4.0/174. Chances at admission and scholarship. Forum

[Hedwig]

Hey all - so, for chances at schools like Yale, Stanford and Berkeley (heavily soft based), is it definitely worth my while to add some volunteering credits to my name?

I'm considering volunteering in three specific areas that all have significance to me and I'd like to help anyways regardless of law school (although obviously it works as an impetuous to get me out there). Would this kind of volunteering (along the lines of assisting or hosting workshops for an organization, working as a regular volunteer for an organization but volunteering at more special events, etc, and one place I'm not sure but I might be able to get involved in peer counseling for a specific issue I used to deal with) be worth it to pursue and add to my application? Obviously these are all worthwhile pursuits in and of themselves, I'm just wondering how they'd add ot the value of my application.

[birdlaw117]

Hey all - so, for chances at schools like Yale, Stanford and Berkeley (heavily soft based), is it definitely worth my while to add some volunteering credits to my name?

I'm considering volunteering in three specific areas that all have significance to me and I'd like to help anyways regardless of law school (although obviously it works as an impetuous to get me out there). Would this kind of volunteering (along the lines of assisting or hosting workshops for an organization, working as a regular volunteer for an organization but volunteering at more special events, etc, and one place I'm not sure but I might be able to get involved in peer counseling for a specific issue I used to deal with) be worth it to pursue and add to my application? Obviously these are all worthwhile pursuits in and of themselves, I'm just wondering how they'd add ot the value of my application.

It definitely isn't going to hurt you (obvious, I know). Honestly, your numbers probably speak for themselves right now. Berkeley won't be an issue for you to get in. I would be surprised if you don't into Stanford. For Yale the additional activities would probably help out some. I'm no expert on Yale admissions, since it is above my range, so I should probably let someone else take over for that.

[Hedwig]

Yeah, I thought Berkeley was probably okay but then I was searching around for softs info and found they're more "holistic" - I'm so confused as to whether schools are REALLY ABOUT NUMBERS or really not - I'm feeling the general consensus is, it's about numbers until you get to the point where everyone has numbers and then its about standing out and having an exceptional application/resume/just something about you, or whatever.

I'll be investigating these activities regardless (have to check on time commitment and where I'd have to travel), and just hope they help out.

[birdlaw117]

Berkeley is more holistic. However, they are NOT going to turn down 4.0/174. In fact, I would be surprised to see anyone turn down 4.0/174 except Yale. You are in a very enviable position. You have a great chance everywhere, plus you have a LOT of time to work on that PS of yours. Kill it, and you're in great shape.

[AreJay711]

Hey all - so, for chances at schools like Yale, Stanford and Berkeley (heavily soft based), is it definitely worth my while to add some volunteering credits to my name?

I'm considering volunteering in three specific areas that all have significance to me and I'd like to help anyways regardless of law school (although obviously it works as an impetuous to get me out there). Would this kind of volunteering (along the lines of assisting or hosting workshops for an organization, working as a regular volunteer for an organization but volunteering at more special events, etc, and one place I'm not sure but I might be able to get involved in peer counseling for a specific issue I used to deal with) be worth it to pursue and add to my application? Obviously these are all worthwhile pursuits in and of themselves, I'm just wondering how they'd add ot the value of my application.

eit you are pretty infamous (that's why I clicked on this thread). I'd say don't worry so much about volunteering at the expense of doing other things you want to do. For many applicants, the point of volunteering is because you should be doing something worthwhile during undergrad or the adcoms are going to look at that negatively against someone else who worked/volunteered. It can also give you something good to write about in your personal statement and can demonstrate an interest in PI (even if you don't explicitly say it). As far as just a tick on you resume however, volunteering won't make any real difference over working so only volunteer if you think you will get something out of it.

Good luck on your apps next year. I don't think you will have much of an issue getting accepted.

[dtubin]

Retake.









Srsly, just blanket it. No question.

[Hedwig]

Berkeley is more holistic. However, they are NOT going to turn down 4.0/174. In fact, I would be surprised to see anyone turn down 4.0/174 except Yale. You are in a very enviable position. You have a great chance everywhere, plus you have a LOT of time to work on that PS of yours. Kill it, and you're in great shape.

Awesome, haha. And yeah, Yale. Sigh. I've started to love the idea of going there which is ridiculous because it's the only one that's very unpredictable.

Thanks for the advice guys.

eit you are pretty infamous (that's why I clicked on this thread). I'd say don't worry so much about volunteering at the expense of doing other things you want to do. For many applicants, the point of volunteering is because you should be doing something worthwhile during undergrad or the adcoms are going to look at that negatively against someone else who worked/volunteered. It can also give you something good to write about in your personal statement and can demonstrate an interest in PI (even if you don't explicitly say it). As far as just a tick on you resume however, volunteering won't make any real difference over working so only volunteer if you think you will get something out of it.

Good luck on your apps next year. I don't think you will have much of an issue getting accepted.

Is there any way to change your username on here??? Lol. But hey, if it gets more people to talk about my chances, that's great. I'll use my infamy.

Throughout undergrad I have worked at a part time job. I've also volunteered throughout at the same place.

I'll look into the volunteer stuff I actually would like doing and leave the rest, I guess.

[Nicholasnickynic]

Being Canadian, what's the deal with loans? You would have to take private loans out? So that means you wouldn't be eligible for LRAP or IBR, and this makes money FAR more important. I think if you maintain a 4+ GPA, you have a VERY solid shot at getting a big chunk of money from much of the T14, and if you improve your softs, you have a chance at some named scholarships.

Re: your chances out west, I'd be surprised if Berkeley didn't throw some money at you, but I don't know how much. UCLA encourages a bit of haggling, and I'd be surprised if you couldn't get very close to full tuition there.

Keep up your grades and try to continue with some of your extracurriculars to get a leadership position or two. Best of luck!

I can get about 10k from the government. There's a possibility of getting a loan from my grandparents as well for some Ks, but yes, the rest would be private loans. Hence debt being a very scary prospect.

The problem with leadership positions/softs is that I really barely have time for any of my current softs while still maintaining my GPA. I may be able to do a lot more at the SPCA and turn that into a bit of a better soft (i.e. volunteer at any opportunity for a variety of things, taking on a more active role than just a regular volunteer) but there's not much else I can get involved with.

If its a choice between gpa and softs, take gpa EVERY SINGLE TIME. Only add more softs if you think it wont hurt your gpa. If you have a good soft, but it takes you from 4.0-3.9, I'd say DONT DO IT.

[ResolutePear]

Being Canadian, what's the deal with loans? You would have to take private loans out? So that means you wouldn't be eligible for LRAP or IBR, and this makes money FAR more important. I think if you maintain a 4+ GPA, you have a VERY solid shot at getting a big chunk of money from much of the T14, and if you improve your softs, you have a chance at some named scholarships.

Re: your chances out west, I'd be surprised if Berkeley didn't throw some money at you, but I don't know how much. UCLA encourages a bit of haggling, and I'd be surprised if you couldn't get very close to full tuition there.

Keep up your grades and try to continue with some of your extracurriculars to get a leadership position or two. Best of luck!

I can get about 10k from the government. There's a possibility of getting a loan from my grandparents as well for some Ks, but yes, the rest would be private loans. Hence debt being a very scary prospect.

The problem with leadership positions/softs is that I really barely have time for any of my current softs while still maintaining my GPA. I may be able to do a lot more at the SPCA and turn that into a bit of a better soft (i.e. volunteer at any opportunity for a variety of things, taking on a more active role than just a regular volunteer) but there's not much else I can get involved with.

If its a choice between gpa and softs, take gpa EVERY SINGLE TIME. Only add more softs if you think it wont hurt your gpa. If you have a good soft, but it takes you from 4.0-3.9, I'd say DONT DO IT.

What he means to say is: If you can get a prestigious internship/fellowship, take it. Especially one that lets you work on the hill. Nothing screams Yale more than a recommendation from a U.S. congressman. Just my thought as they will do anything they can with softs to differentiate between several 3.9-4.0's

[3|ink]

You got a 174!?! I'm full of jealous rage, but also pleased to see you did MUCH better than you thought. I'm surprised you were so upset over your performance when you clearly blew the test out of the water. I, on the other hand, was overconfident. I'm half convinced that my confidence after the test somehow jinx my score (165).

[Hedwig]

Haha, yeah, in my area there's not a whole lot of prestigious stuff going on, especially nothing that screams Yale. But that's okay. If I don't get in, oh well. I shall have tried.

I am going to investigate adding one soft, but probably will get into it during my summer months off from school (since I am not applying until next fall), so that it doesn't hurt my GPA. I think it'll help with my PS if I end up going in the direction I might with that (need to seriously choose topics!)

You got a 174!?! I'm full of jealous rage, but also pleased to see you did MUCH better than you thought. I'm surprised you were so upset over your performance when you clearly blew the test out of the water. I, on the other hand, was overconfident. I'm half convinced that my confidence after the test somehow jinx my score (165).

When I saw your score I was so freaked out! Yours came a couple hours before mine so I was biting my nails. I don't know if it helped but I was very anti-jinxing my score. I bet you'll get into the school you want anyways, a 165 is still awesome, I'm sorry you didn't do as well as you thought.

[Hedwig]

Whoops double post.

[Ragged]

You got a 174!?! I'm full of jealous rage, but also pleased to see you did MUCH better than you thought. I'm surprised you were so upset over your performance when you clearly blew the test out of the water. I, on the other hand, was overconfident. I'm half convinced that my confidence after the test somehow jinx my score (165).

I'm sorry about your score too man. You were all gung ho coming out of it and so was I and many others. Both of us didn't do as well as we hoped so don't feel too bad. I guess real deal pressure gets to most pf us and only few people are able to minimize damage to a real low level - I haven't heard of anyone -0ing the whole test.

[3|ink]

You got a 174!?! I'm full of jealous rage, but also pleased to see you did MUCH better than you thought. I'm surprised you were so upset over your performance when you clearly blew the test out of the water. I, on the other hand, was overconfident. I'm half convinced that my confidence after the test somehow jinx my score (165).

I'm sorry about your score too man. You were all gung ho coming out of it and so was I and many others. Both of us didn't do as well as we hoped so don't feel too bad. I guess real deal pressure gets to most pf us and only few people are able to minimize damage to a real low level - I haven't heard of anyone -0ing the whole test.

I blame the fact that I didn't sleep AT ALL the night before. I think it impaired my judgment to a point where I thought I was doing much better than I really was.

You still got a 170+, right? Grats.

As for me, a 165 might be just enough to get where I want to go. I wanted a great LSAT score to ensure my eligibility. Now I'm just going to have to sweat it out until I get word back on my apps.

[Ragged]

You got a 174!?! I'm full of jealous rage, but also pleased to see you did MUCH better than you thought. I'm surprised you were so upset over your performance when you clearly blew the test out of the water. I, on the other hand, was overconfident. I'm half convinced that my confidence after the test somehow jinx my score (165).

I'm sorry about your score too man. You were all gung ho coming out of it and so was I and many others. Both of us didn't do as well as we hoped so don't feel too bad. I guess real deal pressure gets to most pf us and only few people are able to minimize damage to a real low level - I haven't heard of anyone -0ing the whole test.

I blame the fact that I didn't sleep AT ALL the night before. I think it impaired my judgment to a point where I thought I was doing much better than I really was.

You still got a 170+, right? Grats.

As for me, a 165 might be just enough to get where I want to go. I wanted a great LSAT score to ensure my eligibility. Now I'm just going to have to sweat it out until I get word back on my apps.

I got the same score as eit, which is in itself emberassing, I know.

What's your school of choice Blink?

[3|ink]

You got a 174!?! I'm full of jealous rage, but also pleased to see you did MUCH better than you thought. I'm surprised you were so upset over your performance when you clearly blew the test out of the water. I, on the other hand, was overconfident. I'm half convinced that my confidence after the test somehow jinx my score (165).

I'm sorry about your score too man. You were all gung ho coming out of it and so was I and many others. Both of us didn't do as well as we hoped so don't feel too bad. I guess real deal pressure gets to most pf us and only few people are able to minimize damage to a real low level - I haven't heard of anyone -0ing the whole test.

I blame the fact that I didn't sleep AT ALL the night before. I think it impaired my judgment to a point where I thought I was doing much better than I really was.

You still got a 170+, right? Grats.

As for me, a 165 might be just enough to get where I want to go. I wanted a great LSAT score to ensure my eligibility. Now I'm just going to have to sweat it out until I get word back on my apps.

I got the same score as eit, which is in itself emberassing, I know.

What's your school of choice Blink?

George Mason.

I'm pursuing a joint degree in economics as well. GM has a great reputation for econ.

[Hedwig]

I got the same score as eit, which is in itself emberassing, I know.

What's your school of choice Blink?

You need to be happier about your pretty 174. It is a nice, happy, friendly score, and you should be nice and happy and friendly towards it.

[Ragged]

I got the same score as eit, which is in itself emberassing, I know.

What's your school of choice Blink?

You need to be happier about your pretty 174. It is a nice, happy, friendly score, and you should be nice and happy and friendly towards it.

It is a pretty kick ass score, no argument their.

But a) I'm a retaker and b) I'm a perfectionist and a glass half empty type of an individual.

[Adjudicator]

It's okay Ragged... I feel the same way about my 175.