Early Decision Question

[James559]

Hello ,

I am a recent college graduate applying for this cycle with a 169/3.62, and without significant work/internship experience. I was wondering if it would be worth it to apply to UPenn early decision, given that my LSAT score falls slightly below the median and my GPA significantly so. Would applying early decision make me more of a competitive applicant there? If not, would I have a better chance (and if so, roughly how much better) applying ED to a school like UMichigan or UVA? Any insight you can provide would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[KelseyWoods]

Hi James559!

It's difficult for us to predict your chances at specific schools as there are a lot of factors that go into admissions decisions and your LSAT score and GPA only give us part of that picture. Traditional advice holds true here--apply to a few reach schools, a few good match schools, and a few safety schools. The earlier you can apply, the better. Make sure you have a stellar personal statement.

That said, we do have some data about how applying early decision at specific schools seems to affect your chances (it seems to give you a boost at UPenn and UVA, but not necessarily at UMich):
Early decision considerations: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/applyi ... not-to-ed/

And here are some additional resources for making sure the rest of your application is as strong as possible:
Personal Statement Advice: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/the-po ... urce-list/
Letters of Recommendation Webinar: https://vimeo.com/195500523

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Best,
Kelsey

[James559]

Thanks Kelsey!

Just as a quick follow up, do you think I should add an addendum explaining my lack of summer internship/work experience? As a transfer student and a double major I had to take classes during the summer in order to graduate on time. Or would that be visible enough on my transcript anyway?

[KelseyWoods]

Hi James!

I wouldn't think you necessarily need to provide an addendum explaining why you don't have summer work or internship experience if you're coming straight out of undergrad. Your transcript will show that you were in classes. And this isn't strictly considered a "problem" with your background that warrants some sort of justification. Yes, some schools value work experience in their applicants. But typically that means they value applicants who have been working for at least a year or two after graduating from undergrad, not that they're necessarily super interested in your summer gig at Starbucks. And it doesn't mean that they do not accept students coming straight from undergrad. Likely, it just means that they will rate your transcript and LSAT score more strongly (because that's mostly what they have to work with).

But check out some other resources on law school application addenda:
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/whats- ... h-addenda/
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/supple ... yes-or-no/
https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/law-sch ... 0Guide.pdf

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey

[James559]

That helps a lot, thank you.