Top Law Schools

Hello all:

Over Christmas I reminisced on how I felt while applying to law school. As you all know, it is a challenging and emotionally grueling exercise. There are a lot of people on this forum who claim to know what numbers will or will not get you in to certain schools, and I definitely remember wondering whether these claims had any merit.

I am here to tell you that tenacity can really pay off.

I am a 1L at a Top 10 Law School. I had a high undergraduate GPA (3.89) and two years of work experience, so I had better "softs" than many students coming right out of college. However, I have always struggled with standardized testing anxiety. After practice testing between 168-173, I scored a 163 and 164 on the LSAT. Many on TLS would tell someone with my numbers (applying in December) to give up on T14. Such a splitter should just give up, I was told. On my first go around, I was WL at 7 of the Top 10 and had been accepted to Georgetown (among others). My dream had been to attend UVA, Duke, or Penn (3 WLs).

I kept up correspondence with all three of the schools listed above. I wasn't annoying, but I was persistent and made sure that the admissions offices "knew" who I was. One month before I was going to attend GULC, I received the email that all WL candidates dream of...well...sort of... I had received an acceptance from one of the three listed above, with the stipulation that I wait a year.

I could have taken this opportunity (and felt blessed that I was given such a chance). But, since I had nothing to lose, I decided to email this offer to the other two schools listed above and received a positive (aka matching) response. I have now completed my first semester of law school.

I understand that I have been unusually lucky. But I also wanted to send a word of encouragement to all those other people out there like me, who may have underperformed on the LSAT, or gone through a rough semester in college, that all is not lost. Admissions offices truly do look at the whole package. Be realistic (I had basically given up on getting off any WLs), but be tenacious. Practice the very skills you wish to use as an attorney.

If anyone wants any advice, feel free to private message me. GOOD LUCK!

so you had to wait a whole year to actually go to the school that admitted you?


When emailing them, what exactly do you send?

paulshortys10 wrote:so you had to wait a whole year to actually go to the school that admitted you?


When emailing them, what exactly do you send?

Yes. I applied for Class of 2013 which had almost no WL offers. The WL offer I was given was to be accepted to Class of 2014, an offer matched by my other dream schools. I emailed them a friendly update and told them I had received this offer and would have to reply by X date, but that I would really prefer to attend Y institution (which was true).

I was willing to wait another year to go to my dream, especially since I was already non-traditional (had spent two years in the workforce).

misspippers wrote:

paulshortys10 wrote:so you had to wait a whole year to actually go to the school that admitted you?


When emailing them, what exactly do you send?

Yes. I applied for Class of 2013 which had almost no WL offers. The WL offer I was given was to be accepted to Class of 2014, an offer matched by my other dream schools. I emailed them a friendly update and told them I had received this offer and would have to reply by X date, but that I would really prefer to attend Y institution (which was true).

I was willing to wait another year to go to my dream, especially since I was already non-traditional (had spent two years in the workforce).

Did you enjoy your time at said dream school? Do you think it was worth the wait? Are you glad you chose said school over GULC?

Edited, Thanks for PM!

AssumptionRequired wrote:

misspippers wrote:

paulshortys10 wrote:so you had to wait a whole year to actually go to the school that admitted you?


When emailing them, what exactly do you send?

Yes. I applied for Class of 2013 which had almost no WL offers. The WL offer I was given was to be accepted to Class of 2014, an offer matched by my other dream schools. I emailed them a friendly update and told them I had received this offer and would have to reply by X date, but that I would really prefer to attend Y institution (which was true).

I was willing to wait another year to go to my dream, especially since I was already non-traditional (had spent two years in the workforce).

Did you enjoy your time at Duke? Do you think it was worth the wait? Are you glad you chose Duke over UVA/Penn?

I'm going to private message you with more, but yes, I definitely think it's worth waiting for your dream school, especially if you know the year won't be a waste. I knew that I could get a job and keep a roof over my head while I waited for school and knew that I was going to my dream school. Granted, I was blessed because GULC is a dream for many, many people (and I recognize that). But I think the message goes regardless of what your dream school was. I would do it again and in heartbeat. I'm older, wiser, happier, and seem to be doing well academically!

Thanks for this! It does give some of us sitting on wait lists hope. For people that have a more glass half-empty view on life, I'm front and center in this camp, reassurance that a WL isn't always a closed door helps.

I'm not sure if the schools I'm considering are worth it if I cannot garner enough money, what do you suggest for a wait list as far as getting any financial help?

Gail wrote:Thanks for this! It does give some of us sitting on wait lists hope. For people that have a more glass half-empty view on life, I'm front and center in this camp, reassurance that a WL isn't always a closed door helps.

I'm not sure if the schools I'm considering are worth it if I cannot garner enough money, what do you suggest for a wait list as far as getting any financial help?

Unfortunately, chances of getting a scholarship off the WL is pretty slim to nil. Schools generally consider your acceptance to be your scholarship. SO, that is definitely a consideration, especially if you are considering more regional than national schools. I wasn't giving up much of any money at GULC for this chance, so I didn't feel bad doing so. I do sometimes look at my bank account and think about that big scholly I got from BU (or that full ride from Wake...I occassionally have nightmares about that one). However, the fact of the matter is that the higher you go, the more people there are who are choosing prestige and opportunity over money. You just have to decide what is the best choice for you. GOOD LUCK! Again, stay realistic (I made sure I was all excited for GULC so I didn't always look over my shoulder), but as my boyfriend told me during the process, "What's the worst that could happen? They already closed the door on you. If you stay involved they'll either lock the door and you're no worse off than you were before or they'll open it a peek and you can show them what you have to offer."

Go for it!