Please feel free to post a message or contact me with questions or comments. Even though my cycle is over, I will check this site occasionally.
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NOTES:
1) Application type abbreviations - "EA" stands for non-binding early action application for all law schools that have the option. "ED" indicates that I chose to do binding early decision at U Penn, the school I thought to be my top choice at the time I applied. My top choices have changed since that time. Also, "SP" indicates that I applied to Duke's joint MA-JD summer-start (but full-time) program and elected to apply for either Summer start or Fall start at U Michigan.
2) Sent = the day that I transmitted my applications to law schools through LSAC.
3) Received = the day that I was notified by law schools that they received my application materials and requested my LSAC report & documents.
4) Complete = the day that I was notified by law schools that my application file was complete or the first day that I noticed that my file was complete on a law schools electronic status checker.
5) Decision = the day that I was notified by law schools that a decision had been made or sent, which may be the first day that I noticed the status changed to Decision on law schools status checker sites, or the day that I made a decision to not attend a school and withdrew. I changed the application status from "Pending" to "Not Applied" for the schools that I withdrew from before they rendered a decision.
6) Financial aid at U Michigan is need-based, over 3 years and is offered with the assumption that I won't make "tons" of money at any summer jobs I have. (So I was told the amount if subject to change.) My family is exceptionally poor and I am so grateful for the financial assistance, without which law school would not be possible for me.
7) I think it's interesting to note that I had 2 or 3 of every type of possible decision this cycle. This cycle sure didn't go as I planned, but I am ecstatic to be going to an amazing law school that I know is the right place for me. GO BLUE!!!
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CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS:
9/28/07 Made CRS information available to schools.
10/3/07 Received fee waiver with message via e-mail from Dean of Admissions encouraging me to apply to Columbia Law School.
10/10/07 Received fee waiver from University of Utah Law School via e-mail.
10/16/07 Attended Law School Fair at University of Utah.
10/19/07 Sent applications to 8/10 Law Schools (all but Emory & Utah) online.
10/20/07 Sent applications to remaining 2/10 Law Schools (Emory & Utah) online.
10/22/07 Received e-mails from U Penn, Vanderbilt, UVA & Emory stating they've received my application materials and have requested my LSAC report & documents.
10/22/07 Received fee waiver and hand-written letter via US Mail from Dean of Admissions encouraging me to apply to U of Michigan.
10/23/07 Received e-mail from Duke stating they've received my application materials and have requested my LSAC report & documents.
10/23/07 Received nice personalized e-mail from Penn Admissions officer I met at the Law School Fair.
10/25/07 Received e-mail from U Michigan stating they've received my application materials and have requested my LSAC report & documents.
10/25/07 Received signed letter from Harvard Dean of Admissions encouraging me to apply and a letter from their Latina/o Students Organization leader talking about their community on campus.
10/26/07 Received e-mail from UVA notifying me that my application status changed. Upon login to their application status-checking website, I found out my application file is complete, has been forwarded to the admissions committee for review and that an admissions decision will be mailed to me by April 15th, 2008.
10/29/07 Received e-mail from U Penn. notifying me that my application is complete except for my Early Decision Agreement. Signed and mailed the ED Agreement out today.
10/30/07 Received e-mail from Columbia stating my "application is complete and will be considered soon."
10/30/07 Confirmed that Duke application file is complete and "currently under review, but a decision has not yet been made" through their online status checker. I did not receive any e-mail notification that my application was complete.
10/31/07 Received e-mail about diversity from U Michigan Dean of Admissions. The e-mail was specifically addressed to my diversity characteristics, spoke about the benefits for students that are diverse like me, encouraged me to call and speak to the Dean or diverse students there to learn about U Michigan, etc.
10/31/07 Received e-mail from Vanderbilt LS notifying me my application is complete and will be forwarded on for consideration now.
11/08/07 Received e-mails from U Penn, Berkeley & Emory stating that my application is complete and that it will be or is currently being reviewed now.
11/13/07 Received package from U Penn with guidebook, diversity book and fee waiver. The enclosed letter from the Dean was dated 10/24, so I'm guessing the package was delayed in the mail somehow.
11/16/07 Received status checker info from Utah. According to their status checker site, my application file was complete on 11/05 but they just e-mailed me today. They said my decision would be mailed to me after the New Year; as files are not reviewed until starting in January.
11/29/07 Received packet from Yale with letter from Assoc. Dean, Latina/o Student Society, guidebook and packet of example statements & essays, encouraging me to apply to the law school and for a fee waiver.
12/4/07 Discovered this morning that the U Michigan status checker website had changed to "Decision."
12/07/07 IN AT U MICHIGAN!!! Received the large, white acceptance packet today in blue plastic expandable folder with housing information, a DVD, pamphlet on Michigan and an acceptance letter with a handwritten note from Dean Zearfoss. This first-generation college student is going to law school! Thank you, Lord!
12/17/07 Received regular-sized letter envelope from Cornell deferring me from the early action applicant pool into the regular decision applicant pool. The letter informed me of my ability to send in supplemental materials that may assist the committee in making their decision. Also, withdrew from Emory, Utah and Vanderbilt to open those seats up for other applicants. "And then, there were seven....
12/21/07 Received e-mail from U. Penn holding my application over from the early decision applicant pool into the regular decision applicant pool for further review. The e-mail informed me of my ability to send in supplemental materials that may assist the committee in making their decision. The e-mail also requested that I send them my grades from this semester. I was also told that this releases me from the binding ED agreement.
01/08/08 IN AT EMORY!!! Received call from Dean of Admissions at Emory Law School at 11:45 a.m. Mountain Time. She was extremely nice, very easy to talk to and she seemed to have looked at my file in detail before calling. She called to tell me that I was accepted, even though I withdrew weeks ago. She said that I must have been in the "admit" pile before I sent the letter and it didn't get in my file. While speaking with her, I clarified that I did still want to be withdrawn from admissions consideration to allow others to attend.
01/14/08 I went away to a Debate tournament over the weekend and came back to a lot of mail. Items: 1) a bright yellow, over-sized, cardboard envelope from Emory with my acceptance letter and materials; 2) a small white envelope with a rejection letter from Berkeley; and 3) a white, over-sized Yale-esque packet from Stanford with the same types of materials as the packet from Yale that I received earlier, including sample personal statements. The Stanford Dean of Admissions personally signed a letter asking me to apply.
01/15/08 Decided to attend Michigan's mid-March ASW. If you'll be there too and you'd like to chat or meet while we're there, feel free to shoot me a message. See you there!
01/18/08 LSAC/LSDAS finally received and updated my new transcript with my most recent semester's grades. Updated LSDAS GPA from 3.69 to 3.72. (Admissions decisions made prior to this date were with 3.69 LSDAS GPA.)
02/06/08 Received personalized e-mail from Assoc. Dean Rangappa at Yale Law School "renewing" my invitation to apply to Yale and wondering why I hadn't applied yet.
02/07/08 IN AT UTAH!!! Received acceptance phone call from Dean Aguilar at University of Utah Law School at 1:47 p.m. MST. I explained that while I appreciated the call and the acceptance, that I was confused as to how I could be accepted after withdrawing my application from consideration. He said that my file was already in the "admit" pile. This happened at Emory, too. I guess the way things are going, I should consider withdrawing from the rest of the schools I've applied to so they'll accept me. J.K.
02/08/08 Sent off application and materials to Yale. Ordered LSAC report and updated transcript to be sent to Yale as well. My updated transcript should show that I've completed all the program requirements for my Honors B.S. degree and that I'm taking 27 (vast majority upper-level) credits this semester.
02/11/08 Received e-mail from Yale Admissions Office indicating that they've received my electronic application, have requested my LSDAS reports and materials and that they will notify me when my application file is complete.
02/21/08 Received e-mail from Duke's Dean Hill notifying me that I've been waitlisted for the summer start joint degree program. (Status checker changed to reflect that a decision had been made yesterday; but did not say what the decision was.) Replied to e-mail survey indicating that I will stay on the waitlist and send in the suggested supplemental materials.
02/25/08 Received e-mail from U. Penn's Dean Post notifying me that I've been waitlisted. I replied to the e-mail indicating that I will stay on the waitlist and send in the suggested supplemental materials. Also received e-mail notification that my Yale Law School application file is complete and that I will not hear anything else from them until a decision is reached.
03/04/08 Finally received letter from University of Utah Law School confirming my request for withdrawal. I sent my withdrawal letter on December 17th.
03/06/08 Received e-mail from U. Mich with significant financial aid offer (all inclusive, the e-mail details your Stafford loan amounts, grant amounts and scholarship amounts). I will consider posting the specifics after the cycle ends. I am just grateful for the opportunity to attend law school; which is now certain thanks to the generosity of the U. Mich Law School. Thank you! (P.S. - Their financial aid staff are exceptionally courteous and wonderful to deal with!)
03/16/08 Returned home from U. Mich's Preview Weekend. Had a great time and met some wonderful people. If you missed the weekend and have questions, feel free to contact me.
03/19/08 Withdrew from Penn, Duke, UVA and Cornell in order to open up those potential seats for other applicants. I still plan to stay in the running at Yale and Columbia. I believe that whatever is meant to be will be. Well see what happens. "And then, there were three..."
03/20/08 Received e-mails confirming my request to withdraw from UVA and Cornell.
03/21/08 Received e-mail from Penn confirming my request to withdraw.
03/24/08 Received e-mail from Duke confirming my request to withdraw.
03/28/08 Received e-mail from UVA notifying me that a decision is in the mail. I withdrew on 3/19/08.
04/08/08 Waited 10 business days to check the mail and see if UVA actually sent me anything. I didn't receive anything although their e-mail said that I would. I called (more out of curiosity than anything) and a UVA Admissions staff person told me that the e-mail I received was "most likely due to a computer glitch." Oh well. The wait for Columbia and Yale continues...
04/11/08 Received rejection letter in small, cream-colored, regular-sized envelope from Yale dated 04/07/08. While expected, the rejection is still disappointing - if anything because I was suckered into applying by them, and only applied because of their packet and e-mails asking me to apply. Oh well. I guess it wasn't meant to be. At least I'll never have to wonder "what if?" I'd rather go to U. Mich. than Yale anyway for numerous reasons, the least of which is Michigan's exceptionally superior football team, better animal rights and queer rights programs and classes. Now, just to wait for Columbia to see if I have to make a decision between the remaining two.
04/17/08 I realized that it's been 6 1/2 months today since Columbia sent me a fee waiver with a message asking me to apply there and I still have not heard anything from them. No decision. Nothing. This leads me to ask "Columbia, Columbia, wherefore art thou, Columbia?"
04/21/08 E-mailed Columbia to check on status of application. Received an e-mail back almost instantaneously informing me that a letter was sent to me on 2/14/08 (Valentine's Day) and that they would re-send the letter since I hadn't received it. I can't believe that I could have known their decision (depending on the contents of the letter) this whole time. We'll soon see what that is...
04/22/08 Received e-mail with PDF version of decision letter from Columbia Admissions. I was placed in their "first reserve" group, meaning a decision would not be made until after classes start at Michigan anyway; so I withdrew from consideration. It feels great to have closure and know for sure where I'm going; as well as that I'm going to the law school that I know in my heart is the right place for me. I'd always "known" that Michigan is where I should be, from the beginning really. My cycle sure didn't go as I planned, but I'm so grateful to God for taking me where I'm apparently supposed to be, in the end. Submitted my seat enrollment deposit to Michigan and started shopping for Michigan swag today. GO BLUE!!!
04/26/08 Received cream-colored letter in regular-sized envelope dated 04/24/08 from Columbia confirming my request to withdraw. It's funny how it took them over 6 1/2 months to get me a decision but only 2 days to confirm my withdrawal.
On Michigan!