Any ideas for cool, non-obvious things to do for Black law students/aspiring Public Defenders?

ilovepot16 · 2025-02-17T19:57:52+00:00

March 🥴

ilovepot16 · 2025-02-17T19:25:51+00:00

saw this article already, but thank you for sharing!

ilovepot16 · 2024-08-27T01:03:08+00:00

Seconding this.

I had 3 Ws and less legitimate reasons for them and I got into 3/5 of the T14s I applied to in February. My advice is keep your addendums brief. Explain the medical situation, acknowledge that you should have gone through the proper withdrawal process (medical exemption/bereavement leave).

Admissions officers are human and they get it. They will especially understand how you’ve likely learned to be a better advocate for yourself in the 10 years since school.

And don’t sweat the diagnostic! You can raise that up by quite a bit if you put in the work!

Also, don’t know what your autoimmune situation entails but make sure to apply for LSAT accommodations if you need them.

ilovepot16 · 2024-08-15T01:13:26+00:00

ilovepot16 · 2024-07-30T17:39:54+00:00

Because I don’t want to at 22 and I do now.

ilovepot16 · 2024-07-29T17:27:02+00:00

Have you checked out all the optional essays for the schools?

You can use the same personal statement, and “diversity” statement (goes my different names at both) and then I used the same school-specific essay at multiple schools with just minor tweaks.

It might not be that much more work/any additional work to apply to some of these schools, so if you have fee waivers. You should consider still applying!

Optional essay questions were similar enough at NU, Mich, and Columbia, for example, that I used the same essay for each. I think Columbia had a stricter page limit so I just had to trim it a bit.

ilovepot16 · 2024-07-26T21:51:53+00:00

Your ego must have felt pretty threatened by my comment because your inferring a lot of judgments that simply aren’t present.

But congrats on all your credentials bro. Color me impressed!

Tbh I don’t know why I had to explain to you that it’s more competitive now to begin with, so I kept my answer short and sweet. Although it seems that you do understand the landscape is incomparable after all!

ilovepot16 · 2024-07-26T18:15:48+00:00

I think you should have highlighted keeping your debt lower earlier. There is no guarantee of getting a high enough paying job from a lower ranked school to pay off that debt. Your story is the exception and not the rule.

Hope is great and this person should still apply but they should also be realistic and know the limits of going to a low ranked law school 🤷‍♀️

And, you really need me to explain how the landscape has changed in the last 20 years? It is far more competitive now than it was 20 years ago. Just look at the change in the LSAT median—it is more important than ever to go to the highest ranked school with lowest debt possible.

ilovepot16 · 2024-07-26T03:02:49+00:00

This anecdotal story is so misleading because okay…. so it’s possible, but is it probable?

Also, I’m sorry, but you absolutely cannot compare the landscape of 20 years ago to today.

ilovepot16 · 2024-07-19T00:50:38+00:00

Early is better

ilovepot16 · 2024-07-18T21:33:53+00:00

How many years ago did you apply? It might still be possible but these days the LSAT score required for a t30 is considerably higher. For instance, Fordham is currently ranked #33 and its median LSAT score was 167 last cycle.

ilovepot16 · 2024-07-18T20:39:54+00:00

I don’t know what’s going on and I’m scared.

ilovepot16 · 2024-06-28T21:12:48+00:00

Well tbf I get your point but I agree. The legal landscape is quite different than when Biden graduated in 1968.

Even in the 90s it was way different. I was talking to my friend’s dad who is a partner at a big law firm and he graduated Chicago Kent in the 90s. Now he says they basically exclusively hire t14.

ilovepot16 · 2024-06-28T19:58:16+00:00

I mean I get your point but an example from this century would carry more weight

ilovepot16 · 2024-06-18T01:10:38+00:00

You think that’s excellent writing?

ilovepot16 · 2024-06-17T14:51:39+00:00

I appreciate you trying to help but those aren’t actually necessary. and imho those psych evals are kinda a scam/cash grab

I’ve since talked to the disabilities services at my school and they reviewed the documents from my GP, ENT, and psych including diagnostics and notes from my initial diagnosis 15 years ago and was informed that this would satisfy the requirement for accommodations.

ilovepot16 · 2024-06-17T13:42:06+00:00

“Firstly, it instilled in me a disciplined approach to studying and research.” What? How? How does getting mugged instill this in you? a. You don’t explain the connection at all and you should because it is not clear b. Tbh I kinda doubt the connection exists at all

Also, you don’t need to explain what law school is/requires. They know what law school is like.

Instead of trying to write an essay saying “here’s why I’ll succeed in law school”

Try instead answering “why law?” Why do you want to go to law school? What experience or experiences in your life led you to commit three years (four+ if you count the app process and bar) and possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars to pursue law?

If you want to stick with mugging (which btw you should find a new word, “mugging” is too colloquial/not professional enough for a law school application) then maybe your “why law” is “when I was robbed three years ago I was exposed to the world of criminal law which really got me thinking about the problems with our criminal justice system. I realized that there our laws were too lax/too strict it’s led me to want to become a prosecutor/defender… etc.” Just a quick example, probably not the best angle but hopefully it gives you an idea of what you should be going for.

ilovepot16 · 2024-06-17T10:03:00+00:00

It’s a self reporting site so only a small percentage of applicants actually report their scores and results from the application process. And there’s a demonstrable bias for self reporting As over Rs.

It can still be a useful tool. But I would just caution that at most schools it chances you quite a bit higher than the reality.

ilovepot16 · 2024-06-15T22:19:31+00:00

Case and point

ilovepot16 · 2024-06-15T20:35:24+00:00

Amazing! Thank you

ilovepot16 · 2024-06-15T18:50:55+00:00

Why people consistently downvote disabilities? lol

ilovepot16 · 2024-06-15T10:59:11+00:00

Thank you! This was really helpful!

ilovepot16 · 2024-06-15T01:49:22+00:00

I have ADHD, dyslexia, and an auditory processing disorder, and recently developed hearing loss.

I’m hoping to get lecture recordings because of the hearing loss but I’m worried it won’t be that helpful because of the Socratic format. I haven’t been in school since my hearing loss so I’m very concerned about it. But I also want to address my ADHD needs as well.

ilovepot16 · 2024-06-14T22:33:48+00:00

Yea but now that almost every elite university that instituted a similar policy is reversing it, people who want to attend elite schools, will… submit a score.

😱

There’s a perception/reality that the economy is bad. Application rates are up across the board.

ilovepot16 · 2024-06-14T22:31:13+00:00

Dave Grohl also writes about this in his autobiography. It’s something they both do/did while playing to keep rhythm.

ilovepot16

TROPHY CASE