komodo (2022-2023)

My purpose in maintaining this page is to communicate the status of my law school applications to my closest friends and relatives.

I would also like to assist others by sharing information that I have acquired throughout the application process.

Good luck to everyone on your applications.

03-15-2007 - Received a thick white envelope from U. of Baltimore with congratulations on acceptance. There was a lot of self-identification material included in the envelope which caused it to be so packed.

03-17-2007 - Things are quiet on this end. I have to say that I am very impressed at the speed which UB returned a decision. I understand there are a number of factors that impact when a result is actually returned. However, it still puzzles me that there are schools that cannot tell me if my file is complete.

03-22-2007 - I called Rutgers Camden today because I had not received notification that my file was complete. I sent in three self addressed stamped envelopes for the notification and followed up with an email a week before, otherwise I would not have jumped to make the call. I spoke to Joanna from the admissions department. She is an extremely nice person and had been in touch when my application was received. I was placed on hold and much to my surprise was transferred to an admissions officer who congratulated me on my acceptance. The paperwork will arrive in the mail next week. I live quite close to the Rutgers Camden campus and am very happy to have been accepted.

03-22-2007 - A thin white envelope arrived from the University of Maryland. At first the thickness of the envelope made me wonder, but then I saw "Congratulations!" in the lower left hand corner of the envelope and was relieved. This is great news as Maryland has modern facilities, excellent faculty, and a variety of specialty programs. I have a strong interest in attending this university.

03-26-2007 - The envelope from American was larger than average. I noticed a bright piece of orange paper inside of the envelope. The paper was the waitlist FAQ. The waitlist is optional and requires an immediate decision if one is accepted. Those who are accepted off of the waitlist pay a $700 non-refundable deposit.

03-27-2007 - Houston status checker changed to 'decision' which will be mailed at a later date.

03-28-2007 - I visited Maryland and University of Baltimore this week. Maryland is spectacular. There was a reception in the evening at a local law firm where accepted students met with partners and associates who are graduates of the Maryland Law School. I could write ten pages on Maryland, but the point is that I am very impressed with their program and the leadership of the administration.

The University of Baltimore had a nice campus and the students and staff were very friendly. Based upon my visit, I believe the school is not the absolute best fit for me, so I have decided to withdraw.

03-28-2007 - A Rutgers-Camden tee-shirt arrived in the mail today!

03-29-2007 - A regular, white envelope from Houston arrived. I have been accepted into the part-time program.

03-29-2007 - I received a call from a member of the admissions staff at Drexel congratulating me on my acceptance. There was a scholarship offer and the value may not be finalized yet, so I will post the information after it is confirmed.

03-30-2007 - Temple admissions emailed me on my acceptance. This is typically not done, but they are aware that deposit deadlines are looming.

03-31-2007 - Drexel paperwork arrived. Due to the Temple acceptance and other personal factors, I have chosen to withdraw from Drexel.

Rutgers Camden Dean's Law Day was a well planned event that had strong law student representation. Events included a message from the Dean, a four-person law professor panel, alumni panel, tour of the federal courthouse in Camden along with a message from Congressman Andrews and a judge, a mock class, and lunch with professors. I was most impressed with the quality of the faculty who are approachable, brilliant, and genuinely concerned about providing the best possible legal education. The new facility is still under construction so the law school is in somewhat of a transitory state, though this would not impact the law school experience. The new building is scheduled to be complete later in 2007.

04-02-2007 - Temple's acceptance folder arrived along with a marketing folder and deposit paperwork from Maryland. It seems that most schools have deposit deadlines on 4/15 or 4/16.

Status checker at Loyola was updated to 'Decision' after hours today and the decision should be received within seven days.

04-03-2007 - Widener acceptance folder arrived in large envelope. I am withdrawing my application because I have decided that if I attend law school in the Philadelphia area it will be at Temple University. I'm in the process of scheduling a trip to Houston.

04-04-2007 - I forgot to mention several days ago that I received a nice email note from George Mason notifying me that they would not be able to review my application before the end of March. Today, I received a plain white 8x11 envelope from the university. They had some nice things to say (not just the ordinary things that are a part of letters from the admissions department)and offered me a seat on the waitlist. I am interested in studying law in the DC area so I will accept a spot on the waitlist and will keep the hope alive. They say that most decisions regarding the unranked waitlist are made after 5/15 and they review the entire list as seats become available.

04-05-2007 - Large acceptance folder in a large white envelope from Loyola and a large white envelop with a book on faculty scholarship from Temple University.

04-12-2007 - I have been visiting Houston, TX on business and like the city. The Houston Law Center is quite large and has an impressive list of accomplishments. The students were very welcoming and took their own time to answer my questions. I like the school and would attend, but I am withdrawing as I will not be moving south for law school.

This week DePaul sent an acceptance letter and a couple of schools have let me know decisions have been reached and letters are in the mail.

04-13-2007 - It was a busy day -

1) Email from Rutgers-Newark with an invite to some coffee house info sessions

2.) A call and email from Cardozo admissions

3.) An email stating my Chicago-Kent deposit was due. I was not accepted at Chicago-Kent, so I was kind of puzzled.

04-16-2007 - An email from Chicago-Kent on acceptance (official), an acceptance letter and a post card arrived. Finally some scholarship funding.

The thin white envelope from UCLA seemed like it had some extra paperwork inside. It was a purple waitlist form. Even though I focused on PT programs this cycle, I would move to CA to attend UCLA in a heartbeat.

04-17-2007 - A strange email from Pace on employment statistics arrive via email. I asked them if this meant I was accepted and they said yes. While I am happy to be admitted, it is always kind of strange to find out by accident.

Deposits and taxes are due - no pressure...

04-19-2007 - My wife callled me to tell me that I received a cream colored envelope from George Washington today. Unfortunately, it was a rejection letter. I am disappointed, but not as much as I thought I would be even though GW was my initial first choice going into this cycle. My good fortune thus far and the hidden law school gems that I have found have opened up some other options I originally did not consider. I was interested in the strength of GW's IP program and proximity to both the Capitol and the USPTO.

The Georgetown status checker status changed to 'decision'.

04-20-2007 - Plain white envelope and rejection letter from Georgetown

04-23-2007 - Santa Clara previously told me that they made a decision about two weeks ago. Then, I did not receive anything. I waited because mail has been delayed and finally called again. Next, I was told they had not made a decision. I waited some more and called again today and I was told that I was accepted.

04-24-2007 - I visited Cardozo today. The law school is wonderful. NYC was beautiful and the location is awesome. I took an unofficial tour, then an official tour and sat in a Criminal Law class. The students were very informative and helpful to all law school visitors. The admissions staff was also great. There were a couple of mean folks in security and in a couple of the general offices, but that is not representative of the school.

04-25-2007 - I need to make a decision on Cardozo today. I really liked the school, but am going to withdraw. This was an extremely difficult decision.

05-02-2007 - Forgot to mention that I have previously visited Santa Clara, USC, and UCLA on business over the past couple of years. This led to my interest in these schools. I updated my complete date for Connecticut because my undergraduate institution lost my certification form and it arrived quite late. USC says they are still making decisions and candidates should hear from them by the end of May.

05-04-2007 - I previously submitted a seat deposit to Maryland and will most likely attend if no significant changes occur.

05-05-2007 - A waitlist form arrived from Connecticut. My undergraduate institution gave me the runaround and ulitimately lost my certification form in the process of completing it. It literally took days for Connecticut to get back to me which leads me to believe this would be an acceptance if it was earlier in the process. I will go on the waitlist, visit the school within the next couple weeks, and withdraw later if I know I am definitely not going to attend. It's funny because there are still schools out there who had months to make decisions but have not made them yet.

08-18-07 - Maryland it is. Thanks and good luck to everyone for sharing information and making this a great site.

In May I received a call from Santa Clara about a scholarship. This was great news and definitely made the final decision more difficult.

I thought there may be more movement on wait lists, but this was not the case in my experience this year.

My advice for future law students is to score as high as possible on the LSAT. This score means more than it should but IT IS the most important factor in the process.

What you need to do is balance obtaining the highest score you can achieve with applying early in the cycle. Get your high score and your application in as early as possible. If I had to balance the two, get the high score first then worry about timing. Worst case, you could always wait for the next cycle knowing that you will have the benefit of applying early.

Good luck to all!