MidwestnWest (2022-2023)

Professional and volunteer experience.

My advice to potential law students as of 5/25/2012:

Too much emphasis is placed on rank, here and on TLS forums. That aside, for me, debt load after graduation had priority over rank by two-fold. Geography, relocation, and family consideration were also very important factors. Honestly, consideration of rank was last on my list. Toward the end of my cycle, a tier 3 school had my favor over a tier 1 school for the reasons already stated. Do not be fooled into believing that rank alone is what is going to get you that dream job; in fact, it could actually prevent you from taking a job that you really want because of extreme student loan debt. With the average law student debt at 100K and with legal markets as tight as they are currently, I honestly cannot comprehend taking on that kind of debt for rank alone. Be careful with scholarships as well, many have tough stipulations; be sure to inquire on GPA curve/class percentages. My best advice, HEDGE YOUR BETS....you have no idea what is going to happen during law school or after graduation.

Another thing to note, answer all of the application questions as honestly and thoroughly as possible. If you forget something or something is not correct, do not ignore it for fear that it will effect your cycle; contact the Admissions Department, correct it, and move on....most law schools will not care as long as you are forthright.

Some schools do increase scholarships after initial offers; do not withdraw from a school until you are absolutely sure you will attend another school or until your deposit/waitlist time frame has lapsed.

Boards like LSN and TLS were very, very helpful to me; I hope this page will be helpful to anyone considering the above schools and that more prospective students will join LSN to facilitate a larger sample size.

Anyone with questions on my cycle, feel free to PM me.

SCHOLARSHIPS ARE PER ACADEMIC YEAR.

Akron....very nice on quick turn-around time. Received acceptance call first and email shortly thereafter....scholarships hard to keep at this school, i.e. top ten percent only.

Denver....again nice turn-around. Received acceptance via email.... absolutely love the Rockies but never been to Denver....

Baylor....decision mailed 12/5/11....decision received 12/12/11....hand written note at bottom of admission letter stating they hope I choose to attend there....

Lewis & Clark....acceptance call first....packet in mail several days later....

Houston.... acceptance via status checker....packet in mail a week later....this would be very expensive option at 38K a year w/o a scholarship, I am an out-of-stater.

Colorado....decision mailed 1/9/12....rejection letter 1/14/12....somewhat surprised at the rejection....kind of lonely red dot in my region of the graph.

UC Davis....acceptance via post; another very expensive option for out-of-state tuition w/o scholarship.

Ohio State....acceptance call first...packet in mail....scholarship pending....scholarship award one month later via email.

Cleveland Marshall....acceptance via post....additional 2K scholly first year only.

Case Western....acceptance call first, email shortly thereafter; scholarship offer one month later.... additional 3k scholly first year only.

Southern Methodist....admitted off waitlist by telephone, packet next day air.... was given five days to decide.