The Official BLSD "What Are My Chances?/Where Should I Apply?" Thread

[Burning Sands, Esq.]

Ahhhhhhhhh the infamous "what are my chances?" post.  Yo, Dotson, your numbers are stellar, son.  Hit up everything. It basically will come down to where do you want to live for the next 3 years?

oh yeah, and BTW check out this post in the 1L thread, it sounds like its up your alley:

Subject: Fwd: Summer internship: African Amer. law or collegestudent...

FYI: If you know of anyone interested, please pass it on.

I'm working for the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee on
Capitol Hill.

I'm trying to solicit some internship applications for this summer from
African Americans - law students or college students. If you know any
students who might be interested for this summer (I know its super late
in the game for this) please have them contact me. Of course we take
applications from anyone. But we have 7 black lawyers on staff and have
hardly had a single black intern over the last 3 years so we've raised
that concern with our boss and we're trying to find some candidates.
We would also welcome any law graduates of course.

Our work involves writing letters, speeches, legal/policy memos and
managing legislation on a wide range of issues including: telecom,
antitrust, civil rights, immigration, refugees and asylum, tort reform
(medical malpractice), federal courts (administrative and legislation
stripping courts of jurisdiction), constitutional issues (abortion, stem

cell research, church and state issues), bankruptcy, homeland security,
border security, terrorism, torture and detention, intellectual
property, internet law and regulation, crime, and oversight of DOJ, FBI,

DHS among other things. There is no pay, of course, this being Capitol
Hill. Interns can basically make their own schedule. We take interns
year round.

I appreciate any help you can offer. And please go ahead and send this
to anyone you think appropriate.

Thank you!

Kristin Wells (Columbia '96)
Minority Counsel
House Judiciary Committee
Rayburn HOB B-351-C
Washington, DC 20515
ph: 202-225-6906
fx: 202-225-7680

Ruth J. Beard
Consultant, Coach, Trainer
<file://www.leadershipedge.com> www.leadershipedge.com
404 315-7625
404 771-1950 (cell)

[Rudy Huckleberry]

my suspicion is that some people troll on that site and make those types of (fake) accounts to rile up people who are against affirmative action, or turn people against it who arent otherwise.  this isnt to say theyre all fake, but i wouldnt take it too seriously, if i were you.  aim where you want, and do the best with what you have.  good luck.

(S)he is right about this.  Even the names - "Shaquan", "LuckyBlackMan" - sound like a vicious anti-AA person came up with them.

[_____]

Okay.  I read some post and articles about writing a personal statement and not solely relying on and over doing your minority status.  When you guys wrote your statements how did you handle that?  I figured anyone can write on traditional stereotypical hardships facing minorities statement even if they don't necessarily apply to them.  Did any of you not even mention the fact the you are a minority? 

In my PS, I wrote about why I wanted to study law and become a lawyer.  I didn't mention being a minority at all, because that had nothing to do with why I wanted to become a lawyer.

Now, for example, if you want to write something about how your two years on Capitol Hill have shown you that there is a need for a black legal voice in American politics, and that's why you want to be a lawyer--then don't shy away from that. But always do so in the context of "I need this education so that I can contribute to an underserved area", not "I'm a minority, so I deserve this".  Make sense?  It's kind of a fine line to walk given that the personal statement is written and not spoken.

Meanwhile, if you have had significant hardships that can explain other aspects of application (ie. I have a 3.23 GPA because I had to work 25 hours per week while studying full time just to pay tuition and rent), put that in an addendum.

Your personal statement should be just that: a statement about yourself--who you are, what you aspire to be.  Addendums can be used to explain anything else regarding hardships that affected your GPA, time to graduation, etc....

[CocoPuff]

my suspicion is that some people troll on that site and make those types of (fake) accounts to rile up people who are against affirmative action, or turn people against it who arent otherwise.  this isnt to say theyre all fake, but i wouldnt take it too seriously, if i were you.  aim where you want, and do the best with what you have.  good luck.

(S)he is right about this.  Even the names - "Shaquan", "LuckyBlackMan" - sound like a vicious anti-AA person came up with them.

True. And they also have no dates which makes it look a little fishy. Oh well, guess what you have all said is right. I will just have to work it out...do my best and pray that my best is good enough to get into my top choices.

[faith2005]

but christina, even those people you listed didn't have the numbers you claimed in your op, even if they are fake accounts. a few points on the lsat, a few points on the gpa do make a difference in your acceptances i think. so someone with a 164 or a 3.5 might get in over someone with a 3.3 or a 161. and that luckyblackman site might be a fake, but being in the military is no joke, and i'd be hard-pressed to think that didn't have something to do with him getting accepted, even with a 3.1. the admissions game is about the numbers, but its not a guarantee of being accepted or rejected.

[jassulli]

luckyblackman also has "you all should get anna ivey to write [your personal statement] too!"  seems like the account is there to rile people.

[Hello!]

Christina,

Your URM status will likely afford you the opportunity to get an application a closer look at some schools than a non-URM might get. Therefore, it definitely behooves you to put your very best foot forward. Don't forget some safety schools, but shoot for the stars!

[faith2005]

who is anna ivey?

[One Step Ahead]

she's this admissions counselor/former admissions director who makes money off of helping anxious pre-laws.  make friends with the old heads on this board and you can get the same advice for free. 

[A.]

Yeah, I e-mailed her about looking at my PS...she said it would cost $225 per hour!  Glad I didn't waste my money.