Top Law Schools

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I would throw an app to Yale. The GPA will probably rule you out, but those are pretty interesting and impressive softs, the kind that Yale seems to like. Certainly can't hurt.

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It's pretty late. Your best shot at anything is going to be applying as early as possible next cycle.

I agree with kalvano that Yale would be worth the app. As for whether to apply this cycle, my general feeling is that you should apply to the schools that you would be happy attending if you got accepted. So if I were you, I would apply to Columbia, NYU, Harvard and Yale. Now, one thing that might change this is how debt averse you are. If you wait a year to apply, you might get a little bit more money than you would if you apply now but I don't think it will be a question of a full ride versus no money at any of these schools. Then, if you don't end up getting into these schools you can wait a year, polish and improve your application, and apply early next year. Then, you could possibly do an early decision program or broaden your application pool to try and get some money.

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I just finished my first semester at Illinois. Applied pretty late last cycle after being out of school for 5 years but things ended up working out real well.

Just an fyi, if you think you are going to end up spending a lot of time on here (when you apply, or are trying to decide what school to go to), you probably want to abandon this account now and start one that doesn't use your real name (pretty sure it's not alt'ing if you don't use both accounts). Admissions officers are known to lurk on here.

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Well, let's say you apply to a bunch of schools and through different posts end up expressing a preference for one of the schools. If an admissions officer from one of the other schools sees that, they might be less inclined to accept you because if you don't matriculate it lowers their stats.

Then if you're still around when you're in school it basically makes it so that you can't post on here because everyone will know who you are and your name will be tied to your posts on here. I'm sure at this point someone that knows me from school could figure out who I am based on my posts, but at least no one can google my name and have one of my posts show up.

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If you ever want any more advice, feel free to PM me once you have your new account.

Yes, you probably shouldn't out yourself. I called out an inebriated passive-aggressive power-bottom once last month. A real tosser predisposed to obscenities. Got me dinged at Cornell.

FYI- you can also edit out your posts and even the title of youR thread. Though what you've written so far shouldn't hurt you - who knows. I get very nervous about privacy

Good luck. I agree that applying early next cyle is good- but you should at least try. If it isn't too late, Yale really doesn't hurt people who apply late.

Not sure why you want to be a lawyer. You seem to have some great work and life experience going for you now. Have you really looked into what practicing law might be like for you? Do you plan to stay working on human rights ?

2L at SMU. You might PM a mod and see if they will change the name associated with these posts, since there is a decent bit of personal info in them.

Blessedassurance wrote:Yes, you probably shouldn't out yourself. I called out an inebriated passive-aggressive power-bottom once last month. A real tosser predisposed to obscenities. Got me dinged at Cornell.

really? how did you know it was cause of this?

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Sunynp,

sunynp wrote:Not sure why you want to be a lawyer. You seem to have some great work and life experience going for you now. Have you really looked into what practicing law might be like for you? Do you plan to stay working on human rights ?

Great question. Essentially, I'm interested in combining a profound understanding of the law/great connections within the legal/human rights community with this journalism work in the future. Essentially becoming some kind of pioneer in the legal advocacy/human rights field.

I realize this is probably a bit of idealistic approach... anyone care to set me straight or does that sound feasible?

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jimmychalk wrote:Also... thoughts on likelihood of YHCN this cycle? And next?

Yale is definitely not likely, but worth an app. Yale is also the only school without rolling admissions so applying before their deadline is all that really matters.

Your numbers should put you in good shape everywhere below HYS. Getting into any of those three will be tough, but like I said, worth the app fees.

EDIT: Chances at HCN are always better if you apply early, but if you're apps are ready to go I'd say send them off and give it a shot. From the sounds of it though, you may not have the kind of compelling app you'd need for Harvard (and especially Yale) ready to go. I'd say take the next several months to turn your softs into a really strong personal statement (and Yale 250) and kill it next cycle.

jimmychalk wrote:I'm a newbie at TLS and unsure why y'all seem to agree Yale is worth applying to. Are they especially interested/unpredictable when it comes to good softs?

Because even though you have to have good numbers for Yale, they also admit some people with lesser numbers because they like their softs. They are actually fairly holistic when it comes to admissions, and sometimes really interesting softs can overcome slightly sub-par numbers with them.

thederangedwang wrote:

Blessedassurance wrote:Yes, you probably shouldn't out yourself. I called out an inebriated passive-aggressive power-bottom once last month. A real tosser predisposed to obscenities. Got me dinged at Cornell.

really? how did you know it was cause of this?

I kid, I kid.

Adcomms have been known to frequent these boards in the past though.

I think you have a decent shot at those schools, but a much better chance if you wait until next year. Your numbers are nearly identical to mine (my first LSAT was several points lower than yours), and your softs are better. Here's how my cycle went last year: http://lawschoolnumbers.com/kiwi17. I applied fairly early and think it made a difference with my reach schools. I waited an extra year rather than apply late because I didn't want to end up second-guessing whether a waitlist or ding would have been an admit if only I had applied earlier. Good luck!

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Nah just an NBA fan and a splitter.

jimmychalk wrote:Great responses, y'all. Really appreciate it.

Kiwi, your numbers are super instructive. What ended up happening with Harvard?

Tiago... are you from San Antonio?! That's my hometown, mayn. I came back to the states for the holidays and even when I'm trying to chill out and watch the Spurs I keep seeing "Splitter." Not cool.

There was a deadline to accept the matching scholarship from Berkeley and I hadn't heard back from Harvard yet, so I had to withdraw my application (there was no way I was going to turn down $135,000 at Berkeley for a slim chance at getting in to Harvard with no $). I sent a LOCI to Harvard a few weeks before the deadline, but they didn't respond and I have a feeling I was destined for the waitlist at best. A big batch of people who had phone interviews were put on the waitlist shortly after I withdrew, so that's what I keep telling myself would have happened... The phone interview was fine, but nothing special, and I don't think my softs were enough to make up for the GPA. Ultimately, I am really happy with the decision to go to Berkeley since I'll be able to graduate with little or no debt, and I'm having a great time here so far.