laconicplatypus (2022-2023)

Views: 5440 User Since: 12/14/06

Application Information

F - Fee Waiver A - Attending W - Withdrawn D - Deferred
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# Law School Status Type $$$ Sent Received Complete Interview Date Decision Updated
Santa Clara University Accepted W Type: RA $30,000 Sent: 11/17/06 Rec: -- Comp: 01/02/07 Inter: -- Dec: 02/27/07 Upd: 17 years
University of Wisconsin Madison Accepted A Type: RA Sent: 11/15/06 Rec: -- Comp: 12/01/06 Inter: -- Dec: 01/12/07 Upd: 17 years
University of Colorado Boulder Accepted W Type: RA Sent: 11/16/06 Rec: -- Comp: 12/01/06 Inter: -- Dec: 02/12/07 Upd: 17 years
Northeastern University Accepted W Type: RA $25,500 Sent: 11/17/06 Rec: -- Comp: 12/13/06 Inter: -- Dec: 01/08/07 Upd: 17 years
Chicago-Kent College of Law (IIT) Accepted W Type: RA $15,000 Sent: 11/10/06 Rec: -- Comp: 11/16/06 Inter: -- Dec: 12/20/06 Upd: 17 years
Southern Methodist University Pending D W Type: Sent: 11/10/06 Rec: -- Comp: 11/28/06 Inter: -- Dec: 01/30/07 Upd: 17 years
University of Minnesota Twin Cities Pending D W Type: RA Sent: 12/06/06 Rec: -- Comp: 12/19/06 Inter: -- Dec: 01/19/07 Upd: 17 years
Boston College Rejected Type: RA Sent: 11/13/06 Rec: -- Comp: 11/20/06 Inter: -- Dec: 01/22/07 Upd: 17 years
Washington University in St Louis Pending D W Type: Sent: 11/13/06 Rec: -- Comp: 12/27/06 Inter: -- Dec: 02/07/07 Upd: 17 years
University of Denver Accepted W Type: RA $52,800 Sent: 11/20/06 Rec: -- Comp: 01/02/07 Inter: -- Dec: 01/11/07 Upd: 17 years
Case Western Reserve University Accepted W Type: RA $39,000 Sent: 11/13/06 Rec: -- Comp: 11/21/06 Inter: -- Dec: 02/08/07 Upd: 17 years
University of Texas Austin Rejected D Type: Sent: 10/31/06 Rec: -- Comp: 11/14/06 Inter: -- Dec: 03/21/07 Upd: 17 years
George Washington University Rejected Type: RA Sent: 11/02/06 Rec: -- Comp: 11/21/06 Inter: -- Dec: 03/01/07 Upd: 17 years
University of California Hastings Waitlisted W Type: RA Sent: 11/02/06 Rec: -- Comp: 12/28/06 Inter: -- Dec: 02/23/07 Upd: 17 years
Loyola University Chicago Waitlisted W Type: RA Sent: 11/13/06 Rec: -- Comp: 11/23/06 Inter: -- Dec: 01/25/07 Upd: 17 years
University of Michigan Ann Arbor Rejected Type: RA Sent: 11/17/06 Rec: -- Comp: 12/11/06 Inter: -- Dec: 01/19/07 Upd: 17 years
DePaul University Accepted W Type: RA $60,000 Sent: 11/13/06 Rec: -- Comp: 12/14/06 Inter: -- Dec: 12/14/06 Upd: 17 years
Lewis and Clark College Accepted W Type: RA $15,000 Sent: 11/30/06 Rec: -- Comp: 12/13/06 Inter: -- Dec: 01/22/07 Upd: 17 years
University of Chicago Rejected Type: RA Sent: 11/13/06 Rec: -- Comp: 11/28/06 Inter: -- Dec: 02/05/07 Upd: 17 years

Applicant Information

  • LSAT: 161
  • LSAT 2: -
  • LSAT 3: -
  • GRE : -
  • LSAC GPA: 3.67
  • Degree GPA: -
  • School Type: Very Liberal Arts
  • Major: Politics

Demographic Information

  • City: Dallas
  • State: Texas
  • Race: hot wheels, MF!
  • Gender: Man
  • Non-Traditional Applicant: Yes
  • Years out of Undergrad: -

Extra Curricular Information

In college, I spent a lot of time on my honors work, and I loved it. It's probably why I didn't get a good job out of college, but it will serve me well for a long time, I believe. In college, I worked on the school disciplinary board, with the Democrats, and during the summers I worked at a think tank, a Democratic campaign committee, and a Legal Aid society. During one January I worked in Congress for a semi-senior Texas Democrat who has since lost his job.

After college, my favorite job has been at the Dallas County District Attorney's Office, where I got to be tough on crime. Seriously, though, I've never had such an exposure to the real lives of many people who are down on their luck and face great difficulty, and I am so glad I got to do it.

I've wanted to go to law school for a long time, which is probably why it's been hard for me to care about the jobs I've had. I love the logic behind the law that I've already been exposed to, and I can't wait to do more. I believe that institutions and people can either follow rules or not, harm others or not, and that there are dynamic choices involved in that. I want to aid and abet the right kind of dynamic choices, and I want to do so with a JD.

Additional info & updates

Boston College (R) - I didn't really know much about it, but for awhile there I was interested in the Boston area as a possibility. Their office was fairly easy to deal with, moderately friendly. I get the sense that they desperately want to move up in the rankings, and the way they do that is with LSATs. Not a reason not to apply, I suppose, except I think monkeying with your scores without changing the real quality of the school is disingenuous (and indicative of how deeply misleading the rankings are, sans the reputation numbers).

Case Western (A)- Extremely nice staff, I met them at a Law School Forum here in Big D. I liked their programs, but unfortunately they were in Cleveland. As a graduate of Oberlin, I've had enough of Northeast Ohio to last me a lifetime. I thought there was a chance that might change if I got into this low-first-tier school, but it didn't, even with the money. Don't let that take away from it, though. It's a great school. Their admissions process is very slow, however, so be prepared to wait, even if you are a strong applicant.

Chicago-Kent (A)- Kent is a truly fantastic school, one that I think is completely underrated in the rankings. I had the chance to visit it earlier this year after being admitted. The IP program is one of the best, their Legal Writing is similarly regarded. The building is phenomenal, easy to get around, the professors are great (their ASW has SEVERAL mock classes) and are rightly regarded as such. Plus, Chicago is becoming America's coolest, most artistic, most bohemian and most exciting city in a big hurry. Watch out NYC. I plan to use my Wisconsin JD to hopefully get to the Windy City myself, and Kent gives you about a thousand feet in the door to Chicago. I think it is a first-tier school in waiting. Check it out even if you're a way better applicant than me, because they'll probably give you a ton of $$.

DePaul (A)- Before I took my 2nd LSAT, I was very interested in DePaul. I must say though that I now have rather mixed feelings about it. When I visited, the people were great, but the facilities are rather average despite the school's being in the Loop, which I love. Plus, the library is small and unwieldy, and the acoustics are not so good. However, DePaul has the most alums in Chicago of any school and therefore connections out the wazoo. They also had a number of journals and clinics I was interested in (and they backed up a dumptruck full of cash) but it has a long way left to go.

GWU (R)- This one hurt a little. When I still thought I would become a professional political operative, I went to a summer program at GW, and I did love DC. DC frustrates me for many reasons, but I was still extremely interested in GW's program and its connections. Didn't work out though. People are nice on the phone and in person, but the school (and university) are a monster and often challenging bureaucracy.

Lewis and Clark (A)- I don't really know what to say about this school. It looked good on paper, especially since I'm interested in environmental law. I never visited, and I dashed off the app on a lark, and when I got in, I didn't care and withdrew. Does certainly look aesthetically beautiful and appealing though. I would check it out if I lived in the NW. Never talked to a human being there.

Loyola-Chicago (W)- This was the most confusing school for me. To this day (and I know this sounds pompous, yet) I have not a clue why they waitlisted me. I poured a lot into their supplemental essay, but I didn't really mention "why LUC", but then again, they didn't ask. Who knows? The people were knowledgable and serviceable. In the end I didn't care that I didn't get in because I had already gotten into Kent. Nice facilities. They, like BC, also seem very status-oriented. Good luck, because they won't outclass Kent anytime soon.

Northeastern (A)- I liked it a whole lot. The Co-op system sounded cool, but possibly to the expense of its reputation and academic rigor. I am a big lefty, but to be honest, I'm not sure I can wholeheartedly commit to doing public interest work this early in the process. I love Boston, though, so this school made it into the last 3 along with Wisconsin and Colorado. Plus they gave me mad money, so I gave it some strong thought for that too. Really nice people. Definitely worth a thought for progressives everywhere applying to law school.

Santa Clara (A)- Another school like DePaul that I applied to based on my old LSAT. I don't know a heck of a lot about it, but I needed another safety, so I applied. I guess the idea of living in the Bay area got to me when I realized how much traffic they have there, and I hate nothing more in this world than multi-hour traffic jams. This is what doomed Hastings when they waitlisted me too. People are pleasant. The main receptionist sounded like the girl in 'Octopussy'. Very funny, but don't laugh.

SMU (Def)- SMU and Dallas come with a lot of baggage for me, but since it's well regarded and a lot of my coworkers pressured me to apply there (since they're grads), I did, but I didn't try for much of a good impression, which probably helped them to defer me. If you like Dallas, TX, which I consider stultifyingly boring, conservative and uptight, go for it. But shit, there are a lot of hot girls. Mad superficial girls, but hot for sure. People in the office are fake Texas nice to the nines. I withdrew after deferral since I didn't care anyway.

Cal-Hastings (W)- My advice? Be tolerant with the admissions office, or else you might tear out your hair. They require practically everything in writing, the Admissions assistant is a bit of a pompous ass who takes minimum 2 DAYS to get back with you regarding astonishingly simple questions, and otherwise are none too helpful. Perhaps if I had the $ to visit there it would have seemed different, but I didn't so its impression was less than stellar. I still liked the school, though, and I love SF. However, the traffic kills me, and it is so goddamn expensive. Too bad, because it's like heaven on earth. The law school, though, is in the hell district of heaven, called the Tenderloin, but if you've looked into the school much, you know what I'm talking about. For those who don't, it's a very dangerous area of the city right near many government buildings. If you're a woman, I hear that it can be particularly unsafe. That's no good.

Chicago (R)- Sigh, if only I had a 175. What an amazing school. It's ugly as sin to look at, but I would crap a coconut to go there. Simply put, it would be the best intellectual/legal experience possible, producing renaissance lawyers. I would be there in a heartbeat, even though I would be $200K in debt. Amazing. But of course...yeah. I actually had a life in college and a little after, so NO.

Colorado (A)- Ah, Colorado. How hard it was to turn it down. Colorado has been my second home (not literally) for quite some time, and that, my friends, is a hell of a law school. New building, great people, and in an area that will become the next great American metropolis. In years to come I suspect it will be rather dominant in its area, and possibly national. But ultimately, I just couldn't pick it. I'll go more into why when I describe why I picked Wisconsin.

University of Denver (A)- Basically a safety in Colorado if I didn't get into CU. Good school though, very solicitous, upwardly mobile admissions office and student body. However, I was a tad disturbed that they saw law school more as a glorified trade school and less as an intellectual experience, as they focused a lot on employability, employability, employability. Plus they had a distinct inferiority complex regarding CU. Take it for what you will, and I still liked it even so.

University of Michigan (R)- Another crazy, reach-for-the-stars pick. I loved the thought, but I got a real short letter in return for my application, unsurprisingly.

UMN (Def)- Minnesota looked a lot better on paper to me. It would probably have bowled me over more, but I just don't think I could tolerate cold while being in Minneapolis. The Twin Cities are pretty badass, but I had no verve for the school after I got deferred. I was very impressed, though. The people were very tuned when I visited, and I loved their clinical programs. Good school, if you like the Twin Cities.

University of Texas (Def, R)- This one was sad, since that's where my g/f is gonna go for another grad program, without me. I won't comment further, since I'm gonna try to transfer.

WashU (Def)- Last but not least. I liked this school a lot, but again, it suffers from Boston College syndrome: upward LSAT mobility. Their program is solid, but I believe overstated. WashU also seems to spend unlimited funds on promoting itself, which they expect will push the problems of St. Louis out of the way. I was born there, so I love it, but not for life.Withdrew after deferral.

That's all I've got for now. I need to think about what to say about Wisconsin exactly and my final choice. However, I will now add some bits and pieces of my resume and background to give more info.

Visitor Comments

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re: WashU thing
Thursday, November 30 2006 at 07:00 PM

Sorry to hear that. What happened there?

Madison
Thursday, November 09 2006 at 07:00 PM

Thanks for the note. I have not visited Madison yet, but I really want to go take a look. It seems like a great place to spend a few years. Minnesota would be amazing too though. Did your DU scholarship come smail mail or e-mail? Maybe we will end up at Wisconsin together???? Good luck, so far it looks like you are doing great! Molly

Thanks!
Monday, May 22 2006 at 08:00 PM

Yeah, I was happy to get the news from Case. I'm not sure if I can afford it though. I lived in Minneapolis for a while, so I've experienced ugly winters before. Congratulations on your acceptances so far. I'm sure you'll get some great news from Case soon.

Congrats...
Wednesday, August 30 2006 at 08:00 PM

on your acceptances! You have awesome soft skills. What is your first choice? (we might be potential UW classmates)

Wait...
Wednesday, August 30 2006 at 08:00 PM

hahah i read it again, i see that you're probably 80% kidding on your profile... but I am sure you have things equally as impressive, but not as violent

thanks
Thursday, July 27 2006 at 08:00 PM

congrats on UW as well, and good luck with all the rest. now i just have to decide whether i want to ski more, or save money more. ps-nice major payne reference

soft factors
Tuesday, December 12 2006 at 07:00 PM

you know, sometimes when I look at people's profiles, i feel like those soft factors are the kind you need, just to get in anwhere decent. congrats on depaul! don't worry about michigan...from where i sit (columbus, oh) it's not tops.

hahaha
Thursday, November 09 2006 at 07:00 PM

Yes, the DU thing is nice, but Madison is still by far the first choice. To be fair the only reason I got the full scholarship is because I am an undergrad there now and know the Chancellor personally. DId you get a big package from Madison(which you were hoping was a scholarship, or viewbook or something...) and it was really like a packet of tourist information? That kind of confused me- I read over it and still have no idea where to find an appartment...oh well. Anyway, I will probably see you at Madison next year... good luck again with the cycle, you seem to be on the right track. Molly

Stupid packet from Madison
Thursday, November 09 2006 at 07:00 PM

The packet really had nothing else in it. It was kinda silly that they even sent it, it was mostly just ads for local busniess and things like that. So nobody on LSN has said they got any money from Wisconsin yet, do you think they just have not made that decision? Think you and I have any chance at money there?

Loyola
Monday, October 23 2006 at 08:00 PM

I think Loyola's just trying to keep their yield rate up. I applied for free online, and my whole app was about wanting to be an environmental lawyer. They only have one or two classes related to environmental law, so they probably wanted to make sure I actually wanted to go there (as opposed to just applied because it was free) before they accepted me.

UIUC
Monday, October 23 2006 at 08:00 PM

It looks like I'll be going to UIUC because I have about 1 in a billion chance of getting into Chicago, hahaha.

Reaches...
Wednesday, August 30 2006 at 08:00 PM

I will probably end up at Madision, BUT I did submit two reach applications after my confidence increased, why not!? Unlikely to get in, but I applied to Wash U & Northwestern. What is your first choice?

No way
Thursday, November 30 2006 at 07:00 PM

on CU. They've probably only admitted their sure thing admits, we're both well within their numbers range. Plus it looks like you're in at Madison, so you're golden. That's where I go for UG right now, so feel free to e-mail me with any questions you have about it

o sun king
Thursday, March 09 2006 at 07:00 PM

your profile makes me happy. yay for your acceptances and why change your extracurricular info? it speaks fine as it is =) =) =)

Enjoyed our conversation
Friday, December 15 2006 at 07:00 PM

Nice meeting you as well. Have a good trip back home, and I hope things work out for you. I love the humor on your page, and no, it doesn't really match your attire. It looks like we applied at many of the same schools. Congrats on Wisconsin, good luck with CU, and watch out for those Miatas!

Nice
Saturday, December 02 2006 at 07:00 PM

You have the best profile ever. Good luck with the sleds.

duh
Thursday, November 30 2006 at 07:00 PM

it's cause I'm more physically attractive. where do you even want to go to school? your rankings keep changing. do you even want in at CU?

Thursday, November 30 2006 at 07:00 PM

no no no! there must have been some sort of mistake, you're far too aesthetically repulsive to get in there. You sent your headshots separate from the rest of your application, right? They must have gotten lost in the mail. Good job, I guess. Loser. Also, what's with you and UW-Madison? Are you thinking that's where you want to be, or is CU higher up on the list?

Congrats!
Friday, December 15 2006 at 07:00 PM

Congratulations on CU! It looks like LUC has waitlisted quite a few people recently. Thanks for the kind words regarding Wisconsin. I'm going to send a letter and set up a visit for late March.

Kent Chicago
Sunday, July 09 2006 at 08:00 PM

How did Kent notify you? Email and then letter or just letter?

SMU
Sunday, March 05 2006 at 07:00 PM

I saw you withdrew from SMU! Starting to narrow down your choices? What's your top choice?

:)
Sunday, March 05 2006 at 07:00 PM

Colorado seems like a great school. I looked into that for a while. I'm sure you'd do well at Texas too! You've got a lot of great choices. I don't plan on waiting on SMU. Unless UT decides to send me some love, then its definetly Tulane for me. I visited NOLA and loooooved it. Keep me updated on what you decide to do! :)

Thanks
Friday, December 15 2006 at 07:00 PM

I'm somewhat of a waitlist king. I'm actually in the Chicago area right now on an all out blitz of the Midwestern schools that I applied to. As of now, out of the acceptances, I'm debating between Denver, DePaul, and Iowa. Too many tough decisions to make. Do you have any thoughts? Good luck with Texas - I hope you get what you want.

Madison
Thursday, November 09 2006 at 07:00 PM

I jsut really didnt like the feel of Madison. The building has a few very nice areas, but the majority of classrooms seem very old and kind of run down. Also, the number of jounals and clinics was a little dissapoining. Also, i was very shocked at the library, which seemed to have a nice little glass bubble on top of 4 stories of stacks that smelled like mold. It really didnt seem like there were even that many books in the library, and certinly not too many places to sit and study. Now, with all that said, I will still end up there if Minnesota does not let me in, but the tour was just dissapointing because it made me want to go to MN that much more. Its not a bad school, its just not quite the environment that I am hoping for. Sorry if that sounds super down... im getting a little crazy waiting for these decisinos. Thanks

Madison
Thursday, November 09 2006 at 07:00 PM

So you decided on Madison! Congrats! Any reason that finally won out over CU Boulder? Also, with all of your Madison expertise I wanted to ask you if you know anything about the "Washington Court" apartments? Thats where Im looking at living assuming I dont get into MN and am trying to figure out if they are any good. I guess Madison still has not given out any scholarship $ too, think people with our numbers have any chance at that kinda thing? Congrats again! Molly

compadres
Friday, December 01 2006 at 07:00 PM

Well, it looks like we will be classmates this fall. Welcome aboard. I was following your descriptions of the various schools with interest. What finally sold you on UW?

UW Madison
Tuesday, April 03 2007 at 08:00 PM

I'm in at UW but still need to actually decide. I graduated UW undergrad in 04 and love Madison but don't really know anything about the law school. I'm out of the country right now so won't be able to visit. What did you think of the law school? Anything would be helpful. Thanks and congratulations on a great cycle.