catholiclaw (2022-2023)

Pretty strong extracurriculars (SGA, judicial board for the university, executive board positions in my fraternity) and work experience (resident assistant and teaching assistant for the chemistry department).

I have a character & fitness issue for which I was arrested (it was a felony, but the charges were dropped without conviction so *many* [not all] law schools don't even ask that I disclose it) and was suspended from school for one semester (that part I have to disclose everywhere). Despite the seriousness of the sanctions, the actual offense really wasn't that bad.

For those with similar numbers, I think that I'll probably turn out to be a fairly good overall bellwether for your success despite my C&F issue. I'll let you know if that conception changes throughout the cycle, though.

All scholarship amounts are per year.

*10/13: In at FSU via phone call. Beautiful city and school... and people.

*10/14: For those who don't know, UVA offers an ED program where they guarantee a decision within 15 days of you completing your application--kinda cool... if you're UVA material. In retrospect, I'd rather have spent that $87 on booze.

*10/22: William & Mary has the nicest admissions people ever, while Emory's are either AWOL or very unpleasant to deal with. Why don't all law schools have those online status checker things? They're clearly standardized through LSAC, so what's the holdup on the schools that don't?

*10/29: In at Alabama via phone call. The school's campus is amazing, and the law school is ranked #30 in the nation by USNWR.

*10/29: NDLS and Emory are my two (realistic) big hopefuls, but I already--at this early stage, before Halloween--feel very comfortable about my prospects for 2010. Bama and FSU are both fine, respectable schools.

*11/2: IN AT NOTRE DAME!!! Hip hip hooray! I cannot possibly articulate how happy I am, and how excited I am at the year to come. For those of you not Irish-Catholic, who thus don't understand why ND is such a big deal, insert Harvard for ND, and that's how great I feel.

*11/2: The ND offer contains a scholarship for $18,000/yr (roughly half of tuition), renewable provided I stay in good academic standing.

*11/4: Alabama called and offered me a scholarship of $22,500/yr. (nearly all of out-of-state tuition and well over in-state), renewable provided I stay in the top 1/3rd of the class.

*11/12: Got an acceptance letter from Washington & Lee today. Note that I said "letter" not "packet"; I honestly thought it was going to be a rejection. No scholarship info was included. W&L is a great school, but at this point everything is evaluated relative to Notre Dame.

*11/13: Admitted to the University of Georgia Law School via Status Checker. My dad went there for UG; always heard good things. No scholarship info.

*11/14: Got an acceptance packet--sans scholarship info--from the University of Miami today. That market might be exactly where I want to practice (it sure as hell is the climate I'd like to live in), but the school lags so far behind everyone else in reputation...

*11/30: Cornell passed me over from EA to Regular Decision. They apparently did this to everyone (i.e., they did not actually accept anyone), thus begging the question: "Why have an EA program?"

*12/1: Georgetown online status says they've rendered a decision on my file. Cool trick: the box in the lower left-hand corner ("fees") doesn't list a deposit requirement, which means I probably got rejected. Oh well...

*12/8: Seven days after rendering a decision, G'Town sends me an EMAIL telling me of my rejection... what was the holdup, exactly?

*12/10: Rejected at Penn! Not much else to say there. I really wasn't overly hot on that place anyway.

*12/10: So my cycle is wrapping up nicely, and it's only December. Barring a Vandy acceptance (and probably some $), an Emory acceptance w/ a lot of $$$, or Cornell agreeing to review my application again before their stated February start date... it looks like I'll be headed to Notre Dame! I've already started following their sports teams; my vote's on Brain Kelly, btw.

*12/17: Got a call from George Mason this morning--accepted! Arguably the most up-and-coming school in America... That having been said, it would take a full-ride or something close to it to pull me away from ND.

*12/18: Accepted at Cincinnati today via a very unceremonious email.

*3/16: So it's been awhile since I've updated, but Emory sent me an acceptance today with a $20K/yr scholarship. Also, the UF rejection is REAL, and I don't know what the deal is...

*4/10: WL'd at W&M, IU-B, and Cornell. Also, the Baylor acceptance was for Spring (which I checked I'd be willing to accept if they didn't want me for Fall), so I'm not sure that "Accepted" is the most accurate characterization of their decision.