Michigan c/o 2015 Applicants (2011-2012 cycle) Forum

[Samara]

I feel like it humanizes an otherwise very mechanical and difficult process. She's the best I've seen at attempting to calm down applicants who are on the verge of breaking down.

I don't think you can be too transparent. I mean, how can you not like her when she takes action immediately when she finds out there is an issue? Name another school that would have acted as quickly as she/Michigan did?

Agreed.

But she shouldn't be airing a student's dirty laundry, so to speak.

ETA: What if she released the applicant's name and the specific scholarship amount? That would be too transparent, no?

[03121202698008]

I feel like it humanizes an otherwise very mechanical and difficult process. She's the best I've seen at attempting to calm down applicants who are on the verge of breaking down.

I don't think you can be too transparent. I mean, how can you not like her when she takes action immediately when she finds out there is an issue? Name another school that would have acted as quickly as she/Michigan did?

Agreed.

But she shouldn't be airing a student's dirty laundry, so to speak.

He/she isn't a child. They are an adult and this is a professional organization whose worth is in large part derived from its reputation. Make comments about a business who knows who you are and see how long it takes them to call you out. As the face of the school, she has a right to defend their reputation. I'd release their name.... guarantee it stops happening every year.

[Tiago Splitter]

And here I thought blowhard was just a nickname...

[descartesb4thehorse]

And here I thought blowhard was just a nickname...

roflcopter.

But he's very pleasant in person, says him.

[Samara]

But she shouldn't be airing a student's dirty laundry, so to speak.

He/she isn't a child. They are an adult and this is a professional organization whose worth is in large part derived from its reputation. Make comments about a business who knows who you are and see how long it takes them to call you out. As the face of the school, she has a right to defend their reputation. I'd release their name.... guarantee it stops happening every year.

What? The OP wasn't disparaging Michigan. OP was discussing an issue that they were having. TLS should be a safe space to discuss these issues without others publicly tattling on them and then being subjected to a public response. Does anyone have any concern for privacy anymore?

[ScrabbleChamp]

But she shouldn't be airing a student's dirty laundry, so to speak.

He/she isn't a child. They are an adult and this is a professional organization whose worth is in large part derived from its reputation. Make comments about a business who knows who you are and see how long it takes them to call you out.

Exactly. Also, Dean Z didn't state who this person was or what the resolution will be. All she stated was that they think they have identified the person and they are going to contact him. Also, she stated it is not their policy to due what this person claims they did. She wasn't airing dirty laundry.... she was simply stating it is not the practice of Michigan to reduce an award.

[03121202698008]

But she shouldn't be airing a student's dirty laundry, so to speak.

He/she isn't a child. They are an adult and this is a professional organization whose worth is in large part derived from its reputation. Make comments about a business who knows who you are and see how long it takes them to call you out. As the face of the school, she has a right to defend their reputation. I'd release their name.... guarantee it stops happening every year.

What? The OP wasn't disparaging Michigan. OP was discussing an issue that they were having. TLS should be a safe space to discuss these issues without others publicly tattling on them and then being subjected to a public response. Does anyone have any concern for privacy anymore?

Changing a scholly amount over something so ridiculous paints them in a bad light. Law firms have sued over people saying less about them. TLS is public...get that through your head. If you want to bitch in private...do it in private. Schools and Law Firms routinely come on TLS. I said I wouldn't have tattled on them...I'd have confirmed their policy and then posted here to clarify. If you think what you post on TLS doesn't follow you...you're stupid. I know nearly every 2L TLS person who posts from Michigan.

I was kidding about posting the name.

[Moriarty]

I think that giving specifics is a bit much, but I don't think the reply was too transparent. The major factor is that TLS is heavily frequented by a good chunk of top applicants, and it's important to nip the bad publicity in the bud. Think about all the relatively small things that make TLSers freak out; if the GPA drop/scholarship reduction had been perceived as true, it may have caused a landslide of withdrawn applications (worst case scenario).

[ScrabbleChamp]

But she shouldn't be airing a student's dirty laundry, so to speak.

He/she isn't a child. They are an adult and this is a professional organization whose worth is in large part derived from its reputation. Make comments about a business who knows who you are and see how long it takes them to call you out. As the face of the school, she has a right to defend their reputation. I'd release their name.... guarantee it stops happening every year.

What? The OP wasn't disparaging Michigan. OP was discussing an issue that they were having. TLS should be a safe space to discuss these issues without others publicly tattling on them and then being subjected to a public response. Does anyone have any concern for privacy anymore?

I'm sure some people do... that's why they DON'T COME TO AN INTERNET MESSAGE BOARD AND ASSUME IT IS SAFE TO SAY WHATEVER THEY WANT. Since you seem to be so trusting, why don't you just post your SSN for all to see?

Come on... grow up... If you think it is smart to come on TLS and provide enough information to out yourself to those that matter, you have to be able to face the consequences. Do I think it was an ass-like move to take his/her story and put it on Dean Z's blog? Yes. But, I also don't have sympathy for that person when it appears they made a false statement or false presumption about their award. Obviously, username08 feels badly about what happened as he/she apologized in this thread. If they were completely faultless and thought themselves to be, why would they apologize?

[me!0712]

Applied on 12/30 and still haven't received the status checker info!!! >:/

[Samara]

But she shouldn't be airing a student's dirty laundry, so to speak.

He/she isn't a child. They are an adult and this is a professional organization whose worth is in large part derived from its reputation. Make comments about a business who knows who you are and see how long it takes them to call you out. As the face of the school, she has a right to defend their reputation. I'd release their name.... guarantee it stops happening every year.

What? The OP wasn't disparaging Michigan. OP was discussing an issue that they were having. TLS should be a safe space to discuss these issues without others publicly tattling on them and then being subjected to a public response. Does anyone have any concern for privacy anymore?

Changing a scholly amount over something so ridiculous paints them in a bad light. TLS is public...get that through your head. If you want to bitch in private...do it in private. I said I wouldn't have tattled on them...I'd have confirmed their policy and then posted here telling them to clarify. If you think what you post on TLS doesn't follow you...you're stupid. I know nearly every 2L TLS person who posts from Michigan.

Trolling for Michigan hard enough?

Just because the capability to out someone exists, doesn't mean it should happen. And isn't TLS supposed to be at least semi-anonymous? That's why posters get banned for outing.

Also, are people not allowed to criticize Michigan now? Are they not allowed to say anything that might paint the school in a bad light lest they be subject to a mob of angry Michigan students? Dean Z should have posted the policy and left it at that.

[crabcakes]

Wait, has username08 really not posted an explanation yet? HURRY UP!

[Xifeng]

Just because the capability to out someone exists, doesn't mean it should happen. And isn't TLS supposed to be at least semi-anonymous? That's why posters get banned for outing.

I think what everyone needs to take from this is that TLS is NOT private and it is NOT anonymous. Keep things you want private off of the boards, take it to PMs, etc.

And if the person posted enough personal details for Dean Z to find out who they are, that is their problem. People at schools figure out who people are on TLS through small details they post.

tl;dr: TLS is not fight club.

[username08]

I am really sorry about the delay, but here's the full explanation/apology for the fiasco that I caused today. In brief, I acted immature and stupidly, and I deserve all the blame.

Last week I checked on ASW and found out that I had received a merit scholarship of $22,500/year. But there was actually a mistake with my transcripts, which happened because I studied abroad for an entire year and had a couple of other transcripts from outside my UG institution, and thus there was an error in calculating my cumulative LSDAS GPA due to the sheer amount of pass/fail credits that I had. Thus my scholarship amount was supposed to be $18,000 instead of $22,500 from the beginning, and this mistake was corrected this week when it was noticed.

But here's what I did wrong. Earlier this week, LSAC updated my fall grades transcript, which brought down my GPA .01. Naturally, I assumed that my updated transcript had been sent to all of the schools I applied to, and once I saw saw the amount of my scholarship change as Michigan corrected the mistake, I stupidly assumed that Michigan reduced my scholarship just because of the .01 drop since I didn't know that $54,000 was supposed to be my scholarship amount to begin with. Nonetheless, I should have made an inquiry to Michigan Law, but instead I went on TLS and falsely claimed that Michigan reduced my scholarship because of my GPA drop.

In reality, I couldn't have been any more wrong. Michigan didn't even know that my transcript had been updated and even if they did they obviously never would have reduced my scholarship because of the drop. I made a completely false accusation and I apologize to Dean Z, everyone at the Michigan Admissions Office, and everyone here at TLS. Dean Z explained to me via a phone call about the problem with the transcripts and that someone had posted on her blog about my TLS post, and she was so kind despite the sheer stupidity of what I had done. I am terribly embarrassed, grateful, and sorry to Dean Z and everyone who read my posts today.

Once again, I apologize for this fiasco. It was completely and 100% my fault and I should have never made such a false claim without asking Michigan first. Instead, I went online and that led to this. I was by no means trying to hurt Michigan's reputation, but I understand that I have already done too much damage to Michigan's good name and would like to apologize for it as much as I can. I know it's too little, too late at this point, but thank you so much Dean Z and everyone at Michigan Law, for being so forgiving. Also, I would like to apologize to and thank the person who posted the comment on Dean Z's blog, because if not for that person this matter would have gone on for days. I know that I deserve blame and I will gladly accept it.

[03121202698008]

Trolling for Michigan hard enough?

Just because the capability to out someone exists, doesn't mean it should happen. And isn't TLS supposed to be at least semi-anonymous? That's why posters get banned for outing.

Also, are people not allowed to criticize Michigan now? Are they not allowed to say anything that might paint the school in a bad light lest they be subject to a mob of angry Michigan students? Dean Z should have posted the policy and left it at that.

You can criticize all you want. By doing so publicly, I have a right to respond. I have an interest in their reputation as it affects me. I also truly believe they are doing a good job and so I'm going to defend them.

TLS is not at all semi-autonomous. The no-outing policy deals with harassment, not anonymity. Schools, law firms, and even some newsy blogs have tracked down people who posted about them.

[Moriarty]

Applied on 12/30 and still haven't received the status checker info!!! >:/

When did you get the "received" email? It's supposed to come within 3-4 weeks, but I imagine that they are quite busy. If you got the complete email on 12/30, then it hints that you should wait six weeks to call and check on your app.

HTH--I know, waiting is a pain!

[Samara]

I'm sure some people do... that's why they DON'T COME TO AN INTERNET MESSAGE BOARD AND ASSUME IT IS SAFE TO SAY WHATEVER THEY WANT. Since you seem to be so trusting, why don't you just post your SSN for all to see?

Come on... grow up... If you think it is smart to come on TLS and provide enough information to out yourself to those that matter, you have to be able to face the consequences. Do I think it was an ass-like move to take his/her story and put it on Dean Z's blog? Yes. But, I also don't have sympathy for that person when it appears they made a false statement or false presumption about their award. Obviously, username08 feels badly about what happened as he/she apologized in this thread. If they were completely faultless and thought themselves to be, why would they apologize?

You're acting like username08 acted maliciously. It appeared that their scholly was lowered and they posted about it. How is that making a false statement? (In the sense that username08 should be criticized for it.) They were posting about an issue they were having and people should have enough discretion to A) not post a link to TLS on the dean's blog, and B) for the dean not to respond to the specific case and use TLS to discover the OPs identity in such a public manner.

I hate it when people make the argument that because your privacy can be compromised on the internet, that somehow means that no one can be criticized for compromising someone else's privacy. I am careful not to reveal sensitive information on here, not because I think people should be free to violate my privacy, but because I know that some people are willing to act like dicks and violate my privacy. That doesn't make the violation any less wrong.

[dakure]

tl;dr: TLS is not fight club.

I love you for this.

[03121202698008]

I'm sure some people do... that's why they DON'T COME TO AN INTERNET MESSAGE BOARD AND ASSUME IT IS SAFE TO SAY WHATEVER THEY WANT. Since you seem to be so trusting, why don't you just post your SSN for all to see?

Come on... grow up... If you think it is smart to come on TLS and provide enough information to out yourself to those that matter, you have to be able to face the consequences. Do I think it was an ass-like move to take his/her story and put it on Dean Z's blog? Yes. But, I also don't have sympathy for that person when it appears they made a false statement or false presumption about their award. Obviously, username08 feels badly about what happened as he/she apologized in this thread. If they were completely faultless and thought themselves to be, why would they apologize?

You're acting like username08 acted maliciously. It appeared that their scholly was lowered and they posted about it. How is that making a false statement? (In the sense that username08 should be criticized for it.) They were posting about an issue they were having and people should have enough discretion to A) not post a link to TLS on the dean's blog, and B) for the dean not to respond to the specific case and use TLS to discover the OPs identity in such a public manner.

I hate it when people make the argument that because your privacy can be compromised on the internet, that somehow means that no one can be criticized for compromising someone else's privacy. I am careful not to reveal sensitive information on here, not because I think people should be free to violate my privacy, but because I know that some people are willing to act like dicks and violate my privacy. That doesn't make the violation any less wrong.

No one said username was being malicious. But even mistaken facts affect a school's reputation and should be corrected. I don't agree with posting it on her blog...I would have handled it differently. But, a similar circumstance last year resulted in a mini-riot after someone claimed the admissions office was rude to them on the phone. This then crossed to other sites, resulted in applicants calling the school, etc. These things need to be corrected.

Once again, I would not have outed the poster at this point for this offense. For something serious, I have an interest in the school defending itself AND the poster being realigned before being allowed to represent my school.

[va323]

Sorry, I know somebody already asked this but I couldn't find the post - if you see an amount in your financial aid section of the ASW, is that per year or total?

[Samara]

Just because the capability to out someone exists, doesn't mean it should happen. And isn't TLS supposed to be at least semi-anonymous? That's why posters get banned for outing.

I think what everyone needs to take from this is that TLS is NOT private and it is NOT anonymous. Keep things you want private off of the boards, take it to PMs, etc.

And if the person posted enough personal details for Dean Z to find out who they are, that is their problem. People at schools figure out who people are on TLS through small details they post.

tl;dr: TLS is not fight club.

I totally get that. But I still think that it's inappropriate the way it was handled from the person who first posted on the blog to Dean Z detailing the specific case rather than posting a policy or a more vague explanation.

[Nikrall]

But she shouldn't be airing a student's dirty laundry, so to speak.

He/she isn't a child. They are an adult and this is a professional organization whose worth is in large part derived from its reputation. Make comments about a business who knows who you are and see how long it takes them to call you out. As the face of the school, she has a right to defend their reputation. I'd release their name.... guarantee it stops happening every year.

What? The OP wasn't disparaging Michigan. OP was discussing an issue that they were having. TLS should be a safe space to discuss these issues without others publicly tattling on them and then being subjected to a public response. Does anyone have any concern for privacy anymore?

I'm sure some people do... that's why they DON'T COME TO AN INTERNET MESSAGE BOARD AND ASSUME IT IS SAFE TO SAY WHATEVER THEY WANT. Since you seem to be so trusting, why don't you just post your SSN for all to see?

Come on... grow up... If you think it is smart to come on TLS and provide enough information to out yourself to those that matter, you have to be able to face the consequences. Do I think it was an ass-like move to take his/her story and put it on Dean Z's blog? Yes. But, I also don't have sympathy for that person when it appears they made a false statement or false presumption about their award. Obviously, username08 feels badly about what happened as he/she apologized in this thread. If they were completely faultless and thought themselves to be, why would they apologize?

Yes. People here should be able to post pretty much whatever they like without consequences. Maybe not something that shows a gross lack of judgment, but posting that Michigan changed his award because of a change in his GPA doesn't show a gross lack of judgment. And note that username then went on to defend Michigan and offer explanations for their conduct although, if it were true, it would have been ridiculous. You people are 0L's. And even once y'all are lawyers, you can say pretty much whatever you want on anonymous message-boards.

Describing how a school acts will, at times, show that school in a bad light. If any school were to penalize me because I dared to speak out about something they did (even if I was, in fact, mistaken) then its a school I would have no interest in attending. That being said, Dean Z hasn't shown she wants to penalize username. Nor has she said he was wrong in what he said, merely that they are trying to figure out what happened with his award and are reaching out to him.

As to why username apologized? Probably because he thinks all of this is overblow and is a fairly nice person. The easiest way to defuse a situation like this is just to apologize profusely, regardless of whether he is correct or incorrect in this particular situation.

[Samara]

No one said username was being malicious. But even mistaken facts affect a school's reputation and should be corrected. I don't agree with posting it on her blog...I would have handled it differently. But, a similar circumstance last year resulted in a mini-riot after someone claimed the admissions office was rude to them on the phone. This then crossed to other sites, resulted in applicants calling the school, etc. These things need to be corrected.

I have no problem with addressing a false claim. But it should have been handled with a little more discretion, IMO. She can address the situation by talking about their policy without discussing the specific case.

ETA: And as for damage to reputation, the way this was handled has caused far more damage to their reputation in my eyes than username08's post. If someone makes a claim that sounds ridiculous, I give the school the benefit of the doubt and assume they are wrong.

[03121202698008]

Just because the capability to out someone exists, doesn't mean it should happen. And isn't TLS supposed to be at least semi-anonymous? That's why posters get banned for outing.

I think what everyone needs to take from this is that TLS is NOT private and it is NOT anonymous. Keep things you want private off of the boards, take it to PMs, etc.

And if the person posted enough personal details for Dean Z to find out who they are, that is their problem. People at schools figure out who people are on TLS through small details they post.

tl;dr: TLS is not fight club.

I totally get that. But I still think that it's inappropriate the way it was handled from the person who first posted on the blog to Dean Z detailing the specific case rather than posting a policy or a more vague explanation.

I agree.

[03121202698008]

No one said username was being malicious. But even mistaken facts affect a school's reputation and should be corrected. I don't agree with posting it on her blog...I would have handled it differently. But, a similar circumstance last year resulted in a mini-riot after someone claimed the admissions office was rude to them on the phone. This then crossed to other sites, resulted in applicants calling the school, etc. These things need to be corrected.

I have no problem with addressing a false claim. But it should have been handled with a little more discretion, IMO. She can address the situation by talking about their policy without discussing the specific case.

She didn't post the name or on any details. What part of her response do you take issue with? How would you link what she said to a fellow classmate?