How much do "soft factors" really matter? Forum

[Progress01]

Do soft factors make any difference, in your opinion, on applications? And do schools really take into account what the "difficulty" of a major might be, or only your gpa?

For example, I have a bad GPA, but I'm a double major in Biology and Psychology. I've worked 2 jobs all during college. I started taking dual enrollment at community college when I was in high school. I've been an adult volunteer/leader for a youth organization for 4 years. Will any of those soft factors be taken into account?

Also, do some schools place more weight on soft factors? If so..which ones in your opinion?

[sinfiery]

They matter but yours won't make anyone read your numbers in any unique light. They are decent (barely even that honestly) but nothing unique. Biology and Psychology double major isn't going to make anyone think twice when they see your GPA. Score well on the LSAT.

Also, I never got the whole working two jobs thing. Did you work 80 hours a week? That may be impressive; I think hours worked is more important than number of jobs but I may be unique in that.

Yale, Berkeley, and Stanford put more emphasis on softs than most schools. They also put more emphasis on GPA than most schools. The LSAT is your only potential saving grace as an applicant.

[dowu]

They matter but yours won't make anyone read your numbers in any unique light. They are decent (barely even that honestly) but nothing unique. Biology and Psychology double major isn't going to make anyone think twice when they see your GPA. Score well on the LSAT.

Also, I never got the whole working two jobs thing. Did you work 80 hours a week? That may be impressive; I think hours worked is more important than number of jobs but I may be unique in that.

Yale, Berkeley, and Stanford put more emphasis on softs than most schools. They also put more emphasis on GPA than most schools. The LSAT is your only potential saving grace as an applicant.

Honestly I think 96 percent of schools could care less about your (anyones) softs.

[sinfiery]

Honestly I think 96 percent of schools could care less about your (anyones) softs.

Generally, in the sense that if a school has a 165/3.8 median and there are two applicants, a 166/3.9 and a 169/3.9, softs can easily push the school to offer the 166/3.9 the full ride.

As far as being accepted is concerned, you are absolutely right +/- YP.

[Ohiobumpkin]

Don't rely on soft factors. It has to be something truly amazing to make law schools look past a sub-par LSAT/GPA.

[hephaestus]

Don't rely on soft factors. It has to be something truly amazing to make law schools look past a sub-par LSAT/GPA.

This. Honestly, while your softs are admirable, they are not incredible. LSAT/GPA makes up 99% of an application package.

[ScottRiqui]

There are "softs" and then there are "softs". To use an extreme spread, I think that a several years' worth of solid work experience, advanced degree(s), or military experience will leave the adcomms with a more favorable impression than the fact that you worked your way through college, were the president of your fraternity, or volunteered your weekends at a soup kitchen one summer.

But in the end, nothing's likely to get you in somewhere you're significantly below one or both medians.

[062914123]

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[BruinRegents]

Do soft factors make any difference, in your opinion, on applications? And do schools really take into account what the "difficulty" of a major might be, or only your gpa?

For example, I have a bad GPA, but I'm a double major in Biology and Psychology. I've worked 2 jobs all during college. I started taking dual enrollment at community college when I was in high school. I've been an adult volunteer/leader for a youth organization for 4 years. Will any of those soft factors be taken into account?

Also, do some schools place more weight on soft factors? If so..which ones in your opinion?

Generically, yes they do. For some applicants applying to certain schools, they make much more of a difference than they do at comparable school with a different admission philosophy.

While the LSAT and GPA are the ultimate gatekeepers. I like to think of softs as a way to separate applicants with similar quantitative factors. Additionally, they are a way for the adcom to see if you meet the institutional interests of the school.

[Dr. Dre]

Prozac Nation wasn't even dat great


HTH

[jingosaur]

How much does the "Search Function" really matter?

But to be nice, schools actually care about soft factors, but your LSAT score is so incredibly important that scoring 2 points higher on the LSAT will do more for your admissions chances than any soft with maybe the exceptions of being an olympic medalist or being a Rhodes Scholar.

[bp shinners]

The reason that many say softs don't matter is because, for the most part, they cancel out. Almost everyone applying to law school has several of the following:
1) Student orgs
2) Leadership positions
3) Work experience
4) Thesis
5) Awards/honors

Once you recognize that 95% of students are essentially the same as far as softs go, you start to see why numbers play such a huge role.

[steven21]

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[062914123]

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[sinfiery]

Don't rely on soft factors. It has to be something truly amazing to make law schools look past a sub-par LSAT/GPA.

This. Honestly, while your softs are admirable, they are not incredible. LSAT/GPA makes up 99% of an application package.

the guy who started the law school stats analysis blog "admissionsbythenumbers" had a 3.95 and 178 and didn't get in to HLS

He also had years and years and years of military experience if I remember correctly. It was quite unbelievable. Though I think things worked out pretty well for him anyways.

[john1990]

Do soft factors make any difference, in your opinion, on applications? And do schools really take into account what the "difficulty" of a major might be, or only your gpa?

For example, I have a bad GPA, but I'm a double major in Biology and Psychology. I've worked 2 jobs all during college. I started taking dual enrollment at community college when I was in high school. I've been an adult volunteer/leader for a youth organization for 4 years. Will any of those soft factors be taken into account?

Also, do some schools place more weight on soft factors? If so..which ones in your opinion?

Yes these do make a difference, although a bad GPA is a huge liability. Community college might look like a weak factor, but your work experience is a plus. It depends on the caliber of the jobs you worked. A job in retail will help, but something in a law firm would be a much greater asset