Hey guys... checking in. Got a massive compilation post here for yall. Went through Faye Deal's blog (
https://law.stanford.edu/blog/?tax_and_ ... 137&page=2) and have collated here everything I've deemed relevant. Who am I? What does it matter what I've deemed relevant?
I don't know but you'd be insane not to read this shit if you want to get in.
Some of the content is pretty dated, goes all the way back to 2010. It's generic content though, and
timeless. Cheers...
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On your app generally and creating a theme throughout it
Reading takes concentration and focus and it needs 100% attention. Some files are easy to read and the decision comes easily – there is depth to the application and everything ties in together. Things are connected and I am able to get a really good sense of who you are – how you think, what you think. Others, however, I labor over because I’m not able to easily put together the puzzle pieces and have to really dig to get to know you. It just depends on the file. Sometimes I can’t quite put my finger on it, but my Spidey sense starts tingling and those files take longer as well. Sometimes I come across a personal statement that is enthralling and that makes me push the file into the admit group. Sometimes I come across a personal statement that is appalling and that makes me push the file into the deny group. Sometimes everything falls into place and I jump up and down and start clapping – not literally, of course, but I will smile and you know which group this file ends up in. My critique of applications could be visualized, I suppose, along the lines of the San Francisco Chronicle’s Little Man icon for movie reviews . And, yes, sadly, there are times when an empty chair is appropriate.
I want to highlight the importance of having that thread in your application that unifies things. Remember this – it is your responsibility to make sure that thread exists. It is your task to weave that thread in and to make sure it is there for me to discover. I will find it, but only if you have put it there to begin with. Second, excellent writing skills are so important and this comes through most significantly through the personal statement. Your task is not just to tell me a story, but to tell me a story in a well-written and compelling fashion. You may have one heck of a story, but if it’s not written well you can imagine which Little Man icon most accurately portrays my reaction. Finally, and perhaps most importantly for you as you wait out the decision process, I hope you will see that it’s not a simple and cursory review that takes place. You’ve put a lot of time into your application and I want you to know that I put a lot of time into reading what you have to say.
On personal statements
Thinking about the personal statement oftentimes conjures up all kinds of anxiety. Sweaty palms. Lots of doing other things so as to not do this one last task – you know, avoidance techniques. Skittish behavior. Fingers tapping aimlessly on the keyboard. Stringing sentences together in your head. It’s a daunting task, isn’t it? Take two-to-three pages and tell me something that will make you stand out amongst the thousands of others whose personal statements I’ll read this year – not to mention the thousands I read last year or the year before (you get my drift). Take two to three pages and make me sit up and take notice. Let’s pause here just for a second and allow me to set the record straight and alleviate any palpitations you may be experiencing by just thinking about the statement. Forget standing out. Don’t approach it that way. Don’t think about a “wow” factor. No need to do it up in a big and loud fashion. Instead stop and think for a bit about what it is that you want to convey to me. We all have stories to tell so your task is really to figure out which story you want to tell me. If you’ve gone about this properly, you’ve been thinking about topics and have jotted ideas down on a piece of paper or on some electronic device. You’ve then looked at that list of options and condensed similar ideas, culled out the bad ideas or the “not much to say on that topic” ideas. The swirling sentences in your head seem a bit more manageable now, don’t they? So, get started. Put pencil to paper (or the electronic equivalent). Just do it (Thanks, Nike, for the catchy phrase). Let the words flow. The words probably won’t be pretty on the first try, but keep at it until your voice comes through. Keep at it until you get to the point where you feel content after that last sentence is completed and you breathe that sigh of relief not because it’s done, but because it’s good. Read it out loud. Ask yourself a few questions like these (or exactly these if you trust my advice): Is this what I want Stanford to know about me? By the end of the statement, will Stanford know more about me – beyond how well I write – than before reading it? Does my statement illustrate how I think, how I view my world? If you can answer these questions in the affirmative, then you’ve done your job. I will read your words and I will sit up and take notice.
As I read over this entry, I’m tempted to no longer call this part of the application the personal statement. The word “statement” sounds so formal. It should more appropriately be called the personal story. I say switching out one word for the other makes the task less intimidating and more real. Unfortunately, it’s too late for me to call up the powers-that-be at LSAC and beg to update our application and make the switch from “statement” to “story”. But that shouldn’t stop either of us from thinking of it in this way. From here on out, it’s all about the personal story. Tap into the creative side of your personality and start writing. Tell me a story.
…
If you’re taking the LSAT in a couple of weeks, focus on your last-minute studying, but don’t overdo it and don’t let yourself be overwhelmed with stress. Stop rolling your eyes. I realize it’s easy for me to say that – I’m not taking the LSAT and I’m not trying to get in to law school and I already have my dream job. But do try to remember to put the test in perspective – it’s one piece of the puzzle and a puzzle has many pieces. If you’re still working on your application, chances are it’s the personal statement that has your attention. Take a deep breath and ask yourself “What do I want SLS to know about me?” A jumble of ideas will likely be the result of this self-analysis. Sort through the ideas – a thread will surface – and try running with that thread to see where it will take you.
On whether or not to go to law school, and not wasting Stanford’s time if you’re not absolutely certain
What is it that you want to do with your life? What is the direction your life is taking? Where are you going? Are you on your way to a meaningful life and, if so, how are you getting there? The turn on the map I’m concerned about at the moment is the path to law school. Is your true north pointing to law school? If so, have you planned out your route? Get a pencil and a piece of paper and start jotting down some notes or flip open that laptop and start tapping away. Are you ready to tackle law school now or is there something (or a few things) you’d like to do first? Remember this – one rarely, if ever, regrets taking time off before heading to law school. If thinking about other things to do is an apt description of where you are now, then your route will veer a bit before getting back on the JD road. This is absolutely okay
Faye Deal answers some questions (here are included the questions and ONLY Faye’s answers… go to the post if you want to see answers from deans of other top schools) https://law.stanford.edu/2010/05/21/adm ... questions/
Which component carries the most weight: LSAT, GPA, work experience, or recommendations? Which carries the least weight?
You’ll love the vagueness of my simple answer. It depends. Let me explain. As an applicant you need to take stock of where you are at the start of the process. What is your profile as you come to the application process? A senior applying directly from college? An investment banker applying after a fair amount of time in the workforce? A Ph.D. in English who wants to make a career transition? Determine your profile (and I’m not talking numerical profile here). Then, approach the application as though it were a puzzle. You have certain puzzle pieces and as an admissions officer I have to see how these pieces fit together. If you’re a senior coming directly from college, your puzzle pieces are your academic record, (notice I did not say your GPA as I am more concerned with how you created your academic record), your LSAT score, your letters of recommendation and your personal statement. If you are returning to school after some time spent in the workplace, then you have an additional puzzle piece – work experience. Coming straight from college, you have fewer puzzle pieces so are able to move the pieces around and try to make them “fit” if some pieces are weak is somewhat constrained. If your LSAT is your weak piece, then every other aspect in your file must be strong in order for us to say that the LSAT should lessen in importance. If your LSAT is strong but your personal statement is poorly written and there is no evidence that you’ve taken any courses where serious writing was required, your file may not get very far. What if your academic record is stellar, but you’ve done nothing outside of the classroom? A puzzle piece is missing here so you might find yourself being held and compared to a larger group. If you’re an electrical engineering major I may be more concerned about your writing as evidenced in your personal statement than if you were an English major. I’d also pay closer attention to your letters of recommendation to see if your recommender comments on your writing skills. If your grades aren’t strong and you are a senior, then I would hope that we’d see academic letters written on your behalf that would allay concerns we might have about how you would handle the work in law school. What happens if you are the candidate who has been out of college for a number of years and now wants to take that experience and expand on it by going to law school? Imagine that you’ve spent the last six years as a labor union organizer. Imagine further that your undergraduate record is not one to jump up and down about. Do you just get a cursory review? Of course not. The question I’d ask myself is whether those six years of real-life experience are enough to compensate for an academic record that is not stellar. In this specific example, the academic record recedes in importance and the work experience takes on greater importance. Remember, then, that the puzzle pieces have to fit and how this is accomplished is based on your particular profile.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of your school? Who would be happy? Who wouldn’t be happy?
We’re small – with one faculty member for every eight students. You’ll find a close-knit community where students, faculty and staff know each other very well and one in which we all look out for each other. There’s something to be said about being on the west coast where, as our dean has said, “tradition and the way things have always been done weigh less heavily” on us. We’re in the country’s largest, most diverse and most dynamic state and located in the heart of Silicon Valley. In other words, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and kicking so when you do your research on SLS it should not surprise you to discover students creating new and innovative programs – designing a curriculum for Afghanistan law schools or working on law and development issues in Bhutan. You’ll also find a distinct interdisciplinary approach here that you’ll not find anywhere else. Want to create a joint degree unique to your area of interest? It’s doable and in many cases in the same amount of time that you’ll take to finish the JD and at no extra cost. Weaknesses? Some will say our size is our weakness. We work hard, though, to overcome this perceived weakness by drawing on the strengths of the rest of the University. When you consider an offer from SLS, you really should also be thinking about how Stanford University fits into the picture because you will most definitely draw on the resources of the greater University as you make your way through three years here.
Ah, the happiness index. Here’s the secret about finding a place where you’ll be happy…it’s all about fit. Dean Perry and Dean Rangappa are absolutely right – visit the schools. Talk to current students. Talk to alums. Talk to faculty. Talk to administrators. See how you think you’d fit in. Do you envision yourself at a particular school? Do you envision yourself as part of the law school community? And, most importantly, do you envision yourself thriving? You’ll discover that you have a gut feeling about a particular place. Listen …and trust your instincts.
Can you describe the archetypical student for your school?
Let me echo what my colleagues have all mentioned – there is no such thing as a typical student. Students will choose us over another school for a variety of reasons – whether it’s because we’re on the west coast or because of our interdisciplinary focus or because of our size and the absolute ease with which you are able to build relationships with classmates and faculty that run deep and last a lifetime or because of the strength of the intellectual experience you will experience. Not surprisingly, you may find yourself admitted to all the schools – NYU, Columbia, Michigan, Chicago, Yale and Stanford. The overlap in admissions decisions is not all that unusual. The decision as to where you will end up is entirely yours. Maybe you’re accustomed to the urban life and Palo Alto is a bit quiet for you. Maybe you’re from a small town and want the big city experience. Maybe you want to be in an environment where you know each of your classmates. Maybe you want an experience vastly different from your small liberal arts undergraduate experience. All the offers are coming in and each school has some similar aspects and some different aspects. But, the real issue is this: What is it that YOU are looking for in the school where you will spend the next three years of your life? What is it about our school that resonates with YOU?
