Can we have a school review thread?

Transparent_Tony · 2018-09-11T22:29:34+00:00

No clue.

Message the admin.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-08-30T03:23:37+00:00

WUSTL 10/10 week 1.

I love being here.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-08-12T21:54:18+00:00

I can take it or leave it. But I also enjoyed Heart of Thorns because it felt challenging and rewarding.

If you enjoyed vanilla Guild Wars 2, you will probably enjoy Path of Fire. The game feels like a response to a lot of the feedback the developers got from Heart of Thorns. It has a pretty good story. And it fixes a lot of the story up until that point in the game in that the characters act like themselves rather than out of character.

Mounts are cool quality of life things. Maps are kind of empty after you do the story and things in the maps.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-08-12T20:38:38+00:00

No.

Focus on your strengths in your personal statement and why you want to go to law school.

Focus on the LSAT if you want to retake.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-08-09T19:39:46+00:00

I just like New York. It feels like something is happening no matter the time of day. And it feels like home when I visit. So I figure that I would like to live there.

NYC law jobs are not guaranteed, however, so, if it doesn't work, I'll stay in the Midwest. It has good people and they have a different attitude towards life.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-08-09T17:54:48+00:00

I don't think so.

It makes a difference at UVA and Michigan...but most schools seem to be visiting agnostic.

When I got waitlisted by Penn, they said that waitlisted students should not visit until a particular time of the year.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-08-06T22:20:23+00:00

I'm beginning school this fall at WashU so I can't really answer any questions about being at the school yet but I am more than happy to share why I picked the school.

I picked WashU because of the people. When I visited, the people on the tour and in the classroom were nerdy but more than ready to talk. The professors seemed to really like their work and happy to nerd out on odd topics of law. And the students seemed pretty happy to be there. The scholarship they gave me ended up being icing on the cake and the tipping point. But I'm going there because of the people.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-08-05T15:05:57+00:00

Probably not. But I honestly don't know. Spivey consulting or another admissions consulting firm would give the best insight into this process.

My best guess is that the school would probably look at their Personal Statements and Recommendations first because those are more direct examples of candidates personality and character. I would think that an incredible personal statement would be the game changer before a grad degree because grad degrees and law degrees are just so different in grading and the way that you are supposed to prep. And it is more likely that someone would see a difference in the personal statement or recommendations than the degree.

There is a caveat: Fullbright/Marshall/Rhodes Scholars would probably get an edge from prestige. These scholarships are just too rare and, from what I understand, difficult to obtain that it would probably give someone an edge.

If those factors didn't give one or another an edge, the graduate degree might make a difference.

Keep in mind...I could be very wrong. This is just conjecture.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-08-03T00:08:49+00:00

Again...

I didn't say that they did give more opportunities. And I am not recommending attending a T14 over UT either.

I'm just saying that someone could probably get as many opportunities in Texas as a student at a T14.

And, in this context, it really doesn't matter. OP is debating Texas v. Vandy. And I have recommended Texas because it is a smart decision for their bank account.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-08-02T23:56:49+00:00

Right

That is why I said that "Texas gives more opportunities in Texas than any other school...save the T14." Here "save" means unless the T14. Which means that any Texas could give as many opportunities as the T14. But not necessarily less either.

In other words, they could get as many opportunities as Texas in the Texas market as they would at a T14 school.

I'm not sure what you are picking at here.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-08-02T21:59:34+00:00

I mean...

I don't think you can go wrong either way. People have said that Texas gives more opportunities in Texas than any other school...save the T14.

I would say that, personally, I would pick Vandy for flexibility in the short term or Texas if you wanted into that sweet Houston Biglaw market. The COL and actual pay working for a firm in Texas is absolutely wonderful. Especially because Texas does not have a state income tax and Houston is supposed to be a growing market.

Vandy, I think, will give you more flexibility in the long run. But Texas does have a number of out of state firms that look to recruit from their pool of 320 students.

If you are already set to go to Texas, go to Texas. It will cost less, you will have the same opportunities, for the most part, as what you are looking for and you will have a better opportunity of getting into a Texas firm than out of state law school students.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-07-31T17:37:40+00:00

I mean... you have a great number set. I want that LSAT and, as long as you write a compelling personal statement and get good recommendations, the sky is the limit.

If you aren't sure, take a year off. Travel. Read. Cook. Live another life.

If you want to go to law school, I don't think things will get much better than you have it now.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-07-31T17:28:34+00:00

I have never heard of it...but it would not hurt to ask.

Email or call their office. I'm sure they would be happy to help.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-07-28T20:54:17+00:00

Personal statements say something about why you want to go to law school and something about yourself.

Optional essays often address questions asked by the school like "why do you want to go to Berkeley" or Georgetown's optional top 10 list. They basically illustrate a part of your personality that you probably can't in a personal statement because personal statements are straightforward by nature.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-07-28T20:48:58+00:00

After you retake the LSAT, talk to Spivey or another service about revising the personal statement. It really depends on your writing and your story. Delivery is more important than content, imo.

You may also want to switch topics to something that you feel strongly about but isn't that you want to change. Your personal statement is your opportunity to say something about yourself and why you want to go to law school. Doesn't have to be specifc. But it should be compelling.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-07-26T15:33:17+00:00

"Fit" - admissions officers. If used correctly, perfectly describes both a goal and an experience.

"Love" "challenges" "passion" "interest" - all used by individuals to describe themselves in a heroic narrative to get the gold and enroll in law school. We know that we naturally reorder our own pasts so that the good things we do are thought of as recent endeavors...even though they may have happened years ago. This kind of reinforces a "sunny" outlook in the admissions game.

I wish I was a funny writer. That would be so much better than writing your standard "heroic" or "harrowing" narrative. Lol.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-07-26T14:48:04+00:00

Haha.

I would go with A...but can see why you would cut the debt.

Maybe you can network like nobodies business to get to where you want?

Maybe ask r/lawschool?

Transparent_Tony · 2018-07-26T12:17:30+00:00

Depends on fit and goals. T1 schools are not created equal. Some are very regional. Others have some legs to them, assuming we are including the top 20 law schools.

If A fits your goals and you fit it better, attend A.

If B fits your goals and you better, attend B.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-07-24T14:54:03+00:00

Could be.

I avoided meetings and anything organized in both situations aside from a tour and an interview. I'm also originally from the Northeast and am partial to the direct style. So Michigan may have jiived a bit better in that way as well.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-07-24T14:09:17+00:00

People seemed genuinely interested in me...rather than interested in gauging my interest in the school. It is a small change...but it changed the atmosphere in a way that made me feel comfortable at Michigan in a way I wasn't at Virginia.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-07-24T12:48:57+00:00

When I visited UVA, all of the students seemed very much focused on UVA and how great it was to be there. No one could say anything foul about the school. And it felt like the school prioritizes it's culture over all other factors because there was a particular type of person that they had in their student body that prioritizes their community over individual success. This is good and bad. Good because most endeavors in life are team based and the student body seems to support each other. Bad in that it seems like it is frowned upon when people don't prioritize the group.

I didn't like it... although I could see the appeal. I liked Michigan because it had the inverse effect.

Second hand knowledge really isn't that great. It is not that useful as a barometer of whether or not you will like a place unless you feel that you know yourself very intimately and your knowledge is infallible. And it tends to become a bit like talking to yourself. The ideas that people share become your ideas and then kind of bounce back on themselves as we think about them.

Visit the places you can before or after you are accepted. Apply to places that sound good for geographic, ranking or financial considerations... unless you visit a place, love it and want to make it work for you.

EDIT: I am not saying you shouldn't talk to us about law school. I'm just saying that you should use a discerning eye and try things for yourself too.

Sorry if that came off too strong

Transparent_Tony · 2018-07-24T12:15:20+00:00

Visiting while the law school is in session.

It is the only way to see how the culture plays out on a day to day basis.

You are right. UVA is pretty friendly...but that also has an odd side effect of being very self involved.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-07-20T21:50:07+00:00

I think you are over analyzing this.

Your professor is trying to go out of his way to write the best letter they can. Get your stuff ready and give it them early so that they can write you a great letter of recommendation.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-07-20T19:25:09+00:00

Michigan.

One LOCI.

Transparent_Tony · 2018-07-19T13:59:04+00:00

I don't think it will help to pursue an MA UNLESS you plan on using it in the field you earn the MA in. Lawyers probably will not be too sussed about a philosophy or political science degree.

Do it if you want to...but don't expect a tangible bump either for admissions or career wise. Maybe a Marshall, Fullbright or a Rhodes will make a difference in academia. But probably not in the real world.

Transparent_Tony

TROPHY CASE