And It’s Over . . . Almost <3

Hello All!

 

It’s been a long while since my last post. Mostly, I stopped writing because this entire “project” was nothing more than a class assignment. However, due to the overwhelming emails/comments I’ve received since December I have decided to continue posting as I can and to update you on the rest of my cycle.

 

As it turns out, the last few months of my cycle we’re insane to say the least. The 2011-12 application cycle saw the longest ever LSAT wait (Sorry December test-takers), the lowest applications in history, and the most bizarre acceptances (and rejections) that we’ve seen in a long while. My cycle was no different. I was accepted to some pretty amazing schools (five T14′s!) and rejected from safeties (looking at you Notre Dame). But, here I stand happily planning to attend Michigan Law School in the fall.

This is, of course, assuming that I do not get accepted off of Harvard’s waitlist.

Honestly, retaking was the best decision I ever made. Before, my best option was George Mason at sticker. This year my options were Berkeley, GULC, UVA, Mich, NU (most with sizeable scholarships).

And with that, I consider this lawschoolproject a success.

Writing the Yale 250

Before I begin discussing the purposes of this post, I just want to say that . . .

 

HOLY CRAP! I was accepted to ANOTHER T14. As of today I’m accepted to Michigan and Georgetown. You can’t see me, but I’m pretty thrilled.

 

Anyway, moving along.

 

As many of you may recall, my ultimate dream would be to attend Yale. This is, of course, a complete pipe dream. While my GPA may be adequate, my LSAT is no where close. Additionally, my softs are relatively weak as I have never cured cancer, founded an orphanage, or de-wormed children in Somalia. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done some interesting things, but nothing Nobel Prize winning.

Thus, every part of my application needs to be damn-near perfect. And, this is what leads us to working on the Yale 250.

It’s a horrendous piece to write. You only have 250 words to say something knowledgeable, clever, insightful, and above all memorable. You need to write about something that will connect with those reading you work. You need to write in a way that shows your abilities as a crafter of memorable language. You need to write something that is befitting of a person attending the top law school in the country.

And, of course, all of this is quite easily accomplished. Right?

If only.

 

The hardest part of the Y250 for me is simply figuring out what to write about. The application’s instructions are so open ended that you can write about virtually anything. Many people take one of two directions. They focus on either a personal situation or an academic specialty.

I’ve read close to probably 100 different Y250s. Some resulted in acceptance while others did not. Below, I have compiled a list of qualities that seem to be shared between all of the best pieces.

 

Seven Insights to the Yale 250

- Each piece maintains focus on a simple subject. None of the most successful Y250s try to become too complicated. They are complex in their simplicity.

- Each topic is looked at in a nuanced way. This is to suggest that simple topics that may appear common or that people have common knowledge of are looked at in new and interesting ways.

-It never, ever goes over 250 words. (And seldom is very far under).

-Personal Y250s don’t tend to focus on traumatic situations. Among the most successful pieces I’ve read, none of them have focused on a particularly sensitive personal issues. Instead, they have focused on tiny quirks in different applicants, such as having a large head or being a champion poker player.

-Academic Y250s don’t tend to use an overly academic or scientific language. Additionally, they aren’t written as a way to “teach” a common idea. Usually, they are complicated ideas broken down and explained in a nuanced way.

-Rarely do Y250s have anything to do with law or law school.

-Some of the most compelling and memorable Y250s have one closing line that is both intelligent and emotionally-charged. This makes for a powerful closing which is highly memorable.

 

The Long Wait . . . or What to Do While Waiting for Law School Decisions

Waiting on application decisions has been something I’d liken to a torturous hell.

 

It’s extremely nerve-racking to sit around day after day and wait for a law school decision. After receiving my acceptance to Mizzou, I waited over a month until I received another acceptance. So, what does one do during this time? What are some activities that can consume someone’s time that might prevent the ever-looming insanity?

10). Learn a new skill.

I’m a big advocate of learning something new in order to keep your mind off of something stressful. It gives you something else to focus on, AND you’re learning (which is always a plus). Since this cycle has begun, I’ve learned how to knit (laugh away, my friends, it’s fine) and I’ve also started taking an adult ballet class. Good times.

 

9). Plan a weekly “day-trip”

Start on Monday, while you’re at work, thinking of a place within 60 miles of your home that might be interesting to visit. This will be a place that you probably wouldn’t otherwise visit, but is known as some type of tourist attraction. For example, there are a multitude of old Civil War battlegrounds around my home. We also have a lot of historical sites. So, on Monday make the list. Tuesday and Wednesday call about the location, figure out if there are any quirky restaurants around the site that might be fun to visit once. On Thursday, bribe a friend to go with you. On Friday, print out directions, then on Saturday take the trip.

This gives you something to look forward to every week. It’s relatively inexpensive AND you may just learn something.

8). Try something new.

Note: This is different from learning a skill. Here, you should just try one thing that you’ve never done before. For me, it was a dramatic round of speed dating (soooo terrible, but a fun story). Find something in your neck of the woods that you’ve never done, but that might be fun. This week, I’m going to play in a local poker tournament. Next week? Probably going to check out Bingo Night at the Knights of Columbus Hall. oooh yes.

7). Throw a party.

This is always a good idea, especially because the party doesn’t have to be for you. Just take a look at your calendar, you’ll find that there are a multitude of random holidays almost bi-weekly. Throw an absurd bird day party, it’ll be fun. Or, you could let your more altruistic side take over and plan a party for a friend. In October, I planned a very lavish party for my friend’s 25th birthday. I spent time designing invitations and organizing the dinner menu. Totally took my mind off of everything.

6). Volunteer

One good thing to do when you’re worried about your own life is to give back to those who really need it. I find that volunteering really puts my own concerns into perspective. Recently, I’ve been working in hospitals visiting sick children. I can’t even explain how much this has really helped me.

5). Invest in a video game.

Yes, I realize this may not be up your ally. And, to be fair, it wasn’t really up mine either until I found that every moment of every day I was concerned about the status of my applications. Depending upon what video game console you own (or if you don’t) there are a lot of really great games that you can become seriously addicted to. Here are my recommendations:

PS3 – Skyrim

Wii – Skyward Sword

Xbox – Call of Duty: MW3

PC – World of Warcraft

These are just the ones that I’m playing right now, and they’re all quite a bit different from one another…well, kind of. Find games that you might actually like, then force yourself to play them. I for one never thought I’d play WoW…but now I’m a level 40 ice mage, so….yeah.

 

4). Prescreen the Oscar films.

Yes, I realize the nominees haven’t been released, but we all have a very good idea of who is going to be nominated. Set aside one night a week to watch a film that is going to be up for best picture. The film will undoubtedly be intriguing and, once again, you might learn something. Beyond that, you get to see George Clooney at least twice…yum.

3). Start Reading a Book Series

If you haven’t read the Harry Potter series, then I’d choose that. It’ll take you a good amount of time to get through that. If you have read it, read it again.

Or, you could move onto other series…personally, I find The Lord of the Rings to be a good place to go, especially because you can read The Hobbit and all of the other corresponding texts. There’s also The Chronicles of Narnia or The Wizard of EarthSea books. If you’re more into genre type things, maybe pick one author and force yourself to read all of their writings. I did this with Ernest Hemingway and it’s pretty cool to say that I’ve read everything he’s ever written. Doing this with Nicholas Sparks, Steven King, John Grisham, or Michael Crichton would be amazing, I think.

The point, though, is to have such a massive amount of reading to do that you don’t have time to stress.

2). Work on a Long-Term Project

Whatever your hobby is, try to make a long-term project out of it. For me, I’m writing a novel. I spend sooo much time creating characters and worldbuilding that I seldom stress about my acceptances and whatnot anymore. Are you a builder? Build something. Are you an artist? Create a showcase and try to get a showing. Are you a musician? Write an album. While I realize this may seem rather lofty…remember that once LS starts, you aren’t going to have a whole lot of time to do what you love, so better to do it now.

1). Join Top-Law-Schools.com

I highly encourage anyone who is waiting for a law school decision (or planning on applying) to join www.top-law-schools.com. It’s a great source of information AND you can even spend some of your time helping out other people who are in need.

But, ultimately, the biggest reason to join this site is  because of the people. Because the other users are going through the same process as you, they are extremely supportive (and knowledgeable). I have become friends with some really great people through this site. We’ve helped one another narrow down which schools to apply to, edit personal statements, and survive when maybe our dreams didn’t come true. It’s honestly the best thing I’ve done since the cycle began. Beyond just chit-chatting about law school though, there was a Secret Santa exchange and there are many nights that we play games online. It’s a great community to be apart of. AND it definitely let’s me know I’m not alone in being concerned about my acceptances.

Accepted!

As of yesterday, I have officially been accepted to law school!

 

I feel extremely relieved to at least know that I’ve been accepted somewhere, even if it is only to my back up school.  The cycle is only beginning, and I have several other schools to hear from, but I’d rather receive an acceptance call than a rejection letter any day.

 

In other news, I’ve also scheduled my interviews for Vanderbilt and Northwestern. I embark upon my Vandy interview tomorrow at 11:30 am. I’ll be sure to post all kinds of details about the experience.

 

Ciao!

Applications Submitted!

My apologies for not posting in quite a while. If you were an Oct. test taker, then you know that only ten days ago our scores were released. Now, with that said, my score was horrible. Definitely nothing like what my last few PTs had been, but that’s fine. Part of me knows that I can do better, but being as I’ve already taken the damn thing twice before, I’ve elected to not retake for a fourth time. I’m afraid that might just look dreadful.

So, what have I been doing for the past ten days? Filling out my applications. I finally narrowed down my list to the following:

Harvard (haha, yeah right, but I had to do it.)
Columbia
Chicago
NYU
Michigan
UVA
UPenn
Berkeley
UCLA
USC
WUSTL
Vandy
Northwestern
BC
BU
Notre Dame
Mizzou
SLU
Georgetown
Duke
Cornell

Most of those schools are long shots, with only two of them being safety schools. Why? Because, if I can’t get into a top school, then I’ll take my super-cheap/non-existent tuition and stay in Missouri. At least that way I’m saving money and close to family. And, even if Mizzou and  SLU aren’t top tier, I know that with my connections in the Show-Me State, I won’t have a problem finding a job. But, we are going to keep our fingers crossed that I get into one of the other fabulous schools that I’ve applied to.

On a second note, there are two schools that I haven’t applied to yet: Yale and Stanford. I’m pretty sure they are both no-go’s but this is the only chance I have to apply, just to see if it’s possible. I’m in the process of applying for need-based waivers to both places, so we’ll see what happens with that.

As of right now, quite a few of my applications have already gone complete. If you’d like to follow my cycle, just go here.

I hope that you’re having a great time applying!

When Will October LSAT Scores Be Released?

It’s right around the corner! And, if you’re anything like me, you’ve been getting more and more nervous as the score release gets closer and closer. Well, it’s almost here. LSAC reports that the scores are to be released on Wednesday, October 26th.

 

But, is that true?

 

We think, probably not.

 

There’s a 95% chance that the scores will come out before that.  How did we arrive at this conclusion? Usually, scores are released about 2-3 days before the actual release date. I’ve taken the LSAT twice before. The first time, my scores were released 21 days after the test, and the second time my scores were released 23 days after the test. That puts the October LSAT results being released around the 22nd – 25th.

Now, a lot of people think the scores might be released tomorrow. This is definitely a possibility, but I think Monday is the much more likely candidate. People are citing the fact that LSAC is going down for a few hours on Friday as a sign that the scores will be uploaded–but, we need to remember that LSAC goes down nearly every weekend, and even though it’s almost time for those scores to be released, we shouldn’t put our faith in that common occurrence.

Of my two score releases, one was a Monday and the other a Wednesday; and being that LSAC is scheduled for Wednesday, I’d say the beginning of next week looks a lot better than the end of this week.

 

Either way, over the next 96 hours we’ll have our scores. So, here’s to them being >170!

Personal Statement Writing

So, today I decided I would embark upon the fun world of personal statement writing. I’m not sure if anyone else is having this particular problem, but I can’t seem to narrow down one topic. I’ve actually written four separate PSs and have no idea which one I’m going to go with. Currently, I’m struggling with what is most important to include in my personal statement.

Here’s what I’m working with

Option 1: Medical Situation

-I was told I wouldn’t be able to walk again.

-Had 3 surgeries at the age of 16 to fix that.

-By some miracle I ended up beating the doctor’s prognosis and can walk.

Yeah, so I know that sounds a little cheesy, but it’s completely true.  Hardest time of my life bar none.

 

Option 2: Family Situation

-I have a step-sister who was more like a real sister to me.

-We shared everything until we turned 13. (We’re the same age.)

-She went down the “wrong” path. (Drugs, dropout, crime, etc.)

-Discuss the differences, how easy it is to go the wrong way and how hard it is to get back on track.

 

Option 3: Work Situation

-I’m a college English teacher.

-Discuss helping students “out of class” to stay in school.

-Easily one of the proudest moments ever.

 

Option 4: Internship Situation

-Worked for a Congressman

-Helped draft important legislation

-helped consitutents

-is the reason I want to go to law school

 

I’m definitely not sure which one I’m going to go with . . .

Guess I’ll get back to figuring that out. I’ll fill you in when I figure it out myself.

 

(If you have a vote, please let me know!)

 

Flex App Complications

Hello fellow Law School Applicants!

If you’re like me, then you probably have quite a few questions about the Flex App. In previous posts, we’ve presented information pertaining directly to Flex App FAQs. If you’d like to check out those posts (and, I hope you do) click here!

Most recently, I’ve been finishing up my applications. You know, the traditional uploading of personal statements, addenda, and resumes. However, a few days ago I was completely shocked, horrified, and angered by the fact that nine of my applications seemed to have been erased. Has this happened to anyone else? I know that when I saw it I figured there must be some type of mistake. The mistake, was of course, that whatever updates LSAC did caused a few of my apps to be wiped clean.

What caused this madness?

After speaking with some fellow applicants, I’ve concluded that because the flex app is new there are several bugs in the process. In an effort to fix those bugs, the schools have been updating and modifying their applications. And, when schools do that, information is lost–or at the very least un-saved. Additionally, LSAC has been taking a few days out of every week recently to make their own updates. It is during these updates that the problems seem to worsen.

My advice? If you can, try to send off your applications before LSAC does their next scheduled maintenance update. If you can’t, then just be prepared for the possibility that you may need to re-enter a considerable amount of information, depending on which schools you’re applying to.

Personal Statement FAQs

Now that we’ve taken the LSAT (well, if you took it in June/October, for those of you waiting until December, best of luck!) the main focus for most applicants is the personal statement. So, I thought that I’d take some time to answer a few FAQs regarding that dastardly PS.

 

1). What am I expected to write about?

When writing your PS you want to showcase qualities of yours that the adcomm might not get from other parts of your application. With this said, you want to make sure that you don’t just list things off of your resume. This is cited as one of the number one things to AVOID. So, under no circumstances should you list off all of the wonderful things you did for your fraternity or while interning for your state senator.

Of course, that rule does have some exceptions. If, for example, that internship or a few of your duties really highlight something about you that is truly significant (and not just commonplace) then it might be advantageous to include that in your PS. But, the bottom line is that you need to write about something that makes you stand out.

 

2). So, what type of “thing” is going to make me stand out?

Anything that shows you as being unique, or different from the pack of thousands of applicants is going to make you stand out.  For many people, this includes difficulties that they’ve overcome, whether they be financial, emotional, physical, or medical. Showing how you overcame something when many odds were against you can make you stand out. Also, any experience that you’ve had that makes you more prepared to be a lawyer than perhaps what other applicants would be is something worth writing a PS about.

3). Okay, so I’ve not had anything traumatic happen to me . . . what do I write about?

It’s a common misconception that all personal statements need to be written about overly traumatic situations, such as overcoming a drug addiction, getting out of a gang, dealing with child abuse, watching your parent OD, or surviving a rare type of cancer. The simple truth is that if you’ve overcome these situations, that’s extraordinary and quite commendable. However, most people do not have these experiences from which to pull.  You need to dig deep from within your past and find the moment when you felt extremely successful, or proud of yourself and you need to capitalize on that experience.

4). What kind of focus should my PS entail?

The best advice I can give on crafting a PS is to make sure to focus on ONE anecdote. That’s right, ONE. Don’t make the mistake of trying to explain four or five different stories. You should focus on one story and really explain and describe that situation. Make it come alive. And show how you benefited from that experience. It’s also important that the lesson learned or the characteristic gained can easily be applied to you being a lawyer.

5). Do I have to explain “Why I want to be a lawyer?”

No, you don’t. Most applications will, but that doesn’t mean it’s always the best thing to do. You want to make sure that if you do decide to explain why you want to be a lawyer that it fits nicely within your overall story. It’s poor form to add it in as a concluding paragraph, purely because you think you’re supposed to. It should flow together, and not be contrived.

6). How long should it be?

While some schools give you 3 or 4 pages to craft your PS, traditionally most schools will limit you to 2 double-spaced pages with 12-pt Times New Roman font. You’ll want to check the instructions on your application for additional information. But, for what it’s worth, I’m only applying to 2 schools who allow for PSs longer than 2 pages.

7). Does it need to be a “Why X” essay?

No. It does not need to be a “Why X” essay. (A “Why X” essay is when you explain why you want to attend a specific law school.) Most schools will include optional essays where you can answer the question. Again, you can include this in your PS if it flows together and doesn’t look contrived. But remember, the purpose of your PS is to showcase a piece of YOURSELF that your application does not reveal. Wasting time explaining why you want to attend a specific school in your PS lessens the amount of time you have to showcase your unique attributes.

 

Check back often, we will be answering more PS questions as we get them!

See our Feature in Manhattan LSAT’s e-newsletter _The Lawful Truth_ !

We’re extremely honored to have one of our advice columns featured in Manhattan LSAT’s e-newsletter,  The Lawful Truth! On September 29th, we were featured under the “LSAT News” section for our post “Who Should Write My Letters of Recommendation?”

We encourage you to check out www.manhattanlsat.com and to peruse all of our advice blogs!

Happy Applying!