Top Law Schools

Hey!

LC's post reminded me of this thread happening during last year's cycle, and I remember it as being an extremely useful tool as I prepared for the admissions process.

The point of this thread is to get this information down before the year starts and people begin to drift away from TLS, hopefully assisting future URM applicants who are curious about their chances.

Thanks in advance to everyone who participates in this thread, and thank you for keeping the URM forum a lively/positive place!

Last year's thread: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 4&t=224199

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FORMAT:

Type of URM: AA Male

GPA: 3.78

LSAT: 164, 167

Softs: K-JD, Several internships, honor societies, undergraduate employment, extensive world travel, bilingual, excellent Letters of Recommendation

Advice: Begin constructing your essays and applications as early as possible, you'll be changing them up quite a bit. In that same vein, secure your Letters of Recommendation from professors as soon as possible, and politely let them know of your intent to submit your applications early on in the admissions process.

Don't settle for a mediocre LSAT score! Don't become complacent from the perceived 'URM Bump', aim for 180. Gaining a few extra points on the LSAT can completely change the course of your admissions cycle.

abdcefjj wrote: And when you get to your top law school, don't for one second believe that what might be lower test scores or GPA in anyway delegitimizes your right to be there. I wasted the first two years of undergrad feeling really inadequate and that I was just an affirmative action hire and all that BS, and it really affected my self-confidence and thus my GPA. But once I got over it, my GPA increased exponentially, and things I had only dreamed of before (graduating with honors, getting straights As in a semester) became a reality.

Don't sweat about how or why you got there and just ignore the haters (because I am sure there will be many). We have all been given an immense opportunity, and we should be spending our time in law school thinking how to use that opportunity for good rather than defending why we got it.

IN:
Cornell
University of Michigan
Georgetown
University of Chicago
Columbia
USC
UCLA
UC Berkeley
Duke
NYU

OUT:
None.

WAITLISTED
Penn (withdrawn)
Harvard (withdrawn)
Stanford (withdrawn)

This is a work in progress - when my cycle is over I will update with $$ and my decision.

Type of URM: MA Female (1/2)

GPA: 3.79

LSAT: 174

Softs: Several part time jobs throughout school, including working as a research assistant in two psych labs. My LORs were from the two professors I worked for (I also took their classes and did well). Worked 20 hours/week as a full-time student at Stanford. One year of post-graduate full-time work experience in a small law firm. Low income family, first in my family to go to graduate/professional school.

Advice: Get work experience. It seems like K-JDs are at a slight disadvantage and I really think my gap year was valuable to me. HYS in particular seem to value students with more work/life experience.

Use the resources on this board to help you nail the LSAT. There are great self-study guides on the LSAT Prep forum. If you think you can squeeze out even one more point, it's probably worth it to retake.

Apply early! I asked for LORs early and set an artificial deadline (even though apps weren't technically due until Feb/March, I told my recommenders I needed to submit them by October 15) so that I would have them in time to submit. It would suck to be waiting on LORs as your final piece.

Don't be afraid to get personal - law schools want to see the real you. My essays were very plainly written and about commonplace experiences (e.g. I wrote my 250 about going to hockey games with my dad). I did not write a diversity statement for any school I submitted to, but my personal statement covered my Mexican heritage and my family's financial struggles so that's why.

IN:
Yale - Need aid (35K)
Stanford - Need aid (41K)
Harvard - Need aid (34K)
Columbia - Butler scholarship (half tuition, ~95K)
Chicago - Rubenstein scholarship (full tuition + 15K annual stipend, ~210K)
NYU - AnBryce invite, declined to interview and withdrew
Penn - James Wilson invite, selected as alternate and withdrew
Berkeley - Partial matching scholarship granted (full tuition, ~150K)
Duke - 105K
Michigan - 120K
Northwestern - 210K
Cornell - 177K

OUT:
None

WAITLISTED:
None

PENDING:
UVA (withdrew before receiving decision)

ATTENDING:
Stanford!

Work in progress, will update aid after decisions.

Type of URM: AA Male

GPA: 3.9x

LSAT: 159

Softs, etc: Non-trad double major, worked full-time through school with a legal internship, 3 years of WE in public interest work that offered lots of court time and advocacy, lots of miscellaneous volunteer work stuffed in the seams between.

Advice: You won't know what you don't know until you spend a LOT of time immersing yourself in the material, and as importantly, talking to people who are similarly preoccupied. Don't be afraid to ask questions and definitely do not fear receiving acerbic TLS feedback. It's infinitely better to look like a fool here than it is to make a terrible decision about law school, or to mishandle your live application materials. So, ask away.

Scrounge up every conceivable advantage that you can (GPA, LSAT), and when you lose the ability to control those, then control what's still in your power (networking for LORs, resume, addendums, applying early, volunteerism, PS). Cannot possibly emphasize enough how important it is to apply early and to crush your app materials. Specifically, the PS needs to be immaculate; coherent, reflective, compelling, with top-shelf writing on display. Test drive it on fresh eyes until you have exhausted your abilities, and theirs... then keep at it. Lastly, carpet-bomb the t15 plus a safety or three, collect your winnings, and enjoy the ride.

IN:
Chicago $
Penn $$$
Virginia $$
Michigan
Berkeley $$$$
Northwestern
Cornell $$$
GULC $$$
UT Austin $$
Vandy $
UCLA $$$$
William & Mary $$

OUT:
Nowhere yet.

WAITLISTED:
Harvard

PENDING:

ATTENDING:
Berk

nearly done with my cycle. will update as necessary.

Type of URM: part MA

GPA: 3.9

LSAT: 168

Softs: ivy undergrad, EIC of college magazine, led community service organization, a few academic awards, TFA, master's degree, 3 years WE teaching

Advice: all the usual stuff (request recommendations and apply early, apply broadly); depending on how you write, spend lots and lots of time on your statements. i spent over a month just on my 250, and many months on my personal statement. i also wrote a one-page diversity statement and an addendum. i strongly believe my statements helped me, especially at yale, since my numbers are good but not amazing.

on a general note, use this website constantly for information and advice. there are lots of experienced and knowledgable people who spend their time giving advice. it completely changed the way i approached and applied to law schools.

IN:
yale
stanford
harvard
chicago
nyu ($$)
berkeley
duke
michigan ($$$)
northwestern
cornell

OUT:
none

WAITLISTED:
columbia
penn
uva
georgetown

(i wrote zero "why" statements or LOCIs lol)

PENDING:
none

ATTENDING:
yale

Type of URM: AA Male

GPA: 3.76

LSAT: 163

Softs: Some good LORs. No real work experience, but I helped start a profitable business in UG. K-JD. No club involvement or anything like that.

Advice: Please take the LSAT seriously. I probably should have retaken, but oh well. Don't take unnecessarily hard classes (thermodynamics, rocket calculus, etc). What I think helped me is the fact that I used all of my statements to illustrate a complete picture of myself. Everything fit together like a puzzle. I interviewed decently too considering what I have to work with (K-JD, lack of experience, etc)

ASK FOR LORs EARLY. Don't get caught up in hunting your recommenders down at the last minute.
Obviously use TLS. The advice and direction that has been given to me on here is unparalleled. No joke.
Don't give up. This is a LONG journey

IN:
Columbia
Chicago
UVA
Duke
Cornell
Northwestern
Georgetown
Michigan

OUT:
None

WAITLISTED:
Harvard
Penn (withdrew)
Stanford
NYU (withdrew)

PENDING:


ATTENDING:
Columbia

Type of URM: AA

GPA: 3.2 (with upward trend... 3.6-3.8 last two years of undergrad)

LSAT: 162

Softs: Internships abroad, big law paralegal, foreign language skills

Advice: Pour your heart and soul into the LSAT (your essays too) and begin studying as soon as possible. I was very pessimistic about my chances at admission when I applied after receiving my December LSAT score. Thanks to some TLS love and encouragement, I decided to apply anyway and resolved to retake the LSAT and reapply in the next cycle if things didn’t work out this cycle (read: if I didn’t get into a T14).

I hired Karen Buttenbaum of Spivey Consulting to read and provide comments on my personal statement and GPA addendum. I spent about $350 (way less than the comprehensive service for writing essays from scratch) and it was worth every penny. The key with respect to your personal statement(s) is spending a significant amount of time on it and preparing a polished draft on your own before sending it to a professional for comments. Start off by reading the personal statement guide and the examples offered right here on TLS. You’ll get the most for your money this way.

I’ll also echo the common advice to URMs on TLS to blanket the top 20 schools since, as evidenced below, admissions cycles can be extremely unpredictable (rejected at UCLA, wait-listed at Harvard, huh?).

IN
WashU in St. Louis
Columbia
Duke
Northwestern
Vanderbilt
NYU
William & Mary

OUT
UCLA

WAIT-LISTED
Harvard
UPenn (withdrawn)
UVA (withdrawn)
Chicago (withdrawn)
Michigan (withdrawn)
Georgetown (withdrawn)
Cornell (withdrawn)

PENDING
Emory (withdrew before decision)
UT Austin (withdrew before decision)

Type of URM: AA Male

GPA: 3.79

LSAT: 166

Softs: Grad degree, very very old man (10+ years w/e), and I started my own non-profit.

Advice: Apply early! I definitely think you get a little admissions advantage and it's just better to know where you're heading early. You also give yourself optimal time to negotiate for scholarships.

Use the TLS URM board as much as possible. A ton of TLS conventional wisdom simply doesn't apply to URMs and trust and believe that the TLS gurus you see in the other forums are definitely talking out of school when they try to address URM issues.

IN:
Yale
Stanford
Columbia
Chicago
NYU
Penn
Northwestern
Cornell
Georgetown
Texas
USC
BC
Wake
Miami (random, I know...)

OUT:
None

WAITLISTED:
Berkeley

WITHDREW BEFORE DECISION:
Duke
Michigan

ATTENDING:
Yale, please someone else join me...

Type of URM: AA male

GPA: 3.4

LSAT: 169

Softs: Very weak.

Advice: Apply early and negotiate scholarships.

IN
Northwestern $105k (wouldn't negotiate)
Cornell $135k (initially $105k)
Georgetown $150k (initially $120k)

OUT
None

WAIT-LISTED
Penn
Michigan
UVa
Duke (Priority Reserve)

lc39 wrote:This is a work in progress - when my cycle is over I will update with $$ and my decision.

Type of URM: MA Female (1/2)

GPA: 3.79

LSAT: 174

Softs: Several part time jobs throughout school, including working as a research assistant in two psych labs. My LORs were from the two professors I worked for (I also took their classes and did well). Worked 20 hours/week as a full-time student at Stanford. One year of post-graduate full-time work experience in a small law firm. Low income family, first in my family to go to graduate/professional school.

Advice: Get work experience. It seems like K-JDs are at a slight disadvantage and I really think my gap year was valuable to me. HYS in particular seem to value students with more work/life experience.

Use the resources on this board to help you nail the LSAT. There are great self-study guides on the LSAT Prep forum. If you think you can squeeze out even one more point, it's probably worth it to retake.

Apply early! I asked for LORs early and set an artificial deadline (even though apps weren't technically due until Feb/March, I told my recommenders I needed to submit them by October 15) so that I would have them in time to submit. It would suck to be waiting on LORs as your final piece.

Don't be afraid to get personal - law schools want to see the real you. My essays were very plainly written and about commonplace experiences (e.g. I wrote my 250 about going to hockey games with my dad). I did not write a diversity statement for any school I submitted to, but my personal statement covered my Mexican heritage and my family's financial struggles so that's why.

IN:
Yale
Stanford
Harvard
Columbia
Chicago
NYU
Penn
Berkeley
Duke
Michigan
Northwestern
Cornell

OUT:
None

WAITLISTED:
None

PENDING:
UVA (withdrew before receiving decision)

ATTENDING:
TBD!

Congratulations! URM Cycle of the Year! Fucking UVa, I was rooting for the perfect cycle

+1 ^

Type of URM: AA Female

GPA: 3.70+

LSAT: 160

Softs: Veteran + additional work experience in an up & coming field (PM if interested)

Advice: Take the LSAT seriously. I didn't, assuming that my "snowflake" status would pull me through. Most would probably say it did since my #s aren't great, but I don't have the largest scholarship offers and some acceptances were very late despite applying early.

Work Experience: I encourage it! It definitely gave me a LOT to discuss in my PS. Plus, my boss wrote a great LOR that showed me in a light that my professors' didn't.

IN (* = merit scholarship offer):
Harvard
Columbia
Chicago*
NYU
Penn*
Berkeley*
Northwestern*
Georgetown
Vanderbilt

OUT:
None

WAITLISTED:
Duke

PENDING:
Stanford
WUSTL (withdrew before receiving decision)

ATTENDING:
TBD

Delete-able

I'll update as the cycle wraps up. - Edit: Updated.

Type of URM: AA Male

GPA: 3.35

LSAT: 171, 176

Softs: Not really sure that these count, but ~3 years work experience as a BL paralegal. I'm from an area of the country that is perhaps underrepresented at top law schools. Worked part-time in college and my LORs were from two professors and a partner at my firm. I didn't read any of them, but I'm guessing that they were all very good.

Advice: If you can, start preparing your application materials the summer (or earlier) before you'll be applying, and apply early. Also, treat every part of the application as if it's the most important part. That doesn't mean to over-edit your personal statement until it doesn't sound like you, but don't throw something together at the last minute. I had probably four or five different things I started writing on before I finally settled on what I was going to use.

Definitely take some time between undergrad and law school. It puts you in a better position for admissions and is just generally a good life choice.

Obviously, LSAT is very important. Don't go into it until you're ready.

Other than that, I'd say to apply broadly, take advantage of the resources on this site, and make sure that you actually want to go to law school. I think being able to express strong motivation really helps your application.

IN:
Berkeley
BC
BU
Chicago
Columbia
Cornell
Duke
Harvard
Michigan
NYU
Northwestern
Penn
UCLA
Yale


OUT:
None yet

WAITLISTED:
Stanford

PENDING:
All done!

ATTENDING:
Yale

URM Type: Native American

GPA:3.45

LSAT: 159

In
UIUC
Tulsa
Iowa
Brooklyn

Out
Penn
UVA
Harvard
Northwestern
Georgetown
Michigan
Berkeley
Texas

Waitlist/Reserve
Cornell
Columbia
Vanderbilt
SMU (withdrew)
Georgia (withdrew)

Attending
Iowa
**pending results from Waitlists and Reserve decisions**


My advice to future applicants. Take the LSAT multiple times and put in the work for a good score. I only put in about 4 weeks of studying, all before I found this site.

Don't get fancy with your PS, Looking back at my PS, I feel my statement was cheesy and kind of gimmicky, which I think might have turned some people off.

Enjoy the process, it's difficult at times, I was very discouraged early in the cycle but I actually am very happy with my decision. Fits well with what I want to do.

Type of URM: Black Female

GPA: 3.68

LSAT: 158, 170

Softs: 1 year out of college, worked all through undergrad, internships, etc. okay softs

Advice: Work the LSAT and when you think you've got it work it some more. Get your hands on the more recent prep tests (esp for games). LG bible and LR bible are great resources

I agree with the general advice of applying early but if that means submitting weaker essays don’t do it. I attempted to get everything out in early November but I did not feel my essays accurately conveyed who I am. I ended up dumping everything, starting from scratch and getting my applications in during January.

Use TLS. There’s awesome advice here. Apply broadly if you are unsure about your numbers like I was

In
Yale
Harvard
Stanford
Columbia
NYU
Penn
Duke
Berkeley
Northwestern
Cornell
Georgetown
UT

Waitlist
Chicago
UVA

Out
None

Attending
TBD
I am not at all active on TLS but I wanted to post this because these types of posts from past years helped me a lot.

I'm here for it. (Reserve)

Will hopefully add my decisions next week!

(reserve)

These types of threads were immensely helpful in crafting my applications. I will update this post once my cycle finishes up.

Type of URM: AA Male

GPA: 3.85

LSAT: 172

IN:
Yale ($$)
Stanford ($$)
Harvard ($$)
Columbia
Chicago ($$)
NYU ($$)
Penn ($$$)
Berkeley
Duke ($$$)
Michigan ($$$$)
Georgetown ($$$)

OUT:
None

WAITLISTED:
None

ATTENDING:
Yale

Type of URM: MA Male

GPA: 3.5

LSAT: 158, Cancel, 164

Softs, etc: National officer of Latino fraternity, undergrad leadership roles, legal intern at Google, legal intern at white collar criminal boutique, 3 years post-undergrad work experience (financial consulting, then education nonprofit), successfully led a campaign to bring $78MM into my hometown school district to make major improvements, Ivy undergrad

Advice: If you're still in UG, work on your GPA. Highest LSAT possible is another obvious. That being said, my LSAT is low by TLS standards, but I think my cycle shows that you could potentially end up with great options if you carefully craft your application. (I'm below most 25ths in T14 for both GPA and LSAT). I was very honest about my background and family situation in my PS (two pages) and tied it all into my reasons for going to law school. I also submitted a diversity statement (one page). I had an error in the second sentence of my personal statement (random misplaced word) that I sent to Berkeley, WUSTL, Vandy, Hastings, and UVA--while it might not have been the biggest error, I think it still affected my app considering WL at Vandy and no decisions from UVA or WUSTL (I obviously can't say the error is the exact reason, but it seems like it considering I fixed the error and had better results elsewhere). Point being: make sure your app is flawless. I also sent a video to GULC that had nothing to do with law or GULC; I guess they didn't like it. Other than not making my mistakes, I would say just be genuine in your application. Apply when you feel that your app is at its absolute best because while you could always reapply, it's a long process that takes a lot of work and can cause a lot of stress at times.

I also just want to point out that I was dead set on attending Berkeley if I got in because I want to live and practice in the Bay Area. I ended up getting into Berkeley, but was also selected for the AnBryce Scholarship Program at NYU, which offers much more than just $$ and it caused me to turn down my dream school, even with a match of NYU's scholarship. I've had mixed emotions about choosing NYU since I made the decision, so I would say either 1) pick your dream school so you're absolutely happy or 2) be open minded as you go through the admissions cycle because you never know what might happen and where you'll end up. I'm still adjusting to the idea of heading to NYC/NYU, but I suppose we'll know if the risk is worth it in the end. In any case, I highly recommend you apply to the AnBryce program at NYU because it seems truly amazing.


LSN: http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com/tr3

IN:
Chicago - $15K
Columbia - $90K
NYU - $172K (AnBryce, full-tuition)
Michigan - $0 (offered $$ when I withdrew)
Berkeley - Matched AnBryce ($22K in need aid)
Cornell - $75K
UCLA - $85K (initially $30K, increased without solicitation), plus $6K need aid
USC - $90K
BU - $114K (initially $105, increased without solicitation)
Hastings - N/A
Colorado - $49.7K
Denver - $126K (full-tuition)
(Also SEO - NYC)

OUT:
Harvard
Yale
Northwestern (I thought NU was the only T14 I had a shot at, turns out I was wrong)
Stanford

WAITLISTED:
Penn
Duke (no PT)
GULC (non-priority WL)
Vandy

PENDING:
Virginia - withdrew before decision
WUSTL - withdrew before decision

ATTENDING:
NYU

Congrats TR3. It must have been hard to turn down your dream school especially when they tried to match the other scholarship. I am not sure what your reasons are for taking NYU over B if it comes as somewhat equal costs (unless I am wrong) but I am glad you know where you are heading in the fall. Congrats again!!!

Harvette wrote:Congrats TR3. It must have been hard to turn down your dream school especially when they tried to match the other scholarship. I am not sure what your reasons are for taking NYU over B if it comes as somewhat equal costs (unless I am wrong) but I am glad you know where you are heading in the fall. Congrats again!!!

Thanks, Harvette! It was a difficult decision, but essentially it came down to the AnBryce Program vs. Berkeley and I felt that AnBryce offers support and resources that I wouldn't get from any other school, including Berkeley. I've heard that B started a program this year that is similar to AnBryce, but they didn't select me for that program, which is totally fine (I don't mean to come off as entitled by any means), but I definitely think I could use the personal, professional, and academic support that AB offers. Since NYU is willing to provide me with a solid support structure, I just felt it was the best route for me. So it wasn't a dollar for dollar decision, but it's definitely a risk. Living on the law school edge, I guess. lol

Congrats to all you guys on your acceptances, its real motivating seeing the results of all you guys hardwork coming to fruition. Good luck and keep grinding next year!

I rarely post but wanted to jump in since I found this thread very helpful last year. Will update as cycle comes to a close.

Type of URM: AA Male

GPA: ~3.5

LSAT:~170

Softs: T10 undergrad, 2+ years of varied work experience, strong LORs, unique PS

Advice: The LSAT should not be viewed merely as another item to check on your application to-do list. It is without question the key component of your application. Do not settle simply because you are a URM and know that a lower score will not damage your prospects as severely as non-URM candidates. This line of thinking is a trap that could preclude you from attaining the very best outcomes that this process has to offer. Put in the time to crush the test, and max out those retakes if you need to.

Gather the components of your application EARLY. If you know you'll be taking a gap year (or 2 or 3) secure your letters of recommendation shortly after graduating so that your work is still fresh in minds of your recommenders. Similarly, it's a good idea to get your transcripts at least several months in advance so that any delays will not affect your application. I failed to heed this latter advice and ended up submitting apps in February as a result.

To echo other posters - don't be afraid to open up in your PS; I shared specific details about my life immediately after graduation that I haven't shared with close friends/family. Also, if you are the type that writes well spontaneously and you have a powerful story to tell, don't think your PS is inadequate because you haven't spent several months on it. I spent 2 full days on my PS between drafting and editing, and I felt it was probably the strongest component of my app. That said, I would like to caution against waiting until the last minute to draft your PS. (I wrote mine nearly 1.5 years before submitting - since I was initially going to apply last cycle - and so would have had ample time to make further edits if needed.)

IN:
UVA
NYU
Harvard
Northwestern
Duke
UCLA

PENDING:
Stanford
Yale
Cornell
Chicago
Columbia

OUT:
None yet

WAITLISTED:
Berkeley
Georgetown
Penn

ATTENDING:
TBD

I've never posted. But agree this is important. When I got my LSAT, I considered not applying this cycle and retaking. I didn't understand what it meant to apply as an AA female. I also spent hours learning about "the gap" in LSAT. Still sort of puzzled on that one, but I believe its real.

4 years of finance / corporate work experience
previous fellowship awards (in UG and Fulbright)
LSAT 165
GPA 3.8

In
Harvard
Yale
Stanford
Columbia
NYU*
Berkeley*
UT Austin*
Fordham*

Wait List
UVA (withdrawn)
Georgetown (withdrawn)
UCLA (withdrawn)
Penn (withdrawn)

Pending
Northwestern

Decision
TBD

*$$$$$

Type of URM: North African

GPA: 4.0/4.15 weighted

LSAT: 168

Softs: K-JD, extensive undergraduate employment including managerial experience, lots of leadership/involvement, Rhodes finalist, Fulbright finalist, unique story (home foreclosure/homelessness/homeschooled), extremely strong letters of rec.

Advice: Take a deep breath. Everyone else in this is going to cover the logistical pieces far more thoroughly that I could even hope to, so I'll leave that to them. My advice is to breathe and be mindful of this process while you can. Take this process seriously and you are going to end up doing something incredible; freaking out every moment of every day between now and your financial aid letters next fall won't accomplish anything for you.

Beyond that, though, I can honestly say that it's worth it to really muster the extra money to apply to as many schools as possible. I was funding it all myself, so I didn't blanket the T14 and I wish I had. Although I am incredibly happy with what I ended up with, scholarship and opportunities may have been missed, and it's absolutely worth an extra couple hundred dollars in the short term for the extra chances you're giving yourself.

IN:
University of Missouri (withdrawn)
University of Texas (withdrawn)
University of Minnesota (withdrawn)
University of Michigan
Columbia
UCLA (withdrawn)
UC Berkeley

OUT:
None.

WAITLISTED:
Penn (withdrawn)
UVA (withdrawn)
Harvard
Stanford

PENDING:
None.

ATTENDING:
Most likely UC-Berkeley because they've offered me close to a full ride. I will ride the wait lists for Harvard and Stanford until I sign a lease and make a serious financial commitment to Berkeley.

This has been a hell of a process.

Congrats, everyone, on your hard work and earning your places at top schools.