Whats the one piece of advice you'd give to students applying this year?

[LawstudentinCanada]

Now that applications are due in a literal matter of like 2 days. 

And last years cycle was beyond brutal. What is a piece of advice you'd give to the next student group of applicants and future rejects and admitted group?

 

[Kimura]

1) Don't check these forums excessively for updates on admissions/rejections - maybe check once a week if you're curious in that regard.

2) If you don't get in this cycle, re-group, figure out where you can improve and re-apply. Seek out help - if you're struggling with the LSAT, for example, seek out a tutor. You may need a more focused approach to your study habits.

3) Keep things in perspective - there's more to life than getting into law school, although it doesn't feel that way when you're going through the motions of the application cycle. Once the applications are in, focus your energy and time on the things that bring you fulfillment. I remember incessantly worrying about whether I would get in, checking LS multiple times a day, every day. All my worrying was useless - you either get in or you don't. If you do, great. If you don't, see #2 above.

4) If you get in this cycle (fingers-crossed), congrats! Now you can sit back and relax, and that's exactly what you should do. 1L is most likely going to keep you busier than you've ever been, so if there's anything you've been meaning to do, such as reading up on personal finance, or learning a new language, take the time to do that now. I personally didn't find any "how to do law school" books all that helpful - I learned by doing and realized myself how useful a well-written summary is as a guide, only through trying to piece together a garbage summary of my own. 

Anyways, hope that helps! Godspeed my friend!

 

[Federale]

Be realistic with your self with what your chances are at certain schools. Tempering expectations is something I wish I did when I applied last cycle and I think it would've made the process a lot easier. Most people won't hear back till Feb/March/April and that's still not a guarantee, so I would just put it our of your mind for at least a little while 

[LMP]

2 hours ago, LawstudentinCanada said:

Now that applications are due in a literal matter of like 2 days. 

And last years cycle was beyond brutal. What is a piece of advice you'd give to the next student group of applicants and future rejects and admitted group?

 

Honestly, if you're like me you'll hear good advice but be unable to follow it. 

I'd like to tell you to not obsess over the admission portals, those who are getting acceptances and things like waves and medians. But such things are very hard to ignore. 

Instead I'd recommend keeping busy during the waiting period. If you're in school focus on enjoying your last days of undergrad and go out of your way to do anything you may have missed in the years before.

If you're working, branch out and try new tasks and roles. Save up for law school but don't scrimp too much. 

Once you get into a few schools, weigh your options carefully. Check out the school's and cities you'd be giving your next three years to. Learn what you can about the clinics, courses and outcomes. 

[GGrievous]

6 hours ago, Kimura said:

1) Don't

Also piggybacking on this for a more serious one: 

6 hours ago, Kimura said:

Now you can sit back and relax

When I got accepted I wanted to get started on readings right away to be ahead, and everyone told me that was a bad idea. I didn't understand why this was a bad idea because how could it possibly be counterproductive to read ahead. You'll see once you get there. Don't do this. 

 

Edited October 30, 2021 by Barry

[Pantalaimon]

Don't completely disregard tuition when picking schools, especially if you don't think you want to go into big law. But even if you do, not everyone lands on Bay and those debt payments can sting.

[SNAILS]

Don't look at the advice about which school is easiest or hardest to get into as set in stone. Many people have gotten into a school they didn't expect to get into and get rejected from a school they did expect to get into.

If you can manage it, think about which schools you got accepted to as little as possible until next May, at least. You will stress out way to much otherwise, and gain nothing for it.

[HammurabiTime]

10 hours ago, Pantalaimon said:

Don't completely disregard tuition when picking schools, especially if you don't think you want to go into big law. But even if you do, not everyone lands on Bay and those debt payments can sting.

Second this. Even if you're making big law money UofT is a pretty significantly life altering debt load.

[JanLevinson]

Just going to reiterate what everyone else said. Don't check law forums excessively. It's not going to bring your offer/rejection any sooner but I also know its easier said than done.

When you see others with similar stats or lower stats than you getting offers, don't be discouraged. The cycle is not over until it's over. Keep calm and try to enjoy life outside the admissions process. 

If you get an offer, celebrate! If you don't, it's not the end of the world. 

Good luck!

[Piffle]

Try to refrain from telling other people you’re applying if you can possibly help it. It can create an unhealthy psychological load weighing down on you, where you feel like you must get in, lest you be shamed in that those other peoples’ eyes.

(Of course, close friends and family, etc., depending on your social relationships can be the exceptions, especially if they’re your support structure.)

Edited November 2, 2021 by Piffle

[Parker]

1) Apply broadly if you can! I almost pulled my application for the school I'm at now because I didn't want to pay the fee and the stats to get in were similar/higher than other schools I applied to. Turns out, it was the only school to accept me in Ontario! This piece of advice is probably a little late for this cycle but oh well. 

2) If you get in, take some time to plan out finances and budgets. I had a rough idea of what I could afford to spend each month for different schools depending on the situation to help me make bigger upcoming decisions - for example, if I wanted to live alone or live with roommates. 

3) I recommend talking to someone about applications/cycle/whatever throughout the process but to keep the circle small. I had exactly one friend applying my cycle that I would talk to about forums/apps/acceptances/rejections and I didn't talk to anyone else really. Having one person helped me vent and also celebrate things like sending in applications but without the stress of lots of people knowing I applied. I also didn't want to deal with comparing myself to all my other friends who were applying my cycle as it would only add stress, so I chose 1 and only talked to them. 

Good luck!

[goosie]

Absolutely echoing the keep yourself busy advice. The absolute hardest part of the application process is waiting for responses. I honestly think it was a good thing I didn't know about lawstudents.ca when I applied because I would have obsessively checked in on every update available on the website while waiting for responses from schools. I was in the last year of my undergrad when I applied, which was good because I was still busy and distracted while I waited for updates. I spent a lot of time on my favourite EC knowing that I'd soon graduate and no longer be able to participate in it. I knew that if I got into law school my legal education would be a lot more practical and less academic than what I studied in undergrad, so I enjoyed the last term of my very liberal arts classes. Doing things that kept me busy and distracted and not constantly focused on waiting for responses was huge for me. Even if you're no longer in school, anything you can do to get your mind off of your applications during this time is going to be helpful.

Also, try to avoid emotionally investing in any specific result. This is clearly easier said than done, I know. But the very first response I got from any school was a rejection from one I thought was the easiest for me to get into. I thought that rejection meant I wouldn't get in anywhere, then the next response I got was an acceptance at a school I thought was a less likely option for me. Things aren't always predictable and the less emotionally attached you are to any one particular outcome the easier it will be.

[Thrive92]

1: Do not take some of the advice that is posted on this forum in regards to specific schools and their admissions policies -- some of the advice may be outdated or flat out incorrect. If you have a question in regards to a specific school and this forum is providing you with different or even conflicting answers, it may be best to contact the school directly. Their phone numbers and email addresses are likely to be on their websites.

2: Although this is not certain, it may be better to look at the admitted/waitlisted profile of the 2020 cycle instead of the 2021 cycle for reference -- last cycle saw more applicants with more competitive stats than the cycles before it for many law schools, and so it may not be the most accurate in terms of the admitted applicant profile for some schools. Although many agree that the last cycle is an anomaly that may not occur again, this is not certain.

3: When viewing the past applicant profile for law schools in this forum, it should be kept in mind that some of the stats posted on the profile may be inaccurate or does not tell the full story: the gpa posted may be from schools that use a different gpa scale, it may have been calculated incorrectly, or the poster may have forgotten to calculate the gpa based on the admissions policy for that particular school (example: posting the cGPA when the school looks only at your last 60 credits). There may be many other factors that is not posted on the profile, such as a stellar PS or absolutely no work experience. There are also suspicion in some posts that it is fake. View the applicant profile with a reasonable doubt in mind.

Good luck to all of the applicants for this cycle.

[jawnlegend]

1. Won't help for this cycle but start working on application materials well in advance of the deadline so that you can go through multiple rounds of revisions to your personal statement. 

2. Have a rough idea of what kind of employment you want to get out of law school. If big law, research recruit stats, if public interest/local practice, prioritize tuition and clinic opportunities, etc.

3. The LSAT is highly learnable. Put in the work and obtain a score you're happy with before applying.