URM 2015-2016 Cycle Results Forum

[gamerish]

What is SEO?

Pre-1L Biglaw summer internship for URMs.

http://www.seocareer.org/law/about/

There's a wealth of information about it on here if you search "+SEO" in thread titles. The tl;dr is that it's one of the best things you can do for your legal career.

[cgra1916]

Type of URM: AA

Attending: UVA

GPA: 3.3ish

LSAT: 151, 163

Softs: K-JD but believe I have solid sorts. Nothing spectacular but definitely above average. Student Body President, U.S Senate campaigns, Political Party internships, and etc.

Advice: Don't limit yourself! If you have a goal to reach a certain school do everything you can to do that and don't be inimidated by LSAT and GPA medians. I definitely outpreformed my numbers, so you can too! Take the Lsat more than once if you have to and also apply early! I applied in January and feel as though some of my many waitlists would've been acceptances if i applied in October.

Other acceptances:
Chicago
Northwestern $$
WashU $$$$
Vanderbilt $$$$
Notre Dame $$$$
University of Florida $$$$

Rejections:
Harvard
Duke

Waitlists: lol didn't do any LOCI, didn't try to get off of any
Penn
Michigan
Cornell
Georgetown
Emory
UCLA
USC
Illinois

Congrats on your acceptances! I have a similar GPA as yours (granted, from a not so prestigious university) and I wanted to ask, what did you do differently to achieve such a big jump in your LSAT?

Did you enroll in a prep course? How long in between did you wait to take the LSAT again? I would greatly appreciate any advice, thanks in advance!

[Justtrying2help]

Edit.

[MyNameIsntJames]

As an AA male with a 3.0 LSAT GPA, decent-ish softs, and only one year of work experience this gives me hope.


I've been PT'ing around 170 and I'm hoping to continue to go balls to the wall until September's LSAT.

I think I'm just gonna try to crush the apps and blanket T-25 (if enough fee waivers) and pray for the best.

Probably gonna ED N'western and see what happens from there.

[stressball2015]

Type of URM:
M.A.

Attending:
Duke University (105K)

GPA:
3.86

LSAT:
165

Softs:
Worked all throughout college, was a resident assistant for 2 years, interned in Washington DC for a semester

Advice:
Don't take the personal statement AND diversity statement lightly. I firmly believe that is what made my application because even as a URM, I beat the odds on many schools.

Others may say go to the best school you get in, but that isn't necessarily the best option (especially once you are in the T-14s). Look at employment rates: why pay an extra 100K to get the same job you wouldnt have gotten going to the "better" school?

Approx. Time of Application:
Early November

Other acceptances:
U of Chicago (30K)
NYU (50K)
Berkeley(Not a damn thing)
Georgetown (113K)
UCLA (70K)
USC (150K)
Boston U (120K)
GWU (129K)
UC Davis (165K)
UC Irvine (75K)
U of San Diego (120K)

Rejections:
Harvard

Waitlists:
Stanford
Columbia
Penn
UVA
Northwestern
Michigan, Ann Arbor

[YungJedi]

Finally got my rejection letter from Harvard so my cycle is officially over. AA k-JD male at a top 2 liberal arts with ok softs (involvement with law-related campus orgs, 2 law-related summer internships, some minor scholarships). I applied with a 3.59 GPA and a score of 169. My results are below.

Attending:

UPenn ($$+)

Accepted:
Stanford
Columbia
NYU ($)
Berkeley ($$)
UVA ($$$)
Georgetown
George Washington ($)

Waitlisted:

Harvard (eventually rejected)

Even though it's super late, I really wanted to share my results for the benefit of future applicants, especially AA male ones. This thread has been incredibly helpful for me. When I discovered it the summer after my freshman year of undergrad, I can honestly say that it completely changed my outlook. I had a particularly bad prelaw advisor who refused to acknowledge the URM bump and, without this thread, I would have had no idea what schools I was capable of getting into. She actually told me to take Penn (where I ultimately ended up enrolling), along with some of its peer schools, off of my list.

Advice to future applicants: don't trust your pre law advisor if his/her advice starkly contrasts with the info you see on this site. And do not be shy about negotiating. I highly doubt that Penn would have offered me as much as they did if it weren't for a good deal of negotiation. Also, don't be afraid to tailor your statements, especially for those schools that are highest on your list. While I am ultimately happy with my cycle, I can't help but wonder if I would have had a better chance at Harvard if I didn't send the same boilerplate statements to everywhere that I applied. Also, apply EARLY! I sent my final applications (Harvard included) on Christmas Eve in hopes that I was giving myself enough time to fine tune my materials. Now, I wonder if I would have been better off just sending them as they were in early December when I sent my safety school applications.

Congrats to all the amazing future attorneys on this thread and good luck & blessings to the future applicants out there! You CAN make it happen!

[Barack Obama 2.0]

Finally got my rejection letter from Harvard so my cycle is officially over. AA k-JD male at a top 2 liberal arts with ok softs (involvement with law-related campus orgs, 2 law-related summer internships, some minor scholarships). I applied with a 3.59 GPA and a score of 169. My results are below.

Attending:

UPenn ($$+)

Accepted:
Stanford
Columbia
NYU ($)
Berkeley ($$)
UVA ($$$)
Georgetown
George Washington ($)

Waitlisted:

Harvard (eventually rejected)

Even though it's super late, I really wanted to share my results for the benefit of future applicants, especially AA male ones. This thread has been incredibly helpful for me. When I discovered it the summer after my freshman year of undergrad, I can honestly say that it completely changed my outlook. I had a particularly bad prelaw advisor who refused to acknowledge the URM bump and, without this thread, I would have had no idea what schools I was capable of getting into. She actually told me to take Penn (where I ultimately ended up enrolling), along with some of its peer schools, off of my list.

Advice to future applicants: don't trust your pre law advisor if his/her advice starkly contrasts with the info you see on this site. And do not be shy about negotiating. I highly doubt that Penn would have offered me as much as they did if it weren't for a good deal of negotiation. Also, don't be afraid to tailor your statements, especially for those schools that are highest on your list. While I am ultimately happy with my cycle, I can't help but wonder if I would have had a better chance at Harvard if I didn't send the same boilerplate statements to everywhere that I applied. Also, apply EARLY! I sent my final applications (Harvard included) on Christmas Eve in hopes that I was giving myself enough time to fine tune my materials. Now, I wonder if I would have been better off just sending them as they were in early December when I sent my safety school applications.

Congrats to all the amazing future attorneys on this thread and good luck & blessings to the future applicants out there! You CAN make it happen!

Congrats on your cycle! Shame on your pre-law advisor for providing you with erroneous info. Question, you said it is advisable to apply as early as possible, I plan on applying first week of January, will that hurt me at all? I'm an AA male, with a 4.0 and I hope to score at least a 170 on the December, LSAT (gunning for YLS). I'm currently testing in the 165-169 range, but I don't want to take the LSAT until i'm consistently scoring in the 175+ range and I don't think i'll get there for the September LSAT.

[YungJedi]

Finally got my rejection letter from Harvard so my cycle is officially over. AA k-JD male at a top 2 liberal arts with ok softs (involvement with law-related campus orgs, 2 law-related summer internships, some minor scholarships). I applied with a 3.59 GPA and a score of 169. My results are below.

Attending:

UPenn ($$+)

Accepted:
Stanford
Columbia
NYU ($)
Berkeley ($$)
UVA ($$$)
Georgetown
George Washington ($)

Waitlisted:

Harvard (eventually rejected)

Even though it's super late, I really wanted to share my results for the benefit of future applicants, especially AA male ones. This thread has been incredibly helpful for me. When I discovered it the summer after my freshman year of undergrad, I can honestly say that it completely changed my outlook. I had a particularly bad prelaw advisor who refused to acknowledge the URM bump and, without this thread, I would have had no idea what schools I was capable of getting into. She actually told me to take Penn (where I ultimately ended up enrolling), along with some of its peer schools, off of my list.

Advice to future applicants: don't trust your pre law advisor if his/her advice starkly contrasts with the info you see on this site. And do not be shy about negotiating. I highly doubt that Penn would have offered me as much as they did if it weren't for a good deal of negotiation. Also, don't be afraid to tailor your statements, especially for those schools that are highest on your list. While I am ultimately happy with my cycle, I can't help but wonder if I would have had a better chance at Harvard if I didn't send the same boilerplate statements to everywhere that I applied. Also, apply EARLY! I sent my final applications (Harvard included) on Christmas Eve in hopes that I was giving myself enough time to fine tune my materials. Now, I wonder if I would have been better off just sending them as they were in early December when I sent my safety school applications.

Congrats to all the amazing future attorneys on this thread and good luck & blessings to the future applicants out there! You CAN make it happen!

Congrats on your cycle! Shame on your pre-law advisor for providing you with erroneous info. Question, you said it is advisable to apply as early as possible, I plan on applying first week of January, will that hurt me at all? I'm an AA male, with a 4.0 and I hope to score at least a 170+ on the December, LSAT (gunning for YLS). I'm currently testing in the 165-169 range, but I don't want to take the LSAT until i'm consistently scoring in the 175+ range and I don't think i'll get there for the September LSAT.

I'd say with your GPA, even if you score what you're currently scoring on test day, applying in early January wouldn't kill you. Is this year's fall test date in October? If so, I'd consider testing earlier than December. I was aiming for a 170, but didn't get a practice score of over 163 until 3 weeks before I sat in October. I wouldn't be surprised if you hit your target between now and the next test date if you really commit to it. Taking an earlier test is a lot better imo because it allows you to finish finals period without the stress of the LSAT looming over you.

[Barack Obama 2.0]

Finally got my rejection letter from Harvard so my cycle is officially over. AA k-JD male at a top 2 liberal arts with ok softs (involvement with law-related campus orgs, 2 law-related summer internships, some minor scholarships). I applied with a 3.59 GPA and a score of 169. My results are below.

Attending:

UPenn ($$+)

Accepted:
Stanford
Columbia
NYU ($)
Berkeley ($$)
UVA ($$$)
Georgetown
George Washington ($)

Waitlisted:

Harvard (eventually rejected)

Even though it's super late, I really wanted to share my results for the benefit of future applicants, especially AA male ones. This thread has been incredibly helpful for me. When I discovered it the summer after my freshman year of undergrad, I can honestly say that it completely changed my outlook. I had a particularly bad prelaw advisor who refused to acknowledge the URM bump and, without this thread, I would have had no idea what schools I was capable of getting into. She actually told me to take Penn (where I ultimately ended up enrolling), along with some of its peer schools, off of my list.

Advice to future applicants: don't trust your pre law advisor if his/her advice starkly contrasts with the info you see on this site. And do not be shy about negotiating. I highly doubt that Penn would have offered me as much as they did if it weren't for a good deal of negotiation. Also, don't be afraid to tailor your statements, especially for those schools that are highest on your list. While I am ultimately happy with my cycle, I can't help but wonder if I would have had a better chance at Harvard if I didn't send the same boilerplate statements to everywhere that I applied. Also, apply EARLY! I sent my final applications (Harvard included) on Christmas Eve in hopes that I was giving myself enough time to fine tune my materials. Now, I wonder if I would have been better off just sending them as they were in early December when I sent my safety school applications.

Congrats to all the amazing future attorneys on this thread and good luck & blessings to the future applicants out there! You CAN make it happen!

Congrats on your cycle! Shame on your pre-law advisor for providing you with erroneous info. Question, you said it is advisable to apply as early as possible, I plan on applying first week of January, will that hurt me at all? I'm an AA male, with a 4.0 and I hope to score at least a 170+ on the December, LSAT (gunning for YLS). I'm currently testing in the 165-169 range, but I don't want to take the LSAT until i'm consistently scoring in the 175+ range and I don't think i'll get there for the September LSAT.

I'd say with your GPA, even if you score what you're currently scoring on test day, applying in early January wouldn't kill you. Is this year's fall test date in October? If so, I'd consider testing earlier than December. I was aiming for a 170, but didn't get a practice score of over 163 until 3 weeks before I sat in October. I wouldn't be surprised if you hit your target between now and the next test date if you really commit to it. Taking an earlier test is a lot better imo because it allows you to finish finals period without the stress of the LSAT looming over you.

Thanks for the advice. If I get out of this hardcore plateau and my score begins to peak up even into the low 170s before the September test then I will write it then.

[PrezRand]

Finally got my rejection letter from Harvard so my cycle is officially over. AA k-JD male at a top 2 liberal arts with ok softs (involvement with law-related campus orgs, 2 law-related summer internships, some minor scholarships). I applied with a 3.59 GPA and a score of 169. My results are below.

Attending:

UPenn ($$+)

Accepted:
Stanford
Columbia
NYU ($)
Berkeley ($$)
UVA ($$$)
Georgetown
George Washington ($)

Waitlisted:

Harvard (eventually rejected)

Even though it's super late, I really wanted to share my results for the benefit of future applicants, especially AA male ones. This thread has been incredibly helpful for me. When I discovered it the summer after my freshman year of undergrad, I can honestly say that it completely changed my outlook. I had a particularly bad prelaw advisor who refused to acknowledge the URM bump and, without this thread, I would have had no idea what schools I was capable of getting into. She actually told me to take Penn (where I ultimately ended up enrolling), along with some of its peer schools, off of my list.

Advice to future applicants: don't trust your pre law advisor if his/her advice starkly contrasts with the info you see on this site. And do not be shy about negotiating. I highly doubt that Penn would have offered me as much as they did if it weren't for a good deal of negotiation. Also, don't be afraid to tailor your statements, especially for those schools that are highest on your list. While I am ultimately happy with my cycle, I can't help but wonder if I would have had a better chance at Harvard if I didn't send the same boilerplate statements to everywhere that I applied. Also, apply EARLY! I sent my final applications (Harvard included) on Christmas Eve in hopes that I was giving myself enough time to fine tune my materials. Now, I wonder if I would have been better off just sending them as they were in early December when I sent my safety school applications.

Congrats to all the amazing future attorneys on this thread and good luck & blessings to the future applicants out there! You CAN make it happen!

Congrats on your acceptances!. If you don't mind me asking, what made you choose Penn over UVA which gave you more money and Stanford?

[YungJedi]

Finally got my rejection letter from Harvard so my cycle is officially over. AA k-JD male at a top 2 liberal arts with ok softs (involvement with law-related campus orgs, 2 law-related summer internships, some minor scholarships). I applied with a 3.59 GPA and a score of 169. My results are below.

Attending:

UPenn ($$+)

Accepted:
Stanford
Columbia
NYU ($)
Berkeley ($$)
UVA ($$$)
Georgetown
George Washington ($)

Waitlisted:

Harvard (eventually rejected)

Even though it's super late, I really wanted to share my results for the benefit of future applicants, especially AA male ones. This thread has been incredibly helpful for me. When I discovered it the summer after my freshman year of undergrad, I can honestly say that it completely changed my outlook. I had a particularly bad prelaw advisor who refused to acknowledge the URM bump and, without this thread, I would have had no idea what schools I was capable of getting into. She actually told me to take Penn (where I ultimately ended up enrolling), along with some of its peer schools, off of my list.

Advice to future applicants: don't trust your pre law advisor if his/her advice starkly contrasts with the info you see on this site. And do not be shy about negotiating. I highly doubt that Penn would have offered me as much as they did if it weren't for a good deal of negotiation. Also, don't be afraid to tailor your statements, especially for those schools that are highest on your list. While I am ultimately happy with my cycle, I can't help but wonder if I would have had a better chance at Harvard if I didn't send the same boilerplate statements to everywhere that I applied. Also, apply EARLY! I sent my final applications (Harvard included) on Christmas Eve in hopes that I was giving myself enough time to fine tune my materials. Now, I wonder if I would have been better off just sending them as they were in early December when I sent my safety school applications.

Congrats to all the amazing future attorneys on this thread and good luck & blessings to the future applicants out there! You CAN make it happen!

Congrats on your acceptances!. If you don't mind me asking, what made you choose Penn over UVA which gave you more money and Stanford?

Sure. Well I'm from the Philadelphia area and wanted to go to law school in a city, so those two things were big factors for me. I was also coming straight from a rural campus which I was sick of and UVA reminded me too much of it. Not to mention, I have corporate law aspirations and I really liked the oppoetunities for taking classes & making connections at Wharton that Penn offered. As far as Stanford goes, they offered me an ok need-based package, but there was too big of a gap between that and the merit aid that Penn offered. Especially since I want to work in the east coast, I didn't think that the difference in rank would justify the excess debt that I'd take on.