Of bruised egos and decisions being made

I did not get into the University of Minnesota Law School. It's an elite school and because of my not-so-amazing grades at Grinnell and my strong, but not strong enough showing on the LSAT (both below their medians), I thought that would mean I would get in and be given not a lot of financial aid. So, I was pretty sure my Law School choices would come from the three schools who did let me in, but I wasn't prepared to not get in at all. I mean, there was a creeping notion in the back of my mind, but I did little to entertain it.

I've been trying to figure out what this means. Clearly it doesn't mean I can't or won't become an excellent attorney. It may make things a little harder because I won't have the opportunity to go to the best thought-of law school in the area, but, like I said, I wasn't thinking they were gonna give me the financial aid the other schools did, so I won't be as burdened by loans and payments and such when I get out, so I can take a job that I want and may be better suited to my skills as opposed to one I need. So, I think from that point of view this isn't a big blow.

It really comes down to the fact that I think they don't think I'm as good as the people they've let in and the fact that they turned me down. I understand they can only make judgments based on the numbers and application materials, and that no one is all that sure about whether the numbers are the overall guiding force or whether the other stuff helps or hurts you all that much. And I have to concede my numbers are not up to their high standards. I just thought everything else I have done, the experience I have and the writing ability I think I have, would put me in contention. And the joys of not knowing is that I can think it did. I can imagine one admission counselor fighting for me, before having to concede, that yeah, there probably are better candidates. Who knows? That might be what happened.

It's all academic at this point though. And really Minnesota probably wasn't going to be that much of an option for me. So, it's all about my ego.

I know what my choices are and hopefully in the next couple of weeks I will talk to people at each of the schools and get all the details I need to make my decision. And that's exciting.

I still have three very good schools to choose from and that makes me extremely lucky. It does dissappoint me that I won't be a Golden Gopher and that I won't be able to participate in their annual musical. But that's okay. I'll get my start in the coffee houses and grtty off broadway scene in St. Paul (where all my choices reside).