LSAT Podcast Episode 107: Student Question Mailbag: Law School Admissions Part 3

The third admissions-centric episode of Dave and Jon's popular Student Mailbag series is here, tackling the supremely slow admissions cycle and what to do about waitlists, how and when to write addenda (including Letters of Continued Interest), the rise of the GRE, and more!

Timestamps

0:00 – Intro

4:31 – This Week in the LSAT World (sign up for our free LSAT webinars here: www.powerscore.com/freeseminars)

Mailbag Topics

12:00 – “I have a 172 LSAT score, 3.8 GPA, and worked with a consultant to polish my essays and sent applications to schools ranked between 10 and 30. I was accepted by 2 schools ranked 25-30, and waitlisted at five other schools at which my numbers are quite strong. I don’t understand why I’m not achieving the results I expected. Is this happening because of a lot of high scores? What are your predictions for the rest of this cycle? Did I waste my time working to get that high LSAT score?”

17:40 – “I graduated with a finance degree and am currently working in a bank. I’m concerned that my experiences are only tangentially related to law. How should I best present myself as an applicant?”

23:17 – “I read an article that said some people send Letters of Continued Interest to schools every month. Is this a good idea? I want to have the best chances of being taken off the law school waitlist, but I also don’t want to badger the admissions department.”

26:50 – “Is applying to a T-14 school with only "General" recommendation letters a bad idea? My recommenders are great and would write a university-specific one in addition to the general one they have already uploaded but I wanted some feedback.”

31:35 – “Should I provide an addendum on my applications for older LSAT scores that aren’t my highest score? There were certain life circumstances that led to those lower performances. What is the best way for me to show them that my highest score is the most accurate of my typical performance?”

41:03 – “If you really want to demonstrate interest at a school and you haven't been asked to complete a Kira interview: is it appropriate to find the email of some admissions reader, or even the dean, online and send them an email enumerating your enthusiasm for the school and your wish to convey this enthusiasm through an interview?”

47:42 – “Why have so many schools used the waitlist option this year? Many people I know, myself included, are primarily stuck with waitlist status at their target schools.”

57:06 – “If I think I can do better on the GRE than the LSAT, should I focus my studies on the GRE now that more law schools are accepting that test? Will the LSAT and the GRE really be viewed as equivalent? Will GRE applicants be at a disadvantage for scholarships? Pretty much all of the schools I’m interested in currently accept both.”

1:06:25 – Outro