Things Specific Schools Look For? Forum

[Estreetshuffler]

Obviously, all schools care about your LSAT and GPA. What schools are known for perhaps favoring particular attributes over others? For example, are applicants with a lot of work experience more likely to get in at X? Or maybe Y is impressed with masters degrees or volunteer work?

[Mal Reynolds]

If schools have the luxury of really scrutinizing your softs, e.g. Yale, Stanford, maybe Harvard but it's too fucking big, then they don't look for anything specific. They just want you to be accomplished and go beyond the average applicant. Something like TFA isn't going to cut it at Yale. Other than those schools there aren't really a lot of schools that can even be selective on the basis of softs. NU's work experience rep is probably self-enforcing and self-selective at this point. They can't deny people with good numbers and no WE anymore.

Like say for the sake of argument, that successful entrepreneur and Rhodes scholar are equally prestigious. I don't thick they would want one person over the other.

[ScottRiqui]

Historically, I think UVA has a reputation for being especially friendly to prior military applicants, but Mal's right - outside of HYS, schools are fighting so hard to maintain medians and class sizes that they likely can't afford to give a significant boost to someone who's done "X" at the expense of another applicant with even slightly better numbers.

[Mack.Hambleton]

No ones mentioned Northwesterns preference for job experience, although you'll still get in if you have the numbers so that's mostly for splitters.

Edit: goddammit it was mentioned

[TheSpanishMain]

Anecdotally, I've heard Berkeley tends to favor people with really compelling life stories, the socioeconomically disadvantaged, etc. Obviously you still need competitive numbers, but having overcome adverse circumstances supposedly carries weight there.

I've also heard that UVA is friendly to vets (again, vets who also have good numbers.)

PS Nice 'tar OP. /boss

[bananatopia]

deleted

[Mal Reynolds]

Throwing in my two cents that softs likely matter a lot more for reverse splitters. The way that many schools try to game their medians involves accepting splitters and reverse splitters in roughly equal numbers. High LSAT scores are kept under a controlled and consistently low supply. High uGPAs are much more common. So schools can be more selective among their high uGPA admits and possibly look at soft factors to sort between applicants above their targeted uGPA median but below their targeted LSAT median.

This has nothing to do with the OP's question.

[bananatopia]

deleted

[lhanvt13]

be URM

[MistakenGenius]

Post removed.

[PrideandGlory1776]

Rhodes Scholar, Teach for America, Military Service, PeaceCorp, ParaLegal experience all good to have.

[PepperJack]

Not going to out the school, but I was told one t-14 specifically tries to build a class without assholes. I don't know how they do this from on paper, but we have a very low asshole: non-asshole ratio. There is a culture at each school.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Rhodes Scholar, Teach for America, Military Service, PeaceCorp, ParaLegal experience all good to have.

Honestly, paralegal experience is good because it gives you experience with law firm/lawyers, so you can get a sense of what you're in for, but it's not remotely similar to the rest of that list as softs go.