‘Admissible’ S5 E3: What Makes for a Successful (Re)Application?

TYLER STAPLETON: In terms of LSAT addendum, listen, if you stayed up super late the night before your LSAT watching reruns of The Office or like Below Deck, you should not be writing an addendum. Like, no, it's a waste of your time. It might be detrimental to your application.

NATALIE BLAZER: I don't know. I love Below Deck.

TYLER STAPLETON: I do too. That's I brought it up. But it's not something you should be watching until 4:00 AM the night before--

NATALIE BLAZER: Correct. That is true.

TYLER STAPLETON: Your LSAT exam. It's a very important exam.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

NATALIE BLAZER: This is Admissible. I'm Natalie Blazer, Dean of Admissions at UVA Law. I'm so excited about today's show because I think it's going to help so many people who are working on their law school applications or who will be soon.

We are getting into the real nitty gritty on application advice today. We're going to walk through a real actual law school application piece by piece. So I think if you're working on your application right now or you're going to be working on it soon, this one is for you.

And because I think it's always better to provide this kind of advice using firsthand specific information that we can put into context. I asked one of our wonderful law students to join me today to talk through the various components of his application to UVA Law. My guest today is first year law student Tyler Stapleton.

Tyler graduated from Georgetown University in 2021. After college, Tyler worked as a litigation paralegal at Quinn Emanuel in New York for two years. Tyler also worked as an investigative journalist and legal assistant for Georgetown's Making an Exoneree program in Washington, DC, from January 2021 until the time he started law school this fall.

In addition, from February through July of this year, Tyler worked as an accounting intern for Boosted Finance. That is a lot of work and I imagine it has prepared you well for 1L year, Tyler. Welcome to the show.

TYLER STAPLETON: Thank you so much for having me, Dean Blazer. It's a pleasure to be here.

NATALIE BLAZER: We have so much to talk about, Tyler. To start, I need to point out for everyone that as of the time of recording, you are just a month into your 1L year. And I hardly believe I had the audacity to bug a busy IL to come on my podcast. But I'm so happy you agreed, and thank you again for making the time.

Before we get started, tell us your favorite thing about 1L year so far.

TYLER STAPLETON: Honestly, the people you always hear about how collegial of a school UVA Law is, I feel that's like our "buzzword," quote unquote. And it rings true. It's not something that emissions or the school itself is pitching to you in a brochure.

Once you get here, it's very much a real thing. I met some amazing people already. I have a number of close friends in my section, and law school is admittedly difficult, right? It's busy. It can be stressful here and there, but the people that you have along the way, I can tell, are going to make it a lot easier. And I'm happy with who I've met thus far.

NATALIE BLAZER: Yeah, that's awesome and very common to what I hear from 1L's. So I'm so glad you're experiencing that. So like I said, we have a lot of ground to cover. Before we do, I want to mention I asked Tyler specifically to come on the show because I remembered his application was very well done and I remembered specific components that were well put together.

And this is also important to note. On top of that, I also remembered Tyler was a reapplicant. And I think that is so helpful because when I was initially conceiving of the idea for this show, I was going to have someone come on and talk about their application, and I was going to ask them, well, did you have a different draft of this essay or did you have-- what was your thought process behind this.

And what's amazing when I realized that were a reapplicant is we have those materials, like we have a slightly different version. And so I'm really excited to talk through what made this your application this year versus the next year.

Before we get into Tyler's specific materials, I have to make this point about re-applicants, which I have made before in my Q&As, probably on this podcast too. But we love reapplicants. They show determination, self-reflection, persistence, all qualities that we love to see in law students and future lawyers.

So the advice I always give specifically to reapplicants is come at your second or third or fourth attempt at admission from a position of strength and knowing that there are real things you can do. Don't come at it like, oh God, they don't like me. We are rooting for reapplicants and if you give us good reasons to give you a shot, and if you show that you put that effort in, believe me, we want to do that.

So that's exactly what Tyler did. And that's exactly what we're going to talk about. So I'm going to stop talking. We're going to get into it.

So we're going to go back to the beginning. You first applied to UVA Law December of 2022.

TYLER STAPLETON: That's correct, yes.

NATALIE BLAZER: So I think from the resume and work experience that I mentioned in your bio, it's pretty clear, at least to me, why you wanted to go to law school. But tell us in your own words, what drove that decision.

TYLER STAPLETON: Sure, yeah. I've sort of always known that I've wanted to go to law school or just become a lawyer in general, since I was a kid, due to my lived experiences with the criminal justice system Some of my earliest memories during my childhood consisted of my mom and my dad waking my brother and I up early in the morning and putting us in the back seat, like strapping me into my car seat, and handing me a book like the Rainbow Fish or the Very Hungry Caterpillar to distract me from our long drive from Long Island to upstate New York to visit a family member who was incarcerated.

And at the time, I was a little boy. I was five or six years old. And I wasn't fully cognizant of the fact that I was visiting a correctional facility. So the older I got, I started deliberately engaging with criminal justice literature and various documentaries. And once I got to Georgetown, I was presented with-- I had the privilege of taking a number of amazing law courses while I was there, like con law or business law, which is like watered down versions of contracts or torts, which many of the listeners will see. You take as a 1L during your first semester typically.

And those are amazing. I gained like a very broad sort of understanding of the law. But my most formative experience while at Georgetown was the Making Exoneree program taught by two wonderful professors there. I was one of 15 students who re-investigated cases of individuals who we believe were wrongfully convicted and advocated for their innocence.

And then after I graduated, I worked as a litigation paralegal at a big firm, as Dean Blazer said, in New York City. That was another amazing opportunity too, because I got to see the civil side of law. And I got to serve as a paralegal in state and federal court. I got to work on a host of different cases and different practice areas, like securities litigation and fraud and misrepresentation et cetera.

And yeah, in short, that was a mouthful, but basically an amalgamation of all those things is why I stand before Dean Blazer today as a 1L in law school.

NATALIE BLAZER: And I'll just say, if you can survive and thrive as a paralegal at Quinn Emanuel, if your love for the law and desire to go to law school like survived through seeing the intensity of the way that they practice, I mean, that's amazing.

TYLER STAPLETON: Absolutely, yeah. I mean, I worked with some amazing people there. And absolutely, it was hard work, no doubt. But I do think it prepared me really well for law school.

NATALIE BLAZER: Yeah.

TYLER STAPLETON: Those intense hours, and you're cutting your teeth in pretty difficult things. Just in terms of the workload, as a 1L like, I'm able to keep up with the pace because of my hard work--

NATALIE BLAZER: Absolutely.

TYLER STAPLETON: At Emanuel.

NATALIE BLAZER: Absolutely. That's so great to hear. So what do you remember about two cycles ago? I'm going to call it the 2023 cycle because someone seeking to enter law school in 2023, we call that the 2023 cycle. So what do you remember about that? Like, anything you want to share about that? Did you apply to a lot of schools? Tell us about that.

TYLER STAPLETON: Sure. So let's hop in a little time machine back to 2023. So I pretty much grew up to apply for that cycle starting in September of '22, I sort of curated a list of schools that I was interested in applying to. My initial goal was to have all my apps submitted by the end of October, if not before Thanksgiving.

And for those who are working in the professional world before coming to law school, I would highly advise ensuring that you set aside enough time to devote to your application because it very much is a job in and of itself. I admittedly did not do that because I was a busy litigation paralegal. I was staffed on like a summary judgment motion in October, and then I was gone for trial in Delaware Chancery in December.

So in short, I actually ended up submitting most if not all, my applications on New Year's Eve 2022. So I spent my New Year's Eve in an office working on applications. Very fun.

NATALIE BLAZER: Oh, Tyler.

TYLER STAPLETON: I applied to a number of schools. I think I heard back from my first school in mid February and my last school about two or three days before my birthday in July. So pretty long cycle, yeah.

All in all, I was waitlisted at a number of programs, and these were the programs that I was most interested in. So I sort of after careful consideration and after taking a step back, I sort of switched gears to devoting most of my time and energy into demonstrating interest in these waitlisted programs or in these programs that I was waitlisted at, rather.

And that consisted of letters of continued interest and demonstrating to these schools that I'm here. Please remember me, and I'm still interested in attending, if space is permitting. But be respectful. Don't be emailing these admissions committees every five minutes. Hey, here's another letter. Here's another letter.

Like I know UVA Law, in particular, will reach out to you when they want to hear from you, right, when you're on the waitlist. But yeah, basically, in short, I was devoting all of my energy into these different waitlists, and I'm a firm believer in life. You should always have a backup plan because you never what tomorrow will bring.

So I sort of mentally prepared for reapplying the next cycle. I started to devote a lot of energy into thinking about ways in which I could strengthen the material in my, most notably my written components of my application. And that was a very involved process, for sure.

NATALIE BLAZER: Yeah. I got to say, it breaks my heart a little to hear there were other schools to whom you were professing your continued interest.

TYLER STAPLETON: But I'm here now.

NATALIE BLAZER: Yes, you are. And of course, that is the absolutely wise thing to do, is to keep those irons in the fire, so to speak, because like you said, you never what could happen.

I want to touch on one thing you mentioned because I think it's important. Yes, you were working a full time job while you were putting together your materials. And I think it definitely is important to know that the law school application process is going to take a lot of time, but at the same time that we also know that not everybody can take six months off of work to-- I've read this before in applications. I took a year off to study for the LSAT. I'm like, that must be nice.

We know that most people who are applying do have work responsibilities. People are finishing their senior year of college or whatever it is. But sort of giving the process, the time and space that it needs I think is really important.

I also just have to stop here and say, like, I went back and read your application from the 2023 cycle. It is a good application, like it really is. I think you definitely stepped up certain things in 2024 that we're going to talk about, but I would actually not fault anything in your initial application.

If anything, I think what struck me most about your 2024 application is so much more of like yourself was coming through. And so much more of your purpose for law school. And guess what? Sometimes that is more attainable when you have an extra year. Like sometimes that is what happens, is that you are like, oh man. And I kind of almost like felt that viscerally.

So yes, it's incumbent on you to make your materials as strong as possible the second time around. But sometimes also it's just not-- it's just not the year. You know what I mean? Like a lot of times-- this is a very competitive process. Like--

TYLER STAPLETON: Most definitely.

NATALIE BLAZER: So I want that to be in people's minds as we talk about this. OK. I digress.

That first cycle, the 2023 cycle, like you said, you were waitlisted and so you decided at some point in that summer, I guess, that you're going to work for another year and reapply to schools. OK. So I want to mention that at the time you were waitlisted at UVA, you also came to visit.

TYLER STAPLETON: I did indeed.

NATALIE BLAZER: And so I want to hear a little bit about your visit.

TYLER STAPLETON: Yeah. So I had gotten the waitlist, I believe it was April 12 of '23. That. So I really wanted to be here, guys, because I remember the date. And a week later, I ended up visiting. My thought process was let me go visit in person and maybe that would help me underscore the different reasons as to why I really want to be at UVA Law in particular.

I think the key factor in differentiating a good Why UVA from a great Why UVA comes from visiting a law school and seeing it firsthand. When you're on this campus, like you're not on set with a bunch of Hollywood actors that are here to put on a show for you. Like you're seeing the real deal, like the day to day, like on a day to day basis, what we do in law school.

So when I visited, I toured the law school. My tour was actually led by two 1L's, which was also awesome to hear a first year law student's perspective on the great things about law school. Then from there, I had an opportunity to sit in on Professor Thomas Frampton's civil rights litigation course.

NATALIE BLAZER: Amazing.

TYLER STAPLETON: And it's a small world because now he's my criminal law professor.

NATALIE BLAZER: Ah.

TYLER STAPLETON: So that's pretty amazing.

NATALIE BLAZER: Love that.

TYLER STAPLETON: He's the best. And then after that, I had a Q&A session with the one and only Dean Blazer, who I'm sitting next to right now.

NATALIE BLAZER: Not a Hollywood actress.

TYLER STAPLETON: Not a Hollywood actor.

NATALIE BLAZER: Real person.

TYLER STAPLETON: Exactly. But all these things that I saw firsthand. Truth be told, like after that visit, UVA was unequivocally my first choice for law school. Like just being here in Charlottesville and seeing how amazing this school is, solidified the fact that I really wanted to be here.

So all these different things that I saw on campus firsthand and like these conversations that I had, I was able to cite in my Why UVA Law statement, which I do think made the difference.

NATALIE BLAZER: And we're going to talk about that. So I'm really excited to get to that. So now the timeline, I think, is really kind of coming together in my mind, because you were on a few wait lists and maybe you were telling them, OK, I'm still interested. You come to UVA and then you're like, you know what? This is where I want to maybe double down.

And so there was only a couple months after that until you had to reapply. So how did you approach that next application cycle? Did you do anything differently? What was your mindset like?

TYLER STAPLETON: I think it's important to be glass half full. You have to remain optimistic. You give your best effort and sure, things didn't work out. But guess what? That's just the nature of admissions and the nature of this profession as well.

NATALIE BLAZER: True.

TYLER STAPLETON: I saw it firsthand when I was a paralegal, and I for myself as well, there will be times where you will work incessantly on a motion and prepare for an oral argument. And then you get in that courtroom and then things go awry and the judge rules against you, unfortunately. That's just the way life goes, right?

And I remained glass half full going into the 2024 cycle, as you call it. And I really wanted to devote my time and energy into the written components of my application. I do feel like in the 2023 cycle, I do feel like they're a bit rushed and after comparing them side by side, you could very much see that my 2024 application was more so about me. Why do I want to be in law school? What can I bring to the table at this wonderful law school?

So that's the way in which I approach like revising all of my application materials. And that's not to say I started from a fresh, just completely just abandoned the story of my personal statement and all these optional addenda. Like, no, I use those as framework. And aside from that too, when it came to a letter of recommendation, for reapplicants, I a number of schools require that you submit another letter of recommendation.

I think it's also great to have a new letter of recommendation in the mix because admissions has your previous letters of rec when you're a reapplicant. But in doing so, I was pretty proactive about reaching out to my new recommender pretty early on in the summer. Like these folks will get busy. The people who tend to write your letters of rec.

NATALIE BLAZER: Right.

TYLER STAPLETON: And you need to respect their time. And not only that, too, you want them to sit down and take time to ensure that they're writing about your best qualities and what will make you a phenomenal candidate for XYZ law school. So I think just giving them a heads up ideally before Labor Day and reaching out to them is a great thing to do.

And the third and final thing, I avoid using lsdata.com and Reddit a terrible amount. Like listen, I think they're great resources, but at times they can be very toxic. Some of the discourse I've seen in there, it's pretty harsh. So just proceed with caution with using those. You are your own unique applicant. You're your own person. Just focus on yourself to the extent possible.

NATALIE BLAZER: Yeah, that's such great advice. I can't emphasize that enough. One person can have the same stats, the same undergrad, the same work experience, the same whatever you would see from a Reddit or LSAT perspective and be obviously two very different people and we take a very personal approach to admissions. So I think that is really, really great advice.

So the second time you applied, you applied binding early decision. Because the first time you applied regular, second time binding. Anything else you want to like-- I mean, it's pretty obvious to me, like, OK, I decided this is my first choice. I would unequivocally go. That's what the binding early decision is for.

And probably I would think, especially for someone who has already gone through the law school application process before, you're kind of like, you know what, I would love for this to be quick. If it could be quick, let's get it quick. So anything else you want to say about that decision?

TYLER STAPLETON: For sure. I would just say when it comes to applying to a law school early decision, it is not a decision that should be made lightly by any means. You have to be sure. Obviously, I knew I wanted to here, but I took the time to make sure that I was like, this is a school for me. I'm all in on UVA Law.

So that's why to signal to the law school like this is my first choice, I applied ED. But with that being said, you don't know the financial aid packages that you'll receive, right? You could very well receive a full merit scholarship or you couldn't receive. You may not receive any sort of scholarship.

So just proceed with caution in terms of the financials behind it. It might make more sense to apply regular decision to a number of different schools just to see your options, in terms of financial aid and merit scholarships. I think that's particularly important. Ensure that the school you're applying early decision to is a place that will project you in the direction of the goals that you've outlined for yourself in the legal profession. So yeah, take your time with it.

NATALIE BLAZER: Yeah, absolutely. And that's a really great point. If you're somebody who wants to compare offers from other schools, definitely apply regular because when you apply binding, if you're admitted binding, you then have to withdraw from every other school. So you quite literally can't have other offers to compare. So I'm glad that you mentioned that.

So from a resume standpoint, it stayed, I would say mostly the same. You had an extra year with Making an Exoneree and with Quinn Emanuel. For other applicants, especially those who might not have had substantive work experience in the first go around, I think a new resume is something that actually can have a major impact.

We just recently admitted somebody who was a re applicant and I think there were three years in between this person's applications and really excellent work experience. The numbers didn't change, the LSAT, the GPA that didn't change, but that work experience and what this person got out of it and the new perspective, all of that made the difference.

But anything else you want to say? Like, did you change anything? I couldn't really see too many differences.

TYLER STAPLETON: Yeah, I don't think I changed a terrible amount, maybe one or two bullet points, in terms of some of the terminology or language that I used. When it comes to the law school resume, less is more sometimes. You shouldn't be creating custom margins and squeezing everything into 8 point font onto two pages.

NATALIE BLAZER: That's right.

TYLER STAPLETON: Ensure that you're carefully going through all these different amazing experiences that you have and picking out the ones that are most important to signal to an admissions committee that, hey, I have this amazing experience. And I think that I would enrich the student life on your campus.

So less is more and also like include a skills section and an interest section. Resumes don't necessarily have to be all about the quote unquote "boring stuff" about all the jobs that you've done. And yeah, make use of the intersection. Show that you're a human being as well.

Like, that's the one part of a resume that you have to showcase to people, hey, I'm more than just this amazing award that I got in undergrad or my grades. Like, no, on the side, I like to watch college basketball and watch Jeopardy and cook. It's important to humanize someone when it comes to a resume. And using that intersection is a great opportunity to do so.

NATALIE BLAZER: 100%. I love when people do the interests and hobbies, and it gives me a better sense of who they are, that they can have more to their life than just academics and work. And it makes, like you said, it humanizes them. If you're going to get to the interview phase, I like to have a little something to talk about. Oh, you have a dog or you like college basketball, things like that. So I definitely wouldn't skip that part.

So now, I want to go through the written components of your application, which were all extremely, extremely well done. What I call the q 13 essay actually changed from your first application to your next.

TYLER STAPLETON: It did indeed. I remember on September 1 of '23, opening up the application and seeing how much it changed between my previous cycle. In the first, I believe the only quality that was asked about was resiliency. And now, I believe it's resiliency, empathy, your ability to engage across differences, integrity, maturity and diligence, I believe.

NATALIE BLAZER: Wow, you nailed it. Nailed it.

TYLER STAPLETON: That was tough. I can't-- recalling all of those qualities.

NATALIE BLAZER: I can barely remember the six of those. Tell us how you kind of approached the new essay. I mean, I read both of them. And the second one, you really took advantage of the other traits that we were asking for as well.

TYLER STAPLETON: Yeah.

NATALIE BLAZER: And could you have used the same essay, because resilience was a common trait? Sure. But would that have shown us that you had put effort into your second application? Probably not. Right?

TYLER STAPLETON: So when it came to most of my written components, I like to start out with a hook, sort of to get your reader super engaged in what you're writing about. I think I started out this one. It was like the three C's, like candy canes, cocoa and complex commercial litigation.

NATALIE BLAZER: That one got me. I got to say, as someone who practiced complex commercial litigation, I'm like, what do candy canes have to do with this? I have to read this.

TYLER STAPLETON: I'm glad it elicited that reaction.

NATALIE BLAZER: Yeah.

TYLER STAPLETON: That was my goal. I remember, the moment when I was like, this is my hook. I'm going to use this. Hopefully, it lands. And I'm glad it landed.

NATALIE BLAZER: It did.

TYLER STAPLETON: And I also-- don't force-- when it comes to telling your story, don't feel like you have to hit on all of those qualities, right, in your story. I didn't touch on empathy or integrity in my particular story because they just didn't quite fit into the puzzle of my story.

NATALIE BLAZER: Yeah.

TYLER STAPLETON: And if you try to force all six of those things, into your expository writing, it just won't read as well, in my opinion. And I think it'll detract from what otherwise would be a really successful resiliency essay answer.

NATALIE BLAZER: Yeah, I think that's great advice. Definitely we are not asking for people to do all six or even three or four or five. Like people have done an effective job with one. More often I see two or three like you did. And I think that those are also great because it shows that somebody is able to make connections between things, which is important for law school.

Also, having an application like yours, this person has empathy. Like show me something else.

TYLER STAPLETON: Exactly.

NATALIE BLAZER: OK. So like other parts of your application can show us those traits. So really think critically. Like what might they not about me yet that I can really get into here. And you're absolutely right. This is a very important part of the application. It's actually the first thing that we really read from you in just the order that we're reading. So this is when it's going to set the tone for like what we're going to expect in the rest of the application.

So on to the personal statement. I would say, probably equally as important, if not maybe slightly more. But I think, I see these two as the two statements in my mind. So talk a little bit about your approach to the personal statement in 2024.

TYLER STAPLETON: Yeah, so when it came to my personal statement, I think this time around it was like-- not to use circular reasoning here, but it was a personal statement. Like in my first cycle, I do feel like the prose that I presented in my personal statement was more so about the stories of other folks who have sort of impassioned me to be very, very into criminal justice reform.

But this time around, I sort of looked at these experiences and highlighted three qualities that I've sort of developed from these very individualized personal experiences and trying to demonstrate how those qualities would make me a successful law school student and successful in the profession. So it doesn't necessarily have to be law related. It could be something super quirky or just about a hobby of yours. But also like a hobby, something that you've learned from and that you've taken away key traits that are typically demonstrated by the best attorneys in the profession.

NATALIE BLAZER: Yeah.

TYLER STAPLETON: I think that's the goal of a personal statement.

NATALIE BLAZER: It's demonstrating-- it does not-- whatever you're talking about in the personal statement does not need to be law related. I will say at the end of reading it, I need to understand why you are applying to law school and what you just said. Those traits, those qualities, those life experiences, I should go, uh-huh.

It's like going back to kindergarten, show, don't tell. You don't have to say, I want to be a lawyer because of this. But at the end of the day, we should see that. And I want to make what I hope is a useful point to people, Tyler applied almost exactly like a year apart from his initial application. We do not expect you as a person to have changed significantly in a year. The substance of your personal statement, we do not expect a complete 180.

Some people do. Some people just totally like scrap. But what I think was so well done with yours is I saw, gosh, it's so clear to me that in your first application, all the reasons you were going to law school, they were all there.

TYLER STAPLETON: Right.

NATALIE BLAZER: They were all there. And like you said, the second time around, none of that changed. Because that is still so core to who you are and to your path to law school. But the way that you focused the light a little bit more on yourself, it's hard for people to do that, I think. I think people think, I don't want to talk too much about myself.

But if I'm going to get to interview you, I don't get to interview your uncle or somebody if they-- my grandmother emigrated here from the Soviet Union. Well, now I want to interview your grandma.

TYLER STAPLETON: Exactly.

NATALIE BLAZER: But what makes me want to interview you? And that's really what I think achieved so beautifully in your personal statement from the 2024 cycle. And beyond just that it was a great personal statement, when we do see the two side by side, as you said, you're just showing us that you care to put in an effort. And the vast majority of time, 99% of the time, when people put the effort in, they improve it.

It's very rare that someone changes their personal statement and it's worse than the first one.

TYLER STAPLETON: Yeah, absolutely.

NATALIE BLAZER: So I think it's about not only submitting stronger materials but what you're signaling to us. So I thought that was really, really well done. Now, I mentioned, you're not going to change fundamentally as a person from one year to the next. However, there are things that could change. And by the way, if they do and it's material to your application, like this person I was talking about who worked for three years, if that was nowhere in the essay, I would be kind of surprised.

One thing that changed for you is, you hadn't visited at the time of your first application. So you had new information to share. And so you mentioned earlier, you did submit an optional Why UVA. And I think it made perfect sense to do that. So talk a little bit about that.

TYLER STAPLETON: Yeah, absolutely. So when it comes to a Why UVA Law or why any law school essay, it shouldn't be information that you could easily find on the website from one or two clicks. That is not the goal of why x, y, z law school essay.

It's your opportunity to show that the amazing things and courses and faculty members and people that these various law schools offer will benefit you in your individualized goals that you want to achieve as a law student in the profession at large. But also on the flip side, you want to be demonstrating how the school would benefit from your presence as a law student there and as, you know, down the road, three years from now, as an alumnus or alumna.

So for me, with my Why UVA Law, I think I broke it down into three different parts. I touched on the Innocence Project clinic, which I wanted to join, and now I can happily say that I'm a proud member of the Innocence Project.

NATALIE BLAZER: Yay!

TYLER STAPLETON: Very exciting.

NATALIE BLAZER: Awesome. Awesome.

TYLER STAPLETON: I also spoke on a number of the extracurriculars that I wanted to become involved with and how my involvement in those extracurriculars would curate the sort of skills that I want to be able to exhibit or demonstrate as an attorney, one of them being the Black Law Students Association, also a member of that now.

And I also touched on a number of courses that I want to take with certain professors at this school and some discussions that I had with alumni and my discussion during the Q&A session with Dean Blazer in April of '23. I think I spoke to that a bit as well.

NATALIE BLAZER: I love what you said about tying it to yourself. The way I put it sometimes in info sessions is, I don't want to why one might want to go to UVA Law, which is all the UVA Law statements that I have-- not all, but a lot of the ones that I've read that are like you said, website dumps. That is why one might want to go to this law school, because we have this clinic and this faculty. And we're located in Charlottesville in the Blue Ridge mountains.

That's how a lot of people write Why UVA's. What was so wonderfully refreshing about yours is, you visited and you had found a way to talk about that, that was meaningful. And again, your work experience does 100% lend itself to the Innocence Project. So like, why would you not talk about that. And like, that's a great way to talk about it.

And like all the threads that came through in your application, before we get to the Why UVA, you just kind of wove them together in the Why UVA. All these things that I just told you about me, here's why UVA makes sense for me.

And so that's the goal. And I do really want to emphasize, this is optional. People are admitted all the time without a Why UVA. We want to read it, if it is genuine. And don't feel that you need to tell us we're your top choice, if we're not.

Don't feel that you need to tell us that you really would lend yourself to whatever clinic. It's OK. It's OK if you don't have that or if you touched on it on your personal statement. But if you do have those things to say, that's when we really want to hear it in that statement.

And you had, I would say, because you applied binding this time, like it was this one two combination of, he's telling us he's going to-- he would come here, and now I really understand why. Like binding, sometimes people think, well, I'm applying binding, so they it's my top choice. But if there's no indication in the file why UVA makes sense to them, then it's more confusing than anything else.

It's like, well, I see that you applied binding, but why? And you don't really want to leave us with questions in the application.

TYLER STAPLETON: Yeah, I think that's a great point. Yeah. Definitely that's another sort of thing I would keep in mind too, if you're applying early decision to a particular law school. Like whoever's reading it from the admissions committee should walk away with a clear understanding, like, whoa, like this substantiates as to why they applied ED. They really want to be here.

NATALIE BLAZER: Right. The application as a whole should make sense. I mean, to just put it really simply. And if there are questions. Yeah, it just, you don't want to make anything seem like it's coming off as inauthentic, I guess.

So I don't want to spend a ton of time talking about the other optional addenda. I just want to point out that for re-applicants specifically, just think if you did include an optional addenda in your first go around, I think it's a good idea to just think critically, like should I include this. Should I change it? Is it adding value? Should I take it out?

And on the flip side, like you did with the Why UVA, OK, I didn't have a Why UVA. Now, I'm going to include one. So like, don't feel like because you included x, y, z optional addenda the first time around, that you have to include those same ones. The whole point is, it should be a new application.

And a lot of people, by the way, maybe they between their two applications, they took the LSAT again and then maybe they want to address that. Well, they literally didn't have that information the first time, so that makes sense. It also helps put other things in your application into context. Like if there are things that we wouldn't otherwise know, how would that have a sick family member or that you your Wi-Fi went out.

Like addenda are really for things that we would have no other way of knowing. So if you want to write a Diversity Statement, we love to read those. If you've already talked about it elsewhere in your Q13 or your personal statement, ask yourself, is this adding to new-- is this new information. And if it is, great, we want to read it.

I always will happily read more if I'm getting a new dimension of the person. Again, we've said this throughout, but we don't expect your whole identity to change from one year to the next.

TYLER STAPLETON: Exactly.

NATALIE BLAZER: So if you included it the first time and it's pretty much speaks to who you are today, go ahead, include it. Or maybe you didn't include it the first time because you weren't really sure if it would add anything. Don't think that we're going to be confused because you didn't have it the first time. You're rethinking.

You're showing-- I want to emphasize this one more time. You have to do something different. You as a person are not going to change. But we want to see some, some effort, because the process only gets more competitive every year.

TYLER STAPLETON: Absolutely, yeah.

NATALIE BLAZER: So submitting the exact same application in a future cycle, even though I mentioned earlier, yeah, sometimes it's not your year. Well then, it's certainly not going to be your year, because you're just not demonstrating to us that you took the time to put in a little bit more effort. And again, it doesn't mean that there was anything wrong with your first application. It just shows us this person is a living, breathing applicant. They had experiences over the last year. They took the time to approach a busy law partner like you did and ask for a new letter.

I'm sure that person could have said, why can't you use the ones that the other attorneys gave you last year, right? But that additional letter was a phenomenal letter, just so you know.

TYLER STAPLETON: Glad to hear it.

NATALIE BLAZER: And so doing those things, it does, it does matter. And it's going to speak volumes to us.

TYLER STAPLETON: Yeah, there's a little bit more than that, too. I fully revised every single written component when it came to my application, just to indicate to the admissions committee like, hey, I'm really serious about reapplying to law school, right?

NATALIE BLAZER: Yeah.

TYLER STAPLETON: Again, like, as Dean Blazer said, that's not necessary to revise every single last written component, but you want to make sure that there's some sort of material change for the better between your previous application and your new application. The admissions committee should not be looking at the same application like the next cycle. That probably won't work out in your best interest.

NATALIE BLAZER: It won't. And you know, now that we're-- now that you said that, it's kind of like if you submit the exact same one, you're like, well, I think this was perfect.

TYLER STAPLETON: Yeah. Yeah.

NATALIE BLAZER: And therefore, I am beyond improvement. That's also just in and of itself, a little bit of a red flag.

TYLER STAPLETON: Agreed.

NATALIE BLAZER: It's like, so you think we got something wrong and you have no room for improvement? So I love that you I love that you said that.

So we kind of talked about the substance. I think we touched on the other process pieces, binding versus regular. That was kind of a process change. Another big thing that changed, obviously, the second time around was got an invitation to interview.

TYLER STAPLETON: Indeed.

NATALIE BLAZER: And I want to talk about that. So I went back and looked at it. I think I reached out to interview you like less than a month after you applied. And because that included the whole winter break.

TYLER STAPLETON: Right.

NATALIE BLAZER: So it was actually very fast from an admissions standpoint. And I remember this because I remember seeing, OK, he applied last year. I remember that. OK, he visited. OK, he's binding. Like we're doing this.

I was super excited, super excited. And of course with binding, like there is a 21 business day to reach out. But I reached out and I would love, if you want to share anything for listeners in terms of the interview process or advice you have.

TYLER STAPLETON: Yes, I woke up, I remember it was like early January to an email from Dean Blazer inviting me to interview. I was like, holy cow, like, this is happening. This is awesome. I was very excited about the opportunity.

But when it comes to law school interviews in general, be professional. Be punctual, be courteous, speak confidently, articulate your answers very well, but have fun with them, too. Don't take yourself terribly seriously. Be yourself.

Most of the schools are interviewing you because they're interested in you. They've already done the preliminary review of your application materials, saying like, hey, maybe this person could be a really good student at this school. So let's interview them to get some face to face interaction to explore this option more.

And it's also a time for you to learn more about the school, too. Like at the end of the interview, ask questions. There should never be a case where Dean Blazer is interviewing you and then you're like, OK, thank you so much. Goodbye.

I would not approach it that way.

NATALIE BLAZER: That would be awkward.

TYLER STAPLETON: Yeah, exactly. I would not approach it that way. It's an opportunity for you to learn more about the school and also just to demonstrate that you've done your research about specific things about the school to your interviewer. And also when you're asking these questions and an admissions committee member is giving you their responses, like, don't just nod your head passively, interact with what they're saying, engage with what they're saying.

Like that really shows that you're asking these questions because you genuinely are interested in them, not just for the sake of formality, like hey, I think I'm supposed to ask questions. This just might help my interview rating go through the roof.

NATALIE BLAZER: Right.

TYLER STAPLETON: That is not the case at all. Like, view it as this is my opportunity to learn more about the school through an expert, literally an admissions committee member, and engage with what they're actually saying. Right.

NATALIE BLAZER: Yes.

TYLER STAPLETON: That's the way I would look at it.

NATALIE BLAZER: I couldn't agree more. Take it seriously. Approach it like you would a job interview. Dress professionally, be on time/early, but also, yes, be yourself. I mean, that's who we're there to get to know.

The worst is when people are really over prepared and they're kind of have scripted answers. And I don't feel like I'm connecting with the person at all. And I think, you should be excited when you get an invitation to interview. It means that we are hoping to admit you.

Being nervous is actually OK with me. It shows me that you care. It's more when someone's cavalier and thinks that they have this in the bag that I'm kind of like turned off. I will say, just today, I interviewed somebody who was not admitted.

So this is-- it does happen. And getting an interview does not mean that you are getting admitted. The whole point of us interviewing is to confirm that we want you at UVA Law. And so if you don't deliver on that, it won't-- it's not a guarantee by any means.

So being nervous or kind of, oh gosh, I'm sorry, did I repeat myself. That's totally fine. It's not a scary experience, I hope. I think it is fun. And at the end of the day, especially when it's a binding interview, those are the best. Because then at the end of every interview, you're excited, but you're kind of like, am I going to see this person here. But at the end of a binding one, you're like, I'm going to see you in the fall or whatever.

So those are just awesome, like when they go well, like yours obviously did We love everybody that we admit. But when we know this person is joining our community, all we have to do is admit them. That's just the best.

OK. We've talked for a long time as I knew we would. Anything else you want to share in terms of advice or just something you really want listeners to know?

TYLER STAPLETON: Yes. When it comes time, when it comes to applying to law school, of course, it's stressful. Like I mentioned at the start of the podcast, it's a job in and of itself. Self-care is important. Like, please take care of yourself, be kind to yourself.

This should not be a dreadful process by any means. And as a matter of fact, if you're working on your application 24/7, you're going to burn out and you're not going to be representing yourself in the best light possible. Make sure you're sleeping, make sure you're exercising, make sure you're eating healthy. Make sure you're spending time with family and friends.

If you have hobbies on the side, you love to play guitar, play guitar after you're working on your application for an hour one night. Go hang out with your friends, go to a basketball game together. Just be kind to yourself, limit, again, the Reddit usage and the lsdata usage. I know I didn't do that terribly well, but please, like, don't get too caught up in that.

Try not to compare yourself to other people. Like I said, it's a very individualistic process. Like focus on your own story. Take a day by day. It'll all work out at the end of the day, like I said. I'm a reapplicant. I'm a proud reapplicant. It made me stronger.

Over the past year, I've learned way more about myself. I'm way more mature, and now I'm here sitting across from Dean Blazer as a proud 1L at UVA law and having an amazing time. So yeah, be kind to yourself is my word advice.

NATALIE BLAZER: I'm not going to cry. I mean, it did all work out because imagine you are in section I.

TYLER STAPLETON: Yes, the best section. Sorry to the other sections.

NATALIE BLAZER: You have your besties and you have a whole year. That year, it's not like that year-- that year added to the amazing person you are. And you were putting all these great things out into the world and you came here at the exact right time. So it does work out.

TYLER STAPLETON: Absolutely. I think in life, everything happens for a reason. I believe in that. My mom reminds me all the time, everything happens for a reason. It'll all work out. It'll be OK.

In life, things-- sometimes it'll take multiple times to achieve your dreams.

NATALIE BLAZER: Tyler, I'm so glad you applied again and that you came. And we're so lucky to have you. And once again, a month into 1L year, it's important to highlight, you had an hour and a half roughly to record with me.

So people should know out there, you do have some free time.

TYLER STAPLETON: Yes, exactly.

NATALIE BLAZER: I'm eating into it now, so I'm really sorry about that. I'm going to let Tyler go. Thank you so much again for coming on the show. This was awesome.

TYLER STAPLETON: Thank you so much for having me. It's been. It's been amazing speaking with you, Dean Blazer.

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NATALIE BLAZER: This has been Admissible with me, Dean Natalie Blazer at the University of Virginia School of Law. My guest today was first year law student Tyler Stapleton. For more information about UVA Law, please visit law.virginia.edu.

The next episode of Admissible will be out soon. In the meantime, you can follow the show on Instagram at @Admissiblepodcast. And as a reminder, Admissible is now on YouTube. You can check out all new episodes there, along with some vintage content we're sharing to help guide you through this application season.

Thanks so much for listening and please remember to rate the show wherever you listen to podcasts.

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