Rhiawyn (2022-2023)

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~ All Scholarships Are the Total Over Three Years ~

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Super reaches? Yep.
Why? No Regrets.

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- Enrolled tribal member; grew up on the reservation.
- Volunteer for, and serve on, Tribal Education Committee.
- Summer internships in D.C. & with JPL.
- Current employed as a Social Worker serving poverty level Native American families.
- In Jan. 2011 will have 2 years of FT employment since undergrad.
- Upward professional trend.

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~ Law School Predictor v. Actual Results ~

- Admit -

Catholic University | Admitted
Gonzaga (Not Listed) | Admitted
Louisiana State | Admitted
Pacific: McGeorge | Admitted

- Strong Consider -

Indiana - Bloomington
Loyola LA | Admitted
Richmond | Admitted
San Diego | Admitted
Temple | Admitted

- Consider -

Alabama | Denied
American | Admitted
Arizona State | Admitted
George Mason | Denied
Maryland | Admitted
Tulane | Waitlisted
University of Arizona | Admitted
University of California, Davis | Waitlisted
University of North Carolina | Admitted
Villanova | Admitted
Wake Forest | Admitted
Washington & Lee | Waitlisted, Denied
WUSTL | Waitlisted, Withdrawn

- Weak Consider -

George Washington | Denied
Notre Dame | Admitted
University of Washington | Admitted
William & Mary | Waitlisted

- Deny -

Boston University | Denied
Columbia| Waitlisted
Cornell | Admitted
Duke | Denied
Georgetown | Held, Denied
University of Virginia | Denied

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~ Fee Waivers Received ~

- Arkon; email -------------------------------------------------- 11/1
- Boston University; email
- Indiana - Bloomington; email
- St. Louis; email
- Temple; email
- Washington University in St. Louis; email
- William & Mary; email
- Ave Maria; email ------------------------------------------- 11/2
- Cardoza; email
- Gonzaga; hidden
- Hofstra; email
- McGeorge; hidden
- Penn State; email
- Seton Hall; email
- St. Thomas; email
- Texas Tech; email
- Cincinnati; email -------------------------------------------- 11/3
- Northeastern; email
- St. John's; email
- Villanova; email
- Dayton; email ------------------------------------------------ 11/4
- Illinois; email
- Indiana U. - Indianapolis; email
- Lewis & Clark; hidden
- Notre Dame; email
- Quinnipiac; email
- Santa Clara; email
- Southern Illinois; email
- Tulane; email
- Mercer; email ------------------------------------------------ 11/5
- Oklahoma City; email
- Hamline, email ----------------------------------------------- 11/6
- Columbia; hidden -------------------------------------------- 11/8
- U. Huston; email
- Appalachian; email ----------------------------------------- 11/9
- Baylor; snail mail
- DePaul; email
- Pittsburgh; email
- Wayne State; email
- Charlotte; email -------------------------------------------- 11/10
- Loyola Marymount; hidden
- Roger Williams; email ------------------------------------- 11/11
- Miami; email ------------------------------------------------- 11/12
- Buffalo; email ------------------------------------------------ 11/17
- Georgia State; email
- Cornell; snail mail (after I had applied) -------------- 12/??
- Howard; email ------------------------------------------------ 1/4
- Idaho; email --------------------------------------------------- 1/14
- W. Virginia; email -------------------------------------------- 1 /19

~ No Application Fee ~

- Catholic
- George Mason
- Washington and Lee
- Loyola - Chicago
- Mississippi College
- NYLS

~ Requested From Admissions (via Email) ~

- Richmond; Granted 11/08
- LSU; Granted 11/11

*** I received fee waivers from schools right up until the time when deadlines for some applications had arrived. I did not keep a record of these schools as I had personally never heard of many of them before, or they were already included in the above list.

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~ Practice Test Results ~

8/?? - #19 = 162; Untimed
8/14 - #20 = 159; Untimed
8/21 - #21 = 160; Untimed. 40-46 mins per section.
8/22 - #22 = Section 1 (RC). 33 mins.
8/25 - #22 = 160; Untimed. 2 of 4 sections in > 35 mins.
8/28 - #23 = 162; Untimed.
9/04 - #38 = 160; Timed. (first timed test)
9/12 - #37 = 161; Timed.
9/19 - #36 = 157; Timed.
9/27 - #35 = 158; Timed.
10/3 - #34 = 161; Timed.
10/7 - #33 = 162; Timed.

10/9 - October 2010 LSAT = 163

* Sherwood Test Prep turned out to be a fairly worthless investment. I highly recommend looking elsewhere for LSAT guidance.

* The Powerscore Bibles were especially useful. Highly recommend.

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~ Letters of Recommendation ~

- Tribal Councilman (Employer): Mailed 10/8? - Received 10/13
- Department Director (Employer): Mailed 8/26 - Received 8/31
- Contract Attorney (Co-Worker): Mailed 8/1 - Received 8/10
- Caseworker (Co-Worker): Mailed 9/20 - Received 9/24

~ Evaluations ~

- Caseworker (Co-Worker): Requested and Completed on 10/13.

*** The evaluation was new to LSAC this year and was VERY easy to request and obtain. Yes, it's an additional hurdle that LSAC may be requiring, but it is much easier to obtain than a Letter of Recommendation. It is all done online and can be requested and completed the same day.

Also, the evaluation itself it apparently very similar to a work evaluation. It asks the evaluator to rank the applicant on a numeric scale from best to worst in a various categories and has spaces where the evaluator may add comments if they feel the need.

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April 2011

4/15 - Withdrawing from more schools. It's hard to say goodbye to a lot of them... the last minute phone calls from admissions offices aren't making this any easier. =(

4/14 - Checked my UC Davis status checker again. The pdf document says I've been waitlisted and was dated 4/1/11. Haven't received the letter in the mail yet.

4/13 - Waitlisted at Columbia via email. Opted to remain on the waitlist. =)

4/12 - Sent out my seat deposit to Cornell today! I'll be withdrawing from more schools in the next couple of days.

4/8 - Visited Cornell (I think I'm in love) and withdrew from Maryland which kinda makes me sad. I really did enjoy the school and the people. Good luck Maryland! =(

Also, finally received scholarship information from the University of Arizona via email. I've been awarded a College of Law Achievement Scholarship; "This scholarship will cover your tuition of approximately $40,000 annually. It is renewable each academic year provided you maintain a 2.5 grade point average." All I can say is wow.

4/6 - Waitlisted at Tulane via email.

4/5 - Visited UNC today for a guided tour. Very very nice. Even the old parts of the law building impressed me. Of course, the campus is absolutely beautiful. Stole a sip from the old well... hope the Tar Heels don't mind. =)

4/4 - Received a phone call from the University of Maryland offering a $17,500 per year scholarship with no stipulations. This was due to the Legal Scholars interview I did last Friday. Half tuition is pretty nice, but with my other offers I don't think it's going to be enough. I have to email them by this coming Friday with my decision of whether or not I will accept the offer.

4/3 - Call from home. LSU has offered me full tuition (including non-residence fee) with a top 25% stipulation.

4/2 - Started to withdraw from the schools that I know I will not be attending.

4/1 - First, I attended the Maryland Leadership Scholars interview day and had an absolute blast. There were about 70 candidates there to interview and it was made clear to us that we were not competing with eachother, only with ourselves. I could definately see myself at Maryland and would feel pretty honored to call myself a Maryland Legal Scholar.

Second, a call from home informed me that Alabama has rejected me via snail mail. All good as I love my remaining choices. Roll Tide, roll. =)

Finally, my call from home also informed me that my financial aid package from Cornell arrived sometime in the last two days. I'm still in disbelief. $120,000 ($20,000 per semester) as long as I remain in good standing. Will be visiting on the 8th to see if I love the school!

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March 2011

3/29 - Waitlisted at WUSTL via email. Declined my waitlist spot via the online form. I wish every school made it so easy to withdraw.

Also, scholarship offer from UNC via email. 10k per year as long as I'm in good standing with the school. Very happy to hear this. =)

3/25 - I'm really starting to believe that Columbia sent me a rejection letter and it got lost along the way. Most people on LSN who lack decision dates received Hold notices in Feb/March. =(

3/24 - I was going through my acceptance packets again and realized that, in my excitement, I previously overlooked the fact that Notre Dame gave me a $15,000 / year scholarship renewable with good standing. I get to be excited all over again but still feel silly that I skimmed through the packet so fast that I missed the scholarship. =)

3/18 - Status Checker Update:
* Alabama = Pending
* Tulane = Complete 11/22/2010
* UC Davis = Evaluation in Progress
* WUSTL = In Review 3/10/2011
* Columbia = Complete
* Indiana = No Status Checker

3/16 - Scholarship offer from Richmond via email. $15,000 / year for 3 years as long as making "Satisfactory Academic Progress." This makes them my cheapest legitimate option, though I'm not sure the cost is enough to make up the difference for Cornell. Yes, $100,000 less is a huge amount, but I'm going PI and will (hopefully) taking advantage of the IBR program anyway so... we'll see.

3/15 - Waitlisted at W&M via email... my number 1. *sigh* I knew it was coming, but it doesn't make it easier. I'll hang out on this waitlist until the very end.

3/11 - ASU acceptance packet just came in the mail. $30,000 scholarship the first year and $20,000 the second year. No stipulations. Personal factors included, I could be going to ASU and come out with less than $60,000 (total) in debt.

3/10 - Rejected at Duke via email. That means I get to wholeheartedly root for UNC in the Dance. ;)

3/8 - Accepted to the University of Arizona via status checker. Blue font at the top of the page says "Congratulations."

3/8 - USD scholarship letter came in the mail yesterday. I'm remembering off the top of my head, but I believe it stated $63,000. I'll have to look it over again for details.

3/7 - Duke's status checker just updated from 12/20 (I think?) to today's date. I'm not expecting much, though of course I am hoping for good new. Either way, the general consensus on TLS is that the second UR date means a decision has been made. It'll be nice to have a decision, no matter what it is, just so I can get closer to making a final decision.

3/4 - Accepted to Arizona State University via email. Also stated that my acceptance packet is in the mail.

Also, received the San Diego acceptance packet in the mail today. No mention of any scholarships.

3/3 - Cornell just emailed me stating that I qualify for a $300 travel subsidy to the ASD. I only requested it yesterday, so I'm quite impressed at how quickly I heard back. Very nice. =)

3/2 - Acceptance packet from UW in the mail today! In state tuition is looking really attractive, especially since it's UW. I <3 fee waivers? I know I have no shot at Columbia, but a $12 application, instead of $92, is enough of a reason for me to apply.

11/8 - More applications... and some pleasantly shocking fee waivers.

11/2 - Started sending out applications. Getting some ok fee waivers, and look forward to using them. Hope I get a couple more nice ones. =)

11/1 - Diversity Statement is finalized and complete (1 page).

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October 2010

10/29 - LSAT Score is in: 163. One point higher than any PT. =)

10/20 - Personal Statement (2 Pages) and Resume (1 Page) are finalized and complete. Diversity Statement rough draft is complete.

10/12 - Personal Statement rough draft is complete.

10/9 - Despite sleeping kinda poorly last night (I kept dreaming of conditionals and waking up) I feel like today went pretty well. I have my fingers crossed!

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September 2010

9/1 to 30 - Just studying for the LSAT; practice tests (at least one per week), Sherwood Test Prep (every Sunday), and working the bibles (3 nights per week).

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August 2010

8/29 - First day of Sherwood Test Prep classes; every Sunday til the October LSAT.

8/16 - Attended workshop at my undergrad college for law school applications.

8/4 - First real attempt at PS. Decent but not good enough.

8/3 - LSAC has received my transcripts; tiny bump up in GPA.

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