University of Pitt

So I got a very pleasant surprise today as I got back to school from Thanksgiving Break. In my mailbox was a very nice acceptance letter from the University of Pittsburgh, along with a very large, heavy, shiny gold paper clip (there was also a $52,000 scholarship attached to it, which helps out). This application was one of the applications that I sent out at the end of October when my only acceptance was from Baylor. Being my pessimistic self, I applied here, thinking that Pittsburgh was actually a very underrated town in terms of safety and beauty and that this might be the area of schools that I would be going to (Pitt is ranked 71). Now that I have some acceptances from Iowa and Ohio State, it seems like Pitt probably won't be an option for me. I will wait a little bit to withdraw, however. Maybe the job prospects on the east coast will be somehow better for someplace like Pitt as opposed to the midwest colleges. We will see! For now, I'm simply enjoying the acceptance, hoping that some of the higher ranked schools will give me a chance.

In at University of Iowa

This is a little bit late, but I had a busy weekend with a school project and such. I received an e-mail on Friday afternoon from the Dean of the University of Iowa, notifying me of my acceptance. It was very cool. They are ranked 26th in the nation, so it is nice to be climbing up the rankings a little bit. It gives me hope for those schools in the Top 20, maybe even the Top 10! Also, they are higher ranked than William & Mary, which makes me feel even better! By the way, W&M, I have been decision pending since October 27th. This is reminding me of the time when I wanted to watch a television show as a very young child, and my mom told me to go wait for her in the living room. An hour later, she walked into the room, and I was still sitting there in front of the blank TV. See, W&M? I can be very patient. I have no problem waiting you out.

But anyways, about U of Iowa. First off, I received my formal letter via snail mail today. In it was a map of the campus, a couple of brochures outlining the college, and an acceptance letter from the Assistant Dean. I was very pleased to see a handwritten note discussing my seemingly excellent academic motivation and my superb personal statement. I figured that those would have to be the two things to set me apart from other people with higher scores when I am going for the oh-so-prestigious Top 10 schools, so maybe I have what it takes to pull it off.

As far as the curriculum there, I am very enticed. There are three areas of law that I, as of now, would consider going into: Intellectual Property, Business, and Entertainment. The University of Iowa is the only school that I have come across in my research that actually has a concentration program in Intellectual Property/Business law that is combined (not two separate concentrations). That is extremely attractive, Iowa. GO HAWKEYES!!!

Vanderbilt Interview/Ohio State Research

So while I'm waiting for my decisions to come in (they seem to be coming in pretty quickly for some people), I've been doing some research on Ohio State University, and I have to admit, if this ends up being on the same level as the rest of my acceptances (as in I get rejected from most/all of the top 20), I will not be sad if this ends up being my choice. Columbus seems like a pretty great place to live for a few years, and the connections with the East Coast seem strong enough that I may be able to get a job outside of Ohio after graduation. The cost of living is not high at all and the campus is beautiful (see below). Oh yeah, and the Buckeyes have some pretty good sports teams. Besides, what's not to love about buckeyes? It's my favorite Christmas treat!

The Ohio State University Campus

Columbus, OH

I also had an interview with Vanderbilt earlier today. I think it went extremely well. I obtained high marks in every category, but I also learned a few things that make Vanderbilt very attractive (assuming I can get in, which is a HUGE HUGE HUGE assumption). First off, Nashville is another great city. The programs that are offered at Vanderbilt would be absolutely wonderful for me, and I would graduate from a very prestigious university with the ability to get a job most anywhere I choose. Let's hope that this interview gave them enough reason to give me a chance at their university.

That's all for now. Let's hope this quiet stage I'm at right now is just temporary... I really don't want the decisions to drift too far into next semester.

THE Ohio State University

I just received an e-mail from Ohio State Law School notifying me of my acceptance! It is easily the highest ranked law school that I have been accepted to thus far (OSU is ranked #35 in the nation... San Diego is next with a #61 ranking). It is very uplifting knowing that a Tier 1 school wants me at their institution (for those of you who don't know, Tier 1 is #1-50, Tier 2 is #51-104, and then there are Tier 3 and Tier 4 below that). It also helps out with my recent frustration with William and Mary College (ranked #28). Many people with worse test scores AND GPAs that had their application completed later than I did have already been accepted, and I have yet to hear anything. It is a little bit easier to swallow that delay with an acceptance from a school that is only a few spots lower than they are (in some ways, OSU is better than W&M. In educational quality rankings, OSU is ranked 32 in the nation, while W&M is ranked 37).

Even though I have received full tuition at Baylor, it seems like it will be hard to turn down Ohio State with the huge disparity in rankings. It will still be a consideration (obviously), but now I definitely have to have a visit that knocks me out of the park. Let's hope I have a few schools that are even higher up on the list to choose from! Needless to say, I am really enjoying this acceptance. Easily my happiest acceptance.

Helpful Sites and Getting Up to Speed

The one website that I have been using a lot during this process is www.lawschoolnumbers.com . There are so many nice and helpful people on that website (shoutout to veritas85 and LoveSaltLife), and it has really been a joy to be a part of. My username on there is zpratt, and it's been a nice way of meeting people going through the same process I am and dealing with the same terrors as I am. It also has been a nice place to track my updates thus far. Here is what I have so far...

09/22/2009 - Almost done applying! Just have to wait for the next group to be available on October 1st, and then the waiting game.

09/24/2009 - So I was talked into going through with the Stanford app. I know it's a longshot beyond longshots, but you never know. I'm shooting for the moon, hoping that I can end up somewhere among the stars.

10/1/2009 - The last of my applications are done. Have to mail in my payment to Colorado.... Don't really get it but I'll do it. But more importantly, the application process is done! (hopefully). Now the waiting game REALLY begins.... Hooray?

10/9/2009 - Acceptance letter from Baylor arrived in the mail today... Full scholarship, too! The first one is in, and with a decision like that, I am only that much more confident for some of the higher level schools. Hopefully there will be many more, but I am enjoying this one a whole lot.

10/20/2009 - So I got a letter from Duquesne, and I never realized how beautiful Pittsburgh is. Guess that shows what I get for having preconceived notions about a town.

10/21/2009 - So I was checking my statuses today and the University of San Diego has made a decision. Unfortunately, they won't tell me what that decision is. I finally found something more frustrating than simply waiting for the decisions to be made. Oh snail mail.

10/30/2009 - Accepted at USD! This is getting exciting, although I'm dreading the first rejection letter, even though I know it will be coming eventually.

11/4/2009 - Accepted at Santa Clara via application status checker. I hope there are more to come!

And that's where I am so far. Another website that has been nice is www.top-law-schools.com . It has been a great place with helpful people who will answer questions regarding anything (for the most part). Again, if anyone has any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to leave them and I will try to answer them.

For Starters

Hey all,

For those who don't know me, my name is Zach Pratt, and I'm a 20 year old senior at Saint Michael's College. Currently, I am going through the law school process. It's kind of hard to update everyone about everything that is going on, so I figured I would create this to help out. If any prospective law school students see this, feel free to shoot me a message asking questions about the process, and hopefully I can help out.

My stats for law school are decent. I have a 163 LSAT score and a 3.84 overall GPA. I'm hoping the GPA will help out quite a bit to make up for the LSAT score, but we'll see.

Schools I have applied to:

Baylor University
University of San Diego
Santa Clara University
University of Georgia
University of Houston
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
University of Iowa
University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Notre Dame
University of Southern California (USC)
University of Virginia
Vanderbilt
Wake Forest
University of Wisconsin Madison
Stanford
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Cincinnatti
Boston University
Case Western Reserve University
Chicago-Kent College of Law
College of William and Mary
Duke University
George Mason University
George Washington University
Georgetown
Indiana University Bloomington
New York University
Ohio State University
University of California Berkeley
University of California Los Angeles
Univeristy of Pittsburgh

I have already received three decisions. I have received a full-tuition scholarship to Baylor University, which is really exciting. I have also been accepted to the University of San Diego and Santa Clara University. I will try to keep this updated with decisions and other random thoughts as time goes on this year.