Page 1 of 1

Big Name Scholarships Affecting Chances?

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 12:59 am
by AztecaRex
.

Re: Big Name Scholarships Affecting Chances?

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 1:06 am
by glewz
AztecaRex wrote:Ciao a tutti, I hope the cycle gods are smiling upon all of you 8)

I remember reading somewhere that winning a big-name scholarship like the Rhodes or Truman can be a major boost to one's application and is considered a great soft (as well it should be, because winning probably implies that you've done alot of stuff to win the thing in the first place). Anyone have any info to confirm or deny the impact of these kinds of scholarships? Or for that matter, would simply being a finalist count for anything do you think?

Thanks in advance!
Not sure if being a finalist counts.

But yes, winning a big-name scholarship (Rhodes) is a major boost :)

Re: Big Name Scholarships Affecting Chances?

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 1:18 am
by Arbiter213
Winning a Rhodes is a lot harder than getting in to pretty much every law school except maybe Yale.

Re: Big Name Scholarships Affecting Chances?

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 1:21 am
by AztecaRex
Arbiter213 wrote:Winning a Rhodes is a lot harder than getting in to pretty much every law school except maybe Yale.
Ironically, I think the thing I read was talking specifically about how much Yale loves getting Rhodes Scholars to come to Yale Law :lol:

Re: Big Name Scholarships Affecting Chances?

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 1:22 am
by whymeohgodno
Arbiter213 wrote:Winning a Rhodes is a lot harder than getting in to pretty much every law school except maybe Yale.
Just because it's harder doesn't really mean anything.

Re: Big Name Scholarships Affecting Chances?

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 1:26 am
by AreJay711
The way the Rhodes is set up I think it is harder than getting into Yale. It will likely impress who ever is reviewing the file which can only help.

Re: Big Name Scholarships Affecting Chances?

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 1:48 am
by AztecaRex
AreJay711 wrote:The way the Rhodes is set up I think it is harder than getting into Yale. It will likely impress who ever is reviewing the file which can only help.
Eh, maybe, but I'd add the qualifier "it depends." In certain districts, people have essentially gotten "buys" to at the least the interview process based on their athletic records and not much else. American Football especially dominates some districts, and while I'm not in anyway implying that being a top football player does not take time, talent, and effort, one could argue that a top athlete with an okay academic record is far less likely to excel in law school than your average bookworm (And then there are guys like me who do sports like boxing, and never get any recognition in the US, but that's a story for a different day 8) ). I do figure, however, that the mere name does carry weight, blood diamond issues notwithstanding :lol:

Re: Big Name Scholarships Affecting Chances?

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 3:17 am
by hellojd
AztecaRex wrote:
AreJay711 wrote:The way the Rhodes is set up I think it is harder than getting into Yale. It will likely impress who ever is reviewing the file which can only help.
Eh, maybe, but I'd add the qualifier "it depends." In certain districts, people have essentially gotten "buys" to at the least the interview process based on their athletic records and not much else. American Football especially dominates some districts, and while I'm not in anyway implying that being a top football player does not take time, talent, and effort, one could argue that a top athlete with an okay academic record is far less likely to excel in law school than your average bookworm (And then there are guys like me who do sports like boxing, and never get any recognition in the US, but that's a story for a different day 8) ). I do figure, however, that the mere name does carry weight, blood diamond issues notwithstanding :lol:
The comparison between a Rhodes Scholar and an NFL player makes little sense.

Rhodes Scholars are among the most qualified people in the country from the standpoint of academics and leadership. NFL measures athletic talent. So, yeah obviously athletic talent isn't going to mean you understand torts.

As someone who looked into the Rhodes Scholarship, and the kind of people that got it, I would be SHOCKED if they didn't get into any law school they applied to, including Yale. They typically have perfect or near perfect GPAs from the top 20 or so UG instutitions in the US, are skilled athletes (this is a requirement believe it or not), and have founded some sort of amazing campus organization (the guy from my school who got it a few years ago founded some sort of African organization that raised like 200k dollars or something).

Unless they bomb the LSAT horribly, which I would think would not happen to people of that caliber, they're in.

Re: Big Name Scholarships Affecting Chances?

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 3:36 am
by AreJay711
hellojd wrote: The comparison between a Rhodes Scholar and an NFL player makes little sense.

Rhodes Scholars are among the most qualified people in the country from the standpoint of academics and leadership. NFL measures athletic talent. So, yeah obviously athletic talent isn't going to mean you understand torts.

As someone who looked into the Rhodes Scholarship, and the kind of people that got it, I would be SHOCKED if they didn't get into any law school they applied to, including Yale. They typically have perfect or near perfect GPAs from the top 20 or so UG instutitions in the US, are skilled athletes (this is a requirement believe it or not), and have founded some sort of amazing campus organization (the guy from my school who got it a few years ago founded some sort of African organization that raised like 200k dollars or something).

Unless they bomb the LSAT horribly, which I would think would not happen to people of that caliber, they're in.
I think s/he was saying that people in certain districts get invited to the interviews simply because they were great football players. I agree though that the people that are actually selected are top notch all around.

Re: Big Name Scholarships Affecting Chances?

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 3:37 am
by NoleinNY
hellojd wrote:
AztecaRex wrote:
AreJay711 wrote:The way the Rhodes is set up I think it is harder than getting into Yale. It will likely impress who ever is reviewing the file which can only help.
Eh, maybe, but I'd add the qualifier "it depends." In certain districts, people have essentially gotten "buys" to at the least the interview process based on their athletic records and not much else. American Football especially dominates some districts, and while I'm not in anyway implying that being a top football player does not take time, talent, and effort, one could argue that a top athlete with an okay academic record is far less likely to excel in law school than your average bookworm (And then there are guys like me who do sports like boxing, and never get any recognition in the US, but that's a story for a different day 8) ). I do figure, however, that the mere name does carry weight, blood diamond issues notwithstanding :lol:
The comparison between a Rhodes Scholar and an NFL player makes little sense.

Rhodes Scholars are among the most qualified people in the country from the standpoint of academics and leadership. NFL measures athletic talent. So, yeah obviously athletic talent isn't going to mean you understand torts.

As someone who looked into the Rhodes Scholarship, and the kind of people that got it, I would be SHOCKED if they didn't get into any law school they applied to, including Yale. They typically have perfect or near perfect GPAs from the top 20 or so UG instutitions in the US, are skilled athletes (this is a requirement believe it or not), and have founded some sort of amazing campus organization (the guy from my school who got it a few years ago founded some sort of African organization that raised like 200k dollars or something).

Unless they bomb the LSAT horribly, which I would think would not happen to people of that caliber, they're in.

Are you talking about Joe O'Shea founder of Global Peace Exchange (GPE), from FSU?

Re: Big Name Scholarships Affecting Chances?

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 3:45 am
by AztecaRex
[m

Re: Big Name Scholarships Affecting Chances?

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 3:46 am
by hellojd
NoleinNY wrote:
hellojd wrote:
AztecaRex wrote:
AreJay711 wrote:The way the Rhodes is set up I think it is harder than getting into Yale. It will likely impress who ever is reviewing the file which can only help.
Eh, maybe, but I'd add the qualifier "it depends." In certain districts, people have essentially gotten "buys" to at the least the interview process based on their athletic records and not much else. American Football especially dominates some districts, and while I'm not in anyway implying that being a top football player does not take time, talent, and effort, one could argue that a top athlete with an okay academic record is far less likely to excel in law school than your average bookworm (And then there are guys like me who do sports like boxing, and never get any recognition in the US, but that's a story for a different day 8) ). I do figure, however, that the mere name does carry weight, blood diamond issues notwithstanding :lol:
The comparison between a Rhodes Scholar and an NFL player makes little sense.

Rhodes Scholars are among the most qualified people in the country from the standpoint of academics and leadership. NFL measures athletic talent. So, yeah obviously athletic talent isn't going to mean you understand torts.

As someone who looked into the Rhodes Scholarship, and the kind of people that got it, I would be SHOCKED if they didn't get into any law school they applied to, including Yale. They typically have perfect or near perfect GPAs from the top 20 or so UG instutitions in the US, are skilled athletes (this is a requirement believe it or not), and have founded some sort of amazing campus organization (the guy from my school who got it a few years ago founded some sort of African organization that raised like 200k dollars or something).

Unless they bomb the LSAT horribly, which I would think would not happen to people of that caliber, they're in.

Are you talking about Joe O'Shea founder of Global Peace Exchange (GPE), from FSU?
Nope, although it looks like there's a common thread to a couple of Rhodes Scholars haha.

Re: Big Name Scholarships Affecting Chances?

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 3:50 am
by NoleinNY
hellojd wrote:


Nope, although it looks like there's a common thread to a couple of Rhodes Scholars haha.
Definitely lol

Re: Big Name Scholarships Affecting Chances?

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 4:01 am
by Cassius Sterling
A Rhodes or Marshall scholar will get into any law scool to which they apploy--regardless of LSAT Score. Trust me. Getting one of these nationally competitive scholarships is considerably easier than getting into any law school, whether it's Yale or not.

Re: Big Name Scholarships Affecting Chances?

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 4:07 am
by AztecaRex
.

Re: Big Name Scholarships Affecting Chances?

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 1:04 pm
by Arbiter213
Cassius Sterling wrote:A Rhodes or Marshall scholar will get into any law scool to which they apploy--regardless of LSAT Score. Trust me. Getting one of these nationallyinternationally competitive scholarships is considerably easier than getting into any law school, whether it's Yale or not.
And re: sports- You don't need to compete in a sport, just need to compete. One of my good friends won, and she was a top debater. (She also was going to be a recruited athlete for soccer before she broke her back (non paralyzing)).

the other girl I know who won was a competitive ball room dancer.

I was told by my office of fellowships that even things like Improvisational comedy at top levels counts.