3.19/178 campus paper editor Forum

[sc-123]

Would prefer to be in NYC, so I'll prob apply ED to NYU or Columbia.

Any chance my work as top editor at a top (Ivy) college newspaper will offset the GPA? It was a demanding gig, realistically consumed about 40 hours/week outside of class. Would it be worth writing an addendum regarding this experience?

(I will also have 1+ year experience as a paralegal.)

Thx for your time.

[Mal Reynolds]

With a campus newspaper under your belt, just add .6 to your gpa and that's what results you can expect.

[jetissent]

I am not sure of your ED chances; LSN makes Columbia seem like a long shot ED or RD. NYU on the other had accepted 3 and WLed 2 people with similar number last cycle. If apps keep doping you could be competitive.

I would absolutely write a short addendum that explains the demands of the position and you dedication level but I wouldn't explicitly say it had an impact on your grades. That could easily sound like an excuse.

[Tom Joad]

I have never met any campus newspaper editors at my school. I always assumed they are basking in the sunlight at Yale.

[alwayssunnyinfl]

Nothing offsets your GPA completely.

[T14hoping]

With a campus newspaper under your belt, just add .6 to your gpa and that's what results you can expect.

Wait, is this serious?

[jetissent]

No.

[T14hoping]

No.

Ty, just wanted to make sure. Sometimes my meter is off.

[Gator_Law]

I don't think an addendum blaming your low GPA on involvement with the school will go over well. Of course you should mention the position but don't pretend that it is some extenuating circumstance. I don't think you will get rejected from either school but I'd expect a waitlist at best from both.

[sc-123]

Thanks very much to all for your responses. If anyone has further ideas on how to address my GPA and former position, either in my personal statement or an addendum, I would be appreciative of their time and effort.

[bernaldiaz]

Thanks very much to all for your responses. If anyone has further ideas on how to address my GPA and former position, either in my personal statement or an addendum, I would be appreciative of their time and effort.

I would definitely write about it in your personal statement, but not as an excuse for your GPA. There is no way to make up for your GPA now; it is what it is. No clever reasoning is going to change that.

[Luchando]

The best you can hope for is an implicit assumption that the newspaper gig contributed to a less than true potential GPA. If you make the link for an adcom, you certainly won't come off well. In any event, the impact will be marginal.

Basically all law school applicants overvalue their own softs. I don't doubt that you worked hard as an editor, but, to be frank, it isn't even in the same ballpark as a TFA or flashy fellowship XYZ or prestigious work experience. Even the best softs only affect admissions outcomes at the margins. In your case, lawschoolnumbers.com will absolutely be more valuable divination than anything someone in this thread can tell you.

[banjo]

^I don't think TFA is quite on the same level as top editor at a top school's newspaper. There are so many cookie cutter TFA applicants in the pool that Asha got bored reading about them.

ETA: OP, I think admissions people know that some college newspapers have legit circulation in the community and demand quite a bit of time. Devote space to it on your resume (which can be more than 1 page for law schools), but I wouldn't write a separate addendum.

[JWalker]

Retake (always the TCR even if you have a 179), ED UVA.

[TheThriller]

Retake (always the TCR even if you have a 179), ED UVA.

Stop.

[Luchando]

^I don't think TFA is quite on the same level as top editor at a top school's newspaper. There are so many cookie cutter TFA applicants in the pool that Asha got bored reading about them.

Very off topic, but: Her post talks about how not to write a cliche TFA essay. If you believe that an adcom thinks more of an applicant that was the editor of an undergraduate campus newspaper than of an applicant that spent 2 years of their life teaching in one of the worst schools in America, you are totally delusional.

[sunynp]

^I don't think TFA is quite on the same level as top editor at a top school's newspaper. There are so many cookie cutter TFA applicants in the pool that Asha got bored reading about them.

Very off topic, but: Her post talks about how not to write a cliche TFA essay. If you believe that an adcom thinks more of an applicant that was the editor of an undergraduate campus newspaper than of an applicant that spent 2 years of their life teaching in one of the worst schools in America, you are totally delusional.

Yes, it sounds like she is advising the TFA kids have to individualize themselves for faculty review. She says very clearly how much she supports TFA.

[sc-123]

Hello all,

Thanks very much for your opinions thus far, they are very much appreciated. I'm about to send in an early decision application, only problem is I don't know where. Below are my choices (in no particular order) and any further input is welcomed. I'm not necessarily looking for a straight-up answer (although I would be interested in hearing those), but also on gauging the accuracies of the conclusions I draw below. (I'm the 3.19/178 guy the thread title is referring to).

* Columbia - Would applying ED give me a significantly better shot than RD? If so, I think this would be my choice. I would like to stay in NYC, as I have a girlfriend, lots of friends here.

* NYU - If ED at Columbia would not be much of a boost to my application over RD, then I would also consider ED at NYU just to improve my chances at staying in NYC and hopefully lock up a spot earlier in the cycle.

* Northwestern - If I have a very good shot at Northwestern, well then... that scholarship looks pretty juicy. But, I would only do this if I thought I had a very good shot, otherwise would not want to spend my one ED on Northwestern when a priority is to be in NYC.

[Tom Joad]

I would do NU.

[Tiago Splitter]

ED NYU

[Tom Joad]

ED NYU

That's expensive. My logic. If you ED NU, strike out and don't get it you can always wait a year and try something different next year. If you get it you are +$200,000 and that is pretty good in a year.

[Tiago Splitter]

Yeah but he isn't getting NU ED, and the GPA can't be retaken. If he really wants NYC his only real chance is NYU and that's gonna be at sticker if it happens at all.

[alwayssunnyinfl]

Yeah but he isn't getting NU ED, and the GPA can't be retaken. If he really wants NYC his only real chance is NYU and that's gonna be at sticker if it happens at all.

+1

Good luck OP

[Doorkeeper]

Yeah but he isn't getting NU ED, and the GPA can't be retaken. If he really wants NYC his only real chance is NYU and that's gonna be at sticker if it happens at all.

This.

If you really, really want NYC, then ED to NYU. Be prepared for sticker.

If costs actually do matter do you, blanket the T14 from NYU down and see who throws some money your way. You can probably get $30-50k out of UVA, Northwestern, or some other splitter friendly school.

[JamMasterJ]

ED NYU. Also, I know multiple people who ED'd and got money here, including 45K with lesser numbers.