2013-2014 URM Cycle Results - IN/OUT/WL Forum

[mt2165]

Nope, just take Dillard. Your cycle is too random for me to think it has anything to do with softs/essays. If those were categorically bad you wouldn't have gotten Dillard imo. Its probably your GPA even though that's probably not what you want to hear.

Mhmm. I tend to think that in general a full ride to any T-14 is a fantastic outcome, especially for URM's where it's suggested that school prestige matters slightly less. Amazing, I can't imagine passing it up.

[El Principe]

Reapply next year earlier?

I don't think I'm going to. I don't see how/ why it would be any different. Maybe I'd get WL'd at Harvard instead of rejected. I think there might be something about my app JS just didn't like. And I think my GPA is prohibitively low at Yale, so...

Maybe try a re-write of statements and any additional essays?

I guess I could try. But I still don't see it being worth it. Would you turn down a full scholarship for, probably, less than a coin flip's chances at H and lottery entrant's chance at Y? It's not like the money is just going to wait around for me.

I'm usually quite selfish with my prayers. I pray for more money. I pray for guidance. I pray for God to strike down those annoying birds that chirp outside my window at 4AM. However, I WILL PRAY, FAST, & SACRIFICE ANIMALS in the hopes that you do not sit out. Take the scholarship to UVA! I mean, a full scholarship to UVA? Why is sitting out even a question?

[alpha kenny body]

Waitlist:
Yale

I am suspicious

[LSATneurotic]

Waitlist:
Yale

I am suspicious

I am truthful

[BobMoses]

Type of URM: AA Male
GPA: 3.5x
LSAT: 163-165 (took test 2x)
Softs: TFA
Advice: Blanket the T-20 and see what happens. Admissions is unpredictable, but I think scholarship offers are even harder to understand. Tell your story to the best of your ability and one school will give you the offer you're looking for. Take the best financial offer that allows you to reach your professional goals.

IN
Chicago ($)
NYU (Full Tuition)
UVA (sticker, they knew I wasn't coming lol)
Berkeley (Full Tuition +)
Duke ($$$)
NU ($)
Cornell (?, didn't wait to find out)
Gtown ($$$)
UT (Full Tuition)
Howard (Full Tuition)

OUT
Harvard

WAITLISTED
Michigan
Penn
Columbia

NEVER HEARD FROM THEM
Stanford (W, no need to wait)

[Typhoon24]

Type of URM: AA Male
GPA: 3.8X
LSAT: 164-166
Softs: Average-weak

Advice: if you have a 160 and a 3.5, blanket t20. any higher and things will be bright!

IN
Georgetown
NYU ($$)
Berkeley ($$$$)
Duke ($$$)
Cornell ($$$$)
Columbia ($$)

OUT

Michigan
YLS
SLS

WAITLISTED

HLS
UVA
PENN
CHI

[DPhoenix]

Type of URM: AA Male
GPA: 3.6x
LSAT: 165-166
Softs: TFA
Advice: Take the best $$$ offer that allows you to reach your professional goals. Be honest with yourself about what those goals are before you begin this process and you'll have an easier time making the tough decisions (school choice, retake or not, etc).

IN
Columbia (?, didn't wait to find out)
Chicago ($)
NYU (Full Tuition)
UVA ($$)
Berkeley (Full Tuition +)
Duke ($$$)
Cornell (?, didn't wait to find out)
Gtown ($$$)
UT (Full Tuition)
Howard (Full Tuition)

OUT
Harvard

WAITLISTED
Michigan
Penn


NEVER HEARD FROM THEM
Stanford (W, cycle is done)
NU (W, guess they forgot about me...lol)

[calex017]

Type of URM: AA female
GPA: 3.5x
LSAT: 167
Softs: 2 years WE at law firm, top 5 undergrad
Advice: Many people recommend applying as early as possible, but I applied in late December and don't think it impacted my cycle at all. I wouldn't recommend applying later than December, though. I'd also say that I regret not applying a little more broadly (including to schools like Duke that I didn't actually have any intention of going to)--I originally applied to Georgetown and Northwestern as well but withdrew my applications while they were still pending. I did this because Berkeley was my top choice coming into this cycle, and I got accepted ~2.5 weeks after applying. Berk claims that Georgetown and Northwestern are not part of their matching scholarship program (and I was perfectly happy to not have to do those interviews) so I withdrew my applications. However, it definitely would've been worthwhile to keep those apps in to negotiate with other schools that ARE on B's matching scholarship list.

IN
Harvard
Berkeley ($$$)
NYU ($$)
Michigan ($$)
Chicago ($)

WAITLISTED
Penn

OUT

WAITING ON
Stanford

[EvMont]

Type of URM: AA
GPA: 3.6x
LSAT: High 160s
Softs: 2+ years WE at a F500, lots of high-impact leadership positions at a prestigious UG, some random community involvement
Advice:

- Create a clear narrative in your PS, recs, and resume that conveys who you are and why you they should want you. The goal of your application should be to show that you'll not only fit, but excel at each school. Remember that no one person can be and do all things. The people with the highest test scores aren't necessarily the life and blood of their law school. Every school needs people who perform well in the classroom and people who perform well outside of it. I'm passable at the former and BOSS at the latter. And it was enough to get me into some top schools with $$.

- You don't have to write a diversity statement to show you're diverse.

- Apply before Christmas, Jan 1 at the latest. I didn't do this and that, I think, was the biggest "problem" with my application.

- I read How to Get Into a Top Law School by Richard Montauk and thought it was AMAZING. If you read that you don't need much else, application-wise.

Attending
Harvard Law School

In
Columbia $$
Cornell $$$$
Duke $$$
Georgetown $$
NYU (withdrew pre-finaid offer)
UVA $$$

Waitlisted
Berkeley
Chicago
Michigan
Penn
Stanford

Out

Waiting On

[Ben Reilly]

.

[mono172000]

Don't post much but found this thread valuable in past years.

URM Type: AA Male

GPA: 3.8
LSAT: 165-168
Softs: Few years of professional experience post college (IB/Consulting).
Applied: Late October - Early November

Advice: I think applying early helps. Things obviously worked out well for me, so I don't really know what it would have been like had I applied later. But based on others' posts it seems like it makes a difference. Not sure how much my work experience went into my results, but I think getting some distance between you and undergrad is just valuable in general.

In:
H (Attending)
S
Columbia
D
M
G
Vandy

Got in everywhere I applied.

PM for individual questions if you've got them.

[logicspeaks]

Type of URM: Half-AA Male
GPA: 3.4x
LSAT: 171
Softs: 7 years work experience in retail, Executive Officer for a fraternity, socioeconomic disadvantage
Advice: Apply early. I didn't and it definitely affected my cycle. However, I will caution you to keep your goals in mind and not be blinded by prestige. I specifically want to work PI in SoCal so prestige doesn't mean much for me. The best thing for me is to keep my debt low and hustle (especially in the market I want to work in). This is also true if you just want Biglaw from a T14 school - it makes more sense to go where the money is than to go where the prestige is.

ATTENDING
USC

IN
UC Irvine ($60k)
Loyola Marymount ($96k)
Texas (Full Ride)
USC ($150k)

OUT
Nowhere

WAITLISTED
Harvard
Columbia
NYU
Penn
Michigan
UCLA

I'll be riding the Harvard waitlist because they do offer truly unique opportunities. I might hold out hope for Columbia and NYU too but the debt from those two will probably be too significant to be worthwhile for my goals. I'll be withdrawing from Penn, Michigan, and UCLA.

[Dr.Zer0]

Type of URM: MA Male
GPA: 3.9x
LSAT: low 160 - mid 160
Softs: Extensive community service, low socioeconomic background
Advice: TL;DR apply early, retake, negotiate for monies. Will expand this section later.

$-Roughly one year of tuition.
$$-Roughly two years of tuition.
$$$-Roughly three years of tuition.

In
Duke ($+)
UCLA ($$$+)
NYU ($+)
GULC (Nothing, they knew I wasn't coming)
USC ($$)
UMich ($$)
Cornell ($$$)
Penn ($+)
Berkeley ($$$)

Out
Harvard
Yale

Wait-listed
UVA (YP, Withdrew)
Northwestern (YP, Withdrew)
Chicago (Withdrew)
Stanford

Waiting On
Columbia

I'll be riding the Stanford wait-list because why not? PM for mylsn.

[Cocoblues]

Type of URM: AA Female
GPA: XXX
LSAT: XXX (Will update when the cycle is over)
Softs: Non-traditional applicant with extensive WE; Graduate degrees; Extensive community service; Unique background.
Advice: Apply early, preferably before Thanksgiving. I applied in early-mid January, and this had a negative impact on my cycle. Take time to craft excellent PSs and DSs, and tailored Why X essays. Devise a strategy for scholarship negotiations (Was bumped from $ to $$$ through negotiations).


In
NYU ($)
UVA ($$$)
Berkeley ($$$)
Duke ($$$)


Out
Harvard
Yale
Penn

Wait-listed
Michigan (YP, withdrew)
Columbia (Withdrew)
Chicago
Stanford

[Smitty7049]

Type of URM: AA female

GPA: 3.39

LSAT: 157

Softs: Older student (30's), parent, completed 120+ hours of community service during undergrad, double major, MS degree, grad research assistant, dean's list, honor societies, graduated with honors, multiple internships/volunteer work/employment positions in public interest with courts, non-profits, and government while in undergrad and grad school. 9 years of work experience in career positions w federal government, recent promotion, and additional legal duties.

Advice: Nothing beats a failure but a try (or something like that). As a result, I am attending my dream school in the fall. I took the lsat 5 years ago and convinced myself that I couldn't get a higher score. I assumed that taking the test a second time would be frowned upon. Study and retake the test if necessary. TLS and LSN have been extremely helpful and answered sooooo many questions. Several of the users ITT have responded to pm's and offered further assistance. I truly appreciate it.

In
George Washington part-time
University of Maryland part-time
Catholic part-time
American part-time

Out
NONE

Waitlisted
Georgetown part-time (Accepted off of waitlist)

Waiting On
NONE

[Black_Swan]

I am curious what financial aid looks like at HYSC. Are most of the CLS acceptances sticker?

[kenwash]

I am curious what financial aid looks like at HYSC. Are most of the CLS acceptances sticker?

I received 90K total from Columbia.

[teampeeta]

I am curious what financial aid looks like at HYSC. Are most of the CLS acceptances sticker?

I received 90K total from Columbia.

Was that need-based or did you get a Butler?

[wlee1220]

URM Type: AA Male

GPA: 3.4 (3.5 UGPA)
LSAT: 151, 155, 160
Softs: Former President of Large Student Org, Co-founded non-profit, two years working experience (Federal Govt/Non-Profit Consulting)
Ties: Philly/South Jersey region; Atlanta; South Carolina
Applied: Late December/Early January

Advice: I would echo everyone's mantra that applying early helps. I know people with my same numbers who have multiple t14 acceptances who applied in October/November, so I have reason to believe applying late hurt my cycle. I think that I have a decent outcome given what I want to do, but I have considered just postponing law school for a few more years to apply again. Given that my numbers aren't great, I'm pretty satisfied with my choice (Vandy @ 90K). To that point, try to score as high as you can on the LSAT, because that can be the difference between a t14 with $$$ and a t14 at sticker (or T20). It's almost always better to retake if you can than go somewhere at sticker. Also, although to a lesser degree, I think that telling a compelling story will help in your admissions. Your application should tell a complete story about who you are as a person and the things that have influenced your decision to attend law school. I wrote my personal statement connecting my faith and work experiences to my decision to attend law school and initially thought that it wouldn't be received well, but I have received personal notes from nearly everywhere I got in (and at a school where I got waitlisted) about how good they thought the statement was. I definitely think that having a story to tell, and using it to communicate how law school is a best next step, is important.

More Advice: Don't settle. As a URM, you may outperform your numbers and your cycle is surely to be a roller coaster ride to say the least. Be realistic, but don't be afraid to apply to schools just because you're outside their medians.

In:
Penn (Attending)
Vanderbilt (Attending)
UVA (@ sticker off WL)
Rutgers-C
Temple

Waitlist:
Penn Admitted 7/11 off the waitlist
Duke (withdrew)
Columbia (withdrew)

Out:
Emory

[alpha kenny body]

Damn, wlee, you did pretty well this cycle given your numbers. Definitely a testament to writing solid essays.

[happy2014]

URM Type: AA Female

GPA: 3.6 (3.55 GPA)
LSAT: 158-165
Softs: Student Government, Leadership, Councils, Extensive Study Abroad experience
Applied: Second Week of January

Advice: Despite the popular mantra "Apply early" , apply when YOU are ready. Do not rush your applications until you are COMPLETELY satisfied with the person you will present to the admissions committee at the schools you're applying to. However, apply by the end of January at the latest. Yale might be an exception.

Work on your personal statement. Let your professors, friends, and family who know you well read it. They might be a bit biased but usually they will let you know if the personal statement reflects you, your strengths and your values. Also, have two professors and maybe your pre-law advisor proofread your statement. They will catch little errors that you might not catch on first look. If you do not rewrite your personal statement at least five times, it is definitely not ready to submit.

If you are near one of the schools you applied to and you desperately want to attend, go visit. Set up a meeting with an admissions counselor, visit classes and then send a note to the law school. This shows interest and it is a good look if your application is under review. Do not wait for a waitlist to begin doing this kind of "friendly pushing."

Do not rant about law schools on TLS. Simple. They can tell who you are. It doesn't matter if you do not post your name or scores. If you complain about being UR for 6 weeks beginning on May 21st for example....maybe there were 15 people who went UR that day. Two of you are still left in that batch....DON'T do it. Actually, if you can, do not post on TLS until the very end of your cycle.

If you know you would not attend a specific law school if admitted, do not apply. That is, if you ONLY plan to attend a T-20, do not apply to schools outside that range. You're wasting a lot of money especially if you do not have fee waivers.

Brothas and sistas, I wish you the best of luck!

In:
Cornell
Duke
Vanderbilt
Fordham
UVa
WashU in St. Louis

Waitlist:
Penn
Columbia
William and Mary

Out:
Emory
Minnesota
Georgetown
Harvard
Yale

[applelover]

FWIW, I posted about my law school admissions wait almost every day and didn't get denied by any school, so obviously they don't care as long as you're not trashing the school. I always posted my UR dates too.

EDIT: I know Dean Deal could care less about TLS, but JS hates it so just make sure you don't mention it when interviewing or talking to her and you're fine.

[wlee1220]

Damn, wlee, you did pretty well this cycle given your numbers. Definitely a testament to writing solid essays.

Meh. I thought so too, until I spoke with a couple other sub-160/3.4-ish URMs who had multiple t14 acceptances. People told me that I should've gone after more t14s, but honestly I felt like the ones I applied to were the only ones I would attend if admitted and my numbers were too damn low. In hindsight, maybe I should've, but idk. I'm cool with how everything turned out.

[MangoCinnamon]

This thread is very inspiring.

[hkm]

This thread is very inspiring.

It really is, congrats everyone. Thank you for sharing your stories.