number50lq2 (2022-2023)

These are extracurriculars I put in my application package: Toastmasters (President), Running, Cooking, Cosmetology.

Hopefully this helps future cycles. Most of the things I did came from tips I read in Anna Ivey's, The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions.

LSAT
I did not pay for/take an LSAT prep course. I checked out Kaplan, Princeton, and Powerscore books from the library to prep. I bought one book full of LSAT practice tests from the LSAC website. I took advantage of two free practice tests offered by Kaplan in a test center near my home. I used the months of September through December to prep for my Dec 2010 test. I studied on the train while commuting to work, studied during my hour lunch break, studied on the train while going home, studied at the library when I got home (I work full-time). On the weekends, I used 2 hours to practice, just so that I would be 'touching' the material everyday and wouldn't lose familiarity with anything. Took one practice test every week in the weeks leading up to test day. Went to the facility once each month to take a practice "real-life" test. Wore what I planned to wear on test day, timed myself and everything. My practice test scores started out at 142. The highest practice test score I got was 165. I didn't sleep at all the night before the test (life issues); I attribute that to my 159: I was tired as hell. Best believe I made no excuse for that in my application package. Adcoms don't want to hear it: whining, that is.

RECOMMENDATIONS
I approached my recommenders the week after I took the test. I mailed/hand-delivered each person a packet of materials I thought useful in preparing my recommendation: resume; transcript; brief statement outlining why I want to go to law school, how we know each other, and a copy of my best work in their class (if they were my professor); tips on what to put in my recommendation (from accepted.com); list of schools I'm applying to; my personal statement; postage-paid envelope addressed to LSAC.

WRITING PORTION OF LSAT
I read Strunk & White's Elements of Style to remind myself not to write in the passive voice (which I have a MAJOR tendency to do). I practiced writing answers to questions which were straight-to-the-point. I look at my LSAT writing sample today (1/2012) and still believe I did a good job. That's my gauge of whether I did well; if I look at it days or weeks later and hate it, that means the writing was probably poor.

PERSONAL STATEMENT
hardest part of the package. It took me 6-7 months to come up with a topic. When I found the topic, however, I wrote it within a week. Let a lot of people see it. I approached people who didn't know me, people who knew me well, people who were faintly acquainted with me. Some of the people were recent law grads, some were attorneys who'd been practicing since before I was born. The only remarks I received were to fix some grammar and formatting errors. I think I succeeded with my statement because I wrote about something real, and totally exposed myself in my statement. I wrote it as if I were writing to myself, as if no one would see it (which may explain some of the grammatical mistakes...lol).

ADDENDUM
Of course I had one; look at my GPA. So, I told the truth and made no excuses. I was immature and figured that I could wait until the last minute to do things. The long and short of it is that the undergraduate experience (like most life experiences) is about learning lessons. What's different about this experience, however, is that it's the period of your life that occurs when you're just pushed out of the nest (this is true for some, not all). It took me a while to learn how to fly. But when I flew, I went long-distance; my transcripts show an upward trend in my grades. I wrote an addendum that was the absolute truth about my situation.

GENERAL
I revealed myself in my application. I think this is what saved me. I haven't received a decision from my number one school yet, but I am happy with the way my cycle is going. I thought I would get nothing but rejections. My attitude was aggravated by the advice from a pre-law advisor at an LSAC forum who told me my chances at getting into a law school were slim-to-none. He told me that I shouldn't waste time applying to any schools but those that are un-accredited or newly accredited. It was on his advice that I applied to Charlotte and Phoenix. My aim wasn't to prove him wrong, but I did.

LSP Part-Time:
Chicago Kent Deny---> Deferred--->Accept
DePaul Consider---> Rejected
John Marshall Strong Consider--->Accept

12/16: Got my acceptance email from Associate Dean at JMLS!!!! Waiting on package in the mail. Email says to call the admissions office after I receive the packet in the mail. I need to get started sending thank you letters to recommenders...

12/20: Since I've 'let the cat out the bag', everyone at work has been very supportive of my endeavor. When I first began my law school adventures in August 2010 (preparing for LSAT, picking schools, deciding on recommenders - basically shaping my application package), I was mum about my excursion. Although I do not regret keeping silent until I knew for sure I was attending law school, I know my secret would have been safe with my manager had I told her when this all began. My manager, along with my own hard work, has been one of the biggest reasons why I have advanced within the company. Now, she remains a driving force as to why the company is willing to offer a flexible schedule while I pursue my degree. I have to work on a "thank-you" gift for her. Nothing I come up with, however, will equate with the amount of appreciation I have for her and her efforts.

12/22: SIU updated status tracker with results. Another acceptance letter! Still waiting on the magic to come from Kent...

1/9: Received a flyer about Kent's open house on Jan 28th. Called the office to RSVP

1/23: I have a confession to make: I have called Kent's admissions office twice asking for the status of my application. I'm so nervous! The first time, the woman who answered the phone briefly stated, "your application is in review." The second time, I got the same woman on the phone. She said, "your application is in ongoing review." The 'ongoing' part helps me keep my hope alive.

1/23 (5 mins later): Another confession: Before they admitted me, I called JMLS for a status update too. The lady who helped me seemed like she was eager to rush my file through the review process. Like magic, though, that same week I called, I got an answer.

1/26: Saw that my status changed to final review. I'm getting closer to a decision here!

1/28: went to Kent's open house and got re-energized. It really is refreshing to mingle with people who share similar goals. The mini-classes also reassured me that Kent's still my number one choice.

2/10: Received a package from DePaul encouraging me to apply. App fee was waived. I'm really considering sending in an app this weekend...

2/24: Deferred at Kent. What should I do? Should I withdraw my application? I'm thinking I should apply to DePaul now...

3/17: Take a lesson from me: do not wait until the last minute to apply. The longer you wait, the more competition you have in the applicant pool and in the pool of admitted students. Rejected at DePaul. Oh well...still no word from Kent. I didn't update with this information: I called Kent after receiving my Waitlist notice. The admissions counselor said that in MOST cases (not all), acceptance is denied for waitlisted applicants because the school does not hear from the applicant. That being said, I send a Letter of Continued Interest within that same week. The admissions counselor also said that I may receive a notice at the end of March or Mid-April.

4/1: Attended John Marhsall's Admitted Students Reception on Friday and the Diversity Office event on Saturday. Had a blast, met some new contacts, sent in an application to participate in the Mock Trial Competition (chance to earn more scholarship money). Prepared the envelope to send in the first half of tuition deposit to JMLS today. 9/3/12 Update - I won scholly money from that Mock Trial Competition.

9/3/12: This will be my last post, as I have completed my cycle as of my August 20 start date at JMLS. Kent sent me an acceptance email August 15, but by then I had fully committed myself to JMLS. I admit, I took the delayed acceptance personally at first, but I do not regret my decision to stay at JMLS. My primary reason for wanting to attend Kent was to take the early-start summer classes, but since the acceptance came after those classes ended, it really made no difference to me whether I attended Kent or JMLS. I am truly happy with my decision, thus far. I will admit that it's tough trying to balance work with classes, studying, and my life outside of those three things, but I keep reminding myself that this is only temporary and will be well worth the sacrifices I am now making. Regardless of where I land in my career, I know that I will truly be enriched! Good luck all.