Rejections... I wish they had to tell you why..

[SilentSwirl]

I got my first rejection (of many, I am certain, just look at my silly LSN) last week from Emory. When I told my mother, she exclaimed, "But WHY?!"  At first I was a little put off, "I don't *know*. How should I know? Because they didn't like me. And most likely because my numbers were too low."  Emory and me ... well, that's easy to understand.

But there are other people whose numbers are within range, and still get rejections. That's gotta be so frustrating. It's like handing in a test and getting it back with an F on it, only the prof didn't bother telling you what you did wrong. Obviously knowing what you did wrong on a test is important pedagogically, and there doesnt seem to be such a necessity with law school apps (unless you are applying again, or are trying to get good at helping other people apply).

But STILL! My mom is right. It'd sure be nice if they pointed at where you went wrong. Obviously I understand the difficulties with this (goodness, they dont even have time to personalize all the acceptances, much less the rejections!), but it'd still be nice to know why. Well, maybe not "nice," but "interesting" at least. 

They could do it by just checking a number or something. 1. LSAT too low. 2. GPA too low. 3. Crappy PS. 4. Not enough diversity. 5. Crappy LORs. 6. We don't take convicted felons. 7. We woulda taken you, but you applied too late in the cycle. 8. No Work Experience. 9. Too young. 10. Not enough leadership roles.  Or worse: All of the above. You suck.

So anyway, just my random middle-of-the-night rant.

[SilentSwirl]

Dont think of them as rejections. They simply chose not to offer you a seat in the incoming class. Its not a big deal.  It really doesnt matter why.  Law school isnt a right its their perogative to decline to make offers to people for myriad reasons.

But, they ARE rejections. Or Denials. Or Whatever. They don't want you, is the bottom line.

For some people, it can be a big deal.  For me, I wasn't too torn up about it after about the first 7 seconds. I'm in at a great school that I love, though, so I'm sure that helps.

I know law school's not a right, why are you telling me this?

My entire point was "If they're going to tell me no, it'd be interesting to see WHY each school said no." Basically, get inside the ad comms heads. Which of, of course, they would never do. But as much effort (and $$!) as I've vested in this, I can't say that I'm not at least curious.

[Boss]

It would be interesting to know, especially if one school checks "Rejection, PS too boring" while another checks "Acceptance, PS was great". 

[jusTTT]

After the cycle is over you could always call and ask...

[Yankees Fan]

I actually agree with Swirl.  I think it'd be very interesting to see why certain schools rejected certain applicants.

[mathlete]

Unless it was Yale that rejected you, it's because your GPA and/or LSAT were too low. End of story.

[katluva33]

Unless it was Yale that rejected you, it's because your GPA and/or LSAT were too low. End of story.

Not necessarily.  There are always people who have scores that are too low who get in.  People who get rejected may wonder what it would have taken to make them one of those people who get in with low numbers.

[SilentSwirl]

Unless it was Yale that rejected you, it's because your GPA and/or LSAT were too low. End of story.

Not necessarily.  There are always people who have scores that are too low who get in.  People who get rejected may wonder what it would have taken to make them one of those people who get in with low numbers.

And also, there are auto-admits and auto-dings. Most everyone else falls in the gray area in the middle. It'd be interesting to see what it was about one person that made them a yes and another person that made them a no.

[dashrashi]

I agree with Swirly. I'd love to know what adcomms liked or didn't--especially since I got dinged at a target-y school (I was a little splitty for them, tho) and into my high reach. I can probably guess (GPA, sort of crappy ECs) but it would be nice to not have to guess.

[ptown]

It isn't in the schools interest to tell people why they are rejected, because at least 95% of the time it is strictly because of numbers/USNWR ranking.

If they told people this it would run contrary to the crap that nearly every school spouts about looking at more than just numbers.

People under their medians would be less likely to apply in the future, thus providing less revenue and a lower rejection rate.