URM 2015-2016 Cycle Thread Forum

[fliptrip]

For me personally, I've got some personal reasons why Yale just won't work for me so I didn't apply. I think for other folks the opaque admissions process plus the fact that HLS is basically URM heaven might encourage folks to just save the $90 and stress of writing the Yale 250.

[Navrim]

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[j0214f]

Long time lurker finally checking in!

Really happy with my cycle in spite of a lower than desired LSAT. Any Georgetown admits here?

[Nlawsing]

In at Duke and Stanford so far... Had good interview with Columbia that may result in scholarship? Now just waiting for H and Y, but already feel blessed.

Awesome!! congratulations! mind sharing your stats?

[ih8makingscreennames]

Long time lurker finally checking in!

Really happy with my cycle in spite of a lower than desired LSAT. Any Georgetown admits here?

I'm in at Gtown. I'll probably go to one of the city receptions but I'm not going to ASW. I've already all but crossed it off my list.

[BillClinton Jr]

So with Spivey saying Duke is down to 11 and Michigan is up to 8 in rankings: does that affect anyone's decision?

[jnwa]

So with Spivey saying Duke is down to 11 and Michigan is up to 8 in rankings: does that affect anyone's decision?

makes the darrow even sweeter

[fliptrip]

So with Spivey saying Duke is down to 11 and Michigan is up to 8 in rankings: does that affect anyone's decision?

I really hope it doesn't.

[legallybrown312]

Long time lurker finally checking in!

Really happy with my cycle in spite of a lower than desired LSAT. Any Georgetown admits here?

I'm in at Georgetown but probably not going unless massive FA comes through.

[ih8makingscreennames]

Long time lurker finally checking in!

Really happy with my cycle in spite of a lower than desired LSAT. Any Georgetown admits here?

I'm in at Georgetown but probably not going unless massive FA comes through.

They just sent me the how much money would it take for you to come here email. I have to work on a response later.

[alpha kenny body]

So with Spivey saying Duke is down to 11 and Michigan is up to 8 in rankings: does that affect anyone's decision?

I would hope that it doesn't influence anyone's decision, as most sensible people know that they're relative peers, and national branding is roughly equivalent. Also, UNSWR is LOL at their rigged system.

[Nolachicken]

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[ih8makingscreennames]

Places I am in:
UVA $0
Georgetown $?
Emory $63,000
ASU $120,000
Pepperdine $150,000
University of Kansas $60,000
LSU $58,000
Loyola Chicago $104,000
Loyola New Orleans $103,000
WASH St. Louis $?

All scholarships listed are right around 90% of tuition. Kansas is full instate, but I am not considered in state anymore.

Waiting on:
Yale
Stanford
Harvard
Columbia
NYU
Duke
Michigan
Northwestern
UT
Vanderbilt
Cornell
Tulane

My goal is to get a federal clerking job. I am also interested clerking for my tribe. Top dream would be to make it to the COA/SCOTUS. Then either big law to pay off debt or federal honors program. I would also be happy with just a couple of those things happening. I am infatuated with UVA, but I didn't receive any financial aid. I was floored that I didn't qualify for need based. I have four children and I am way below a good income. No assets and my parents lost custody of me, so their income isn't counted. Do ya'll have any advice on what I should be focusing on? Schools to get rid of or schools to look for? I'm feeling so overwhelmed. I am in the New Orleans area, and wouldn't have to move if I stayed here. I could probably even keep my job at a state court of appeal. But something is pulling me to go all out. Like if I'm trying this at 36, I need to just follow the most amazing law school experience. I also wanted to add that a campus with family housing and a good school system is a must.

I can't speak to your goals being obtained from any specific school. However, of that list, the Charlottesville public school system will be the best if your children are in elementary school and middle school. If elementary aged, I can send recs for public schools. If they are in high school, the schools are still good, but it becomes a bit of a crapshoot especially not knowing their backgrounds. Keep in ming that Cville is also shockingly pricey. I'd heard that UVA was being super stingy.

[fliptrip]

...

#1. I'm SO glad you've come here to the URM forum and not general TLS. The typical TLS-er will not be able to comprehend in any meaningful sense what you're doing and will instead give you endless shit about how you shouldn't be going to law school at all.

#2. For your goals, and you said you want to go all out with you wanting an AIII clerkship (that's on a circuit...you start on a circuit with a feeder judge and then you do another year with the SCOTUS), your two best choices are Yale and Stanford hands down, done and done. If not those two, Harvard will work and UVA does really well with clerkship placement. Literally every other school you have listed is not going to be a good match for your goals. Now, if you just want to do biglaw, many more schools come into the realm of feasibility, but you said you want to clerk and there's only a few schools that give you strong odds of that. Of those, Stanford is really your best bet. It has on-campus family housing and Stanford is in Palo Alto, a wealthy suburb, so the schools should be pretty good (I haven't checked on them, but I feel pretty confident..rich white folks don't tolerate shitty schools for their own children). SLS also has need-based aid, so you won't have to worry about scholarships.

#3. So with all of that I know I'm developing a reputation around here for being a broken LSAT retake record, but you can't get good advice without your stats. What are you working with? I don't want to sell you on a dream that isn't likely to happen.

[Nolachicken]

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[ih8makingscreennames]

Places I am in:
UVA $0
Georgetown $?
Emory $63,000
ASU $120,000
Pepperdine $150,000
University of Kansas $60,000
LSU $58,000
Loyola Chicago $104,000
Loyola New Orleans $103,000
WASH St. Louis $?

All scholarships listed are right around 90% of tuition. Kansas is full instate, but I am not considered in state anymore.

Waiting on:
Yale
Stanford
Harvard
Columbia
NYU
Duke
Michigan
Northwestern
UT
Vanderbilt
Cornell
Tulane

My goal is to get a federal clerking job. I am also interested clerking for my tribe. Top dream would be to make it to the COA/SCOTUS. Then either big law to pay off debt or federal honors program. I would also be happy with just a couple of those things happening. I am infatuated with UVA, but I didn't receive any financial aid. I was floored that I didn't qualify for need based. I have four children and I am way below a good income. No assets and my parents lost custody of me, so their income isn't counted. Do ya'll have any advice on what I should be focusing on? Schools to get rid of or schools to look for? I'm feeling so overwhelmed. I am in the New Orleans area, and wouldn't have to move if I stayed here. I could probably even keep my job at a state court of appeal. But something is pulling me to go all out. Like if I'm trying this at 36, I need to just follow the most amazing law school experience. I also wanted to add that a campus with family housing and a good school system is a must.

I can't speak to your goals being obtained from any specific school. However, of that list, the Charlottesville public school system will be the best if your children are in elementary school and middle school. If elementary aged, I can send recs for public schools. If they are in high school, the schools are still good, but it becomes a bit of a crapshoot especially not knowing their backgrounds. Keep in ming that Cville is also shockingly pricey. I'd heard that UVA was being super stingy.

Thank you for the advice! This is why UVA was my top school choice. They have no frills cheap family housing in a great school district. They also have amazing federal clerk placements and honors placements. BUT, it is so hard to justify spending all of that money when I can stay home and not pay a dime. What will my outcome be then? Not terrible at all actually. I would have a job back where I work now. I would get an instant $15,000 raise that would rise 2-3% per year. I feel like I'm being a little bratty about the whole thing. I know plenty of people move their children around for jobs, and I don't see this as being any different. I also have the option of going to the Loyola Chicago weekend part-time program. I would definitely keep my 58k per year job, and only be gone 14 weekends a year. The only costs for that program would be my flights there and food while there.

I have a 3.89 GPA and I got a 163. I know I could probably study and bring it up a few points, but I am 36 years old. I'm not getting any younger

I guess the question you need to ask yourself is if you want the job you have or a new job.

[Nolachicken]

...

#1. I'm SO glad you've come here to the URM forum and not general TLS. The typical TLS-er will not be able to comprehend in any meaningful sense what you're doing and will instead give you endless shit about how you shouldn't be going to law school at all.

#2. For your goals, and you said you want to go all out with you wanting an AIII clerkship (that's on a circuit...you start on a circuit with a feeder judge and then you do another year with the SCOTUS), your two best choices are Yale and Stanford hands down, done and done. If not those two, Harvard will work and UVA does really well with clerkship placement. Literally every other school you have listed is not going to be a good match for your goals. Now, if you just want to do biglaw, many more schools come into the realm of feasibility, but you said you want to clerk and there's only a few schools that give you strong odds of that. Of those, Stanford is really your best bet. It has on-campus family housing and Stanford is in Palo Alto, a wealthy suburb, so the schools should be pretty good (I haven't checked on them, but I feel pretty confident..rich white folks don't tolerate shitty schools for their own children). SLS also has need-based aid, so you won't have to worry about scholarships.

#3. So with all of that I know I'm developing a reputation around here for being a broken LSAT retake record, but you can't get good advice without your stats. What are you working with? I don't want to sell you on a dream that isn't likely to happen.

Thank you so much for the information. Clerking is the most important thing for me. I would do big law if I needed to use it to lateral into a government position. I have always wanted to stay employed in the government sector like I am now. I would like to have big law as a back up plan in case I get into some big debt.

Does anyone know if the tribal clerk ships are looked upon in a favorable light? I would love to give back to my trip for a year, but I also don't want to throw away any shots I have at moving to a federal COA

[Nolachicken]

I don't really want to be stuck in the job I am in now. I had such an unconventional life, and I just want to have that feeling of accomplishing something really important to me and my children.

If you were to pick and instate school from Louisiana, would you pick Tulane or LSU? LSU has a surprising OCI rate for such a lower ranked school, and they have a high bar passage rate.

[fliptrip]

^^Okay...have you gotten a JS1 from Harvard?

Here's how I see it:

I think you're going to be out at Yale and Stanford. If you had a 166, I'd give you a shot at SLS, but I just think the 163 is going to be too low. HOWEVER, I do know an AA URM who got SLS with a 3.84/162, so it definitely could happen. YLS could happen too. We just don't know...these are the blackest of black boxes.

I think that at the end of the day this is all going to turn on Harvard. If you get Harvard, take it and go (Cambridge schools suck, but HLS does have need-based aid). If you don't get Yale, Harvard, or Stanford, for your goals, you will be well advised to take another year and get that LSAT up. Literally every point will help, but if you can get it above 167/168 you'll really be cookin' with gas.

And stop with this "I'm 36" crap. You're 36, not 76 and fortune favors the bold. If you're going to take this shot, I strongly advise you to take your best shot. Your kids will definitely not hate you in life for moving them to Palo Alto so you could go to Harvard. They will hate you later in life for moving them to some odd place to attend a school that you weren't able to translate into the work you want to do. Do not go to the Loyola Chicago Weekend Part-Time take your money law school program. Do not go to the University of Kansas and for the love of all that's beautiful, do not go to confiscatory Emory. Go to Harvard, go to Yale, go to Stanford, go to Starbucks while you're on the way!

Also, I know this is after the fact, but I hope you really worked hard on your application materials. You are the exact sort of candidate for whom "softs" will really matter. You are so much the atypical law school applicant...I know that has to appeal to a place like Yale.

[Nolachicken]

^^Okay...have you gotten a JS1 from Harvard?

Here's how I see it:

I think you're going to be out at Yale and Stanford. If you had a 166, I'd give you a shot at SLS, but I just think the 163 is going to be too low. HOWEVER, I do know an AA URM who got SLS with a 3.84/162, so it definitely could happen. YLS could happen too. We just don't know...these are the blackest of black boxes.

I think that at the end of the day this is all going to turn on Harvard. If you get Harvard, take it and go (Cambridge schools suck, but HLS does have need-based aid). If you don't get Yale, Harvard, or Stanford, for your goals, you will be well advised to take another year and get that LSAT up. Literally every point will help, but if you can get it above 167/168 you'll really be cookin' with gas.

And stop with this "I'm 36" crap. You're 36, not 76 and fortune favors the bold. If you're going to take this shot, I strongly advise you to take your best shot. Your kids will definitely not hate you in life for moving them to Palo Alto so you could go to Harvard. They will hate you later in life for moving them to some odd place to attend a school that you weren't able to translate into the work you want to do. Do not go to the Loyola Chicago Weekend Part-Time take your money law school program. Do not go to the University of Kansas and for the love of all that's beautiful, do not go to confiscatory Emory. Go to Harvard, go to Yale, go to Stanford, go to Starbucks while you're on the way!

Also, I know this is after the fact, but I hope you really worked hard on your application materials. You are the exact sort of candidate for whom "softs" will really matter. You are so much the atypical law school applicant...I know that has to appeal to a place like Yale.

I did work on my materials very well. My story is pretty unique. I can pm if you would like. I also have three amazing LOR.

[Cochran]

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[Mrocky2]

Just want to give my fellow URM fam some info. 165+ 3.8+ AA rejected from Harvard. Story gets better... I'm a reapplication who got into Harvard with a. Sub 165 LSAT last cycle, took my chances and reapplied with a higher LSAT in order to get more money from other schools and was rejected this year. Not a problem though because for personal reasons (wife etc.) I never planned on going to Harvard just wanted leverage so it is all good. But folks be sure you understand that even if you are a better applicant the second time and may be a so called (shoe in whatever that means) you may not get in again so be wise!

[fliptrip]

Just want to give my fellow URM fam some info. 165+ 3.8+ AA rejected from Harvard. Story gets better... I'm a reapplication who got into Harvard with a. Sub 165 LSAT last cycle, took my chances and reapplied with a higher LSAT in order to get more money from other schools and was rejected this year. Not a problem though because for personal reasons (wife etc.) I never planned on going to Harvard just wanted leverage so it is all good. But folks be sure you understand that even if you are a better applicant the second time and may be a so called (shoe in whatever that means) you may not get in again so be wise!

Same story here. So glad to hear I'm not alone. Doesn't seem HLS takes too kindly to re-applicants who have been admitted in the past.

[Iam3hunna]

Just want to give my fellow URM fam some info. 165+ 3.8+ AA rejected from Harvard. Story gets better... I'm a reapplication who got into Harvard with a. Sub 165 LSAT last cycle, took my chances and reapplied with a higher LSAT in order to get more money from other schools and was rejected this year. Not a problem though because for personal reasons (wife etc.) I never planned on going to Harvard just wanted leverage so it is all good. But folks be sure you understand that even if you are a better applicant the second time and may be a so called (shoe in whatever that means) you may not get in again so be wise!

Same story here. So glad to hear I'm not alone. Doesn't seem HLS takes too kindly to re-applicants who have been admitted in the past.

Wait, you got dinged flip?

[fliptrip]

Just want to give my fellow URM fam some info. 165+ 3.8+ AA rejected from Harvard. Story gets better... I'm a reapplication who got into Harvard with a. Sub 165 LSAT last cycle, took my chances and reapplied with a higher LSAT in order to get more money from other schools and was rejected this year. Not a problem though because for personal reasons (wife etc.) I never planned on going to Harvard just wanted leverage so it is all good. But folks be sure you understand that even if you are a better applicant the second time and may be a so called (shoe in whatever that means) you may not get in again so be wise!

Same story here. So glad to hear I'm not alone. Doesn't seem HLS takes too kindly to re-applicants who have been admitted in the past.

Wait, you got dinged flip?

Yessir, they emailed 30 minutes ago and told me they don't want my black ass! "Keep it moving, negro!"

I'm sure I'll be crying from my room in Munger next year.