backpackerguy22 (2022-2023)

Graduate degree in a social science from a major university outside the US. Extensive publication history, school activities (both undergrad and grad), and leadership positions. Letters from undergraduate and graduate school professors, with whom I cultivated strong relationships. Evaluations from grad school profs and former work supervisors.

International background (parents were UN attorneys, was raised primarily in Oceania). Fluent in 5 languages. Spent 6 years working for international multilateral organizations in Southeast Asia, mainly on sustainable development projects. Held leadership positions in professional life.

Strong preference for the Puget Sound schools, as I am "from" that area and proximity to friends and family is important. Would love to return to UW mainly to study at their Asian Law Center.

Personal essay: general biographical essay, focusing on my transformation from professorial ambitions in the humanities to empowered community development worker via career exposure in SE Asia. (My UW essay had a strong "why UW" angle, identifying the Asian Law Center and the school's emphasis on sustainable development law as valuable to my career path).

Law School Predictor Stats (in order of my own preferences):

U of Washington - Consider - 22%
Seattle U - Admit - 74%
UC Berkeley - Weak Consider - 14%
UC Hastings - Strong Consider - 41%
American U - Strong Consider - 45%

I am half-Southeast Asian, half-European. For the majority of schools this does not qualify for "URM" status. I have listed it specifically for UW (which I attended as an undergrad on a scholarship for URM students).

I have listed myself as a non-traditional applicant based on my age (late 20's), my career activities since completing my undergraduate degree, my international experiences, and the way that I've framed my academic/professional work.

I only had one shot to take the LSAT (limited opportunities to take the test in Scandinavia), and have to compete in this cycle with a relatively low LSAT.

With that said, I will not retake the LSAT nor will I participate in the application process next year should I not get in to any of the schools to which I am applying. I am releasing this information so that people with similar numbers, backgrounds, and motivations will think not only about their own admissions prospects to the schools above, but to also rigorously assess the value of a legal education in regards to their own prospective career ambitions.