Glossary of Admissions Terms
Edited and Interpolated from https://blog.spiveyconsulting.com/glossary/
0L: any law school applicant, meaning “zero years law school experience”
1L: a first year law student
2L: a second year law student
3L: a third year law student
$: approx. 1/4 tuition
$$: half tuition
$$$: 3/4 tuition
$$$$: full tuition or full tuition+
ABA: the American Bar Association
Adcomm/Adcom: admission application reader and decision maker (short for “admissions committee”)
ASD: Admitted Students' Day
ASW: Admitted Students' Weekend
Bar: the test required to be admitted to that organization
Bibles: PowerScore LSAT study guides
CAS: LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service, which collects and interprets undergraduate transcripts from law school applicants and provides the admissions file reader with an analyzed snapshot of an applicant’s entire academic record, most notably, the CAS report will translate all undergraduate work into a cumulative GPA, otherwise known as the LSAC GPA, which is used for reporting to ABA and USNWR. Applicants can see most of this information on through their LSAC profile, but it is called the Grade Summary Report to the applicant. The CAS report also contains copies of the transcripts, the LSAT writing sample, Letters of Recommendation and any other notices from LSAC (misconduct reports, notices of LSAT testing conditions, etc.)
CCN: Columbia, Chicago, NYU
Cycle: admission period in which applications are submitted and decisions rendered (usually from September-June)
Ding/Dong: rejected
DS: diversity statement
EA: Early Action; a non-binding application option where the applicant applies by a specific date and gets a decision by a specified date
ED: Early Decision; a binding application option generally by a certain date relatively early in the admissions cycle. If accepted ED, you are commiting to the school, meaning you will matriculate and withdraw applications to all other schools
Experimental Section: the one section, of five LSAT sections, that is not scored and is used instead by LSAC for data purposes; it is unknown which section is experimental and which are “real” at the time of the test
Gray/Grey Day: the day LSAT scores are released
GRE: the Graduate Record Examination; an alternate test to the LSAT that an increasing number of law schools are allowing for law school admissions
Hold: better than a waitlist, a hold means that your application was deemed strong but the admission committee wants to review it again
HTE: "hold tight" email - different from a hold, a HTE is an email from admissions committees stating that they have not finished reviewing your file
HYS: Harvard, Yale, Stanford - the consistent T3 law schools in America
IP: intellectual property
KJ1: term for the evaluative admissions interview, by invitation only, for Harvard Law School; based on this being the first contact from Kristi Jobson (“KJ”), HLS Dean of Admissions
KJ2: a second, follow-up interview for some candidates -- usually candidates who were interviewed earlier in the cycle, but have been waitlisted. This interview is mainly to gauge current interest in the school
K-JD: one who is applying straight out of undergrad; one who went from “kindergarten to law school” without a break for full-time work experience
Law Review: a publication, produced by law schools, that features law-related articles and research; typically membership is highly competitive and based on a writing competition, law school grades, or both
Law Revue: a comedy musical production put on by many students at law schools each spring
LG: the Logic Games (or Analytical Reasoning) section of the LSAT
LOCI: letter of continued interest, typically sent after being waitlisted at a law school
LOR: letter(s) of recommendation
LR: the Logical Reasoning section of the LSAT
LSAC: the Law School Admissions Council
LSAT: the Law School Admissions Test
LSD: lawschooldata.com, a website where applicants enter their admissions data and results
Medians: a school’s median UGPA and LSAT; a very important factor in law school admissions due to the USNWR rankings.
OCI: on-campus interviews, which occur at the start of 2L year with law firms who interview on campus for summer associate positions
Non-Traditional or Non-Trad: an applicant who is at least several years out from undergrad when applying to law school
PI: public interest
PS: personal statement
PT: LSAT practice test
R&R: Retake and reapply. Many applicants who are not happy with their cycle results will retake their LSAT and apply during the next cycle
RC: the Reading Comprehension section of the LSAT
Reverse Splitter: an applicant who is above a school’s median GPA, but below that school’s median LSAT
Softs: “soft” factors; i.e. any component of a law school application apart from LSAT and GPA
Splitter: an applicant who is above a school’s LSAT but below a school’s GPA
Stats: LSAT and Undergraduate GPA
Tier 1: Tier one schools according to USNWR (1-50)
Tier 2: Tier two schools (50-104)
Tier 3: Tier three schools (105-139)
Tier 4: Tier four schools (the rest)
T3: Top 3 schools - YLS, SLS, HLS historically
T6: Top 6 schools - YLS, SLS, HLS, CLS, UC, NYU historically
T14: Top 14
T20: Top 20
Target Medians: LSAT and GPA goals that a school is aiming for throughout the cycle
TTT: derogatory reference to 3rd and 4th tier law schools
UG: undergrad
UGPA: undergraduate GPA
Unicorn: an applicant with exceptionally outstanding “softs” (see above), e.g. Olympic athlete, cured cancer, etc.
URM: underrepresented minority (for most schools, the following constitutes URM in law school admissions: American Indians/Alaskan Natives, African Americans/Blacks, Hispanic/Latino, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander; note that there are many other applicants that would be considered minority depending on the individual law school)
USNWR: US News and World Report, known for their annual law school rankings
V10/V100: the top 10/100 law firms in the country, as ranked by Vault
Why Statement/ Why X: generally one-page essay on why you have applied and would like to attend a certain school (an offspring of Yield Protection)
WL: waitlist/waitlisted
WS: writing sample
YP: yield protection, or the process by which admissions offices may WL, hold, or deny an application if it is lacking evidence that the applicant would matriculate to the school if admitted. This phenomenon grew popular during the seven year recession in application numbers from 2010 to 2017 and has remained in play for a number of law schools to date.