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

[A.]

Lol 5 years ago, I would've been right with you in this debate.  "What if Yale doubled its size?  Then we might just have YS!"  But yeah...not so much anymore.

[A.]

More likely than not that you will get in.

this seems pretty optimistic but i certainly hope you're right! i guess i'll start scouring this thread for tips on the phone interviews they usually do.

Yeah they didn't have those when I applied.  Things were better back then...you just got the big box with the binder and knew you were in.

[MosDef1185]

More likely than not that you will get in.

this seems pretty optimistic but i certainly hope you're right! i guess i'll start scouring this thread for tips on the phone interviews they usually do.

Yeah they didn't have those when I applied.  Things were better back then...you just got the big box with the binder and knew you were in.

that would have been nice.

so is there a story for why this thread (and the BLSD as a whole) just died all of a sudden. it seems like a group of students who all happened to be applying at the same time came and then...left. i wonder if most people have found jobs and stuff given how bad things have been.

[A.]

Lol 5 years ago, I would've been right with you in this debate.  "What if Yale doubled its size?  Then we might just have YS!"  But yeah...not so much anymore.

in the interest of discussion, if yale were to double its size, the supposed mystique of its admissions process would evaporate.  

in 5 years, have you simply cast off the potential advantage of size?  no pun intended.

and what school do/did you attend?

But the mystique isn't why people attend...they attend b/c it's #1.  Same for Harvard.  It's all about prestige.

I went to Yale...which is partially why I never bought all of the Harvard trolling

[Jamie Stringer]

More likely than not that you will get in.

this seems pretty optimistic but i certainly hope you're right! i guess i'll start scouring this thread for tips on the phone interviews they usually do.

1. Know your resume: the questions will invariably be about your experiences at some job or about what you've done since graduation (if you've finished). The questions won't be designed to trick you or anything like that.

2. Don't be nervous. If you have a phone interview, the overwhelming odds are that you will be admitted. Around 80% of those interviewed are admitted.

3. Be yourself. Yeah, that sounds stupid, but they really are looking for normal, down to earth people that can carry a conversation and speak intelligently about that which they should know (like your resume). OK, I lied a bit. Be the best version of yourself. If you're normally socially awkward, be less awkward. But if you're generally socially acceptable, you should be fine.

If the time ever comes for the phone call, best of luck!

[A.]

More likely than not that you will get in.

this seems pretty optimistic but i certainly hope you're right! i guess i'll start scouring this thread for tips on the phone interviews they usually do.

Yeah they didn't have those when I applied.  Things were better back then...you just got the big box with the binder and knew you were in.

that would have been nice.

so is there a story for why this thread (and the BLSD as a whole) just died all of a sudden. it seems like a group of students who all happened to be applying at the same time came and then...left. i wonder if most people have found jobs and stuff given how bad things have been.

Yeah the board was at its apex my 1L year in 2005-06.  Lots of people from my class year (and school) were around, plus lots of people applying, getting into lots of t14 schools.  Good discussions, good times.  But the class of 2009 largely went away after school started.  Then the old heads started dropping off one by one as we each got busier.  TLS came along, and most of the applicant discussion went over there.  The politics thread was active until Obama was elected.  After that, it died as well.  So now there's just me taking a peek before work and bed, answering t14 chances questions as they pop up.  Sometimes I'll pop over to XO or TLS if I'm bored.  But mostly I find my entertainment elsewhere.

[Jamie Stringer]

But the mystique isn't why people attend...they attend b/c it's #1.  Same for Harvard.  It's all about prestige.

I went to Yale...which is partially why I never bought all of the Harvard trolling

There's that. But there's also the fact that HLS has a pretty good breadth of programs so it's likely that there is at least one person doing work that someone would want to do. I want to do a fairly niche area of law and there has been a lot of support on campus for that (and seemingly a lot of alumni in that field, so good connections). Good support for those who want to do public interest too (well, at least for my class. Incoming classes will have a bit of a different system).

Not saying you're wrong about prestige though. It doesn't hurt when I get to tell potential employers where I go to school. They become more interested, at the very least

[A.]

But the mystique isn't why people attend...they attend b/c it's #1.  Same for Harvard.  It's all about prestige.

I went to Yale...which is partially why I never bought all of the Harvard trolling

There's that. But there's also the fact that HLS has a pretty good breadth of programs so it's likely that there is at least one person doing work that someone would want to do. I want to do a fairly niche area of law and there has been a lot of support on campus for that (and seemingly a lot of alumni in that field, so good connections). Good support for those who want to do public interest too (well, at least for my class. Incoming classes will have a bit of a different system).

Not saying you're wrong about prestige though. It doesn't hurt when I get to tell potential employers where I go to school. They become more interested, at the very least

Yes, of course there are other reasons to attend any school.  GULC also has a wide breadth of programs and probably would've given you merit money to boot. But yet you ended up at Harvard...why?  Nevertheless, I see your point in that that's a reason one might choose Harvard over, say, Stanford.

[A.]

I wouldn't call what I'm doing Harvard trolling, since I don't have any association with the school and I'm just trying to be objective.

Umhmmm.  This is trolling:

Are you seriously putting SLS before HLS?  I can see people putting YLS ahead of HLS, but come on.....HLS is the mother of all law schools.

I also don't really buy all the YLS trolling which does seem to be very much tied to its "#1" ranking in US News every year (don't even get me started on the law school ranking methodology).

No, there are many objective reasons why YLS is actually better.  Again, 3-5 years ago, I would have been happy to name them.  But now I leave that to other people if they are so inclined.

They are the ultra-elite.

Lol yes, they help you get "nice" jobs and expose you to lots of interesting people with novel (if far-flung and unrealistic) perspectives on law and other areas.  But the people who populate their halls often think way too highly of themselves, and the students, profs, and employers are engaged in a cycle of reinforcing that opinion of each other.  This isn't to say I wasn't part of that cycle...I was on the board of the Journal, was EIC of a secondary journal, RA'd for a leading prof, got my share of Hs, etc.  But looking back, a lot of it was a big circle jerk (forgive my crass phrasing).  I can't say it's all that different in the real world...people at my firm think they're the sh!t because of where they work.  But the focus is different b/c it's not about proving you're smarter than everyone else; it's about maintaining a track record of success for the client.  So I am less annoyed by that.  Plus, I actually get something from the firm (money + experience + satisfaction from helping client + oh yes, money).  Whereas, I question the value of law school beyond a few courses.  Yes, you get to study under great legal minds, but where does that really get you if you don't want to engage in the circle jerk of academia?  The district court judge you're arguing before likely does not care about a prof's or your novel theory of constitutional law.  I can count on one hand the number of times I saw a law review article cited in a brief as a clerk, and that was at the appellate level, where the judges are more susceptible to those types of arguments.  And then you have to pay six figures for the privilege of "learning" these useless (if interesting) theories.  Nevertheless, these "ultra elite" law schools are useful as differentiators.  For better or worse, employers value students from YHS more than those from, say, American.  I would not have had my clerkship or my current job had I not gone to a top school (not because I wouldn't have been at the top of the class...but b/c they simply don't hire outside of the top schools).  And I can't blame them b/c the people really are smart, and who doesn't want the smartest people?  I just don't buy into much of the aura surrounding these schools anymore.  But anyway, end of rant.

[St.Thomas]

Any chance at the University of Virginia? Even with these numbers

AA Male
155
3.1
Virginia Resident