<p>Koala, congrats, but I’m surprised you weren’t admitted for fall with those stats. Did you apply for summer? What was your SAT without the writing?</p>
<p>Meanie, there’s really no such thing as “pre-law” and if you major in Politics or something similar, you’ll end up unqualified to do anything else if you don’t end up going to law school for some reason. Major in something you like and that will help you in an area of law in which you are interested. I know people who’ve done well with engineering, nursing, and accounting backgrounds, for example. I myself had a music degree (I’m a parent, obviously) and did well in law school. Law firms prize people who are interesting.</p>
<p>Well, I don’t mean to correct you in any way but yes - there is a pre-law program that USF offers. I am majoring in something that I like (Economics). However, law schools nowadays are very, very competitive. Majoring in Political Science is so common that it gets really boring and becomes the “norm” when applying. Law schools love to see students major in something that they love, even if it doesn’t relate to law! But other than that, yes USF does have a pre-law program where they help students practice for the LSAT and become acquainted with the application process.
And you are right about the law firm part - I have an internship with a local law firm and they absolutely love that I’m not doing something generic in my undergrad. But quick question - Where did you go to law school?</p>
<p>My first SAT that sent them, it has gone up but I’m not bothering to send them it, was 1170. I had a 3.9/4.2, though. Maybe that was the differentiating factor.</p>
<p>Got a letter today–they are deferring their final decision. Should I panic? What is the best course of action? Essay? letters of recommendation? Both?</p>
<p>I am really struggling with what to write in my “Personal Statement of 500 Words or Less”</p>
<p>You should spend about 55% of your time on USF (the statement, more recommendations, updating your transcripts, etc) and 45% on another college of your choice. USF recieves A LOT of quality applications that they accept. Since they defered you, it means that they saw potential in you (or something brilliant in you) and they want to give you another chance to ‘wow’ them. So if you really think you can’t do something within a certain amount of time to impress them, then you might want to commit to the other school. I really hope you get in though! Good luck!</p>
<p>Berryman, maybe you can ask why you were deffered? If it was test scores, retest. They also said when you’re deffered you send in a letter of recommendation and an essay. For the letter of recommendation you should get it from a teacher who knows you personally as well because you don’t want a generic letter, you want to stand out.</p>
<p>Thank you! I have a nice letter of rec., and considered re-testing ACT, but since the final decision will be made no later than 3/18 I feel that there wouldn’t be enough time to get the scores in. As for the essay, my mind is swirling: heartfelt appeal? Amusing anecdote? Completely creative/unusual? Toot my own horn? There are so many directions, and I just don’t want the letter to be “scattered”–need to narrow down the approach.
As for calling admissions, when I have called in the past, I got pretty general responses. “Yes, we have your grades, we will let you know, etc”. They have never stated a need to re-test, and declined my offers to send in my essay or letters of rec. Will they actually be specific if I call them this time? </p>
<p>Thanks again! I appreciate you guys taking the time to answer all my questions.</p>
<p>Berryman, read your letter from USF very carefully and do everything they recommend doing or they request you do. Make sure they get your grades asap from fall term at your high school. If they suggest recommendation letters, get busy getting them to USF. Talk to your high school guidance counselor this week, bring your USF letter to show guidance counselor, and ask for suggestions–ask her for a recommendation letter maybe if you are are on good terms with her. I’d sign up to take both the SAT and ACT tests asap and notify USF admissions right now, immediately, that you are taking tests again. Let USF know you WANT to attend USF, demonstrate to USF you’re doing EVERYTHING possible to get into USF. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Lizard, what is the best way to get the letters in to admissions? Email or snail mail, or both? </p>
<p>If the decision is made no later than 3/18, then won’t the results be too late to consider? They did not ask about test scores, btw. My letter seemed pretty generic, it said that I am “welcome” to provide letters of rec. and a personal statement. They did say that most recent grades must come directly from the school. I had already sent mine in, though, before I was deferred. </p>
<p>This is my #1 school. If they admit me, I plan to graduate there. No doubt in my mind. I am just very worried about getting in at this point!</p>
<p>Koala, yeah, I’m shocked you weren’t let in for fall if you had all those ASFs. According to their grid, you should have been.</p>
<p>Meanie, having gone to law school and practiced law, I would definitely not recommend majoring in prelaw, but economics is okay. I certainly wasn’t recommending majoring in politics. Quite the opposite.</p>
<p>Berryman, I don’t know what your SAT score is or if there is any play in it (Sometimes people’s scores only go up a tiny bit), but if you think you could do better, it wouldn’t hurt to take the February test if you can still register. Otherwise, yeah, write a killer essay. Good luck!</p>
<p>Berryman,
If you live remotely close to USF and your recommendations are signed on the back (showing that they haven’t been opened), then you should drive there and hand them to the admissions office. Explain your situation of being deferred and hand them your transcripts and letters of recommendation. Then from there, you can ask about the SAT/ACT score re-takes. I know from asking my cousin, who attends there, that they really like when prospective students go out of there way to make the admission process easier on them. </p>
<p>Alex23,
I am not an idiot, I know that it’s impossible to MAJOR in pre-law. As I said in my original post, I am MINORING in pre-law. You cannot major in pre-law because then that would defeat the whole purpose of attending law school. Yes, I know you didn’t mean to major in Political Science. I love both Economics and Politicial Science, however, I would rather minor in pre-law than political science. In the end, regardless of my major and minor, the thing that will get me into law school is my GPA, ECs, and my LSAT scores.</p>
<p>Need good letters of recommendation from 2 or 3 of your undergraduate professors too to get into a good law school. Their recommendation letters can make or break your chances for admission to a top law school. If your professors write that you have a bad attitude, or they think you are “pragmatically inappropriate” for law school, it’s lights out for you. Professors have keen memories… if they remember a student sitting in the professor’s class chewing gum wearing their pajama pants not paying attention in class while doing FaceBook on a laptop, or if they think you are in general a smarta$$…you’re not getting a good recommendation letter from the professor. If a professor knows your abilities and even temperment from working with you on research projects, or from special workshops, etc., you’ll get favorable recommendation letters. I know the recommendations I got from my professors are what got me into graduate school. Alex23 said she’s a lawyer, she was admitted to a law school, she has experience in what it takes to be admitted to a law school.</p>
<p>Niquii77,
Whether it’s a minor or a “track” it’s still a program that will help anyone interested in law. If you don’t believe me, you can look up the “pre-law” video broadcasted on TV about the USF Pre-Law Graduation Ceremony. It’s a bunch of kid lined up ready to see what law school they have been accepted to. Regardless if there is a legit program (that shows on your transcripts) it’s still a unique opportunity to be a part of.</p>
<p>It looked as if you needed an explanation on what a major and minor is since you believe you could major/minor in pre-law.
Hopefully, you looked at the link I provided you so you could get an idea of the track that you’re getting yourself into.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Farther down on the website you can see a group for individuals interested in pre-law.
Why wouldn’t I believe you? It says the groups right here on the website, and I’m sure any university has a program dedicated to students interested in furthering their education.</p>
<p>Meanie, no one called you an idiot. However, you ARE a meanie if you’re going to get your panties all in a bunch. Someone who wants to be a lawyer should probably learn to communicate better and not get all upset at every little thing people say. It’s part of negotiation skills. I was simply saying that diversity helps you both in law school admissions and in an eventual career in law (because it is good to have a solid background in something else – it is what you will talk about at job interviews). Since USF does not have a law school, what they think doesn’t really matter. In any case, economics is FINE (which I also already said). Good luck to you.</p>
<p>SAT I (breakdown): 1590
ACT:27
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.1
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 155/725 20%?
AP (place score in parenthesis):AP BIO AP WORLD AP LANG 2 APUSH 3
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP PYSCH, AP LIT, HONORS ECONOMICS/GOVERNMENT, HONORS PRE CALC, HONORS ANATOMY</p>
<p>Subjective:</p>
<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Leadership in community service club, safe ambassador, and goverment
Job/Work Experience: Work at retail store
Volunteer/Community service: 200</p>
<p>[ b]Other**</p>
<p>Intended Major: Biology
State/Country: Florida
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Middle
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Minority, first generation</p>
<p>Reflection</p>
<p>Strengths: Not sure
Weaknesses: to many
Why you think you were accepted/denied: My new test scores</p>
<p>General Comments:</p>
<p>Where else were you accepted/denied?
UCF still havent heard since October … Any one else?
FAU Accepted
FSU Differed but didnt get my new test scores.
UF- Crosses finger waiting
USF- Accepted
Harvard - Deciding to apply or not :P</p>