The 7Sage Podcast

What makes a strong Cornell Law application? Michael Cummings, Assistant Dean of Admissions at Cornell Law School, joins Ethan and Pauline to discuss what his team looks for—and how applicants can tell their stories effectively.

They explore Cornell’s personal statement prompts, application timing, holistic review, interviews, recommendation letters, and the optional “Why Cornell” statement. Michael also shares insights on international applicants, common application mistakes, and finding a law school community that fits you.

What makes a law school application stand out? How does an admissions office actually make its decisions?

In this episode of the 7Sage Podcast, Ethan, Pauline, and Bailey are joined by David Kirschner, Associate Dean of Admissions, Financial Aid and Innovation at USC Gould School of Law. David shares how his background in storytelling shapes the way he reads applications and offers a candid look at personal statements, AI, LSAT scores, scholarships, and the waitlist.

They also discuss how applicants can show genuine interest in a school, what USC looks for in international candidates, and why there’s no one-size-fits-all path to law school.

What makes a law school application stand out? And how do admissions officers evaluate applicants who don’t fit neatly into a median? Ethan and Pauline speak with Rob, UCLA Law’s Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, about how his team reads applications, builds a class, and makes difficult decisions. They discuss application timing, reapplicants, GPA inflation, yield protection, first-generation applicants, and what it means to be authentic in your personal statement. Rob also shares his perspective on legal academia, UCLA’s areas of specialization, and the role of AI in admissions.

Happy Halloween from the 7Sage team! 🎃

In this episode, the crew dresses up, discusses changes to the LSAT, and reviews one of the most memorable law school applications in movie history: Elle Woods’s application to Harvard Law in Legally Blonde.

Follow along as they break down Elle’s video essay, LSAT score, extracurriculars, and admissions chances—and share advice on making your own application stand out.

The LSAT is changing in August 2027. What does that mean for your prep? In this episode of the 7Sage podcast, we break down LSAC’s announcement: three longer sections, unscored questions embedded throughout the test, and a fixed section order, with Reading Comprehension followed by two Logical Reasoning sections.We discuss the new timing, question counts, and breaks, who these changes matter for, and who doesn’t need to worry about them. We also explain why the new format makes answering every question essential. Plus, we cover what’s staying the same, including the question types, skills tested, and 120–180 scoring scale.

How many law schools should you actually apply to? Is your safety school really a safety? And if you took time off for mental health treatment, should you explain it in your application?

This week, Alex, Bailey, Ethan, and Pauline work through all three using the profile of Carmen, a student whose LSAT score has stalled in the mid-160s while her weekly study time swings from 2 to 20 hours. Bailey explains why consistency matters more than volume and why “read faster” is the wrong fix for Reading Comprehension. Ethan and Pauline then take on one of the toughest calls in admissions: whether to disclose a mental health history, how admissions offices really think about it, and when telling your story can work in your favor.

Plus: the difference between “attorney” and “lawyer,” why inflating your experience backfires, how to build a school list around your actual priorities, and a quick resume cleanup checklist.

If you’re struggling with your mental health, please reach out for support.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): Call the NAMI HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or text NAMI to 62640 (Monday–Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET) for free peer support, information, and resource referrals

SAMHSA’s National Helpline: Call 1-800-662-4357 (HELP) or text your 5-digit ZIP code to 435748 (HELP4U) for 24/7 free, confidential treatment referral and information in English and Spanish.

Want to be featured as a student of the week? Post in r/7SageLSAT. And come say hi at the LA forum!

Law school admissions has never been this competitive, and the Assistant Dean of Admissions at Texas Law has the numbers to prove it. Mathiew Le joins Ethan and Pauline to share what changed behind the scenes since 2018, when Texas admitted over a thousand students. This year it admitted about 800, and its offer rate has nearly been cut in half. You’ll hear how rising costs and loan changes are pushing applicants toward public flagships, whether you need ties to Texas to get in (you don’t), and why he’d never tell you to retake a 174. He also explains what he looks for beyond the traditional resume, how to answer “why law” without sounding like you want a policy degree, and what reapplicants should change. Plus, he reviews a real listener’s application and reveals the most memorable personal interest he’s seen on a resume.

Do you change right answers to wrong ones, then dread blind review because it makes the second-guessing worse? And if you’ve already taken the LSAT and missed your goal, should you apply this cycle anyway or wait a year?

In this episode, Alex, Bailey, and Ethan answer two listener questions from the LSAC forums. First, they break down every blind review setting on the 7Sage site, which ones to toggle off if you’re a second-guesser, and why you should only change an answer when you can point to evidence, not vibes. Then they dig into a student who went from the 130s to the 170s on practice tests, scored 155 on test day, and is getting pressure to “see where life takes you.” You’ll hear how to set your goal score, when it’s too late to apply, what a hidden pattern in practice test data can reveal, and when waiting a year actually makes you a stronger applicant. They also cover when you shouldn’t wait, and why your “why law” answer needs to match your career goals.

What does an admissions dean actually think when she opens your file? In this first episode of our admissions professionals series, Dean Z of Michigan Law reads three real listener applications and tells us exactly what works, what confuses her, and what sends an essay off the rails.

You’ll hear why she cares more about who your employer is than your job title, why a skills section doesn’t convince anyone, and what to do when your best story is missing from your resume. She breaks down the “work hero” essay, why obstacles overcome should be one sentence of obstacle and five paragraphs of overcome, and why your tone tells her more than you think. We also get into how law school admissions has changed over 25 years, the rush of early big law hiring, whether you should go straight from undergrad, and where AI fits into your personal statement.

If you’re writing your application this cycle, listen before you hit submit.

Score inflation has everyone comparing themselves to higher and higher medians. Does it actually hurt your chances? In this episode, our team of LSAT and admissions experts breaks down what rising scores mean for your application and why comparison is the wrong move.

You'll also hear:

• Why weaken questions get harder as your score climbs, and how to spot the alternative explanations the LSAT loves to hide in answer choices
• Why studying 8 to 10 hours in one day a week stalls your progress, and what to do instead
• Reading comp advice for staying on top of structure, author position, and tone
• How to handle an imperfect past in your personal statement without hurting your application
• What to know about a public interest career path, and whether school prestige matters

Plus what we're reading, where to find us on the conference tour, and a few LSAT games worth playing.

Want to be featured on the podcast? Submit your story at r/7SageLSAT. Everyone we feature gets free LSAT and admissions resources.