resume to be strong because of it... :p

[LoganCouture]

Just got the Chancellor's Scholarship at Texas--full tuition...that definitely enhanced my day.

Didn't see this! Congratulations! Austin is beautiful! And in Texas UT is king...


I hate talking about "softs." I did TFA, and I don't know whether that is a great "soft" or not. I was also an ambassador for a scholarship for low-income students. I served as a quasicounselor for students who were matriculating to UT and who were graduates of my high school. But these were 2 out of the 4 things I listed (soccer coach and regular work experience). I see it quantitatively, and I don't consider my resume to be strong because of it... :p

By super softs, I was referring to Dini's military experience. I agree that it gets a lot fuzzier with other things, and it's difficult to evaluate most softs with any confidence because who really knows what adcoms value.

[DiniMae]

Just got the Chancellor's Scholarship at Texas--full tuition...that definitely enhanced my day.

Didn't see this! Congratulations! Austin is beautiful! And in Texas UT is king...


I hate talking about "softs." I did TFA, and I don't know whether that is a great "soft" or not. I was also an ambassador for a scholarship for low-income students. I served as a quasicounselor for students who were matriculating to UT and who were graduates of my high school. But these were 2 out of the 4 things I listed (soccer coach and regular work experience). I see it quantitatively, and I don't consider my resume to be strong because of it... :p

By super softs, I was referring to Dini's military experience. I agree that it gets a lot fuzzier with other things, and it's difficult to evaluate most softs with any confidence because who really knows what adcoms value.

I'm flattered but I think other organized ways of giving back are pretty good too -- certainly TFA and Peace Corps

[DiniMae]

Just got the Chancellor's Scholarship at Texas--full tuition...that definitely enhanced my day.

Didn't see this! Congratulations! Austin is beautiful! And in Texas UT is king...


I hate talking about "softs." I did TFA, and I don't know whether that is a great "soft" or not. I was also an ambassador for a scholarship for low-income students. I served as a quasicounselor for students who were matriculating to UT and who were graduates of my high school. But these were 2 out of the 4 things I listed (soccer coach and regular work experience). I see it quantitatively, and I don't consider my resume to be strong because of it... :p

By super softs, I was referring to Dini's military experience. I agree that it gets a lot fuzzier with other things, and it's difficult to evaluate most softs with any confidence because who really knows what adcoms value.

Do you think people like Spivey and KB are worth the $$$ for those who hire them? I wonder what insight they truly have......

[LoganCouture]

Just got the Chancellor's Scholarship at Texas--full tuition...that definitely enhanced my day.

Didn't see this! Congratulations! Austin is beautiful! And in Texas UT is king...


I hate talking about "softs." I did TFA, and I don't know whether that is a great "soft" or not. I was also an ambassador for a scholarship for low-income students. I served as a quasicounselor for students who were matriculating to UT and who were graduates of my high school. But these were 2 out of the 4 things I listed (soccer coach and regular work experience). I see it quantitatively, and I don't consider my resume to be strong because of it... :p

By super softs, I was referring to Dini's military experience. I agree that it gets a lot fuzzier with other things, and it's difficult to evaluate most softs with any confidence because who really knows what adcoms value.

Do you think people like Spivey and KB are worth the $$$ for those who hire them? I wonder what insight they truly have......

I had considered going to Spivey for scholarship negotiation help. However, I have no idea what their rates are and people aren't typically very open about using those kinds of services so it's hard to see what kind of effect it has on people's outcomes. KB used to have JS's job Correction: KB used to be director of admissions at HLS a few years ago so I imagine her insight is very valuable.

And the entire Spivey thread is an excellent read. He gives a lot of info to this community (particularly the breakdown of applicants by LSAT score range) but I'm sure he's getting a lot of publicity for his services in return.

[Oskosh]

By super softs, I was referring to Dini's military experience. I agree that it gets a lot fuzzier with other things, and it's difficult to evaluate most softs with any confidence because who really knows what adcoms value.

Do you think people like Spivey and KB are worth the $$$ for those who hire them? I wonder what insight they truly have......

I had considered going to Spivey for scholarship negotiation help. However, I have no idea what their rates are and people aren't typically very open about using those kinds of services so it's hard to see what kind of effect it has on people's outcomes. KB used to have JS's job a few years ago so I imagine her insight is very valuable.

And the entire Spivey thread is an excellent read. He gives a lot of info to this community (particularly the breakdown of applicants by LSAT score range) but I'm sure he's getting a lot of publicity for his services in return.

holy crap, just saw your stats on the spreadsheet for the first time. Truly amazing haha. I've only gotten Berkeley. Awaiting others. Hopefully my softs help me out! If not, it's back to the drawing board for me!

Also, how much are Spivey's services? I don't think I'd be able to afford them haha.

[LoganCouture]

By super softs, I was referring to Dini's military experience. I agree that it gets a lot fuzzier with other things, and it's difficult to evaluate most softs with any confidence because who really knows what adcoms value.

Do you think people like Spivey and KB are worth the $$$ for those who hire them? I wonder what insight they truly have......

I had considered going to Spivey for scholarship negotiation help. However, I have no idea what their rates are and people aren't typically very open about using those kinds of services so it's hard to see what kind of effect it has on people's outcomes. KB used to have JS's job a few years ago so I imagine her insight is very valuable.

And the entire Spivey thread is an excellent read. He gives a lot of info to this community (particularly the breakdown of applicants by LSAT score range) but I'm sure he's getting a lot of publicity for his services in return.

holy crap, just saw your stats on the spreadsheet for the first time. Truly amazing haha. I've only gotten Berkeley. Awaiting others. Hopefully my softs help me out! If not, it's back to the drawing board for me!

Also, how much are Spivey's services? I don't think I'd be able to afford them haha.

Thank you! Berkeley's a great school and in a fun area. I will be at ASW

I probably couldn't afford him either. I do think most things that a consulting service like that provides can be found for free on TLS (LSAT prep, PS advice, etc). So if it's expensive, it's not worth it IMO.

[AOT]

Out of interest, what % of a class usually score 3.7+ ?

I'm feeling really uncertain about my cycle atm. Just trying to get some perspective about how they might view my transcript

[cc78]

Out of interest, what % of a class usually score 3.7+ ?

I'm feeling really uncertain about my cycle atm. Just trying to get some perspective about how they might view my transcript

You can look to the 25/50/75 stats for a sense of things. So, for Virginia, in their class of 330 (2017):

82-83 had a GPA at or below 3.52
82-83 had a GPA at or above 3.52 and below 3.87
82-83 had a GPA at or above 3.87 and below 3.94
82-83 had a GPA at or above 3.94

So for them, probably 60-65% are above 3.7?

[DiniMae]

Thank you! Berkeley's a great school and in a fun area. I will be at ASW

I probably couldn't afford him either. I do think most things that a consulting service like that provides can be found for free on TLS (LSAT prep, PS advice, etc). So if it's expensive, it's not worth it IMO.

Me too! Sounds like a potential TLS meetup!

[Atmosphere]

I used Spivey and it has been absolutely worth the $$$, PM me if you're curious about the specifics

[LoganCouture]

The Columbia envelope has a Butler. Thanks Columbia but I wish CC had been right!

[03282016]

[jemthey17]

The Columbia envelope has a Butler. Thanks Columbia but I wish CC had been right!

Was expecting a Hammy for you, but a Butler is great as well! Congrats!

[LoganCouture]

The Columbia envelope has a Butler. Thanks Columbia but I wish CC had been right!

Was expecting a Hammy for you, but a Butler is great as well! Congrats!

Thank you! I remain in the hunt for a fully.

[cc78]

What's your guess as to how much need based aid you'll get LC, if you feel comfortable sharing? I ask because if you are going to get anything close to max aid at YHS, I have no idea what CLS is thinking. If you're not a hammy, what URM is?

[LoganCouture]

What's your guess as to how much need based aid you'll get LC, if you feel comfortable sharing? I ask because if you are going to get anything close to max aid at YHS, I have no idea what CLS is thinking. If you're not a hammy, what URM is?

I got max need based aid in undergrad so I feel like my package will be decent but we shall see. Hopefully I will have a clearer financial aid picture from more schools in March/April.

[AOT]

Out of interest, what % of a class usually score 3.7+ ?

I'm feeling really uncertain about my cycle atm. Just trying to get some perspective about how they might view my transcript

You can look to the 25/50/75 stats for a sense of things. So, for Virginia, in their class of 330 (2017):

82-83 had a GPA at or below 3.52
82-83 had a GPA at or above 3.52 and below 3.87
82-83 had a GPA at or above 3.87 and below 3.94
82-83 had a GPA at or above 3.94

So for them, probably 60-65% are above 3.7?

Oh, that's mental. Thanks!

[mindthegap]

The Columbia envelope has a Butler. Thanks Columbia but I wish CC had been right!

Was expecting a Hammy for you, but a Butler is great as well! Congrats!

Thank you! I remain in the hunt for a fully.

I understand you're probably a bit disappointed (Butler vs. Hammy) but that's still an amazing outcome and accomplishment! Congrats! Fingers crossed you get your full scholly soon.

[cc78]

What's your guess as to how much need based aid you'll get LC, if you feel comfortable sharing? I ask because if you are going to get anything close to max aid at YHS, I have no idea what CLS is thinking. If you're not a hammy, what URM is?

I got max need based aid in undergrad so I feel like my package will be decent but we shall see. Hopefully I will have a clearer financial aid picture from more schools in March/April.

Okay, in this case, it's just hard to understand the strategy. If I am Columbia, I've seen enough applicants to know you're getting at minimum H/S, and if I make an intelligent guess about aid, there's no way you take CLS over YHS at equal cost. That's what's known as batshit crazy.

I wonder if CLS would negotiate against a YHS fin aid offer.

Maybe I'm just pissed that my prediction didn't work out, or maybe I'm miffed because I really think you're deserving

[Tr3]

Congrats, LC!

[LoganCouture]

What's your guess as to how much need based aid you'll get LC, if you feel comfortable sharing? I ask because if you are going to get anything close to max aid at YHS, I have no idea what CLS is thinking. If you're not a hammy, what URM is?

I got max need based aid in undergrad so I feel like my package will be decent but we shall see. Hopefully I will have a clearer financial aid picture from more schools in March/April.

Okay, in this case, it's just hard to understand the strategy. If I am Columbia, I've seen enough applicants to know you're getting at minimum H/S, and if I make an intelligent guess about aid, there's no way you take CLS over YHS at equal cost. That's what's known as batshit crazy.

I wonder if CLS would negotiate against a YHS fin aid offer.

Maybe I'm just pissed that my prediction didn't work out, or maybe I'm miffed because I really think you're deserving

Haha, I appreciate it. I am only 1/2 URM so maybe that is coming into play here? I actually don't remember if an URM last year snagged a Hammy and what their stats looked like but it's possible Columbia just doesn't like my GPA. In any case, I'm still grateful I got the Butler!

[cc78]

LOL...they're like, "half URM, half scholarship (Butler)."

And, of course, congratulations! CLS is super stingy, so anything is a mark of distinction.