Top Law Schools

Recently, LSAC started allowing law schools to get the names of students (that's it, not the application or LSAT/GPA unless they already had it) who started an app to their school but never submitted it. Many schools were pressing LSAC to get access to those names so they could, as I'm sure you've already guessed, encourage them to complete and submit their apps. I wouldn't be surprised if many of you have already received emails from schools about this.

Personally, I didn't care if I had these names. I figure most non-submitters fall into one of two categories: 1) "(S)He's just not that into you" or 2) couldn't get their stuff together long enough to even submit the application correctly. Neither group are what I would consider fertile ground for additional students. In the future, I likely would send a single "don't forget to finish it" email right before or a few days after the deadline, but that's it.

I ran our numbers and without historical numbers or data from other schools to compare it with, I really have no idea what to make of them. But it got me wondering...how frequently does this happen? Do you have untransmitted applications in your LSAC account? Is my assumption that most people fall into my first category? What other reasons would you start but not complete an application?

Dean Perez

7. Decided not to apply for various reasons.

3. Didn't finish because I didn't get fee waivers.

None this cycle. But when I first applied two years ago, probably 5-8. A few on the higher end. No reason to waste the money on Yale. And a few on the lower end when I realized I really only needed one safety school.

3. I decided those schools didn't fit what I was looking for

There were a few I never completed because I felt the application was overly invasive and/or tedious given their ranking.

I was tired of submitting applications. I submitted around 20 or so applications, and most of the ones I didn't do -- Stanford, Yale -- were schools I wasn't getting in anyway.

Post removed.

Post removed.

This cycle, I just had 1 that was pretty much complete and waiting on a waiver, which never came so I deleted it.

In a past cycle I had 2-3 that I never finished because they were more trouble than they were worth compared to far better ranked schools' easier applications.

hmm... 3, i think. one was because of no fee waiver despite waivers from much better schools, the other two because i realized i just wasn't interested/my retake rendered them unnecessary. yale was almost number 4 on the list, just because i almost psyched myself out thinking i didn't have a chance.

One. I said I would finish it later, then realized that I had applied too late for them to accept me based on last year's thread.

Interesting! I never thought about it really, but I guess I assumed folks did what I did. I knew where I was going to apply before I started applying. But Texas is a little different (number of schools, how they rank relative to each other) so for most people here the decision isn't (or shouldn't be) all that complicated. I assumed most people wouldn't start an app unless they knew they wanted to apply, but i guess my thinking is too linear.

But so far it sounds like my intuition was correct. None of those who have commented sound like they would be persuaded to complete their app by the school if contacted.

Dean Perez

Probably 5 or 6. I only started those apps because I didn't get my LSAC score back and they gave me fee waivers. So until I got my scores back I was able to narrow it down.

PourMeTea wrote:

Nucky wrote:There were a few I never completed because I felt the application was overly invasive and/or tedious given their ranking.

This too

Yup. I carpet-bombed most of my anticipated "full-ride safeties," and I wasn't about to waste extra time on the ridiculous "unique" elements of their applications unless I was especially interested in working in that region.

Actually, same goes for a two T14s with less than stellar job placement that refused to waive my application fee. Rightly or wrongly, I took that as a sign that the school had an overinflated opinion of its place in the pecking order and probably wouldn't offer a competitive scholarship anyway.

3. Definitely the first category for me. Wouldn't fit the "one size fits all" personal statement that I wrote. If it isn't my dream school, I'm not writing 5 different essays instead of just submitting my one personal statement.

One. I didn't finish my NU application because I got dissuaded by my lack of interesting WE. In retrospect, I regretted it.

3. No Fee Waivers. No Go. 2 of the schools emailed me encouraging me to finish apps.

Three. After I saw the length of the applications and the required essays, I decided it wasn't worth my time to apply to those schools.

2. No fee waivers

.

I had five schools in "My School List" on the LSAC site, but I realized early on that there were only two schools I was willing to attend, so I don't think I even started the applications for the other three.

None, but only because I'd already secured fee waivers for the schools I was willing to attend prior to submitting applications.

Four, I heard back from Duke PT before I finished them and decided to save the $100.

2.

First was because I didn't get a fee waiver, when people with similar and lower numbers than me were getting them left amd right. Then this school refused to grant me one when I requested it. Second was because I got accepted to my first-choice school before I submitted.