gowi (2022-2023)

I updated this section to include all of my soft factors. If you want to see my PS, PM me on LSD (I'm gowi there too.) I wrote an addendum explaining a dropped class and reduced GPA during sophomore year (I had mono) and the reason I took the LSAT twice (it was medical, I've since had surgery to correct the problem so hopefully it won't be an issue in law school, lol.) I only had employer recommendations, no academic. Although I could have had decent academic ones, I didn't feel they would be as good as employer ones. That pretty much is my entire application package. Frankly, judging by other 166er's this cycle, I really believe all that matters is GPA and LSAT.

My LSAT and GPA are not fudged. Scholarships are over 3 years. The full-tuition ones are based on 2007-2008 tuition estimates.

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*Co-op full time every other semester in college.
*Taught a class senior year.
*I graduated in the top 5% of my class.
*3+ years of real-life experience in engineering.
*Obviously, a science/engineering undergrad degree so patent law/IP law is a distinct possibility.
*Basically no volunteering experience from undergrad. (I did coach a Lego League team, which interested Woodruff inteviewers at Mercer)
*No clubs in undergrad (sorry, I was strongly against resume-building clubs, which is all I saw in undergrad. For most, students went to the 1st meeting, put it on their resume, and that was that. The ones that weren't like that required participation, which I couldn't do while I was co-oping 1000+ miles away.)
*I did include high school information since I went to an academically-advanced boarding school that is well known
*Awards included (copied from resume):
Promoted to Software Engineer II: September 2007
Directors Check Bonus: March 2006, TAP Bonus: August 2007
Employee of the Month: August 2005, May 2007
Magna Cum Laude: GPA > 3.6, Fall 2004
Full-Tuition Scholarship: 8 semesters
Bellsouth Scholarship: $500-$2000 every semester
Deans List: Fall 2000, Spring 2001
Phi Kappa Phi: Top 5% of graduates Fall 2004
National Honor Society of Collegiate Scholars: Spring 2004
Golden Key: Top 15% of juniors Fall 2003
Alpha Lambda Delta: GPA > 3.5 and top 20% of class Spring 2001
Phi Eta Sigma: GPA > 3.5 Spring 2001
Pi Gamma Tau: Top 10% of engineering freshmen Spring 2001
One of two students to receive top student award for Latin at my high school

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FINAL DECISION: I loved Bama on the ASD Friday. Liked the students (both current and accepted,) facilities, dean, professors, everything really. I had no complaints about the law school and could have been very happy there. It came down to my husband. We definitely wouldn't stay in Tuscaloosa after I graduate, so that would mean he would have to find another job in 3 years. In Atlanta, he'll be able to stay put if he wants. Plenty of job options for me in Atlanta.

I liked Emory, but was frankly too exhausted to really participate in ASD on Saturday. The drive from Tuscaloosa the night before was long and stressful in the rain. We saw at least 8 wrecks and never drove over 60 mph. It was miserable and we got to the hotel very late.

The best impression from the day was a 1L who ate lunch with us. He wasn't a part of the ASD, he was just in the library studying, so I know he wasn't coached by the admissions office in what to say, lol. He seemed very happy, not stressed so much as just busy.

Anyway, I put in my 1st deposit at Emory. It's finally starting to feel real. I'm going to law school!

I graduated in 2004 and have worked full time as an engineer since then.

10/21/07: I think my list of schools is nearly complete, but I'm still going to the law school forum on Friday to see if there are more that I like.

10/24/07: I'm disappointed in my lack of fee waivers, namely Alabama and Vanderbilt. I assume it's because of my multiple LSAT scores. I'm struggling to get my PS's done, hopefully they will be this weekend. I also have to finish my resume, DS, addendums, and a few other essays. I hope to submit my applications on Monday at the latest.

10/29/07: Attended the forum Friday, list is pretty much final. I'm planning to have all applications submitted this week. (Yeah, I know I said by today last time, but, well, yeah. Almost there.) Oh, and Vandy said to consider them a target, not at all a reach. But with Alabama and Georgia saying I'm definitely in the running for scholarship, I think it will be a tough decision.

10/29/07: Baylor is moving very quickly. Nice!

10/31/07: Ok, I have all of my applications filled out except Duke and Temple. I found an error in my addendum, so I have to wait until I get home to change that and send all of my applications. Almost there! I still have to fill out my scholarship applications to Mercer and Vanderbilt. And Emory requires my parent's financial information, which will be difficult to wrangle out of them. I hope they will give it to me tonight.

11/1/07: Oh, yeah, see all of those 10/31's up there? Now it's time for the waiting game. I did not get my parent's financial info. Their financial situation is extremely tense right now and I seriously do not want to get involved. In fact, I considered writing out the whole sob sorry and asking to not have to supply the information.

11/6/07: Well, all except Georgia and Georgia State have requested my LSAC report (and obviously except for the ones to which I haven't applied yet.) Still don't have parent's financial info. Guess I am going to have to write up that sob story. *Sigh* You know, I'm having a hard enough time avoiding that issue without having to address it to strangers.

11/7/07: Complete at Vandy through email.

11/9/07: Large, white envelope from Mercer saying they received my application and providing me with contact info to check status.

11/9/07: Emory email saying I am complete and they will start reviewing at the end of December.

11/10/07: Email from Alabama giving me log-on information to myBama. They will review ASAP.

11/12/07: Email from Mercer saying my file is complete, and they'll start reviewing in January.

11/12/07: Small envelope from Georgia State saying they've received my application and are waiting on the LSAC report. It was dated 11/3. Looked at the online status checker and it shows me complete as of 11/6 and my application is in process.

11/14/07: YAY! My first acceptance and scholarship offer! From Baylor, by email, it's half-tuition scholarship. Gives H and I a great option since he should be able to get a job somewhere near Waco. (I estimated my scholarship above.)

11-16-07: I found UGA's online status checker. Currently, it says my application has been received. Yesterday they requested my LSAC report.

11-19-07: I checked my email this morning and saw one from Emory. My heart started pounding and I actually hesitated to open it. Even though they claim they'll take the highest LSAT score if there is a 10 point jump and a good reason, I'm still not sure about them. Finally, I opened the email. They're telling me my application has been received and this in no way means it is complete. Um, yeah, you emailed me on 11-09-07 to tell me I was complete. I assumed that meant my application had been received earlier. Anyway, yeah, my dates for Emory above correspond to the Emory emails.

11-20-2007: FULL TUITION SCHOLARSHIP TO ALABAMA! (15 minutes later) Now that I've calmed down a bit, it was by phone call. She remembered me from the Atlanta Forum. And I am so incredibly thrilled about this!

11-24-2007: Received a large, white envelope with a huge binder of information and the official acceptance letter from Alabama. The binder was awesome, tons of information and made me really want to attend UA. Cost of living in Alabama is so much better than Atlanta. My husband is all for it since he's a HUGE, die-hard Alabama football fan (starting from the time he was born pretty much and on through the bad years) and he could easily get a job at the Mercedes-Benz plant. We would love to get back to Alabama, although I'm still unsure of staying there forever. Not to mention there's a distinct chance I'd make significantly less money as an attorney in Alabama than I do currently as an engineer. Still, at this point, I don't know what it would take to make me want to attend another law school. I know it's way too early in the cycle to be so decisive, but the prestige in Alabama for a UA law school grad is enormous and I grew up hearing people talk highly of UA grads. I have a ton of connections in Alabama, so if I decide to become a judge, that would help. Anyway, all of these thoughts are running through my head a million times a day.

11-26-2007: Baylor finally sent me the large white envelope. To renew the half-tuition scholarship, I must keep a 2.6 GPA. I still haven't heard anything from Georgia. I wish they'd at least let me know I'm complete or cash my check. The online status checker still just says my app has been received.

11-29-2007: Just twiddling my thumbs here. I get giant envelopes from at least one school every day, but I'm lucky if I've even heard of the school. Most certainly haven't applied to any of them. I've stopped even opening them. At first I was paranoid that this sort of ungrateful attitude would bring me bad karma, but after a 4 foot long section of our kitchen counter was covered in mail stacked 1 foot deep for over a month, I figured it'd be better to just toss them rather than risk the wrath of the cleanliness gods.
Um, yeah, Georgia is getting people to complete, but still no word for me. I think I'm focusing on this so much to keep the apathy from setting in. Frankly, I seriously doubt I'd pick Georgia over Alabama. You never know, but that's how I feel right now.
Oh well, back to twiddling my thumbs.

11-30-07: Georgia's status checker says my application is being reviewed and that this process takes several weeks. So I'm complete everywhere.

12-2-2007: Received a call from the dean at Alabama. Very nice, I'm looking forward to meeting him and visiting the school in February.

12-10-07: Alabama is still impressing me with emails and even a handwritten postcard from a 3L that attended Auburn for undergrad as well. I appreciate what they're doing. I wish I could visit them soon, but it looks like it will be early April (their ASW) before I will make it.

(The company I currently work for is screwing us every way possible. I am so anxious to jump ship. They're taking away sick time, reducing the number of holidays we get, and actually reducing my paid time off overall. Not a good thing and makes for basically no time to visit law schools. It has put me in a very bad mood.)

Anyway, thinking of not even applying to Duke. I know I said I wanted at least one rejection so I can know I didn't limit myself, but frankly, I don't want to even touch another application. I'm supposed to write an essay for scholarship at Mercer, but after Alabama's offer, it's hard to get motivated. Unfortunately, if our house doesn't sell, then Mercer might be my only choice. Can you tell the stress is starting to get to me?

In better news, my husband got me a Wii for Christmas. I convinced him it was a waste to leave it under the tree for weeks, so I spent my entire weekend in our media room. =p

Sorry if I've missed commenting anyone back or congratulating anyone. I've been something of a hermit lately.

12-15-07: Small envelope from Mercer offering a full tuition scholarship!!! They're local so this means I wouldn't even have to move to attend. And the scholarship only requires good academic standing to renew it.

12-18-07: Phone call from Emory! Yes! They will start reviewing scholarships in the third week of January.

12-24-07: Received a large, white envelope from Georgia State.

1-9-08: In at Georgia via the status checker. So, my cycle is basically complete. I'm going to wait on Emory to decide scholarships before making a decision, but yay!

1-18-08: Visited Mercer today. I wasn't particularly impressed, but I'm not ruling it out. I think I need to get a better picture of them at an accepted students event. But right now, my impression is that most of their students attend there either because it's the only place they got in or because of scholarship. I did drop off my Woodruff application. They interview in early March, same as Emory for their Woodruff. Wonder if the same committee decides both? Hmm, could it be bad that I applied for both?

Received my acceptance letter from Georgia (large, white envelope.) No scholarship, so they're out for me. I won't withdraw until H and I are sure of where we're going. If, for some unexpected reason, it would be advantageous to move to Athens, then I might use my Bama scholarship to negotiate, but at this point I don't see it as worth the effort.

1/24/08: Phone call from Georgia offering scholarship. Nice. It isn't much, but it does put them back on my list of possibilities. Now I just need to visit.

1/25/08: Um, Vandy? It's me, Gowi. Just hoping for a decision from you some time soon...

2/1/08: Call from Mercer, I got the interview for the Woodruff. It's a 3-day thing, March 5th-7th. Yay!

2/2/08: Email from Bama offering reimbursement for hotel/gas for Feb. 15th but I can't go. I have 0 time off for work. Grr!

2/4/08: Withdrew from Baylor. With Mercer's offer, if H can't find another job, we'll just stay here.

2/18/08: No news about anything for a while now. Still waiting on the scholarship letter from Georgia. It's been over 3 weeks now. I called and they said it should be here in the next week or two. I can't believe Vandy still hasn't sent out my waitlist/rejection. WTH?

3-4-08: Ok, final decision. Vandy status checker said it has been mailed. I'm expecting a rejection. I think it'll be part of their 1st massive round of rejections too. So far they've just sent out auto-rejects, no borderline rejects. Borderline reject. Hey, I kinda like that name. heh.

Anyway, yeah. I have the flu and am supposed to head to Mercer for the 4 day Woodruff interview tomorrow evening. Wish me luck, that stipend would be awesome. Come on, Tamiflu, kill that effing virus ASAP.

3-6-08: Received waitlist from Vandy. Er, what took so long? Why not go ahead and put me on it with my fellow 166ers way back in January? Haven't decided whether or not to stay on the WL. I may, but not send in a LOCI.

3-10-08: *whispers* Mercer is out. Too many students were either still looking for summer/after graduation employment or were unhappy with what they have. I'm going to lose over $200k in income while in law school. I have to make sure I'll get the jobs I want.

3-10-08: Later in the day: Phone call from Mercer, I'm 1st alternate to the Woodruff.

3-10-08: Even later in the day, phone call from Bama. Scholarship requirement was reduced to top 50%, which is roughly 2.65. Hell yeah! This makes life very happy. I can't wait to visit. My husband already has a busy day planned of wandering around the campus, lol. Roll Tide, baby.

3-10-08: Heh, another update, got home to find a letter from Emory saying I was not selected for the next round of Woodruff interviews. That was expected, but what was not was that the scholarship committee didn't get my file until after the Woodruff committee was finished with it. Frankly, that's ridiculous. Grr.

3-13-08: $90k from Emory!

3-24-08: Withdrawing from Mercer, Georgia State, and Georgia today. I gave Georgia the reason that I've received higher scholarship offers from other law schools. ;) I considered withdrawing from Vanderbilt, but I paid that application fee and I want to know whether or not I'm in.

3-27-08: $1,000 scholarship to GA State.

3-30-08: Bama sent me hotel information. And it reminded me that Mercer was supposed to reimburse me for mileage for the Woodruff visit. And they haven't. =( Bama is also supposed to reimburse for mileage for the ASD Friday. Guess we'll see if they do it. I'm really excited about visiting both Bama and Emory! Can't wait since I'll definitely be able to make a final decision by the following week.

4-5-08: EMORY CLASS OF 2011!

4-8-08: Offered the Woodruff at Mercer. Made me really think twice since I'm so stressed about selling our house and my husband finding a job in Atlanta. Oh well, maybe it'll all work out.

4-10-08: Withdrew from Bama via email (wanted to make sure they got it before Tuesday.) It was tough, really tough. But there you go, cycle is over. (Oh, I do plan to ride out the waitlist at Vandy, just because I paid that application fee and I want a real decision, damnit. I'll post the date here when I get it, for future reference.)

Anyone who has questions, even into the next cycle and beyond, just PM me on LSD (gowi there too.) I'll get an email notification of the PM, I don't get one if you comment here.