Top Law Schools

I was browsing through lawschoolnumbers and noticed that many applicants with numbers in the 176/3.75 and up range were waitlisted at UVA. Does anyone have insight into why such strong applicants were waitlisted? Any tips regarding how to avoid that situation would be greatly appreciated. I have a 177 and a 3.93 GPA.

brad20 wrote:I was browsing through lawschoolnumbers and noticed that many applicants with numbers in the 176/3.75 and up range were waitlisted at UVA. Does anyone have insight into why such strong applicants were waitlisted? Any tips regarding how to avoid that situation would be greatly appreciated. I have a 177 and a 3.93 GPA.

The answer is simple: YP ("yield protection"). This thread offers a somewhat helpful discussion of YP: http://www.top-law-schools.com/archives ... =7&t=52630

Thanks. I suppose writing a "why X" essay could take care of the issue.

brad20 wrote:Thanks. I suppose writing a "why X" essay could take care of the issue.

Where do you want to go do school? If your plan is to use those awesome numbers to apply to every school in the Top 14, don't be surprised to get a bunch of waitlists from schools below YHSCC. A "Why X" might help if it's particularly compelling, but you're definitely in YP territory with those (awesome) numbers. If you're dead set on UVA for whatever reason - and you may have a perfectly acceptable reason for wanting to go there over YHS - ED is always an option. But if you just want to apply to the Top 14, get into all of them, and leverage for scholarships before just going to YHS anyway, don't be surprised by the waitlist decisions.

HawgDriver wrote:

brad20 wrote:Thanks. I suppose writing a "why X" essay could take care of the issue.

Where do you want to go do school? If your plan is to use those awesome numbers to apply to every school in the Top 14, don't be surprised to get a bunch of waitlists from schools below YHSCC. A "Why X" might help if it's particularly compelling, but you're definitely in YP territory with those (awesome) numbers. If you're dead set on UVA for whatever reason - and you may have a perfectly acceptable reason for wanting to go there over YHS - ED is always an option. But if you just want to apply to the Top 14, get into all of them, and leverage for scholarships before just going to YHS anyway, don't be surprised by the waitlist decisions.

Do not ED to UVA with your numbers. You can go to UVA with a great scholarship, don't give that away. If you are 100% dead set on UVA than express that in a "Why X" and make it genuine. Not data to support it but from reading different interviews and such I gather that adcoms can easily tell when someone is being genuine or not about that type of thing.

If you actually want UVA money over YHS, you need to find a way to make that clear, be it through a really compelling application, or if I were you, I would just fly over there and express my interest in person. You need to let it be known that you will attend with a good offer, and its your preferred choice. Meeting in person would certainly get that across.