I HEREBY PROCLAIM THAT I GOT OFF A WAITLIST [2013 EDITION] Forum

[Rlabo]

Harvard - off waitlist and against most odds.

It can happen. Until the moment I was accepted, I never would have believed it. In fact, many people on TLS with higher stats than me mildly ripped on me in threads, saying I didn't have much of a chance. And I applied with that fact fully clear in my mind, that my chances were slim.

But this fall, I'm attending Harvard...and many of them aren't (Of course, they are still attending awesome schools. Not saying that they aren't intelligent or capable, etc. Just that it is despite what many would expect in this situation.)

It's not over until it's over. Numbers DO matter, but once you have competitive numbers, "softs" really do make a difference. It's impossible to know what the admissions people are looking for and what they will do. Having a 180/4.0 isn't always an auto-admit.

Need any help carrying that chip on your shoulder?

I don't think that's the point. She's just trying to say don't believe everything you read on here and keep a more open mind than not. A lot of people on this site tend to overemphasize the number aspect just a drop, and here's an example where they could have persuaded someone not to apply to harvard who has now gotten in. Definitely a post worth writing imo.

Well she DID have a 4.1 GPA. It isn't like she was a 167/3.7....

No she wasn't, but even after considering that, people give advice here that isn't necessarily the most sound. Like she said, numbers do matter and no one is disputing that, but that's not the entire story and to treat it like it is may screw a few people out of top schools. You choose to highlight the 4.1, but you could've just as easily highlighted that the 169 was the highest of 3 tests by 10 points which is under harvard median (and 25th?), plus a c+f issue. No one could've really predicted this. I'm just saying, ridiculing the poster and saying she has "a chip on her shoulder" misses the actual point of the post, and just attacks the speaker for no real reason.

[PDaddy]

Minne and NU here

Minne not worth listing. Have fun at NU, unless you got a fat scholly elsewhere or can go top-10.

[PDaddy]

Harvard - off waitlist and against most odds.

It can happen. Until the moment I was accepted, I never would have believed it. In fact, many people on TLS with higher stats than me mildly ripped on me in threads, saying I didn't have much of a chance. And I applied with that fact fully clear in my mind, that my chances were slim.

But this fall, I'm attending Harvard...and many of them aren't (Of course, they are still attending awesome schools. Not saying that they aren't intelligent or capable, etc. Just that it is despite what many would expect in this situation.)

It's not over until it's over. Numbers DO matter, but once you have competitive numbers, "softs" really do make a difference. It's impossible to know what the admissions people are looking for and what they will do. Having a 180/4.0 isn't always an auto-admit.

One can argue that the higher you go on the law school food chain the more impact soft factors can have. How do you distinguish between so many great applicants with strong numbers? The soft factors likely play a bigger role in elite law school admissions than most people here can fathom.

That's why the "Suits" Season-2 finale was so ridiculous. If the producers had hired a consultant with proper knowledge he would have told them that the soft factors were extremely important for distinguishing between applicants. Then the storyline could have been that Rachel Zane's essay was not compelling, or that her WE was strong but she lacked community service.

She's like a 3.8+ (presumably) with a 173 LSAT and stellar work experience at a top biglaw firm that only hires from Harvard...African-American and the legacy of a highly distinguished graduate (her father, Robert Zane). In the real world, Rachel gets into Harvard without breaking a sweat!

But I digress. I am not surprised that you got in.

[jbagelboy]

Harvard - off waitlist and against most odds.

It can happen. Until the moment I was accepted, I never would have believed it. In fact, many people on TLS with higher stats than me mildly ripped on me in threads, saying I didn't have much of a chance. And I applied with that fact fully clear in my mind, that my chances were slim.

But this fall, I'm attending Harvard...and many of them aren't (Of course, they are still attending awesome schools. Not saying that they aren't intelligent or capable, etc. Just that it is despite what many would expect in this situation.)

It's not over until it's over. Numbers DO matter, but once you have competitive numbers, "softs" really do make a difference. It's impossible to know what the admissions people are looking for and what they will do. Having a 180/4.0 isn't always an auto-admit.

One can argue that the higher you go on the law school food chain the more impact soft factors can have. How do you distinguish between so many great applicants with strong numbers? The soft factors likely play a bigger role in elite law school admissions than most people here can fathom.

That's why the "Suits" Season-2 finale was so ridiculous. If the producers had hired a consultant with proper knowledge he would have told them that the soft factors were extremely important for distinguishing between applicants. Then the storyline could have been that Rachel Zane's essay was not compelling, or that her WE was strong but she lacked community service.

She's like a 3.8+ (presumably) with a 173 LSAT and stellar work experience at a top biglaw firm that only hires from Harvard...African-American and the legacy of a highly distinguished graduate (her father, Robert Zane). In the real world, Rachel gets into Harvard without breaking a sweat!

But I digress. I am not surprised that you got in.

basically nothing in that show is relevant or accurate regarding the legal community or law school admissions.

i'll still be watching season 3 tho

[WisemanAEKDB]

UW. I sold my soul in a forum earlier. I guess that worked out.

[mr.hands]

Minne and NU here

Minne not worth listing. Have fun at NU, unless you got a fat scholly elsewhere or can go top-10.

Oh God why can't this "T10" thing die. What a useless distinction.

I'd take NU over Michigan or UVA any day

[UMich11]

Notre Dame with 10k scholarship. have 8 days to make the deposit, still waiting on UMich. Was told when ND called 3 weeks ago to check my interest they said my chances of money was 0 (based on those admitted RD and WL).

i doubt UMich will offer more if any money, yet alone accept me within the next 8 days. but there is always hope.

[TA923]

Notre Dame with 10k scholarship. have 8 days to make the deposit, still waiting on UMich. Was told when ND called 3 weeks ago to check my interest they said my chances of money was 0 (based on those admitted RD and WL).

i doubt UMich will offer more if any money, yet alone accept me within the next 8 days. but there is always hope.

M at sticker is still significantly better than ND with a 10K scholarship.

[mr.hands]

Notre Dame with 10k scholarship. have 8 days to make the deposit, still waiting on UMich. Was told when ND called 3 weeks ago to check my interest they said my chances of money was 0 (based on those admitted RD and WL).

i doubt UMich will offer more if any money, yet alone accept me within the next 8 days. but there is always hope.

M at sticker is still significantly better than ND with a 10K scholarship.

Yep. You'd be crazy to go to ND over UMich here

[UMich11]

Notre Dame with 10k scholarship. have 8 days to make the deposit, still waiting on UMich. Was told when ND called 3 weeks ago to check my interest they said my chances of money was 0 (based on those admitted RD and WL).

i doubt UMich will offer more if any money, yet alone accept me within the next 8 days. but there is always hope.

M at sticker is still significantly better than ND with a 10K scholarship.

Yep. You'd be crazy to go to ND over UMich here

I agree, but right now a bird in the hand. not in at UMich yet. Maybe today, maybe next week? idk.

[hupholland]

GWU baby. got a 152 then a 155 had a 3.8, got shit on in these forums, thought i was a failure.. got 30k/year in scholarships.

[justonemoregame]

GWU baby. got a 152 then a 155 had a 3.8, got shit on in these forums, thought i was a failure.. got 30k/year in scholarships.

How much debt will you have at graduation?

[mr.hands]

GWU baby. got a 152 then a 155 had a 3.8, got shit on in these forums, thought i was a failure.. got 30k/year in scholarships.

How much debt will you have at graduation?

+1

[jbagelboy]

GWU baby. got a 152 then a 155 had a 3.8, got shit on in these forums, thought i was a failure.. got 30k/year in scholarships.

congrats dude

retake is still TCR

[hupholland]

GWU baby. got a 152 then a 155 had a 3.8, got shit on in these forums, thought i was a failure.. got 30k/year in scholarships.

How much debt will you have at graduation?

+1

how much debt will you have at graduation?

[Dmini7]

GWU baby. got a 152 then a 155 had a 3.8, got shit on in these forums, thought i was a failure.. got 30k/year in scholarships.

How much debt will you have at graduation?

Although we could argue about how much debt the individual will have at graduation, I think it is amazing they pulled out 30k/yr with that low of an LSAT from a T25. If they had their heart set on DC or that school in particular, I am doubtful that they would beat that even if they surpassed GWU's median/75th. I thought GWU was a stingy school, but maybe I am wrong. Furthermore, the individual stated that the forum chewed them out about their chances, but his first post was saying he got in off the WL.

If the individual is telling the truth, congratulations, you did something completely unpredictable and your acceptance should give others tons of hope.

[hupholland]

Gods honest truth. Created new username after I got tore apart. I'm a chick and not a dude, my heart was set on gwu to begin with, and as we all know we do what we can to get off a wait list, right? I had a friends dad who hooked me up with a local MAJOR donor to the law school (were a bit away from dc so it was pure luck) and I basically sat down with this guy for an hour and essentially let him interview me. Got the email with the good news two days later.

Also to be fair to myself everything else about my file is Pretty perfect. I'm extremely involved had almost perfect grades and two majors, and sat on the board of governors at my 30k+ student university. Not bragging, just pointing out that I don't owe my admittance to the donor. I got myself on the wait list to begin with.

Advice for those still on WL? Don't give up and do everything you can to exhaust your resources. It's not over until it's over.

GWU baby. got a 152 then a 155 had a 3.8, got shit on in these forums, thought i was a failure.. got 30k/year in scholarships.

How much debt will you have at graduation?

Although we could argue about how much debt the individual will have at graduation, I think it is amazing they pulled out 30k/yr with that low of an LSAT from a T25. If they had their heart set on DC or that school in particular, I am doubtful that they would beat that even if they surpassed GWU's median/75th. I thought GWU was a stingy school, but maybe I am wrong. Furthermore, the individual stated that the forum chewed them out about their chances, but his first post was saying he got in off the WL.

If the individual is telling the truth, congratulations, you did something completely unpredictable and your acceptance should give others tons of hope.

[gatorfan163287]

Gotten off of GW's with $20k/yr, ND's with $28k/yr, and Emory's with $31k/yr. Still on Vandy and Cornell's lists unfortunately.

Thinking of still going to BU though with $30k/yr.

3.67/165

[jbagelboy]

Gods honest truth. Created new username after I got tore apart. I'm a chick and not a dude, my heart was set on gwu to begin with, and as we all know we do what we can to get off a wait list, right? I had a friends dad who hooked me up with a local MAJOR donor to the law school (were a bit away from dc so it was pure luck) and I basically sat down with this guy for an hour and essentially let him interview me. Got the email with the good news two days later.

Also to be fair to myself everything else about my file is Pretty perfect. I'm extremely involved had almost perfect grades and two majors, and sat on the board of governors at my 30k+ student university. Not bragging, just pointing out that I don't owe my admittance to the donor. I got myself on the wait list to begin with.

Advice for those still on WL? Don't give up and do everything you can to exhaust your resources. It's not over until it's over.

GWU baby. got a 152 then a 155 had a 3.8, got shit on in these forums, thought i was a failure.. got 30k/year in scholarships.

How much debt will you have at graduation?

Although we could argue about how much debt the individual will have at graduation, I think it is amazing they pulled out 30k/yr with that low of an LSAT from a T25. If they had their heart set on DC or that school in particular, I am doubtful that they would beat that even if they surpassed GWU's median/75th. I thought GWU was a stingy school, but maybe I am wrong. Furthermore, the individual stated that the forum chewed them out about their chances, but his first post was saying he got in off the WL.

If the individual is telling the truth, congratulations, you did something completely unpredictable and your acceptance should give others tons of hope.

It wasn't super unpredictable, though. It was $$ via the request of an important person who was a personal contact. I knew a guy who got into Yale k-jd from my college few yrs back with sub median GPA/LSAT, non-urm. His dad was an alumn and sat on the Yale law board of trustees and admissions. We could all pretend it was some club, student org, or PS that made the difference, but who the fuck are we kidding.

While I whole heartedly congratulate the GWU girl, don't spread misinformation by presenting the circumstances as quotidien. Others with a 3.8/155 should not be sending hail mary apps with the hope of your outcome. They should be studying to retake for a 166. Its completely disingenous to act otherwise when TCR for 98% of people is the opposite.

With a 3.8, you also could have gotten into HCCNP. Remember that.

[chadbrochill]

With a 3.8, you also could have gotten into HCCNP. Remember that.

I mean sure, but...YOLO!

[mcs268]

Been 2 weeks ago but..got off USC's waitlist with 3.6/166 and 45K.

Below both medians and got some money. No one thought I could do it

[MT Cicero]

It wasn't super unpredictable, though. It was $$ via the request of an important person who was a personal contact. I knew a guy who got into Yale k-jd from my college few yrs back with sub median GPA/LSAT, non-urm. His dad was an alumn and sat on the Yale law board of trustees and admissions. We could all pretend it was some club, student org, or PS that made the difference, but who the fuck are we kidding.

While I whole heartedly congratulate the GWU girl, don't spread misinformation by presenting the circumstances as quotidien. Others with a 3.8/155 should not be sending hail mary apps with the hope of your outcome. They should be studying to retake for a 166. Its completely disingenous to act otherwise when TCR for 98% of people is the opposite.

With a 3.8, you also could have gotten into HCCNP. Remember that.

Or, to use another sports analogy...just because you punted a basketball from half court and it happened to go in does not make that a high percentage shot. Study, retake, hit the free throw (or layup) is the answer for most.

[NoWorries]

GWU baby. got a 152 then a 155 had a 3.8, got shit on in these forums, thought i was a failure.. got 30k/year in scholarships.

Retake + Reapply

Seriously. GW is a waste with that GPA.

[meggomyeggo]

Georgetown with a 169 and 2.9

ETA: also, 10k a year scholly.

[Yasy13]

Any movement for anyone? Already July and still sitting on 4 wait lists....fingers crossssed!