The Journey of Reapplying to Law School
Ebele Eseke
Making the decision to reapply to law school isn’t an easy one, but sometimes it can be the difference between going to the school of your dreams and settling.
In my recent interview with Ebele Eseke, who will be attending Yale Law School in the fall, we discussed how her second cycle of law school applications changed her acceptance rate and scholarship awards drastically.
Ebele is a former student of mine who had a unique experience applying to law school. She is Ghanian and Nigerian and immigrated to the United States in 2014. She attended the University of California Santa Barbara and graduated in 2021 with a major in sociology and a minor in history and professional writing. After applying to law school in the 2020-2021 cycle, she decided to reapply to law school in the 2021-2022 cycle and described the difference as “night and day.” Read along to learn more about her law school application journey!
Interested in the whole interview? Listen to Reapplying to Law School: An Immigrant's Journey to Yale on Spotify or wherever you stream podcasts.
Sydney: Why don't you tell us a little bit about your law school journey?
Ebele: It's been a long two years. I wanted to be a K-JD, and that’s when you go straight through from undergrad. By my senior year, I was juggling a lot. I was still completing research, I was working, I was having a full course schedule, and then there was the pandemic. There was too much going on, but I’m very optimistic, so I tried to apply. I took the LSAT twice and I applied to twelve schools.
It didn’t go too well. I got waitlisted from seven, I got rejected from three, and I got two acceptances. Nothing was wrong with the schools I got accepted to, I just ultimately felt like I wouldn’t be the happiest at those schools after talking to some current students and thinking about my goals and where I want to be - even where I wanted to spend the next few years of my life.
Instead of accepting those offers, I reevaluated my application. I was like, “where did I go wrong?” I did the work in undergrad, I have a good GPA, I had good letters of recommendation, I believed. I think the main part of the issue was that I wasn’t telling a cohesive story or I didn’t have the right scores to get me to the schools that I felt would help me the best.
I decided that ultimately I wouldn’t be the happiest if I rushed into law school. I had time, and I was lucky enough to be able to come home, live with family, take the summer off, study for the LSAT again, and reapply. I’m so glad that I listened to my gut, because my two cycles are like night and day.
Last cycle, I’m getting all of the waitlists and rejections. In this cycle, I applied to 13 schools and have 10 acceptances. Even in those offers, I got three full-ride opportunities as well. So, I would say I’m grateful that I learned patience during this cycle.
Sydney: I love that. And I think that's a really important note about patience because so often I'm telling students don't rush the process. You don't make long-term decisions based on short-term emotions. That's something I told you. So, I love that you are really just evidence of what happens when you take your time.
What were you most nervous about this cycle, and how did you overcome some of those anxieties?
Ebele: Apparently the 2020-2021 cycle was one of the most competitive ones. I don't know why. I was scared that there was a trickle-down effect of people that were probably in my position last year and also decided to reapply. So I was like, okay, well maybe this act was going to be as competitive, so I need to make sure that in the time I have I am maximizing every resource and perfecting my application.
These admissions committees have already seen my story. They have already seen the packet, and it’s only less than a year ago. If I’m going to present myself to them, how can I retell my story in the best way? Or how can I do better than I did last year? I did take a break, so I’m like, I’m not doing anything phenomenal to add to my resume. I was really anxious about retelling my story in a good way and really intentional about being honest with myself.
Sydney: What support did you get throughout the law school application process that helped you?
Ebele: A lot. I think, don't do it by yourself. As first-generation, low-income, first of my family to be a lawyer, no one in my circle knew anything about law school. Even no one in my college circle knew much about law school, because like I was getting a lot of Ph.D advice and while they’re kind of similar, they’re also a little different.
While I appreciate the people in my undergrad that were supporting me, I knew I had to outsource and find people that are experts in this field. Yeah, you're used to telling me you're a good writer, blah, blah, blah, but am I writing the best personal statement for a law school application?
So, I started to ask around about consulting. I guess one advice I would give about consulting is to actually self, how best do you work and how can you improve? Do you want something that's more holistic? Somone you can have a conversation with or bounce ideas off of? Or do you just want someone who is doing copy editing and very direct services? So just ask yourself, what I need, where are my weaknesses, and how can I get help?
I wanted a more holistic support system. I like to talk and have conversations, bounce ideas off, tell you my story, and give you an idea of where I'm coming from. And that is what I got from Sydney who helped a lot with my personal statements and my diversity statement. So while I didn't necessarily describe a new Ebele, Sydney put into more perspective, what is the story we’re going to tell.
Treat the application as a puzzle. Every essay was going to be a different piece of the puzzle. That’s something that she told me. She said that my personal statement and diversity statement are good grammatically, no mistakes and it flows well, however, how can we make it even more personal and tell a better story? That’s something I didn’t know before outsourcing. So I would say definitely outsource and get some support if you need it.
I also got tutoring for my LSAT. Last year, I did a Kaplan class and it was helpful in getting the foundation, but it wasn’t helpful learning how to study. Where I found improvement in my LSAT was when I was practicing and knowing how to practice correctly, not just knowing the foundation. The foundation is good, but you need to master these skills.
I actually found out that I was eligible for LSAT accommodations. I didn’t know that was a thing, and I don’t know if it’s because I’m not from here, but testing accommodations are not a thing in Ghana. So, I found out I could get testing accommodations for migraines, and I didn’t know about that until I talked to a student who disclosed that to me as well.
So, always ask for help. Outsource. This is already too stressful to try and do it by yourself. I sat down and was really honest with myself. Just admit where you need help, then get over whatever feeling that brings, and then put your eye on the prize
Sydney: I’m proud of you for looking and figuring out, what can I do? What are my resources, how can I maximize this? Because, ultimately, if you invest - and you did invest - it pays off.
You have been very open about your background. For other students that are looking at this saying, “Wow, I really want to go to law school but I’m also an immigrant and I don’t really know exactly how it works,” do you have any advice for getting started and overcoming that confusion?
Ebele: My advice would be, one: you need to believe in yourself and know that you can conquer whatever obstacle that is. It's hard, but tell yourself every day that I'm going to do this. I’ve already done college. College is four years, and it’s even more difficult because you adjusted as a new adult at 18. You figured that out in college when you’re even younger and you’ve come out successful. So, just believe in yourself.
I’m not going to lie; the process can be a little disheartening and make you feel like you’re incapable because it’s hard. But believe in yourself and, again, ask for help. I know it’s hard for us [people of color] to ask for help because you always feel like you’re burdening someone else. Trust me, I’m still dealing with that, but you never know until you ask. The worst they can say is no, and some of those might sting and you cry about it, but that’s okay. Cross them off and go to the next person on the list and ask for help.
Listen to your gut. Listen to what makes you feel comfortable. Don’t just do things because other people are doing it or just be a follower. For me, a lot of my advisors told me to take the money and go to law school last year. They had my best interests at heart, but I had to listen to my gut.
If I could give you any advice, it would be have confidence leading yourself. Pray about it if you believe in God or you're Christian. If not, that's okay. Meditate, whatever is going to put you in your most calmest form and then reach out for help
Sydney: That's really good advice. And it's important, too, because sometimes the people in our corner - not that they don't mean well, like you said, they mean well. But I always say that sometimes God or the universe gives you a vision, but they don’t give everyone else around you that same vision. So, if you have that feeling like you’re called for something higher, like you can do better, like you want more, and you really feel that, you need to listen to your gut.
I know a lot of students who sometimes their family doesn't get it. Not everyone comes from a community that understands, and it’s not to say anything bad about the community, just that everyone can only give you advice for what they know. You’re going on a path that’s new if you’re the first in your family to go on this path, so you might need advice from outside of your community.
Ebele: I think another thing is that sometimes when you are looking at your peers that have all this familial support, it might make you feel a little resentful. Sometimes life would be so much easier if they can help you with your financial aid application and stuff like that, but just accept them for what they offer and appreciate the support that they can give.
Sydney: I love that. This has been absolutely amazing. Is there anything else that you'd want to share?
Ebele: To sum it all up, the law school process is inequitable. Just start there. The system is already not in my favor, so let me not beat myself up about it. To be here means I’m already doing twice as much, and I’m already doing so much better. It may look like you’re not ahead of the race, but you’ve done a lot of work already to keep yourself afloat, and it’s already really impressive.
Knowing that, give yourself some grace. I was hard on myself, but sometimes I’m like, look, you’re tired, you put in work, take a break, go paint with some friends. I know that in life when you put in the work, there’s always going to be a reward. Obviously, it’s hard to just hold onto that, but you should because it works out.
If you’re interested in the entire interview with Ebele, make sure to listen to our Break Into Law School™ podcast or visit our YouTube channel! I also offer a variety of law school consulting services that can help you through your law school application process, whether it’s your first year of applications or not! If you have any questions or need support, don’t be afraid to reach out to us at hello@smontgomeryconsulting.com.