University of Georgia c/o 2016 applicants (2012-13 cycle) Forum

[BlueJeanBaby]

I'm totally bummed! Looking over this forum last night, it seemed like everyone was accepted...I was denied admission to UGA today. I've applied to four other schools, UGA being the one sort of "in the middle" in terms of competitiveness.

For the sake of reference, I've got a 2.8 and 153, but a TON of soft creds. Non-URM but former entrepreneur (sold my company), currently working in a law firm as a legal intern, sitting on a city board. How important are stats at this school?? What happened to the "holistic" approach??

Congrats to all who were accepted, all the best in fall!!
-T

You probably won't want to hear this, but as a fellow 2.8 GPA-holder, I'm begging you to retake and try again next cycle. If you spend the next three months devoted to studying for June and get something in the mid-to-high 160s (I wound up with a 168) you can get money to plenty of quality schools. UGA gave me a strong scholarship offer. Other T1 schools have given me 75%+ of a full ride. Your soft factors are fantastic and will serve you well, but stats do matter everywhere. Your GPA is already a red flag (trust me, I know) and at that point, adcomms basically only need one other reason to ding you. A lower LSAT is definitely reason enough.

Regardless, I wish you luck.

This is definitely good advice. Unfortunately (and I suppose fortunately for some) the law school admissions game is far from "holistic" and pretty much is decided based on those two numbers. You can check out different schools on this website and you can see graphs of accepted, waitlisted, and rejected applicants per each school and each cycle. I assure you that you are not the only person who received this response from UGA this year. http://lawschoolnumbers.com/

[LittleBlueBird]

I'm totally bummed! Looking over this forum last night, it seemed like everyone was accepted...I was denied admission to UGA today. I've applied to four other schools, UGA being the one sort of "in the middle" in terms of competitiveness.

For the sake of reference, I've got a 2.8 and 153, but a TON of soft creds. Non-URM but former entrepreneur (sold my company), currently working in a law firm as a legal intern, sitting on a city board. How important are stats at this school?? What happened to the "holistic" approach??

Congrats to all who were accepted, all the best in fall!!
-T

You probably won't want to hear this, but as a fellow 2.8 GPA-holder, I'm begging you to retake and try again next cycle. If you spend the next three months devoted to studying for June and get something in the mid-to-high 160s (I wound up with a 168) you can get money to plenty of quality schools. UGA gave me a strong scholarship offer. Other T1 schools have given me 75%+ of a full ride. Your soft factors are fantastic and will serve you well, but stats do matter everywhere. Your GPA is already a red flag (trust me, I know) and at that point, adcomms basically only need one other reason to ding you. A lower LSAT is definitely reason enough.

Regardless, I wish you luck.

+1

Retake, my friend. You are not alone. This admissions game is just that - a game. Did you apply to Emory as well? I feel they treat applicants more as people than numbers. And the URM pool is coveted there.

[Tommycopeland]

I'm totally bummed! Looking over this forum last night, it seemed like everyone was accepted...I was denied admission to UGA today. I've applied to four other schools, UGA being the one sort of "in the middle" in terms of competitiveness.

For the sake of reference, I've got a 2.8 and 153, but a TON of soft creds. Non-URM but former entrepreneur (sold my company), currently working in a law firm as a legal intern, sitting on a city board. How important are stats at this school?? What happened to the "holistic" approach??

Congrats to all who were accepted, all the best in fall!!
-T

You probably won't want to hear this, but as a fellow 2.8 GPA-holder, I'm begging you to retake and try again next cycle. If you spend the next three months devoted to studying for June and get something in the mid-to-high 160s (I wound up with a 168) you can get money to plenty of quality schools. UGA gave me a strong scholarship offer. Other T1 schools have given me 75%+ of a full ride. Your soft factors are fantastic and will serve you well, but stats do matter everywhere. Your GPA is already a red flag (trust me, I know) and at that point, adcomms basically only need one other reason to ding you. A lower LSAT is definitely reason enough.

Regardless, I wish you luck.

Thanks for the recommendation. I really don't care about scholarship money (in fact, I'm dialing the admissions office for each school tomorrow to inform the committees that I have no interest in securing scholarship monies - I'm hoping that will give my application a lift!)

I don't mind re-applying next cycle, but if I have to, I'm going to take all of 2013 to land a score in the mid-to-high 160s, tap some alumni networks through work, and apply to top ten schools only!

Thanks again for your insight!

[Tommycopeland]

I'm totally bummed! Looking over this forum last night, it seemed like everyone was accepted...I was denied admission to UGA today. I've applied to four other schools, UGA being the one sort of "in the middle" in terms of competitiveness.

For the sake of reference, I've got a 2.8 and 153, but a TON of soft creds. Non-URM but former entrepreneur (sold my company), currently working in a law firm as a legal intern, sitting on a city board. How important are stats at this school?? What happened to the "holistic" approach??

Congrats to all who were accepted, all the best in fall!!
-T

You probably won't want to hear this, but as a fellow 2.8 GPA-holder, I'm begging you to retake and try again next cycle. If you spend the next three months devoted to studying for June and get something in the mid-to-high 160s (I wound up with a 168) you can get money to plenty of quality schools. UGA gave me a strong scholarship offer. Other T1 schools have given me 75%+ of a full ride. Your soft factors are fantastic and will serve you well, but stats do matter everywhere. Your GPA is already a red flag (trust me, I know) and at that point, adcomms basically only need one other reason to ding you. A lower LSAT is definitely reason enough.

Regardless, I wish you luck.

+1

Retake, my friend. You are not alone. This admissions game is just that - a game. Did you apply to Emory as well? I feel they treat applicants more as people than numbers. And the URM pool is coveted there.

I did in fact apply to Emory, so that's great to hear. I want to work in corporate litigation and my girlfriend and I have family in Atlanta...also applied to GSU but according to LSN, they're a hard sell this year!

[LittleBlueBird]

I'm totally bummed! Looking over this forum last night, it seemed like everyone was accepted...I was denied admission to UGA today. I've applied to four other schools, UGA being the one sort of "in the middle" in terms of competitiveness.

For the sake of reference, I've got a 2.8 and 153, but a TON of soft creds. Non-URM but former entrepreneur (sold my company), currently working in a law firm as a legal intern, sitting on a city board. How important are stats at this school?? What happened to the "holistic" approach??

Congrats to all who were accepted, all the best in fall!!
-T

You probably won't want to hear this, but as a fellow 2.8 GPA-holder, I'm begging you to retake and try again next cycle. If you spend the next three months devoted to studying for June and get something in the mid-to-high 160s (I wound up with a 168) you can get money to plenty of quality schools. UGA gave me a strong scholarship offer. Other T1 schools have given me 75%+ of a full ride. Your soft factors are fantastic and will serve you well, but stats do matter everywhere. Your GPA is already a red flag (trust me, I know) and at that point, adcomms basically only need one other reason to ding you. A lower LSAT is definitely reason enough.

Regardless, I wish you luck.

+1

Retake, my friend. You are not alone. This admissions game is just that - a game. Did you apply to Emory as well? I feel they treat applicants more as people than numbers. And the URM pool is coveted there.

I did in fact apply to Emory, so that's great to hear. I want to work in corporate litigation and my girlfriend and I have family in Atlanta...also applied to GSU but according to LSN, they're a hard sell this year!

If Emory waitlists you, they will encourage Letters Of Continued Interest. In that case, write one and be sure to let them know that you are financially secure in paying for your education. They do pull heavily from their wait lists, espcially after all of the seat deposit deadlines pass (this was my experience with them last year). UGA does as well, and they pulled me from the wait list a month before Emory, but offered me no money. So don't lose hope!

[Tommycopeland]

don't lose hope!

None lost! thanks!

[erin0715@me.com]

You probably won't want to hear this, but as a fellow 2.8 GPA-holder, I'm begging you to retake and try again next cycle. If you spend the next three months devoted to studying for June and get something in the mid-to-high 160s (I wound up with a 168) you can get money to plenty of quality schools. UGA gave me a strong scholarship offer. Other T1 schools have given me 75%+ of a full ride. Your soft factors are fantastic and will serve you well, but stats do matter everywhere. Your GPA is already a red flag (trust me, I know) and at that point, adcomms basically only need one other reason to ding you. A lower LSAT is definitely reason enough.

Regardless, I wish you luck.

+1

Retake, my friend. You are not alone. This admissions game is just that - a game. Did you apply to Emory as well? I feel they treat applicants more as people than numbers. And the URM pool is coveted there.

I did in fact apply to Emory, so that's great to hear. I want to work in corporate litigation and my girlfriend and I have family in Atlanta...also applied to GSU but according to LSN, they're a hard sell this year!

If Emory waitlists you, they will encourage Letters Of Continued Interest. In that case, write one and be sure to let them know that you are financially secure in paying for your education. They do pull heavily from their wait lists, espcially after all of the seat deposit deadlines pass (this was my experience with them last year). UGA does as well, and they pulled me from the wait list a month before Emory, but offered me no money. So don't lose hope!

Did you have the same stats last year?

[hobie2515]

Thanks for the recommendation. I really don't care about scholarship money (in fact, I'm dialing the admissions office for each school tomorrow to inform the committees that I have no interest in securing scholarship monies - I'm hoping that will give my application a lift!)

I don't mind re-applying next cycle, but if I have to, I'm going to take all of 2013 to land a score in the mid-to-high 160s, tap some alumni networks through work, and apply to top ten schools only!

Thanks again for your insight!

Given the cost of law schools, you should certainly care about scholarship money. If you look at the statistics, most schools give out $ to the majority of the incoming class (although they aren't really "giving" money, rather charging you less). If you didn't receive any, you're paying way more than the bottom line. In a way, you're subsidizing the education for your fellow classmates.

I had a mediocre GPA and LSAT and applied to schools 2 years ago, rejections across the board. I studied my ass off for the LSAT and boosted the score significantly and it is without a doubt the best decision I have EVER made. The admissions process is a numbers game pure and simple. They need your numbers to secure their rankings. A holistic approach does not factor into any of the national rankings. It sounds like you have good softs which help to some degree, but you will need at least a 170 to be competitive at T-14 schools. If you can get above a 165, a school like UGA would likely accept you (possibly with $). Good luck, hope everything works out alright.

[LittleBlueBird]

Update!

Got my scholarship letter via post today. In-state equalization, as I had expected.

Which would put UGA at ~$54,000 for base tuition costs. Not bad at all.

Good luck to everyone still waiting!

[fragrock]

Anyone else going to the Public Interest Conference tomorrow? Hope to see some of you there!

[BlueJeanBaby]

Update!

Got my scholarship letter via post today. In-state equalization, as I had expected.

Which would put UGA at ~$54,000 for base tuition costs. Not bad at all.

Good luck to everyone still waiting!

Nice! You going to use that Emory acceptance to negotiate?

fragrock- I wish! Penny pinchin' over here. Would love to hear some details, though!

[LittleBlueBird]

Update!

Got my scholarship letter via post today. In-state equalization, as I had expected.

Which would put UGA at ~$54,000 for base tuition costs. Not bad at all.

Good luck to everyone still waiting!

Nice! You going to use that Emory acceptance to negotiate?

Absolutely!

[crossingfingers]

Update!

Got my scholarship letter via post today. In-state equalization, as I had expected.

Which would put UGA at ~$54,000 for base tuition costs. Not bad at all.

Good luck to everyone still waiting!

Congratulations, I received the same today! I would also love to see just a small amount more, but the value here is getting to be hard to turn down.

Is the general consensus that it's as easy to gain in-state status for 2L and 3L as it seems to suggest on the website?

[LittleBlueBird]

Update!

Got my scholarship letter via post today. In-state equalization, as I had expected.

Which would put UGA at ~$54,000 for base tuition costs. Not bad at all.

Good luck to everyone still waiting!

Congratulations, I received the same today! I would also love to see just a small amount more, but the value here is getting to be hard to turn down.

Is the general consensus that it's as easy to gain in-state status for 2L and 3L as it seems to suggest on the website?

Yes and yes. Rollins told me that it's very difficult to be denied residency after the first year. Basically the worst problem comes when someone's parents (or another individual) claims them as a dependent in a different state. If you have a car, register it there ASAP and get a GA license. Then do your best not to abandon your housing lease during the summer months so you can keep the utilities in your name. It is seriously super easy.

[BlueJeanBaby]

Yes and yes. Rollins told me that it's very difficult to be denied residency after the first year. Basically the worst problem comes when someone's parents (or another individual) claims them as a dependent in a different state. If you have a car, register it there ASAP and get a GA license. Then do your best not to abandon your housing lease during the summer months so you can keep the utilities in your name. It is seriously super easy.

I've actually been thinking about this. I live in NC which is where my husband will be living while I'm in law school. We actually own a house here. Will this look poorly for my residency? We do intend to become Georgia residents once he finished his commitment to the military (and I am from Georgia originally but not a current resident). Also, the firm I currently work for showed interest in my returning next summer. I have also spoken with judges and the DA office that said they would be glad to have me (this is a small town- there is almost no competition). The point of doing this would be to spend a few months with my husband! If I kept my lease active in GA, would this not be a problem? I definitely don't want to risk not getting in-state the second year, even if that means sacrificing time with him.

[goprincess]

In via status checker on Thursday, letter and scholarship info on Friday. It was my first acceptance and my alma mater, so I'm ecstatic!

[iShotFirst]

Yes and yes. Rollins told me that it's very difficult to be denied residency after the first year. Basically the worst problem comes when someone's parents (or another individual) claims them as a dependent in a different state. If you have a car, register it there ASAP and get a GA license. Then do your best not to abandon your housing lease during the summer months so you can keep the utilities in your name. It is seriously super easy.

I've actually been thinking about this. I live in NC which is where my husband will be living while I'm in law school. We actually own a house here. Will this look poorly for my residency? We do intend to become Georgia residents once he finished his commitment to the military (and I am from Georgia originally but not a current resident). Also, the firm I currently work for showed interest in my returning next summer. I have also spoken with judges and the DA office that said they would be glad to have me (this is a small town- there is almost no competition). The point of doing this would be to spend a few months with my husband! If I kept my lease active in GA, would this not be a problem? I definitely don't want to risk not getting in-state the second year, even if that means sacrificing time with him.

Get a GA driver's license and car registration, and keep your lease. It's not like they are going to come to your house in the middle of the summer and check if you are there. The tax issue is something that may affect you though. Really once you have started at UGA just go ask Rollins or one of the admissions people- they understand and basically make it a goal for all out-of-staters to get instate by second year.... their goal is not to try to catch you in a lie and deny your status.

Side note: you said you were from Georgia, do your parents still live here? If so, you need to talk to them about amending your status, you can get instate if your parents live and pay taxes in GA.

[BlueJeanBaby]

Get a GA driver's license and car registration, and keep your lease. It's not like they are going to come to your house in the middle of the summer and check if you are there. The tax issue is something that may affect you though. Really once you have started at UGA just go ask Rollins or one of the admissions people- they understand and basically make it a goal for all out-of-staters to get instate by second year.... their goal is not to try to catch you in a lie and deny your status.

Side note: you said you were from Georgia, do your parents still live here? If so, you need to talk to them about amending your status, you can get instate if your parents live and pay taxes in GA.

Nope My immediate family relocated to Florida. All that is left in GA are aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. I'm moving up a little early to make sure I get my car and ID switched over. As for taxes, that assumes someone pays me haha. Thanks!

[hannahhal225]

I just received Tuition Equalization a few days ago. UGA is my number one choice, so I'll definitely be attending. I don't know anyone in Athens though. Anyone know if the U a good place to live?

[LittleBlueBird]

Get a GA driver's license and car registration, and keep your lease. It's not like they are going to come to your house in the middle of the summer and check if you are there. The tax issue is something that may affect you though. Really once you have started at UGA just go ask Rollins or one of the admissions people- they understand and basically make it a goal for all out-of-staters to get instate by second year.... their goal is not to try to catch you in a lie and deny your status.

Side note: you said you were from Georgia, do your parents still live here? If so, you need to talk to them about amending your status, you can get instate if your parents live and pay taxes in GA.

Nope My immediate family relocated to Florida. All that is left in GA are aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. I'm moving up a little early to make sure I get my car and ID switched over. As for taxes, that assumes someone pays me haha. Thanks!

I second everything they just said. Especially talking to Rollins or one of the admissions staff. My scholarship letter said that the admissions department were responsible for making the in-state judgement calls. It could be a tricky situation, given your husband. Definitely talk to the school.

[Boston4]

Not the greatest. It's cramped and the stoves are half size.

I just received Tuition Equalization a few days ago. UGA is my number one choice, so I'll definitely be attending. I don't know anyone in Athens though. Anyone know if the U a good place to live?

[hannahhal225]

Not the greatest. It's cramped and the stoves are half size.

I just received Tuition Equalization a few days ago. UGA is my number one choice, so I'll definitely be attending. I don't know anyone in Athens though. Anyone know if the U a good place to live?

Have any suggestions for apartments/condos?

[LittleBlueBird]

Not the greatest. It's cramped and the stoves are half size.

I just received Tuition Equalization a few days ago. UGA is my number one choice, so I'll definitely be attending. I don't know anyone in Athens though. Anyone know if the U a good place to live?

Have any suggestions for apartments/condos?

http://www.755broad.com/

--LinkRemoved--

When I was first told about these places, I made a face over the price. But for the 1st year, you can't beat the location. After that, you'll know Athens pretty well and should be able to make a judgement call if you want to move further out to save money. From what I've heard, another good option is to buddy up with existing law students who have a vacancy and take up a room in a house with them. For that, I'd highly recommend the ASD to meet people.

[erin0715@me.com]

Not the greatest. It's cramped and the stoves are half size.

I just received Tuition Equalization a few days ago. UGA is my number one choice, so I'll definitely be attending. I don't know anyone in Athens though. Anyone know if the U a good place to live?

Have any suggestions for apartments/condos?

I am currently an undergrad at UGA.

If you want to live further away and save money, I suggest Abbey West, The Club, or The Reserve. If you want to live within walking distance of the law school, try 909 Broad or University Towers. You could probably even find a loft downtown for a decent price. Some may say that these are too loud because of the night life, but I know lots of people that say it's not bad and love their cool apartments.

You could easily find a good place for ~$300-$400 a month with roommates and ~$500+ with no roommates.

[erin0715@me.com]

Not the greatest. It's cramped and the stoves are half size.

I just received Tuition Equalization a few days ago. UGA is my number one choice, so I'll definitely be attending. I don't know anyone in Athens though. Anyone know if the U a good place to live?

Have any suggestions for apartments/condos?

http://www.755broad.com/

--LinkRemoved--

When I was first told about these places, I made a face over the price. But for the 1st year, you can't beat the location. After that, you'll know Athens pretty well and should be able to make a judgement call if you want to move further out to save money. From what I've heard, another good option is to buddy up with existing law students who have a vacancy and take up a room in a house with them. For that, I'd highly recommend the ASD to meet people.

Don't live at 755. It is more for professors and families that own a condo for football season. 909 is right next to it and is a little cheaper. It is also really nice and lots of law students live there.