WUSTL c/o 2018 Applicants Forum

[sheboygan!]

I'm just hangin' out all lonely, waiting to hear back since beginning of October.

FWIW I'm at both medians, so I'm sure that plays a role in this.

[rebexness]

[sheboygan!]

I'm just hangin' out all lonely, waiting to hear back since beginning of October.

FWIW I'm at both medians, so I'm sure that plays a role in this.

Have you looked on LSN for people with your app dates?

Yup- people with stats similar to mine are still waiting on decision, people with a higher LSAT and/or GPA that applied after me (and went complete after too) have already heard. Although it's still a mixed bag of people who haven't- I'm just going slightly insane wanting to know :p

[hoos89]

I'm just hangin' out all lonely, waiting to hear back since beginning of October.

FWIW I'm at both medians, so I'm sure that plays a role in this.

Have you looked on LSN for people with your app dates?

Yup- people with stats similar to mine are still waiting on decision, people with a higher LSAT and/or GPA that applied after me (and went complete after too) have already heard. Although it's still a mixed bag of people who haven't- I'm just going slightly insane wanting to know :p

At or above median LSAT is practically a lock for admission, just so you know (looking at last year's LSN data, I see exactly two wait lists at or above 166). Of course, the relevant number is the ad comm's target LSAT median for next year, not the previous one. Last year's is usually a pretty good marker, but not always identical. Also, that holds even for people with terrible GPAs (sub 3.0), so you should be in with a median GPA.

[chuckbass]

Haha. I can respect that. Hell if me and scotti do half as well as you guys, I'll be thrilled.

fuck that. You need to do better than us.

Yea if I can't best cuse in something my time here will be a FAILURE.

[sheboygan!]

I'm just hangin' out all lonely, waiting to hear back since beginning of October.

FWIW I'm at both medians, so I'm sure that plays a role in this.

Have you looked on LSN for people with your app dates?

Yup- people with stats similar to mine are still waiting on decision, people with a higher LSAT and/or GPA that applied after me (and went complete after too) have already heard. Although it's still a mixed bag of people who haven't- I'm just going slightly insane wanting to know :p

At or above median LSAT is practically a lock for admission, just so you know (looking at last year's LSN data, I see exactly two wait lists at or above 166). Of course, the relevant number is the ad comm's target LSAT median for next year, not the previous one. Last year's is usually a pretty good marker, but not always identical. Also, that holds even for people with terrible GPAs (sub 3.0), so you should be in with a median GPA.

And that's the impression I'm getting too! (Sigh deep sigh of relief). Waiting. Just not fun.

[chuckbass]

Yeah I'd say if you're at both medians you should be fine, keep us posted!

[regulartime]

Interview today. I felt it went really well. I was impressed with how honest her answers were to my questions. She talked about how competitive it was to get jobs as well as how hard a nontraditional student needs to think about taking on debt and giving up three years of work. I love Wash U. I hope I get in with enough money for law school to be possible.

[czpczp]

I had my interview as well. She was great! You guys were totally right.

[LS2018]

Hello Regulartime - did your interviewer seem positive about the idea of non-traditional law students given the current market / climate?

[chuckbass]

Good to hear that the interviews are going well!

If you guys have any more questions feel free to ask us, or ask in the taking questions thread linked in the OP, since obviously there are some questions that will be answered better by non-1Ls.

[LS2018]

How many hours per week, on average, of studying is required to stay in the top 25% of your class?

[LET'S GET IT]

How many hours per week, on average, of studying is required to stay in the top 25% of your class?

That question is almost impossible to answer because it will vary person to person. I know people that get here by 7 or 8 every day and are here until 7 or 8 at night and still seem to be having a hard time. I know people that skip most of the readings and only study a few hours per week and are doing well. That being said, we haven't gotten any final grades yet, so it's all speculative. Most people are working very hard. My advice would be to expect to put in 3-5 hours per day outside of class time at a minimum for at least the first semester until you can figure out what works for you. I'm sure others will disagree, but that's my opinion.

Edit: I should add that no amount of studying is going to guarantee you stay in the top 25%.

[hoos89]

How many hours per week, on average, of studying is required to stay in the top 25% of your class?

Your question assumes that there is some amount of studying that will guarantee you top 25%, or even give a random student significantly more than about a 25% chance of being in the top 25%. Pretty much every 1L studies a decent amount; there are exceptions, but they are too few to reliably count on to give you a noticeable bump in chances for top 25%. Of people I'm aware of in the top 25%, study times varied pretty wildly from "not that much" to "a ton". There might be some minimum required to make it to the top 25%, I don't know, and that would definitely depend on the person. Also, you should probably ask yourself whether top 25% is really going to be good enough to get whatever outcome you want. Interviews at OCI get pretty thin around the top 25%, especially for non-URMs without ties to STL (not sure if either applies to you).

ETA: Probably the single most stressful thing about first semester 1L is that you could be first or last in the class and anywhere in between.

That question is almost impossible to answer because it will vary person to person. I know people that get here by 7 or 8 every day and are here until 7 or 8 at night and still seem to be having a hard time. I know people that skip most of the readings and only study a few hours per week and are doing well. That being said, we haven't gotten any final grades yet, so it's all speculative. Most people are working very hard. My advice would be to expect to put in 3-5 hours per day outside of class time at a minimum for at least the first semester until you can figure out what works for you. I'm sure others will disagree, but that's my opinion.

Not to freak you out or anything, but you can't really determine whether people are doing well until final grades come back. I think there are some people that just get it, and maybe you can tell, but that still doesn't mean they have whatever skill that makes someone good at issue spotter exams (or whatever types of exams their professors give them).

[LET'S GET IT]

How many hours per week, on average, of studying is required to stay in the top 25% of your class?

Your question assumes that there is some amount of studying that will guarantee you top 25%, or even give a random student significantly more than about a 25% chance of being in the top 25%. Pretty much every 1L studies a decent amount; there are exceptions, but they are too few to reliably count on to give you a noticeable bump in chances for top 25%. Of people I'm aware of in the top 25%, study times varied pretty wildly from "not that much" to "a ton". There might be some minimum required to make it to the top 25%, I don't know, and that would definitely depend on the person. Also, you should probably ask yourself whether top 25% is really going to be good enough to get whatever outcome you want. Interviews at OCI get pretty thin around the top 25%, especially for non-URMs without ties to STL (not sure if either applies to you).

That question is almost impossible to answer because it will vary person to person. I know people that get here by 7 or 8 every day and are here until 7 or 8 at night and still seem to be having a hard time. I know people that skip most of the readings and only study a few hours per week and are doing well. That being said, we haven't gotten any final grades yet, so it's all speculative. Most people are working very hard. My advice would be to expect to put in 3-5 hours per day outside of class time at a minimum for at least the first semester until you can figure out what works for you. I'm sure others will disagree, but that's my opinion.

Not to freak you out or anything, but you can't really determine whether people are doing well until final grades come back. I think there are some people that just get it, and maybe you can tell, but that still doesn't mean they have whatever skill that makes someone good at issue spotter exams (or whatever types of exams their professors give them).

Fair enough, and I think I mention that in the following sentence. I'm not one of those people so it's not going to freak me out. If my grades aren't good, it won't be because I'm not putting in the time.

[czpczp]

Good luck to everyone, hopefully some new acceptances go out later today!

[regulartime]

Good luck to everyone, hopefully some new acceptances go out later today!

I hope that happens, but she made it sound like the next wave would be early next week.

[HavingFun]

Good luck to everyone, hopefully some new acceptances go out later today!

I hope that happens, but she made it sound like the next wave would be early next week.

What did she say, something about hearing within the next week or so?

[regulartime]

Good luck to everyone, hopefully some new acceptances go out later today!

I hope that happens, but she made it sound like the next wave would be early next week.

What did she say, something about hearing within the next week or so?

She told me I'd know "early next week."

[HavingFun]

Good luck to everyone, hopefully some new acceptances go out later today!

I hope that happens, but she made it sound like the next wave would be early next week.

What did she say, something about hearing within the next week or so?

She told me I'd know "early next week."

Looks like you're in

[BobbyWarz]

Just had my interview today (by phone). AdComm was really nice but I was definitely nervous. I'm hoping that didn't shine through too much.
She happily answered all of my questions though and definitely made St. Louis sound like a great place!
She said I would hear back "fairly soon".... Fingers crossed!

[Bubbles1012]

I was not necessarily considering applying to WUSTL, but I have noticed people on other threads discussing how it was useful to have their large scholarship offers from WUSTL in order to negotiate for schollys with other schools. As a kind of splitter with a 169 3.5 would it be worthwhile to submit an application in the hopes of possibly squeezing $ from Vandy or Texas if WUSTL gives me some money?

[hoos89]

I was not necessarily considering applying to WUSTL, but I have noticed people on other threads discussing how it was useful to have their large scholarship offers from WUSTL in order to negotiate for schollys with other schools. As a kind of splitter with a 169 3.5 would it be worthwhile to submit an application in the hopes of possibly squeezing $ from Vandy or Texas if WUSTL gives me some money?

Yes absolutely worth it. WUSTL is usually pretty generous relative to other schools. You might not get Vandy or UT to nudge, but it's a fairly small amount of money and effort to spend (especially if you ask for and get a fee waiver) for a chance at getting several thousand back in increased scholarship money.

[regulartime]

She told me I'd know "early next week."[/quote]


Looks like you're in[/quote]

I hope so.

[regulartime]

Just had my interview today (by phone). AdComm was really nice but I was definitely nervous. I'm hoping that didn't shine through too much.
She happily answered all of my questions though and definitely made St. Louis sound like a great place!
She said I would hear back "fairly soon".... Fingers crossed!

I'm sure you did great. Good luck.