WE Question Forum

[Kobaine51]

So I applied to law school last cycle and was wait listed everywhere (except YS). As a K-JD I was tepid on the prospects of going to school right away, so I took a job which I am happy with that lasts a year. So now I am trying to decide whether or not to apply again this fall.

I definitely do want to go to law school, so the choice is really between applying this year or waiting out a cycle. My considerations are strictly trying to maximize my chance of admissions to HYS or getting as much money as possible to another T6 school.

As a little background, I am 176, 3.75. Since I applied last year my GPA improved by .05, I gained significant work experience (both through my current position and others I held during the year), and I wrote a BA thesis that received honors. Overall, I think my application improved by ~10%, and my guess is that that put's me over the hump as a competitive candidate.

I am seeking advice pertaining to if it will further improve my chance of admission by waiting an additional year. I would rather not do so, but I would also prefer not to apply to a third cycle, so I want to make sure I get it right. What do you think?

[yot11]

Did you apply very late in the cycle? How did you get waitlisted at (presumably) T6 with a 176 / 3.75?

[Kobaine51]

Did you apply very late in the cycle? How did you get waitlisted at (presumably) T6 with a 176 / 3.75?

I didn't apply to NYU or Chicago, and my GPA was 3.7 at the time I applied last year. I did not apply late, around early November for most schools.

[oxie]

Do you know what would you be doing if you were to take another year off? If it's just staying at your current job an extra year or some other entry-level position, I can't imagine that would give you much of a marginal advantage from an application standpoint. It would give you a chance to incorporate your WE into your application in a more substantive way, but I can't see that being a make-or-break issue. But it still might be a good idea to wait a cycle for personal reasons (saving up money, letting yourself see what being out of school is like without a self-imposed 1-year limit, etc).

Sorry this cycle didn't work out for you. Glancing through your post history, seems like next time you're probably going to want to apply more broadly and put some more effort into avoiding YP.

[Mack.Hambleton]

why didnt you apply to NYU??

[Kobaine51]

If I stayed an additional year I would probably continue to work in the public sector which is both my experiential background and where I hope to be long term. I do think I could make my resume a little better by doing so, but I wouldn't amass any funds.

I didn't apply to NYU because I didn't think I would attend that year if I got in - I am going to apply in my next cycle.

[jingosaur]

I have almost identical numbers to you but applied with 3 years of work experience and got into HLS, Chicago, and NYU. I got straight up rejected from SLS and Columbia wait listed me, but I'm pretty sure that was YP.

Just a word of advice, if you would go to CCN with $$$ over YHS, definitely apply to some lower end T14s to use for scholarship negotiations. NU will probably give you $120k to $150k and Chicago won't match it, but they will most likely up your scholarship offer so you're COA will be within $30k so it's worth going there over NU. Then you can use that to negotiate with NYU and Columbia and so on. Michigan, Cornell, and UVA are also very generous with money and Duke PT is also a good idea.

[Kobaine51]

I guess I am still a little unsure if the consensus is that it will help to wait another year. I've been thinking about it and I believe my argument to go sooner rather than later is very compelling. I would definitely be in a strong resume building position next year, but because my current program is one year, it would, again, be my first year in the firm/agency/politician, which I think would limit my ability to make substantive career advancements while there. Because of that I'd want to spend two years wherever I went, but I do not want to wait that long to go to law school. Basically I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place trying to figure out if I should wait another two years or apply this September and hope that the improvements I have made will be enough.

I am hoping to make a decision this week, what do you all think?

[JohnnyHop]

I'll throw in my two cents cause I've been dealing with a similar issue (debating between applying now while working or waiting one more year, just graduated with similar numbers, although I didn't apply last cycle.) I decided I'm going to apply this September, mainly because I know I want to go to law school and I know I can get in to a school that I am comfortable going to (likely with $$.) The opportunity cost of pushing it back a year doesn't make much sense to me, and after talking to a few people it became pretty clear that it wouldn't help me get into schools I wouldn't otherwise get into. I will say that a lot of people have suggested that an extra year of work would help with the job search/OCI. If there was any rational for waiting another year I would actually say that's it. So if the thought of working another year to improve job prospects appeals to you wait, if not don't. (obviously if your unsure about law school also wait, my job experience actually helped convince me that I would definitely enjoy law, which helped me to decide on only one year.)