Shootin' for HLS Forum

[tokenchris]

3.89 applying next cycle with LSAT in next June/October. Public school (sigh) and some decent soft factors. My first semester of undergrad, I received a full semester non-punitive w's (had personal/family issues, changed schools). Is previous statement a problem? And is there anything HLS looks for more specifically? Lastly, I presume that HLS will see only my GPA from my first three years of undergrad as I'll be applying before my senior year? So is that the GPA they use to judge my Application or will they wait until the end of the first semester. (I'm really trying to get it up from a couple of mistakes my first semester, and I had calculated my future GPA without previous statement in mind).

[ltrego]

They'll only see your first 3 yrs. GPA, unless you wait a year. If you wait, they'll see your senior year.

As for the W's, you'll probably want to write an addendum explaining the circumstances.

And you need to study for the LSAT. That's probably the most important.

[PalmBay]

Your #1 concern needs to be LSAT score.

[midwest17]

Public school (sigh)

My first semester of undergrad, I received a full semester non-punitive w's (had personal/family issues, changed schools). Is previous statement a problem?

No, but you'll want to include an addendum explaining what happened when you turn in your apps.

Lastly, I presume that HLS will see only my GPA from my first three years of undergrad as I'll be applying before my senior year? So is that the GPA they use to judge my Application or will they wait until the end of the first semester. (I'm really trying to get it up from a couple of mistakes my first semester, and I had calculated my future GPA without previous statement in mind).

If you turn in your application before you get your fall grades, they'll only see the first three years. You can send an updated transcript to LSAC after you get fall grades and they'll update the schools; whether that grade is considered at that point depends on where you are in the review process.

For Yale, at least, you can wait until after you get your fall grades to submit if you want, since there's no early application bump there.

ETA: focus on the LSAT.

[tokenchris]

I see. Thank you for the insight, I've been studying for the LSAT off/on but definitely need kick it in to high gear. I have one more thing I forgot to mention; I will have some 'intersession' classes that are roughly 10 days/2 weeks on my transcript. I mean, I don't know if anyone would actually know the answer to this, but are these kind of classes legitimate in the eyes of a law school? I almost feel like I'm cheating by taking these classes.

[ltrego]

I see. Thank you for the insight, I've been studying for the LSAT off/on but definitely need kick it in to high gear. I have one more thing I forgot to mention; I will have some 'intersession' classes that are roughly 10 days/2 weeks on my transcript. I mean, I don't know if anyone would actually know the answer to this, but are these kind of classes legitimate in the eyes of a law school? I almost feel like I'm cheating by taking these classes.

If they have credit hours and were given at an accredited school, they are real classes. Credit hours don't look at how many days a class met, but how many hours. You can jam a lot of hours into 10 days.

[prezidentv8]

[TheSpanishMain]

Public school (sigh)

I would also like to hear more about this.

[ClownQuestionBroz]

I love to see people shootin' for the stars. But, gunnin' for Harvard? So are 45k other people who will be applying in the same cycle as you. Focus on the LSAT. That's all that matters.

[jingosaur]

Gun for a high LSAT. It's the best way to differentiate yourself from other applicants.

Also, see below for a link of all of the UGs that Harvard Law students attended. I guarantee that at least one of those schools is ranked lower than the school that you go to:

http://law.harvard.edu/prospective/jd/a ... grads.html

[tokenchris]

Thanks again. In regards to the public school comment; I was presuming that there's an institutional bias towards private/ivy league. I see that I am wrong.

[Tyr]

Gun for a high LSAT. It's the best way to differentiate yourself from other applicants.

Also, see below for a link of all of the UGs that Harvard Law students attended. I guarantee that at least one of those schools is ranked lower than the school that you go to:

http://law.harvard.edu/prospective/jd/a ... grads.html

I did a quick scan of the list and I didn't see any Iowa schools.

[midwest17]

Gun for a high LSAT. It's the best way to differentiate yourself from other applicants.

Also, see below for a link of all of the UGs that Harvard Law students attended. I guarantee that at least one of those schools is ranked lower than the school that you go to:

http://law.harvard.edu/prospective/jd/a ... grads.html

I did a quick scan of the list and I didn't see any Iowa schools.

This is clearly a very bad mark on Iowa's record.

[Tyr]

Gun for a high LSAT. It's the best way to differentiate yourself from other applicants.

Also, see below for a link of all of the UGs that Harvard Law students attended. I guarantee that at least one of those schools is ranked lower than the school that you go to:

http://law.harvard.edu/prospective/jd/a ... grads.html

I did a quick scan of the list and I didn't see any Iowa schools.

This is clearly a very bad mark on Iowa's record.

I can just see getting an invite for an interview at Harvard...

Harvard: Oh, I see you graduated from an Iowa university.
Me: Yes. You see...
Harvard: No no. That is quite enough. Thank you for your time.

[jingosaur]

I went to a top 30 US News national university and my school isn't on the list.

[lawschool22]

Your undergrad by all accounts has a low (if any) effect on admissions. I wouldn't worry about it. Your focus is the LSAT.