Although the message boards seem to be geared toward law school applicants, many posters stick around far past matriculation.

“Once you’ve been through it, you want to help each other,” said Kerry Monroe, who is in her second year at the University’s law school and frequently posts on the boards.

She said a main reason why she takes time out of her studies to post is to make sure students have accurate information about Michigan Law School and to encourage them to apply.

“In law school, continuation of a really strong student body is good for everybody involved,” Monroe said, who graduated from the University of Georgia in 1998. “It’s the same reason why, at school, I volunteered to be a tour guide: I want to put a positive face out there for the student body.”

Talley said a downside was that many posters have a “very narrow view” of the qualifications one must have to get into certain schools. True to its name, Top Law Schools houses many users who poke fun of scores below the 98th percentile or schools outside the top twenty.
“It sometimes is a little soul crushing,” Talley said.

But most of the time, she said, the sense of community trumps the sense of competition.

“It’s so strange that everyone’s helping the competition, but I don’t feel like people look at it that way,” she said. “They could be future classmates.”

Spain, who said he got a “ton of help” on his personal statement from other Top Law School users, said students aren’t wary of helping each other out because by the time they hit the message boards, there’s hardly any way to improve their grade point average or LSAT score, the two main factors in law school admission.

“So much of the competition for seats comes down to factors that are already decided that helping kids out and giving them more information doesn’t really negatively affect your own chances,” Spain said.