Did late 1L acceptances struggle or not? Forum

[van]

Were you aware of students who were admitted late off the wait list and how well they did?
I'm sure no one advertises they didn't get accepted until June or whenever, but in general did they tend to do just fine or struggle?
I also realize there is not definite one answer to this question.

[blurbz]

Were you aware of students who were admitted late off the wait list and how well they did?
I'm sure no one advertises they didn't get accepted until June or whenever, but in general did they tend to do just fine or struggle?
I also realize there is not definite one answer to this question.

I can't answer your question, unfortunately, but it certainly is a very real one.

I was admitted off of a waitlist earlier this week and, while I really like the school, I know I wouldn't feel as confident there as I would at the school I'm ultimately going to (and they're fewer than three spots away in the rankings) because of how hard my school came after me with scholarships/meetings/etc.

Would that have transferred into my performance? I don't know. But I don't think it was worth sacrificing that fuzzy feeling I get when I think about the school I'm going to!

[thesealocust]

nm

[CG614]

Were you aware of students who were admitted late off the wait list and how well they did?
I'm sure no one advertises they didn't get accepted until June or whenever, but in general did they tend to do just fine or struggle?
I also realize there is not definite one answer to this question.

I can't answer your question, unfortunately, but it certainly is a very real one.

I was admitted off of a waitlist earlier this week and, while I really like the school, I know I wouldn't feel as confident there as I would at the school I'm ultimately going to (and they're fewer than three spots away in the rankings) because of how hard my school came after me with scholarships/meetings/etc.

Would that have transferred into my performance? I don't know. But I don't think it was worth sacrificing that fuzzy feeling I get when I think about the school I'm going to!

Any chance the one you are going to is Illinois? Just taking a shot in the dark.

[Bankhead]

It's a ridiculous question. Why would there be any type of correlation?

[blurbz]

Were you aware of students who were admitted late off the wait list and how well they did?
I'm sure no one advertises they didn't get accepted until June or whenever, but in general did they tend to do just fine or struggle?
I also realize there is not definite one answer to this question.

I can't answer your question, unfortunately, but it certainly is a very real one.

I was admitted off of a waitlist earlier this week and, while I really like the school, I know I wouldn't feel as confident there as I would at the school I'm ultimately going to (and they're fewer than three spots away in the rankings) because of how hard my school came after me with scholarships/meetings/etc.

Would that have transferred into my performance? I don't know. But I don't think it was worth sacrificing that fuzzy feeling I get when I think about the school I'm going to!

Any chance the one you are going to is Illinois? Just taking a shot in the dark.

Haha. Yes. I wasn't trying to hide it--I just didn't think it was important. The waitlist I got off of (with a large scholarship) was WUSTL.

[blurbz]

It's a ridiculous question. Why would there be any type of correlation?

People taken off of the waitlists are likely to have numbers that are less impressive than those admitted originally. Admissions offices like to say that numbers are often indicators of 1L success. They propagate the belief that the two are correlated, so I believe it is a legitimate question.

[KMaine]

It's a ridiculous question. Why would there be any type of correlation?

May not be a correlation, but it is certainly a valid question.

[megaTTTron]

Were you aware of students who were admitted late off the wait list and how well they did?
I'm sure no one advertises they didn't get accepted until June or whenever, but in general did they tend to do just fine or struggle?
I also realize there is not definite one answer to this question.

Admitted less than a week before orientation at a T1. Top 10%. One of my good friends, admitted the same day. Bottom 10%.


So yea, probably no correlation. lol.

[van]

blurbz
In your case I agree with you that 3 spots may not be worth it and they serve the same geographical area.
I'd probably go with the best financial offer, unless that too is close. Then stick with your gut, which seems to be Illinois.

This is obviouslly a valid question many ask themselves. After I posted it I did a search on here and found similar posts from past years.
Examples:

Accepted off the wl with the lowest #s i've seen, but i received confirmation she kicked ass better than any 165-170 in her class in the first semester, top 5%. <mime-attachment.gif>fwiw she said there's no diff or "catch up" and that she was on even ground from the beginning. if that answers your q?

Also, I'll offer some anecdotal evidence. At the UVA ASW I met an alum who got in off the waitlist two weeks before classes and ended up clerking for the Supreme Court.

yeah i wouldnt worry about that. remember if they accept u off the waitlist its for a reason and they want you... so they are going to try and accommodate you the best they can.

[Cardboardbox]

Thinking about it from a mindset stand point, I can see it going either way. As someone mentioned before, if you get in last minute you might not feel as confident that you'll do well at this school that just "barely" accepted you as opposed to one you have a big scholarship at, and I understand that. My personal mindset if I get off the WL where I want to go (and I'm sure others have this mindset as well) is that they'd be so excited by the prospect of going to the school they want to that they'd study their ass off and try to do their best. Obviously, they may not do as well as they want to or they may end up at the top of the class, but how you personally percieve yourself in an environment would, imo, have an impact on how well you perform.

[Riles246]

Definitely no correlation. There is nothing that happens during the summer. Some gunners try to read over the summer, but it doesn't help (and actually probably hurts). Getting accepted late should have no hit to your confidence, unless you have poor self esteem. Once you are in school, nobody cares when you got in, where you went to UG, what your LSAT was, or anything else. Its all about how you understand the material at hand. And that's all that you are graded on.

[sumus romani]

It's a ridiculous question. Why would there be any type of correlation?

People taken off of the waitlists are likely to have numbers that are less impressive than those admitted originally. Admissions offices like to say that numbers are often indicators of 1L success. They propagate the belief that the two are correlated, so I believe it is a legitimate question.

Schools will often take splitters of either sort to shore up the medians very late in the game (believe it or not, there are no-shows on the first day, even at top law schools). So, at least in some cases, the late admits' numbers are not all that different from those who where admitted earlier, and chose to attend. This is true especially since schools waitlist lots of people who are above median in at least one score.

Also, keep in mind that tons of auto-admits at the school likely are not attending the school, since they got accepted to better programs. My hunch is that y'all's numbers are not significantly different than those who were admitted earlier.

[Pennoyerrox]

.

[OperaSoprano]

There are other reasons for late acceptances besides weak numbers. My waitlist story is probably a case in point. (Yes, you can technically major in anything and still go to law school, but I don't really recommend it. )

My final rank is a big fat unknown at this point, but I did fine last semester, despite getting in long after I had told myself it was never going to happen.

You will worry about many other things as a 1L. You can rest easy about this, as many wiser than I have already spoken.

[MoS]

Aren't a lot of splitters taken off waitlists, high LSATs low gpas, in an attempt to boost numbers? Wouldn't that mean the numbers are less predictive for them in general?

[Dead Ringer]

I know several people who got in last minute off of waitlists and finished in the top 10% at the schools they went to. Entering credentials are very, very poor predictors of law school performance.

I can second this. Know a girl who is a self-admitted long shot who will probably grade on to LR. The LSAT may be a good predictor over a broader range, but within the narrow range that gets admitted to and matriculates at a certain school it does not really tell you much. If anything, I would watch out for the weaker admits because they tend to be high GPAers who study their ass off. A lot of the stealth gunners I can think of fall in to that category.

Also don't bother feeling like you let your school down in any case. They wanted you for your personality and they probably still needed your numbers.

Full disclosure: I was a strong admit who has had somewhat middling performance.

[adameus]

Know a girl who is a self-admitted long shot who will probably grade on to LR.

what does this mean?

[L&C 2013]

Were you aware of students who were admitted late off the wait list and how well they did?
I'm sure no one advertises they didn't get accepted until June or whenever, but in general did they tend to do just fine or struggle?
I also realize there is not definite one answer to this question.

Admitted less than a week before orientation at a T1. Top 10%. One of my good friends, admitted the same day. Bottom 10%.


So yea, probably no correlation. lol.

Megatron, out of curiosity, did you share some of your tips that you've shared here with your friend? How similar were you two with studying and exam prep?

[Mr. Matlock]

Were you aware of students who were admitted late off the wait list and how well they did?
I'm sure no one advertises they didn't get accepted until June or whenever, but in general did they tend to do just fine or struggle?
I also realize there is not definite one answer to this question.

Admitted less than a week before orientation at a T1. Top 10%. One of my good friends, admitted the same day. Bottom 10%.


So yea, probably no correlation. lol.

Megatron, out of curiosity, did you share some of your tips that you've shared here with your friend? How similar were you two with studying and exam prep?

**Depending on response, Matlock prepares to delete megaTTTron's advice article from OneNote file**

[megaTTTron]

Were you aware of students who were admitted late off the wait list and how well they did?
I'm sure no one advertises they didn't get accepted until June or whenever, but in general did they tend to do just fine or struggle?
I also realize there is not definite one answer to this question.

Admitted less than a week before orientation at a T1. Top 10%. One of my good friends, admitted the same day. Bottom 10%.


So yea, probably no correlation. lol.

Megatron, out of curiosity, did you share some of your tips that you've shared here with your friend? How similar were you two with studying and exam prep?

My friend (who was one of my best friends there) just did not care. I mean she cared about law school and everything. but she's just one of those people who does not care about doing well. she's smart and she knew how hard i worked and what i did. But law school and the amount of time you put in is a personal choice. Ironically she got the same LSAT score as I did. So it just goes to show you that regardless of your LSAT score, or how you got in, once you get in it's a whole new ball game. You can do just as well as the 180, full-ride, november-accepted kids. But you might have to work a little harder (and get a little lucky). hth.

[Mr. Matlock]

Were you aware of students who were admitted late off the wait list and how well they did?
I'm sure no one advertises they didn't get accepted until June or whenever, but in general did they tend to do just fine or struggle?
I also realize there is not definite one answer to this question.

Admitted less than a week before orientation at a T1. Top 10%. One of my good friends, admitted the same day. Bottom 10%.


So yea, probably no correlation. lol.

Megatron, out of curiosity, did you share some of your tips that you've shared here with your friend? How similar were you two with studying and exam prep?

My friend (who was one of my best friends there) just did not care. I mean she cared about law school and everything. but she's just one of those people who does not care about doing well. she's smart and she knew how hard i worked and what i did. But law school and the amount of time you put in is a personal choice. Ironically she got the same LSAT score as I did. So it just goes to show you that regardless of your LSAT score, or how you got in, once you get in it's a whole new ball game. You can do just as well as the 180, full-ride, november-accepted kids. But you might have to work a little harder (and get a little lucky). hth.

**Matlock removes finger from the delete button and moves on**

[MissLucky]

Definitely no correlation. There is nothing that happens during the summer. Some gunners try to read over the summer, but it doesn't help (and actually probably hurts). Getting accepted late should have no hit to your confidence, unless you have poor self esteem. Once you are in school, nobody cares when you got in, where you went to UG, what your LSAT was, or anything else. Its all about how you understand the material at hand. And that's all that you are graded on.

I love this.

And I'm finding this thread exceedingly comforting. I am currently on 5 wait lists and am pretty sure that if I get so lucky as to get in off of even 1 of those wait lists, it will probably be last second I've just been stressing out about not being able to prepare over the summer - reading those 0L prep books, etc. and not having enough to time to find a place or get the proper laptop (well the laptop stuff I can research now I suppose...in the event that I DO get into law school this year)

but good to know that the consensus is that there is nothing you NEED to do or even should be doing the summer before 1L to prep - as in, I won't be at a disadvantage relative to the regular admits if I get in off a wait list a couple weeks beforehand?

[ggocat]

The #1 person in my class was admitted off the waitlist.

[cavebat2000]

The #1 person in my class was admitted off the waitlist.

BUT BUT Desert Fox told me the LSAT was a good predictor of law school performance!!??