Deciding where to re-apply... Forum

[solitarymatch]

3.75
171
1 solo-authored publication, not in an undergraduate research journal (result of thesis)
Mostly research-related and community organizing internships
Currently working as a research associate for public policy nonprofit

Last cycle, got wait-listed at 2 T-14s and was accepted at a T-20.

I'd like to be more frugal and pragmatic when applying this time. My interests remain pretty assorted, but I am interested in family violence-related work.

[McAvoy]

There must have been some pretty serious flaws with your application, with all due respect. You've got great stats and shouldn't have any problems getting good money in the lower half of the T14.

So with your applications this cycle, get them in early, and don't get cute. Be generic, and don't raise eyebrows. As a rule of thumb, if you could envision rad lulz mocking what you're saying (a very low threshold), don't say it.

They don't need to know your interests in law: they need to see you have good numbers, have a pulse, and don't have any reasons for them to reject you. Good luck!

[bombaysippin]

Just blanket the T-14 again. Retake if you have any left and if you think you can do better or just for shits and giggles.

Reassess your PS, get some more feedback.

You should be getting a bunch of waivers so that 25 bucks for lsac fee is a drop in the bucket.

[solitarymatch]

Thank you very much.

1. Took February test the cycle of application. Then retook in June, although the original wasn't that bad.
2. (Maybe I'm still overreacting to all this). A faculty member I genuinely felt could write me a good rec letter wrote inaccurate things about me. On my application, I wrote that I am SE Asian. She said, with confidence, that I was a "low-income, Mexican American Pell Grant recipient and a first generation college student." This directly conflicted with everything I had listed in my application (while my mother has a 6th grade education, and I did waive my rights and found out about this in a circuitous way). I have since removed her letter and am replacing it with a work supervisor's.

[bombaysippin]

Uhh wow thats kind of a huge mess up lol...

[solitarymatch]

Uhh wow thats kind of a huge mess up lol...

*Sorry for my prior rant. I removed it.

How damaging do you think that was?

[McAvoy]

Look at LSN. If you applied post Feb LSAT, that is one reason why you under-performed, but this was probably killer. If you blanketed the T20 and only had one acceptance, they saw it as a serious black mark. Many T20 schools would literally kill for your numbers.

If it will be a two year gap since, it's probably something you will overcome without detriment, one would think.

[solitarymatch]

Look at LSN. If you applied post Feb LSAT, that is one reason why you under-performed, but this was probably killer. If you blanketed the T20 and only had one acceptance, they saw it as a serious black mark. Many T20 schools would literally kill for your numbers.

If it will be a two year gap since, it's probably something you will overcome without detriment, one would think.

By "it," do you mean that inaccurate rec letter?

I only applied to those T-14 schools I was waitlisted at. That T-20 was the only T-20 I applied to. The rest were between ranks 20 and 30 and one in the top 50. I got into all of those. I didn't do blanketing, but admittedly applied in a haphazard fashion.

I guess I'll do this again and try to submit everything by September.

[bombaysippin]

Uhh wow thats kind of a huge mess up lol...

*Sorry for my prior rant. I removed it.

How damaging do you think that was?

Yea I saw it and didn't really get what the point of it was lol. As for how damaging, I got no idea...I mean the only thing I can think of is that it might have made your app seem dishonest, but if everything else was consistent about who you are/were, it shouldn't have been that bad. The worst part about LORs is that they usually don't help your application much, but can definitely hurt it.

Not sure why you didn't apply to more schools, dunno your reasons since you didn't post, but with your numbers you should definitely apply broadly.

[McAvoy]

"It" was the letter. I assumed you applied to a lot with those numbers, my bad.

So you only applied to two T14s in early March and got accepted at the only T20 you applied to? Then the letter might not have been a big deal. Timing was what was important.

Granted, that was a big fuck up, but a generic, well-timed application will get you lots of bites this fall. Apply everywhere.

[solitarymatch]

Uhh wow thats kind of a huge mess up lol...

*Sorry for my prior rant. I removed it.

How damaging do you think that was?

Yea I saw it and didn't really get what the point of it was lol. As for how damaging, I got no idea...I mean the only thing I can think of is that it might have made your app seem dishonest, but if everything else was consistent about who you are/were, it shouldn't have been that bad. The worst part about LORs is that they usually don't help your application much, but can definitely hurt it.

Not sure why you didn't apply to more schools, dunno your reasons since you didn't post, but with your numbers you should definitely apply broadly.

*To Will: Thank you. Yes, I only applied to the ones I stipulated I applied to.

I think I was trying to find an explanation for why she had written that. Maybe she had lumped me in with the majority of the school, but in the back of my mind, I think there were motives. I'll never know. I feel that I was actively discouraged from applying to higher ranked schools solely because of my ethnicity and quips from multiple professors that there's too many of my kind there. Same professors advised me to apply to Tier 4s and one told me to stop watching Lifetime movies. "Law schools don't give scholarships." I got the idea I'd be rejected automatically from top schools because of the Asian classification (I figured I didn't have a 4.0, so why bother), so I applied hesitantly. Also, a lot of schools don't accept February scores, so that affected my application choices too.