Anonymous wrote:Have said it before, will say it again: top Law School admissions process is now like top undergrad process. Outstanding grades and test score are now the table stakes you need to even earn consideration, you need some kind of distinguishing characteristics on top of that to get in

People coming in here and saying, I had a 3.8 and 175 and got into Yale, numbers are all that matters, sound as out of date and misinformed as the grandparents who say a kid with a 1400 SAT should go to Princeton just like they did

DC '24 has 3 friends from their ivy headed to law school this fall after a gap year. All had 171+, all had at least 3.8 but none were "top10%" in their department recognitions. Going to UVA, Chicago and Penn for law, and all got in to at least one other T14. Another is going to Harvard fall 26 (ED/junior deferral, got in summer 2023, is a 3.95 top kid, got BSE in '24 and is working at a startup for 2 yrs). DC is going to a top ivy med school after doing a 4+1 (undergrad, MPH) and knows other '24 classmates starting a top med program this fall or already started right after the bachelors. There are multiple who went to phD straight from undergrad and are at Ivies, GT, Michigan, MIT for physics, engineering, math. Everyone on DCUM says undergrad doesn't matter but from the perspective as a parent with an ivy kid, they all seem to go on to great programs.

Anonymous wrote:No back door.

You need the stats and you need to convince them that you really want to be in law school. Lots of NYU undergrads will apply.

You also need to have a compelling story and be unique in some way. They don’t want a class full of UMC white suburban kids. They want a diverse class in every way.

It’s tough out there. My Phi Beta Kappa/174 kid never even got a response from their NYU law school application and was waitlisted or rejected from every other T13 they applied to.

PBK at what tier of school?

Anonymous wrote:I always hear that LSAT and GPA is all that matters for law school admissions. Also you should have some work experience, minimum 1 year. Is this true? Do they care about major at all? Do they look for a diversity of majors or they are fine with all admits being history or poli sci majors? Do any kids with CS, Engineering or STEM majors apply to law school? These majors tend to have lower GPAs and I wonder if that dings you in law school admissions? Anyone know?

STEM majors usually apply to law school after working a while. Common path for patent attorneys.
Why would you do a STEM major if you already knew by senior year that you wanted to go directly to law school and rot your STEM education before practicing it professionally?

This website reports a lot of top law schools have majority of students with 1+ year out of school


https://www.joinleland.com/library/a/law-school-application-rates-and-class-profiles

I always hear that LSAT and GPA is all that matters for law school admissions. Also you should have some work experience, minimum 1 year. Is this true? Do they care about major at all? Do they look for a diversity of majors or they are fine with all admits being history or poli sci majors? Do any kids with CS, Engineering or STEM majors apply to law school? These majors tend to have lower GPAs and I wonder if that dings you in law school admissions? Anyone know?

Anonymous wrote:There is no early decision for law school.

Law school admissions is holistic but the LSAT requirements are pretty strict (unless you are URM or your dad is Al Gore or something like that).

There is no same school preference that I have ever heard of

And if your phi beta kappa kid got a 174 LSAT and didn't get into t14, they put something in their essay that indicated they didn't really want to go to law school.

Maybe the kid applied directly from undergrad. Law schools prefer some work experience

Have said it before, will say it again: top Law School admissions process is now like top undergrad process. Outstanding grades and test score are now the table stakes you need to even earn consideration, you need some kind of distinguishing characteristics on top of that to get in

People coming in here and saying, I had a 3.8 and 175 and got into Yale, numbers are all that matters, sound as out of date and misinformed as the grandparents who say a kid with a 1400 SAT should go to Princeton just like they did

Harvard has ED. Two students from kid’s ivy got it. Lots of others went to similar top schools, some ED but some regular. The largest group of top kids got into the same ivy law. They all like their own to an extent anf ivies like other ivies or ivy+ undergrad

Like Penn, Chicago, Duke, Northwestern, Berkeley.

Anonymous wrote:There is no early decision for law school.

Law school admissions is holistic but the LSAT requirements are pretty strict (unless you are URM or your dad is Al Gore or something like that).

There is no same school preference that I have ever heard of

And if your phi beta kappa kid got a 174 LSAT and didn't get into t14, they put something in their essay that indicated they didn't really want to go to law school.

Wrong!!! Some law schools now have ED, dolt!

Chicago Law also gives 150k tuition scholarship to undergrads who went to Chicago who apply by December 1 but obviously a tough admit and it is binding.

Yale Law and Harvard Law love their undergrads but not as much of a boost for other schools in the T14.

Keep in mind NYU is enormous at the undergrad level with 25000 students and NYU Law has 425 in their JD class. So there are many NYU undergrads who can't get in there and NYU Law wants a class with many top schools represented.

ED is your friend if you can afford it for T14 (excluding Yale, Stanford, Harvard of course).

Otherwise apply widely, a 4.0 and 170s LSAT score doesn't guarantee T14 anymore. Many students have these stats. These stats help but they don't automatically earn a place.

Chicago,Penn, Berkeley, Northwestern,Duke etc

Anonymous wrote:There is no early decision for law school.

Law school admissions is holistic but the LSAT requirements are pretty strict (unless you are URM or your dad is Al Gore or something like that).

There is no same school preference that I have ever heard of

And if your phi beta kappa kid got a 174 LSAT and didn't get into t14, they put something in their essay that indicated they didn't really want to go to law school.

Wrong!!! Some law schools now have ED, dolt!

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone want to get into this miserable profession.

The same reason I did -- because they don't know any better, lol.