How to apply discretionary/Access

[justnivek1]

Theres lots of advice on here how to make your application more appealing with gpa or lsat figures but to people have successfully admitted in access/discretionary categories what do you think made your application stand out and got you accepted with below median stats?

[Pastrey]

You will want to check what each school suggests, as there could be some variances, but overall you will want to explain the less than stellar stats and show how/why you would be more successful now. The info and advice re bettering stats still apply.

Schools will want to see that an applicant has potential to be a good law student. Normally this is done through prior performance and LSAT.

An applicant in an access or discretionary category will still need to show they will be able to succeed. It will be a matter of explaining prior lower grades and what has changed to make you think you would be more successful now.

Access/discretionary applicants are still competing against a number of other applicants in that category. Re-writing LSAT or taking additional courses to improve GPA (or at least show recent good grades) are things that can help an access/discretionary applicant be more competitive. The personal statement will likely tie everything together, explaining past history, steps taken to overcome obstacles, and why would be successful in the future. 

In my case, I applied mature category. I was rejected last cycle and accepted this cycle. Last cycle I had no GPA (out of school over 20 years, only had college diploma) and a 154 LSAT. After being rejected I took a summer class at a local university for which I obtained a good grade. I re-wrote the LSAT and obtained a 159. Having taken the university class last summer I was able to better articulate in my personal statement how the skills used in my employment are transferable to an academic setting. I tried to show in my personal statement why I would make a good law student. Hope this helps!

[GoBigOrGoHome]

On 4/21/2022 at 11:00 AM, justnivek1 said:

to people have successfully admitted in access/discretionary categories what do you think made your application stand out and got you accepted with below median stats?

I have been accepted to UVIC with well below median stats and I think that the following helped me stand out: 

note: I think that UVIC's discretionary application approach lends itself to a genuine DEI focused admission process. I am probably not correct, but I think that by separating out the reasons from discretionary and allowing a personal statement allows them to screen in people for discretionary, and then evaluate them whether they will be admitted based on their personal statement. UBC you have to try to fit it all together and I really felt like my UBC application ended up like a "woe is me" as a result. I am not happy with my statement, particularly because UBC is my preferred school for many reasons, but all in all to say I think that the way that the application is set out will impact how you communicate. 

So now to your question.... (apologies as I can't be too specific without doxxing myself)

• Professional accomplishments 
  • I have done a lot of cool things in my career and many tie into why I want to pursue the practice of law 
    • I am a "mature student" and have had more and more senior roles, and I know that many of those roles get me noticed when I apply for jobs, and I am sure that they would get noticed by an admissions committee 
  • Some of my work experience is law-adjacent. This might have made a difference because this work is what made me realize that I belong in law school 
• Multiple degrees 
  • My index GPA for admission is very low but I do have an upward trajectory overall 
  • These degrees are professional degrees (I do not know if it makes a difference but the degrees were not done to get the best grades for law school. They were to get a job and law school was an afterthought)
• Prior Volunteer Experience
  • I have not had the capacity to volunteer in recent times, but when I have volunteered, I was always conscious that it has to be about something that matters to me and it is genuinely impactful 
  • I strategically volunteer - eg. boards, committees of various kinds, etc. that will best utilize my skills and expertise 
  • If someone was to google me, they would also find the random things I have been up to in the community (things that have no organizational affiliation but rather I saw a gap in the system or something and I got involved)
• Life  
  • This is not going to apply to a lot of people because many people may have had a temporary thing that contributed to their reason for applying discretionary and it has resolved. I have had a variety of things contribute to ongoing poor performance that are very unique and some that won't go away but I will have to manage on an ongoing basis 
    • I have some medical challenges
    • I am a member of a systemically disadvantaged community (pick any one of them - I won't disclose in an effort to not out myself but it probably isn't the one that comes to your mind, or the next one that comes to your mind, or even the next one)
      • I spoke about the impact of growing up as a member of this community and its impact on me and my future - and also how it informs my desire to practice law 
• Application 
  • This is probably the most important, but I wrote my application in a way that was "me". 
    • I was informal. Said some things that would make some people go "did they really say that!?" 
    • I did not focus whatsoever on what I thought that they wanted to hear as I am sure that they would read a bunch of well manicured personal statements and it is not me to fit nicely into that kind of approach 
    • I spoke about why I wanted to go to that school and did some research on the school. I also spoke about what I would add to that school 
    • In the discretionary statement, I spoke about how the challenges that influenced poor performance are being addressed and some have been addressed 

At some point I might consider providing more details because I haven't seen anyone (even on the old forum) post my stats and get in to UVIC's Discretionary stream - but I somehow managed to. Believe me, I was shocked when I did. This is why I will say that the only reason I could possibly have got into UVIC is due to my ECs. There is no chance that I got in because I was on the cusp. It seems like they genuinely assessed my application and decided "we want this person to be a part of our law school community". I will admit that it is a good feeling because it affirms that they have a broad based admissions approach, and the discretionary category is truly discretionary. It doesn't seem like it is about bumping up people who are at the edge of admissions but had some challenges - but instead a way that they try to make their classrooms full of diverse backgrounds while also ensuring that most of the class is representative of people who got in due to their academic performance.