Top Law Schools

First of all, numbers : 3.94 GPA, 168 LSAT.

I have 3+ years work experience as a courtroom clerk, my LORs are both from judges.

I feel good about all of that.

Here's the part I'm torn on-- I've been a touring slam poet for a few years, wrote & published a book of poetry, and have 3+ million views on YouTube for my poetry. While this is all stuff that I'm proud of, and I think highlights my skill as a public speaker, the content of the poetry itself is all pretty personal, and not something I'd necessarily lead with to an admissions counselor. With that being said, my poetry is the first thing that comes up on a Google search of my name, so it's not exactly easy to hide. Do I include this on my resume? Talk about it in my personal statement? Ignore it completely and hope it never comes up?

Thanks for your help!

Talk about it.

They're going to Google your name anyway, and unlike most things that people have on the internet, you have reason to be proud of this one.

I say go for it. I'd listened to (and been impressed by) "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" before reading your post, and I think it speaks to your advocacy and intelligence. This is stuff you should be really proud of, regardless of how personal it is.

This is the kind of soft I'd get excited about if I were an adcomm. I'd definitely play it up. Adcomms aren't so stuffy that they'd be appalled by poetry that's personal and revealing, if they do take the time to look it up themselves.

Off topic but I'm not sure how good you should feel about 0 academic LORs

I've been out of school long enough that my professional recommendations seem more relevant, but I have an additional LOR from a former professor & Mock Trial coach.

If it matters, I'm applying to Duke, University of Washington, NYU, and Lewis & Clark.

Why only those schools??

A. Nony Mouse wrote:Why only those schools??

OP you should blanket the T-14, including HYS. Also re-take if you can.

You're an incredibly talented poet. The content is perfectly appropriate for its context and I think it demonstrates skills that will be extremely valuable in a legal career. Absolutely talk about it, this is really unique, and I would suggest playing it up as much as possible. Out of curiosity, are you interested in litigation? The oratory skills you've developed as a poet would, I'd think, prepare you very well to be a litigator.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:Why only those schools??

I'm also curious why only those schools, it's a bit of an odd list. I'd highly recommend applying to more schools. Even if you have your heart set on one of these schools, you'll probably want scholarship leverage from other schools.

Best of luck!

Also, going back to your first post - if I found the right person, I agree that your stuff is really good and worth highlighting to adcomms. I think the talent is more important than the personal nature of the work, and that adcomms will see that. Good luck!

Thanks for your responses, they've been super helpful. I'm going to try to draft a personal statement that talks about poetry and performance & how that will (hopefully) serve me well as a trial attorney. I'm planning on going into criminal defense.

As far as the schools-- I'm also applying to Michigan and considering applying to Cornell. I honestly have my heart set on staying in the PNW though, so my ideal endgame is to get a full-ride or close to Lewis & Clark or UW, using the others as leverage if necessary. (The other schools on my list are all in cities I could see myself living in, but I'm reluctant to leave the PNW.) I don't do well in super cut-throat environments, I don't think I'd be a good candidate for HYS. If there's a strategy I'm missing though, I'd be interested in hearing it.

I wanted to touch on the LOR issue-- is it really considered better to have an academic LOR over a professional one for someone who has been out of undergrad for several years? (With my GPA, I was honestly kind of hoping my academic record would speak for itself & I could use my LORs to showcase my work ethic, etc.)

((Also to the folks who talked specifically about my work-- thanks! I really appreciate it.))

If you want to stay in the PNW, Cal-Berkely should be near the top of your list (and you can get in already with those stats, plus they are big on softs like yours)

With that said, higher ranked schools aren't necessarily more cut-throat; sure, a lot of motivated students who want to do well will all be in the same place, but that's a vastly different environment than a TTT where you're fighting tooth and nail with your classmates in order to be able get a job of some kind upon graduation.

P.S. as a fellow writer, I am envious of your success haha. I imagine you plan to continue to write?

I'm with everyone else. Definitely highlight it. You're extremely talented.

Top schools do tend to less competitive because it's so much easier to get a job. I went to HYS, and, while there were people who were competitive and gunning for Supreme Court clerkships, it was very easy to opt out and focus on my own interests without worrying I wouldn't get a job if I didn't have top grades.

I would apply to the entire T-14, and definitely provide at least one academic rec.

Most schools will let you include 3 or 4 letters of rec. So just submit the two ones from the judges as well as the one from the professor. Unless the professors one is really bad.
And if a school only allows 2 max, then submit 1 from a judge and 1 from the professor, unless you're like 6 or 7 years out of school, then maybe you can submit both from judges.

I echo what others already said. Blanket the T-14 and highlight your poetry/writing ability. I imagine it is one of the softs that is truly considered unique and adcoms would love to have as part of the class they admit. You're a superb poet and it is definitely something you should highlight. I imagine you will get into a lot of great schools with serious money.

I just wanted to follow up with a question about academic LORs-- the only academic letter I've requested is from my college mock trial coach, who is technically an adjunct instructor since mock trial is a for-credit class, but mock trial is the only class he taught/coached. I am four years out of undergrad, and I would be seriously grasping at straws if I tried to find another professor at my undergrad who remembered me/my work. Is the letter from my mock trial coach/professor likely to be deemed "academic" enough?

Thanks again for all your help.

brennakate wrote:I just wanted to follow up with a question about academic LORs-- the only academic letter I've requested is from my college mock trial coach, who is technically an adjunct instructor since mock trial is a for-credit class, but mock trial is the only class he taught/coached. I am four years out of undergrad, and I would be seriously grasping at straws if I tried to find another professor at my undergrad who remembered me/my work. Is the letter from my mock trial coach/professor likely to be deemed "academic" enough?

Thanks again for all your help.

It'll probably be academic enough, but if you speak with this prof be sure to bring ANY work you did for your class to help jog his memory. It's the little things that really put people over the top. I would consider at least attempting to contact another prof if at all possible, though, and ask if they can write you a good recommendation. Gives them an out, and you don't know. You might get an extra LOR that will surprise you. Best of luck.