nixxers (2022-2023)

All my info is out here now, PM if you want details haha.

Fall semester grades bumped my LSAC GPA 3.78-->3.86.

So to clarify, everything before 1/16/10 happened with LSAC GPA 3.78
*In at Georgetown, Duke, Michigan, Harvard, NYU, Chicago
*Darrow

And everything from here on out happens with LSAC GPA 3.86.
*In at Columbia
*Out at Yale
*WL at Stanford
*Scholly info from Duke, Chicago and NYU

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SOFTS:

-honors program
-3 years of womens rugby
-3 years of a student radio show
-leadership in an activist group for 2 years
-2 years of theater stuff
-study abroad in shanghai, china
-summer internships (nonprofit that does management consulting for congressional offices, senator's state office doing social security and workers comp casework, and advocacy/communications nonprofit) and an internship at a thinktank while abroad

-personal statement interweaving work in my senator's office and work on the sudan radio project

-diversity statement on anti-racism and my personal growth/journey in this area

-spanish and mandarin language skillz

-I didn't submit any "Why X" essays, but where optional essays were allowed, I used my diversity statement (modified for word length restrictions, etc)

-LOR's - one from a chinese prof i have a good relationship with, one from a poli sci prof who taught a seminar i was in with just one other person, and my supervisor from my internship last summer. for the last letter, i drafted the recommendation and sent it to him to forward to LSAC - apparently this is a huge no-no because adcomms can tell, but it doesn't seem to have hurt me. I sent targeted LORs to Stanford.

I sent Stanford a LOCI before being waitlisted.

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ASW's:

*3/1/10 Visited CLS and NYU. Was not feeling CLS - maybe it was the lackluster tour guide or the lack of scholly, or maybe it was just me. Either way, I wasn't feeling campus, or the area around campus. I liked the food for sale in the lenfest cafe, but that's about it. It's an amazing school with incredible offerings, but something about the 'feel' was off for me, and I couldn't see myself there.

LOVED NYU. Loved the area, loved the buildings, had a really good chat with a current student - apparently NYU is really ramping up its clerkship program, and as much as it has a reputation of being a PI school, most students do go to work for firms and there's a lot of support there too. The lady I talked to who works in the cafeteria said students were friendly and not too stressed. People seemed nice. I like the little law student cluster within the larger NYU. It's not at the top of my list yet, but it's nice to know that there's a school I feel positive about this early into my visits.

*3/26/10 Currently at Michigan's ASW. I am LOVING it here. I feel like I would totally fit in and have a great time at this law school. Everyone seems very down to earth and low key - not a lot of "biddies" as we say, fake seeming people, people showing off their designer clothing items, etc. No one has seemed snobby or anything. Everyone has been really friendly. I understand that for ASW the people who are unhappy here don't really come, and they trot out the happiest and peppiest to interact with us - but the fact that there are so many of those students for them to get to come to the ASW events is a really good sign IMO. Dean Z is even more amazing in person than she is via email, and every professor I've talked to (with the exception of one who shall remain unnamed) has seemed really friendly, open and passionate. I'm still not sure about taking this over HLS until I have visited both, but I am feeling REALLY good about Michigan right now. Chicago is going to have to A) be really amazing and B) seriously pony up a bit more cash if they want to stay in the running.

*4/9/10 I write from chicago o'hare airport, where I am slightly tipsy and eat caramel popcorn from a bag. I am not attending the university of chicago. they put on a good show and I had a good time, but it's too much like my undergrad - small, nerdy, pretentious, ivory tower...intense, with motivated students who are really, really, really, really, really into their work......all things I like about my undergrad, but what can I say -- I'm ready for something new. Harvard tomorrow through monday, and hopefully soon I'll make a decision.

*10/21/09 - all my applications are sent, but waiting on 2 professor recommendations.

*10/22/09 - 2 recs in, waiting on the last one. uc berkeley notified me that my application is under review. yikes!

*10/26/09 - all LORS submitted to lsac

*10/29/09 - under review at harvard...

*11/05/09 - huh, I went under review at harvard about a week ago, but just now received the application complete email. So that makes me feel a bit better about not receiving a jr1, when others with similar numbers on TLS have already received theirs.

*11/06/09 - Georgetown status checker still shows "Application under review, but" updated to "11/05/09" and showed mailing having been sent yesterday. There was no description alongside the mailing, just the date. I am hoping this means that in a few days the status will change to decision rendered, and the mailing is an acceptance letter that will be waiting in my mailbox on monday.....

EDIT: Just received JR1 email

*11/09/09 - "Decision rendered" at Georgetown, didn't get anything in the mail though.

*11/12/09 - Accepted letter from GULC, nice personal note at the bottom :)

JR1!!! It lasted 14 minutes 15 seconds. He asked me what I was going to be working on from here to graduation, so I talked about my classes and one of my most important EC's. Then asked why I wanted to go to law school. And finally why HLS. Then I asked a couple questions, and then it was over. I hope it went well. He said he hoped they could get me a decision in a few weeks.

*11/16/09 - Michigan status checker says "Decision" and I can log into the accepted students' website. Nice! Edit- Received large packet in the mail as well. No "Why Mich."

Edit: received acceptance email from Duke at 4:43 pm. Status checker hadn't updated since 11/02. Non Priority-Track, no "Why Duke."

*11/20/09 - Received large envelope from Duke with viewbook, scholly application etc.

*11/23/09 - OMGOMGOMGOMG JR2!!!!!!! IN AT HARVARD!!!!!! CAN THIS BE REAL????? AHHHHH!!!!!!

edit: withdrew from all schools that I definitely wouldn't take over Harvard. It was painful to withdraw from Berkeley because it had been my #1 (tied with columbia) assuming I didn't get in to HYS. But with the skyrocketing tuition, I had to be realistic. Anyway, I am glad to not be taking others' spots at those schools. :)

*12/1/09 - Housing info mailing from Michigan

*12/3/09 - physical acceptance packet from Harvard

*12/7/09 - In at NYU via mailed purple packet.

Cute email from HLS Dean Martha Minow welcoming me to the class of 2013.

*12/15/09 - So, this is unrelated to law schools I guess, but exciting nonetheless- I was accepted to the program I wanted for next summer/fall...not gonna leave a lot of details here now, but suffice it to say this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and rather than joining the class of 2013 at whatever school I choose, I'll be a member of the class of 2014. :)

*12/16/09 Under review at chicago finally. Now I'm not expecting to hear anything for a while.

*12/17/09 Nice followup letter from Dean of Duke Law

*12/21/09 home for christmas!! received invitation to apply for a Darrow scholarship at Michigan. Not sure if I'm going to.

*1/8/10 asked Dean Zearfoss for an extension on my Darrow application. She gave me til the 15th, which is a lot more than I was expecting!

*1/11/10 sent updated grades to LSAC, let's see how long it takes them to process and here's hoping no decisions are made between now and then

*1/14/10 in at Chicago via phone call from Dean Perry

*1/15/10 HOLY SHIT FULL DARROW. (full tuition stipend at Michigan) well now i really dont know what to do

*1/25/10 In at Columbia via large green envelope!

*1/26/10 Received Darrow offer in writing. I dont know what to do I dont know what to do.... Having to keep a 2.0 is sort of meh when compared to HP/P/LP at Harvard...I mean hopefully I can keep a 2.0, but they say grades are so arbitrary, so I dunno. And doesn't Harvard provide funding for summer PI work? still T10 for free is enticing. I'm going to the Mich 3/25-27 and Harvard 4/10-12 admit weekends so maybe I'll know then. Going up to NYC at some point to look at nyu/cls too just to make sure I'm not missing out on anything... O.O

*1/29/10 Columbia admitted students packet is much more attractive than the initial acceptance packet, lol

*2/1/10 First ding! Yale says no. Completely expected, because of my TTT 250 and lack of game-changing softs. Came via skinny envelope.

*2/12/10 Invited to apply for dean's scholarship at NYU. why not, right?

Also invited to interview for merit scholarship at g'town.

*2/22/10 90k Dean's Scholarship from Duke

*2/23/10 Merit scholly phone interview with a Georgetown alum. Very informal, just talked about why I want to go to lawl school and why I like gulc, what his experiences were at the school, where else I'm looking and other offers, etc.

Edit: $60,000 merit scholly from Chicago! arrived via emailed pdf

*3/3/10 Named as an "Alternate" for scholly at georgetown, withdrew immediately. Too bad, if they threw the big bucks at me I would have considered it, but I guess they didn't want to.

*3/4/10 withdrew from CLS - I'm going to have to make this choice somehow, right? Also, sent Stanford LOCI.

*3/9/10 $62,500 from NYU!!! (25k the first two years, 12.5k the third year) But, a) the scholarship doesn't defer and I'm set on deferring, and b) the deposit deadline is 4/2/10 - before I'll have visited UChi or HLS. So... I think I'll sit on it for a few days, ask for a deposit extension..but probably then withdraw :-/

*3/29/10 NYU refused to give me a deadline extension, so I withdrew. :(

*4/11/10

HLS's admit weekend isn't even over, but I'm already committed. I have had an amazing time. I've loved HLS every bit as much as I loved Michigan while I was there - everyone I've met has been totally cool, friendly, interesting and down to earth. Even if Harvard DIDN'T have all the amazing class offerings, clinics and outstanding faculty, I'd want to go here on the basis of the current students and other admits alone. I had my douche-o-meter out, but I've only encountered one or two (and what law school isn't going to have a few a-holes?). The administrators have been incredibly illuminating, friendly and helpful. After visiting a smaller school this weekend as well (I went to Chicago's ASW on Thursday and Friday and didn't like it nearly as much) I'm really looking forward to going to a "big" law school (about the same number of students as my undergrad, hahaha!). This is it for me - it's going to be really hard to turn down the money at Michigan, but I couldn't be happier to join the HLS class of 2014*!!!!

*(2014 because I'm deferring,not because I can't do math hehe)