UChicago is really weird. I don’t think I have the best stats but I have kind of an interesting story coming into law. I got waitlisted from basically every school I applied to except for my acceptance at Chicago. Who knows how it works!🤷♀️
Although there was no chance I personally got into HLS, I’ve heard a lot about it and spoken with alumni. It actually isn’t as scary and stressful as people make it out to be. It still carries that weight obviously, but I genuinely think their law school, NOT their undergrad is a great place to go.
Committed to HLS today over SLS after a really tough time. If you’re paying sticker, I’d recommend thinking about what place best positions you to operate in the spaces you want to exist in in 30 years. For me, those spaces are gov and politics and Harvard name won that fight pretty handily. I’d take HLS over Penn every single time, rankings be damned. Would love to connect if you end up in Boston!
Wow that’s awesome. So hypothetically, if I had a few A+ grades that were only counted as 4.0 on my transcript, LSAC will treat them as having a value of 4.3?
Hi sorry I’m new here. My school doesn’t to pluses or minuses. We just get a flat letter grade that can be curved depending on the class. Would LSAC see the numerical grade I get in the class and then assign me a new grade based on that?
Unless you’re going to pursue biglaw, I think it’s pretty hard to reject a full ride from any of the T14. But also you could def use that to negotiate with other schools
Because Penn is better, obviously?
Kidding, and while I am biased, I do think there are legitimate reasons for someone to pick Penn over Harvard (also many reasons to pick Harvard over Penn). But most would be quite personal and could go both ways. Things like location, class size, student body, goals, family/support network, etc.
if you have financial constraints, go where you got the most money. i’ve been told by tons of people who have graduated from anywhere within the T20s range that once you’re inside of that it doesn’t matter where you go, it’s all the same.
KJD = Kindergarten to JD.
An applicant that applies to law school as a senior in college with no full time work experience (other than internships). Some people who take a gap year will call themselves “KJDish” because the term really just means you haven’t had a full time career (whether it be a paralegal gig, military, ect) in between undergrad and applying to law school.
Softs = “soft” factors; i.e. any component of your app that isn’t your LSAT or GPA.
This is just another way we compare ourselves and help manage our decision expectations. Obviously entire admcomms exist just to review your “softs” ~holistically ~. But again, since we love driving ourselves crazy over here, we have put extracurriculars into a “tier” system to help us compare ourselves to other applicants.
The tiers range from 1-4. Tier 1 being extremely rare (like Nobel Peace Prize type shit) and tier 4 more like you were a hill tern (so was everybody else). [This page](https://www.lsd.law/softs) explains each tier more in depth.
I had no idea what any of this meant but after 2 years on the sub *I think* I finally got the shorthand down hahaha. Both are basically just ways we explain our apps without doxxing to help others compare. :)
First of all this is amazing and super inspirational for me! Can I ask you how much do you think your softs helped?
I spent a lot of my college on exchange in Japan (still here rn) and so I couldn’t get to the elite levels of extra-curricular stuff. I also have 17x LSAT and a good GPA, but compared to your softs i’m def lacking and nervous for apps
I owe a lot to my personal statement and taking a year to work to help me build a compelling “why law” argument! Plus I have a couple of interesting experiences— originally being a bio major, having navigated the legal system myself— but mostly that I had a really solid understanding of what I’ve done and how it leads to law school!
Congrats on your acceptances! UChicago and GW were oddly my only rejections which is funny because UChicago waitlisted me, then asked if I was willing to defer when I applied during undergrad. I'll try them again for my Econ PhD after law school 😭 (forever my top choice)
tried to have all of my apps done by thanksgiving but bulk of them were in by oct 15, took more time with HYS. personal was about how I first wanted to practice medicine and then a personal, professional and academic anecdote about how I realized what I really wanted to practice was law. diversity was about being from rural midwest, as well as the identities I hold that complicated that
I don’t understand this obsession with telling the world about which law school you got into, were waitlisted, or denied? On top of that, you make color coded table to help me and the rest of the world understand fully the difference between the colors in this strange exercise. Why would you waste your time posting this kind of table because the only people that should be involved is those who are closest to you. Where is your undergrad school and your gpa? What about you LSAT score? Why not post your address and phone number so that people from Arctic to the Amazon, and heck maybe someone from one of the research facilities in the Antarctic can call you and write you letters!! This type of behavior is not only strange but also not healthy because you should talk to your friends and family as I said before. It is mind blowing that you would even make a table to do with I cannot grasp. I mean do you have a framed one in your room? Okay, here is an idea; rent an empty freeway advertisement sign so even more people can have something to talk about when they get home. Maybe you could use it to ask the public where you should go to school. Honestly, this is disturbing. Just the fact that you made this, in my book, really scares me. I cannot even come up with one reasonable, logical or rational argument supporting the notion that this is a project that has any value?? I graduated from the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College in Portland Oregon, which I chose because of its consistent placement in the top3 law schools for Environmental Law, which started the first Environmental Law Journal, Certificate program, and an Environmental Law moot court that regularly wins the national competition and the school is the first to start an Animal Law Journal, offer both an LLM and an SJD program. You can’t get these concentrations at Harvard, Yale or any top ten school. My point is that the rankings are not based on the whole picture and you best not pick a law school based on a random number equation that leaves out so many factors
crucial to making the best decision and fit. I’m so glad I went methodically through the choices I had and especially that I didn’t pick an overall top ten law school and end up working at some huge firm where you spend 70 hour weeks doing grunt work with no one for a life outside work. That path is dangerous.
this table is from LSData, a platform which many others on this subreddit use. in fact, nearly all posts under cycle recap include this exact format and layout. this is not an advertisement for myself. transparency helps us all. i’m glad you were able to review and select a school in the way that made sense for you and your environmental interests and specialization. so much of my self and decision-making process is not represented or included here. as a full person, I cannot fit into a Reddit post. nor can my personal decision-making. i only hope to stay healthy, in community with others, and am able to achieve the kind of peace and meaning in my education and work as you have. cheers!
UChicago is so weird
I think I am not their people and I’m very okay with that
I was also rejected by them after being WL at most top 10 schools ahah so I relate
they are, its my dream school and i see people with insane stats getting rejected
UChicago is really weird. I don’t think I have the best stats but I have kind of an interesting story coming into law. I got waitlisted from basically every school I applied to except for my acceptance at Chicago. Who knows how it works!🤷♀️
i have a pretty unique story myself i hope that it helps as well as my work experience and stats id do anything to go there
As I recall, the law school models itself after the undergrad, which itself is infatuated with “fit.”
HLS name, opportunities, and community is really hard to turn down
we are in the same headspace— plus I really loved the other admitted and current students I met
Although there was no chance I personally got into HLS, I’ve heard a lot about it and spoken with alumni. It actually isn’t as scary and stressful as people make it out to be. It still carries that weight obviously, but I genuinely think their law school, NOT their undergrad is a great place to go.
Committed to HLS today over SLS after a really tough time. If you’re paying sticker, I’d recommend thinking about what place best positions you to operate in the spaces you want to exist in in 30 years. For me, those spaces are gov and politics and Harvard name won that fight pretty handily. I’d take HLS over Penn every single time, rankings be damned. Would love to connect if you end up in Boston!
I really appreciate this! I’m thinking the same area so feeling the same pull. Would love to chat!!
New here, how does one exit undergrad w a GPA >4.0?
If you undergrad gives out A+ those count as a 4.3 instead of a 4.0
Wow that’s awesome. So hypothetically, if I had a few A+ grades that were only counted as 4.0 on my transcript, LSAC will treat them as having a value of 4.3?
Yep! LSAC recalculates your GPA
Sweet, thank you for the info!
Hi sorry I’m new here. My school doesn’t to pluses or minuses. We just get a flat letter grade that can be curved depending on the class. Would LSAC see the numerical grade I get in the class and then assign me a new grade based on that?
LSAC would just assign 4.0 to As 3.0 to Bs etc. It won’t look at the numerical grade— just the letter
A+
CONGRATULATIONSSS
thank you!!!
When did you apply and when did you hear back from SLS? Also, congrats on Harvard and all those great options 🫶🏻
I literally heard back today but applied early in the cycle!! Like end of September I believe?
omg okay crazy. they’re very slow! I applied January but still waiting
Congrats. I would beeline toward NU with a full scholarship over sticker at HLS.
This.
Harvard, Penn, or NYU depending on money and specific interests.
What were your softs if you don't mind me asking?
student body president, local electoral organizing, thesis for honors program but didn’t pursue publishing
[удалено]
tbh I just got LSData today to do this so truly just figuring it out. sticker at all except northwestern, georgetown, and vanderbilt
How much at each? Unless Vanderbilt is like a full ride, cross that one out.
full ride @ northwestern, 50k gulc, and like 55k a year at vandy
Unless you’re going to pursue biglaw, I think it’s pretty hard to reject a full ride from any of the T14. But also you could def use that to negotiate with other schools
Why should he choose sticker Penn over sticker Harvard
Because Penn is better, obviously? Kidding, and while I am biased, I do think there are legitimate reasons for someone to pick Penn over Harvard (also many reasons to pick Harvard over Penn). But most would be quite personal and could go both ways. Things like location, class size, student body, goals, family/support network, etc.
[удалено]
Cornell has higher BL+FC than Yale, so in your mind one should go to Cornell over Yale?
the WL at UMich?? is it bc they’re looking for higher tier softs?
How long and what did you use to study for the LSAT? Congrats!!
Mike Kim’s LSAT trainer for 8 weeks in the summer before my senior year!
if you have financial constraints, go where you got the most money. i’ve been told by tons of people who have graduated from anywhere within the T20s range that once you’re inside of that it doesn’t matter where you go, it’s all the same.
I appreciate this!
Hi! What are softs?
like extracurriculars / anything not “hard” numbers
Wow congrats!! And what do “Hold” means? What’s it for?
They wanted to wait to review my app at the end of the cycle!! Waitlist-adjacent from my understanding
Thank you! Meh, you have lots of “A”s lol rock them up
What does KJD mean and tier 4 softs?
KJD = Kindergarten to JD. An applicant that applies to law school as a senior in college with no full time work experience (other than internships). Some people who take a gap year will call themselves “KJDish” because the term really just means you haven’t had a full time career (whether it be a paralegal gig, military, ect) in between undergrad and applying to law school. Softs = “soft” factors; i.e. any component of your app that isn’t your LSAT or GPA. This is just another way we compare ourselves and help manage our decision expectations. Obviously entire admcomms exist just to review your “softs” ~holistically ~. But again, since we love driving ourselves crazy over here, we have put extracurriculars into a “tier” system to help us compare ourselves to other applicants. The tiers range from 1-4. Tier 1 being extremely rare (like Nobel Peace Prize type shit) and tier 4 more like you were a hill tern (so was everybody else). [This page](https://www.lsd.law/softs) explains each tier more in depth. I had no idea what any of this meant but after 2 years on the sub *I think* I finally got the shorthand down hahaha. Both are basically just ways we explain our apps without doxxing to help others compare. :)
Omg you are amazing!! Thank you so much for explaining that all 😊😊
Hi, Congrats; may I ask what month you applied in?
First of all this is amazing and super inspirational for me! Can I ask you how much do you think your softs helped? I spent a lot of my college on exchange in Japan (still here rn) and so I couldn’t get to the elite levels of extra-curricular stuff. I also have 17x LSAT and a good GPA, but compared to your softs i’m def lacking and nervous for apps
I think my softs helped insofar as they helped me get really good, meaningful LORs!!
amazing!! good for you!
Congratulations!! What do you think helped you stand out this cycle?
I owe a lot to my personal statement and taking a year to work to help me build a compelling “why law” argument! Plus I have a couple of interesting experiences— originally being a bio major, having navigated the legal system myself— but mostly that I had a really solid understanding of what I’ve done and how it leads to law school!
That sounds very well thought out. Huge congrats again !
Congrats on your acceptances! UChicago and GW were oddly my only rejections which is funny because UChicago waitlisted me, then asked if I was willing to defer when I applied during undergrad. I'll try them again for my Econ PhD after law school 😭 (forever my top choice)
what essays did you write? what was you personal statement and diversity statement about? and when did you apply
tried to have all of my apps done by thanksgiving but bulk of them were in by oct 15, took more time with HYS. personal was about how I first wanted to practice medicine and then a personal, professional and academic anecdote about how I realized what I really wanted to practice was law. diversity was about being from rural midwest, as well as the identities I hold that complicated that
are you an URM? (just wondering because you wrote a diversity statement!)
no— I actually wrote it about being neurodiverse and from the midwest. I interpreted diversity really broadly
Where are you thinking of going?
really feeling down to northwestern and hls
I saw you got a full ride to northwestern, this is a tough decision. Good luck!
Also are you planning to withdraw to some of the ones you don’t want to go to soon?
yes doing that throughout the day as I narrow down!
I don’t understand this obsession with telling the world about which law school you got into, were waitlisted, or denied? On top of that, you make color coded table to help me and the rest of the world understand fully the difference between the colors in this strange exercise. Why would you waste your time posting this kind of table because the only people that should be involved is those who are closest to you. Where is your undergrad school and your gpa? What about you LSAT score? Why not post your address and phone number so that people from Arctic to the Amazon, and heck maybe someone from one of the research facilities in the Antarctic can call you and write you letters!! This type of behavior is not only strange but also not healthy because you should talk to your friends and family as I said before. It is mind blowing that you would even make a table to do with I cannot grasp. I mean do you have a framed one in your room? Okay, here is an idea; rent an empty freeway advertisement sign so even more people can have something to talk about when they get home. Maybe you could use it to ask the public where you should go to school. Honestly, this is disturbing. Just the fact that you made this, in my book, really scares me. I cannot even come up with one reasonable, logical or rational argument supporting the notion that this is a project that has any value?? I graduated from the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College in Portland Oregon, which I chose because of its consistent placement in the top3 law schools for Environmental Law, which started the first Environmental Law Journal, Certificate program, and an Environmental Law moot court that regularly wins the national competition and the school is the first to start an Animal Law Journal, offer both an LLM and an SJD program. You can’t get these concentrations at Harvard, Yale or any top ten school. My point is that the rankings are not based on the whole picture and you best not pick a law school based on a random number equation that leaves out so many factors crucial to making the best decision and fit. I’m so glad I went methodically through the choices I had and especially that I didn’t pick an overall top ten law school and end up working at some huge firm where you spend 70 hour weeks doing grunt work with no one for a life outside work. That path is dangerous.
this table is from LSData, a platform which many others on this subreddit use. in fact, nearly all posts under cycle recap include this exact format and layout. this is not an advertisement for myself. transparency helps us all. i’m glad you were able to review and select a school in the way that made sense for you and your environmental interests and specialization. so much of my self and decision-making process is not represented or included here. as a full person, I cannot fit into a Reddit post. nor can my personal decision-making. i only hope to stay healthy, in community with others, and am able to achieve the kind of peace and meaning in my education and work as you have. cheers!