Top Law Schools

Just got dinged at YLS and I am very frustrated and upset. I know that counting on getting into YLS is always a mistake, but I let myself do it. I thought I had great softs (inter alia, set up my own start-up at 19, Hillel Vice President and President, internships in a big pharmaceutical company and a top consulting firm, and four great LOR's, including one from my provost), my LSAT is at the 75th percentile and my UGPA (in biomedical engineering) is just slightly below their median. I don't know what I did wrong and I don't know why they didn't like me and what the the hell they're looking for.

I realize I should be grateful for my HLS acceptance, but it's just too difficult to let my YLS dreams go. Will it be completely unreasonable to wait a year and re-apply to YLS? I would love to hear if one of you got accepted to HYS (and YLS, specifically) after being previously rejected and what you did in the interim and/or how you handled your succeeding application differently. Please feel free to respond in this thread or MP me. I'd really appreciate your help.

anynumberoftoppings wrote:Just got dinged at YLS and I am very frustrated and upset. I know that counting on getting into YLS is always a mistake, but I let myself do it. I thought I had great softs (inter alia, set up my own start-up at 19, Hillel Vice President and President, internships in a big pharmaceutical company and a top consulting firm, and four great LOR's, including one from my provost), my LSAT is at the 75th percentile and my UGPA (in biomedical engineering) is just slightly below their median. I don't know what I did wrong and I don't know why they didn't like me and what the the hell they're looking for.

I realize I should be grateful for my HLS acceptance, but it's just too difficult to let my YLS dreams go. Will it be completely unreasonable to wait a year and re-apply to YLS? I would love to hear if one of you got accepted to HYS (and YLS, specifically) after being previously rejected and what you did in the interim and/or how you handled your succeeding application differently. Please feel free to respond in this thread or MP me. I'd really appreciate your help.

Yes, it's unreasonable. You certainly have great qualifications, but so do a lot of other people, and you'll feel a lot better when you realize that there is some degree of arbitrariness to admissions decisions. You certainly can't count on getting in next year (regardless of what you do), and you'll have burned a year for nothing.

Your GPA is below their median and you're non-URM. Why are you so shocked?

Look at the bright side: you don't have to live in New Haven.

If you feel entitled, you're unworthy.

anynumberoftoppings wrote:Just got dinged at YLS and I am very frustrated and upset. I know that counting on getting into YLS is always a mistake, but I let myself do it. I thought I had great softs (inter alia, set up my own start-up at 19, Hillel Vice President and President, internships in a big pharmaceutical company and a top consulting firm, and four great LOR's, including one from my provost), my LSAT is at the 75th percentile and my UGPA (in biomedical engineering) is just slightly below their median. I don't know what I did wrong and I don't know why they didn't like me and what the the hell they're looking for.

I realize I should be grateful for my HLS acceptance, but it's just too difficult to let my YLS dreams go. Will it be completely unreasonable to wait a year and re-apply to YLS? I would love to hear if one of you got accepted to HYS (and YLS, specifically) after being previously rejected and what you did in the interim and/or how you handled your succeeding application differently. Please feel free to respond in this thread or MP me. I'd really appreciate your help.

To be honest, you're below one median and your softs aren't all that great. That isn't going to change in a year. Also, my douche-o-meter went crazy when I saw that you put inter alia when you listed your softs. Something tells me that they might've picked up on that, too.

I wish I had your problems....

AngryAvocado wrote:

anynumberoftoppings wrote:Just got dinged at YLS and I am very frustrated and upset. I know that counting on getting into YLS is always a mistake, but I let myself do it. I thought I had great softs (inter alia, set up my own start-up at 19, Hillel Vice President and President, internships in a big pharmaceutical company and a top consulting firm, and four great LOR's, including one from my provost), my LSAT is at the 75th percentile and my UGPA (in biomedical engineering) is just slightly below their median. I don't know what I did wrong and I don't know why they didn't like me and what the the hell they're looking for.

I realize I should be grateful for my HLS acceptance, but it's just too difficult to let my YLS dreams go. Will it be completely unreasonable to wait a year and re-apply to YLS? I would love to hear if one of you got accepted to HYS (and YLS, specifically) after being previously rejected and what you did in the interim and/or how you handled your succeeding application differently. Please feel free to respond in this thread or MP me. I'd really appreciate your help.

To be honest, you're below one median and your softs aren't all that great. That isn't going to change in a year. Also, my douche-o-meter went crazy when I saw that you put inter alia when you listed your softs. Something tells me that they might've picked up on that, too.

And who wants to read 4 LORs anyway....

Herb Watchfell wrote:If you feel entitled, you're unworthy.

Dude are you serious, he is talking about getting into a law school not being appointed to the fucking papacy

applying next year probably won't make a difference, if you really want to go, get lucky at HLS and transfer

anynumberoftoppings wrote:Just got dinged at YLS and I am very frustrated and upset. I know that counting on getting into YLS is always a mistake, but I let myself do it. I thought I had great softs (inter alia, set up my own start-up at 19, Hillel Vice President and President, internships in a big pharmaceutical company and a top consulting firm, and four great LOR's, including one from my provost), my LSAT is at the 75th percentile and my UGPA (in biomedical engineering) is just slightly below their median. I don't know what I did wrong and I don't know why they didn't like me and what the the hell they're looking for.

I realize I should be grateful for my HLS acceptance, but it's just too difficult to let my YLS dreams go. Will it be completely unreasonable to wait a year and re-apply to YLS? I would love to hear if one of you got accepted to HYS (and YLS, specifically) after being previously rejected and what you did in the interim and/or how you handled your succeeding application differently. Please feel free to respond in this thread or MP me. I'd really appreciate your help.

Why do you want to go to YLS so much over HLS?

anynumberoftoppings wrote:Just got dinged at YLS and I am very frustrated and upset. I know that counting on getting into YLS is always a mistake, but I let myself do it. I thought I had great softs (inter alia, set up my own start-up at 19, Hillel Vice President and President, internships in a big pharmaceutical company and a top consulting firm, and four great LOR's, including one from my provost), my LSAT is at the 75th percentile and my UGPA (in biomedical engineering) is just slightly below their median. I don't know what I did wrong and I don't know why they didn't like me and what the the hell they're looking for.

I realize I should be grateful for my HLS acceptance, but it's just too difficult to let my YLS dreams go. Will it be completely unreasonable to wait a year and re-apply to YLS? I would love to hear if one of you got accepted to HYS (and YLS, specifically) after being previously rejected and what you did in the interim and/or how you handled your succeeding application differently. Please feel free to respond in this thread or MP me. I'd really appreciate your help.

That's just the nature of YLS and the position of being the #1 law school in the country. I would just take your HLS acceptance.

I don't think its unreasonable at all to wait a year. Have some people who you trust lead over your personal statement to see if there are things in there that may have made you look bad. While you can't improve your GPA in the interim year, you can certainly do something (are you still in UG?) that makes you much more appealing.

At most, it's one year and you'd be still only 23 (if you're in UG). There's no harm in letting a dream go just because it failed the first time.

Oh also, don't listen to the other naysayers in this thread; you're the only person who can judge your goals accurately. If you feel that you want to take one more shot, you should do so. Your backup in Harvard will be available again next year anyway.

Why do you want to go to YLS so much over HLS?

I know. OP's "plight" is pretty laughable. Most would kill to be accepted to Harvard. Don't put your life on hold for a year to reapply just go to Harvard.

My douche meter went off the charts as well. Obviously very smart and will be very successful but if you wrote your PS like this post maybe thats why you got dinged.

Go ahead and reapply to your dream school, and leave your HLS spot for those who'd be happy to go there.

I have no place posting in a HY thread but I agree with the New Haven point.. Boston will be a much better experience.

Does anyone have an Amazon link to a deuche o meter they would recommend? No cheap shit...I want quality.

anynumberoftoppings wrote:Just got dinged at YLS and I am very frustrated and upset. I know that counting on getting into YLS is always a mistake, but I let myself do it. I thought I had great softs (inter alia, set up my own start-up at 19, Hillel Vice President and President, internships in a big pharmaceutical company and a top consulting firm, and four great LOR's, including one from my provost), my LSAT is at the 75th percentile and my UGPA (in biomedical engineering) is just slightly below their median. I don't know what I did wrong and I don't know why they didn't like me and what the the hell they're looking for.

I realize I should be grateful for my HLS acceptance, but it's just too difficult to let my YLS dreams go. Will it be completely unreasonable to wait a year and re-apply to YLS? I would love to hear if one of you got accepted to HYS (and YLS, specifically) after being previously rejected and what you did in the interim and/or how you handled your succeeding application differently. Please feel free to respond in this thread or MP me. I'd really appreciate your help.

If Yale is the one and only place you will go, then ya, wait and reapply. Do something extremely distinguishing and take a year or two investing in it.

However, you have to realize, in a mature fashion, that you may never get into Yale no matter what course of action you take. The world sucks and there are always many more people out there that are more accomplished, more deserving, probably better looking, and more intelligent than you...and they want what you want.

Examine why you really are attached to Yale and figure it out. If it's the prestige, I'm sure the cocoon of the crimson H can wash that all away and have you disparaging Yalies in no time.

If it is some sort of opportunity, which I doubt it is aside from simply going there, then seek out other avenues to obtain the goal. When you are getting admitted to Harvard, and potentially Stanford, you likely have many ways to get what you want.


As a side note: you sound whiny.

you people are retarded

No reason to wait and reapply unless there's the prospect of your GPA increasing. With LSAT at 75th and GPA below median, there is no reason to be surprised. I don't think there's such thing as "great softs" when you're applying to Yale.

gossipgirl wrote:I don't think its unreasonable at all to wait a year. Have some people who you trust lead over your personal statement to see if there are things in there that may have made you look bad. While you can't improve your GPA in the interim year, you can certainly do something (are you still in UG?) that makes you much more appealing.

At most, it's one year and you'd be still only 23 (if you're in UG). There's no harm in letting a dream go just because it failed the first time.

Oh also, don't listen to the other naysayers in this thread; you're the only person who can judge your goals accurately. If you feel that you want to take one more shot, you should do so. Your backup in Harvard will be available again next year anyway.

Thanks for your reply. Right now, I'm leaning towards reapplying next year. Yup, still in undergrad and starting law school at 22 instead of 21 is not a huge deal for me. During that year, I'll try to make my resume more interesting and I kind of like the idea of taking some time to travel and do things I've been planning to do for a long time and never had time. So even if they reject me again, it probably wouldn't be just a waste of time.

And to all of those who called my a douche, whether it's because I typed inter alia or because I got into HLS, I'll wish you best of luck with your law school applications.

The only reason I would say it might be worth it is because I generally advocate taking off as much time as possible anyway. Honestly, the whole YLS admissions process is so random that it would ultimately just amount to another role of the dice. I can guarantee you that you're more worthy of admission than me, but I happened to get in last year. It's just a really, extremely unpredictable process that is very difficult to predict.

It's not unreasonable, but it is a pretty poor bet.

Magic 8 ball says the OP sits out a year and then gets dinged again next year... not only by Yale, but also by Harvard this time.

The karmic smackdown is complete.


Seriously... I can sympathize with being bummed out by getting dinged at your dream school. But you have to honestly evaluate your chances of improving your application enough while sitting out a year to make the risk worth it. You're not only risking a year - you're also risking a HLS acceptance.

As Harry Callahan once said, "You've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?"