hey guys its almost the tail end of the admission season, and most are still waiting for decisions, some for their top choice even (Harvard decisions are out in a week's time-at least that seems like the consensus here).

since most of us are probably very anxious still, let's share here our admission experience and anticipated outcome of pending applications.

For example from what has been written here, it seems like schools (such as Harvard) work on a relatively loose quota system---how do you think this has affected/will affect your chances of admission?

patriota, what is the point of this thread, anyway?

I think the quota system has a big effect. if 50 people from the same country applied, even if they are all equally qualified and more qualified than those from other countries, most of them will not be accepted just because a program cannot have 50 people from the same country. This would have more effect on people from countries where traditionally, a lot of people apply. Of course every school has a preferred profile (i.e.,fresh out of law school vs. substantial experience). get the picture?

I am not so sure how this has affected me I am not aware how many people applied from my country.

Lol, Kinesthetic is clearly a man. Well, patriota, I feel exhausted. I am still waiting for a response from HLS, YLS (in all probability a no) and Oxford. HLS is my top choice by a mile. I still don't have a clue of what the outcome will be. I think my credentials are strong enough to get me in, but I don't know the credentials of other applicants to which mine are being judged relative to. Fingers crossed - to get in would mean the world to me.

Hey Darya, I agree with you that the quota system places constraints on applicants getting accepted in principle, but the probability of getting that many qualified applicants (500) from one country seems slim. I am sure, though, that some applicants are excluded because of the country they come from, as opposed to the quality of their application i.e. it is not just the pool of best applicants from all countries collectively assessed that get in; the closer you get to number 150 on the list of qualified-enough people, the higher the probability that where you hail from will have a decisive effect on the decision to admit you.

Lol, Kinesthetic is clearly a man. Well, patriota, I feel exhausted. I am still waiting for a response from HLS, YLS (in all probability a no) and Oxford. HLS is my top choice by a mile. I still don't have a clue of what the outcome will be. I think my credentials are strong enough to get me in, but I don't know the credentials of other applicants to which mine are being judged relative to. Fingers crossed - to get in would mean the world to me.

Okay, that's weird - wrote out a whole post, but the system decided to eat it and just show a blank entry with my name next to it...

Anyway, I was saying that I am totally understanding where people are coming from, as I have no idea how to compare myself against people from entirely different educational systems. For example, I have no real idea how to compare my GPA against the British honours system. I read somewhere that my 3.7 would be a First, but who knows if that's what schools actually consider it.

Oh well, guess I'll know some time in the next couple of weeks when I finally hear from my last school: Oxford. I really just want to know either way at this point.

Okay, that's weird - wrote out a whole post, but the system decided to eat it and just show a blank entry with my name next to it...

Anyway, I was saying that I am totally understanding where people are coming from, as I have no idea how to compare myself against people from entirely different educational systems. For example, I have no real idea how to compare my GPA against the British honours system. I read somewhere that my 3.7 would be a First, but who knows if that's what schools actually consider it.

Oh well, guess I'll know some time in the next couple of weeks when I finally hear from my last school: Oxford. I really just want to know either way at this point.

If the country quotas surprises you, there's more. Most of the top schools aim not only to have a presentable set of LLMs that demonstrate their commitment to diversity, multu-ethnicity and all that, they also have quotas for fresh-grads, experienced lawyers, government officials and goodness knows what else.

Thus, if you're a final year undergrad student applying to HLS (for instance) you are more likely to be compared with your peers (final year students) rather than someone who's worked awhile (which I suppose is reasonable enough) despite both being from the same country.

Initially I did'nt like the sound of this quota system but after some thought I suppose there is something to be said for it. Comparing students across geographies and legal systems can be impossible. .

If the country quotas surprises you, there's more. Most of the top schools aim not only to have a presentable set of LLMs that demonstrate their commitment to diversity, multu-ethnicity and all that, they also have quotas for fresh-grads, experienced lawyers, government officials and goodness knows what else.

Thus, if you're a final year undergrad student applying to HLS (for instance) you are more likely to be compared with your peers (final year students) rather than someone who's worked awhile (which I suppose is reasonable enough) despite both being from the same country.

Initially I did'nt like the sound of this quota system but after some thought I suppose there is something to be said for it. Comparing students across geographies and legal systems can be impossible. .