Adding to the data with my honest experience. Hard to believe that it is finally over, but grateful to be heading to GW! TLDR - Scroll for LSD chart. Most of my apps were sent in Sept and Oct except for GULC. 1-4 year WE, nURM, graduated undergrad early. Did optional essays for almost all schools.
I plan on making a second post with admission process tips, but I want to detail my experiences here in hopes of helping others:
I'm PI/Gov focused and hoping to obtain a federal clerkship. Very interested in AI regulation, 1st amendment issues, and financial regulation.
Harvard through Duke: Thought all the results made sense. Only slight surprise was getting rejected at Berkely given my stats and interests/background. I didn't have much of a tie to Cali though, so not a crazy result.
Northwestern: Great school. I went to a feature Friday and thoroughly enjoyed it. The students were friendly and knowledgeable, and the architecture of the school was gorgeous. Loved the property class I got to sit in on. Decided against Northwestern due to Chicago not having certain opportunities for my partner's career that DC does. Also, although I think the scholarship/aid offer they provided was very fair, attending was still going to result in me having significant debt. For somebody who isn't pursuing the BigLaw route (which I know the vast majority of their students are), this was definitely a factor. Simply wasn't for me at this time but I definitely appreciate my app experience with them.
Georgetown: Applied later in the cycle, only school I couldn't get a fee waiver from. Communication was difficult at some points during the process. Had a unique experience in that I had both a group interview and then a faculty interview a few days later (both went well, but I'm still not sure exactly why I had both). I was offered $0 for both merit and aid. If anybody from their admin office ever sees this, my constructive feedback would be to 1. Make it clear to students not given automatic scholarships upon admission that they need to request the form for merit consideration. 2. Please don't provide timelines such as "You should hear back by the end of the month" if that's not going to be the case. I, and I think most other people, would rather just not be given a specific estimation. Obviously GULC is a great school. But again, as somebody not necessarily planning on the BigLaw route, I couldn't justify going 300k in debt. I got a great offer at another school in the same area, one that could potentially lead to me ending up in some of the same places.
Vandy: My biggest surprise honestly. I thought my background and stats fit them quite well. I feel like I saw a lot of people with similar resumes as mine get in w/ decent money. I had also attended events at the law school before and met faculty. I know their small class size also comes into play. Going back over my resume I think my essay definitely could have been stronger, but honestly this was the biggest headscratcher for me.
Boston: BU was the school I knew the least about and honestly didn't expect the money to make sense. Could definitely gather from their application materials how much they value diversity. Appreciated the acceptance given that I saw many strong applicants get denied or waitlisted there.
GW: First school that got back to me with their acceptance and scholarship! Their app process was clear, communication was quick, and the scholarship offer was very generous and straightforward. I attended the admitted student's day and the Moot Court Competition Championship w/ Chief Justice Roberts presiding. Admitted students' day was organized and effective, although I was slightly intimidated with how many admittees already seemed to know each other. GW appeared to have strong diversity in both student backgrounds and career interests. Faculty seemed great. I already knew I loved the DC area from my past work experience and I already had connections in the area. DC was also great for my partner as previously mentioned. Go Revs!
Utah: Stunning law school. Did a tour there and met a faculty member which went very well. I think their faculty and staff are top notch, and I appreciated the full ride offer. Utah was just a very big move and not somewhere I was comfortable committing to long term for my career.
Cincinnati: Safety. Toured the campus but was unable to walk around in the law school. I was also offered a guaranteed research position which I thought was a great touch to their offer.
I hope this was helpful, especially for some who may be very in the "T-14 or bust" mindset. Feel free to DM with any specific questions. Also, if you're heading to GW, reach out!
