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can you post your law school essay?
Definitely! I’ve gotten this question a few times now, but didn’t really feel comfortable sharing it yet. Now that my application process is over though, I’m happy to. I’ve only copied the first page of it (it’s about 3 pages long) as the rest I’d still like to keep to myself. Read it below the cut!
We’ll save you a lot of time by summarizing the important things about law school personal statement tips. We find most law school applicants need help learning how to write a personal statement this is viewed favorably by the selection committee.
Write a Law School Personal Statement You Can Be Proud Of
Today on the LSAT blog: a guest post by Law School Expert Ann Levine, the former director of admissions for two ABA-approved law schools and the author of The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert and The Law School Decision Game: A Playbook for Prospective Lawyers.
With the October LSAT soon to be a thing of the past, it’s almost time (and time if you took the June LSAT) to get your law school personal statement in tip-top shape. Here are some of my best tips for crafting a personal statement you can really be proud of.
I know you’re sitting down right now, trying to write the most brilliant, persuasive, powerful law school personal statement ever written, but your fingers are paralyzed on the keys. “I hate to write about myself,” some tell me. Others say, “My life has been pretty boring/sheltered/standard/privileged.” Still others say, “I went through hard times but I don’t want to write a sob story.” How do you hit the perfect compromise and create a law school personal statement you can be proud of?
I dedicate a lot of space to this in my book, but here are a few ideas to get you started on brainstorming topics to address:
1. It’s very hard to go back to the drawing board after writing an intro and conclusion, so just start writing your ideas down and sharing your stories and experiences. Start writing like you would a journal or blog, using a conversational tone. Write how you speak. You can fix the grammar and spelling later. Fine-tune conclusions and themes later. Right now, get your stories on paper and see what themes naturally emerge.
2. Yes, your final personal statement will be between 500 words and four pages for each law school. Most law schools want 2-3 pages (double-spaced). But don’t think about that. When you first get started you should write at least four pages so you have room to cut.
3. Don’t try to weave together everything you’ve ever done. Find things that are similar, either in subject matter or in exhibiting a trait you’re trying to demonstrate, and only weave them together if it really works.
4. Don’t reiterate everything from your résumé. Leave job descriptions to the résumé, and if you discuss résumé items in your law school personal statement be sure to take a more anecdotal and lessons-learned approach rather than describing your duties and accomplishments.
5. Going in chronological order can be a trap. There is no reason to start with the day you were born, no matter how dramatic the birth might have been. Start with the most interesting thing about you. Get the reader’s interest by sharing information about you that will be likable and interesting and as captivating as possible. Don’t try to “warm up” to your story with childhood memories, no matter how cute. You can always reflect back on those memories later in the essay if they were essential in formulating your goals and ideals and if they provide real context for your later achievements.
6. The goal is not to be “unique.” That’s a very high bar to set. Don’t apologize for being privileged if you were fortunate enough to fall into this category. Just tell your story, whatever it might be, and tell it in an authentic and sincere voice.
7. If you did face a lot of obstacles in your life (family issues, poverty, discrimination, immigration, etc.) you face an entirely different set of problems because you may have to pick and choose among them. Sharing all of your trauma (parents’ divorce, food stamps, education not stressed, poor grades, working through school, dealing with depression and ADD, etc.) can be overwhelming and cause concern that you don’t really have your life together. But sharing a few of these things can make for a powerful essay. The key is sharing information that shows you’ve prepared yourself for the challenges ahead and you’ve demonstrated that you truly overcame these issues.
This post originally appeared on Law School Expert.
Write a Law School Personal Statement You Can Be Proud Of was originally published on LSAT Blog
Law School Personal Statement Advice: CAPS LOCK EDITION
Today is NATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY, so go to town in the comments section. After all, how are people going to know that you are YELLING AT THEM THROUGH THE INTERNET if you haven’t utilized that oblong button sitting just next to your left pinky?
In reality, there are only four reasons to use the caps lock key:
1) Someone is WRONG ON THE INTERNET! And you have to set them straight.
2) You recognize that you are AN IDIOT AND WANT THE WORLD TO KNOW IT THROUGH YOUR TYPING.
3) You’re writing out the lyrics to Kenny Loggins’ DANGER ZONE.
4) You’re writing your law school personal statement.
Wait, what?
YEP! But I mean that figuratively.
All-caps words are meant to call attention to themselves. While those words are usually used to call Obama by his full name and reference his secret Muslim agenda (see 1 and 2 above), the person writing them absolutely believes them to be important. They’re the SECRET KEEPERS of some arcane KNOWLEDGE EVERYONE MUST KNOW and the only way to get that information across is to FIGURATIVELY SHOUT IT OUT ON THE INTERNET.
Your law school personal statement is, actually, quite similar (hopefully not topically). You’re the only one who knows your story; you want everyone on the admissions committee to know it; and you want to write it in a way that sticks in their heads.
So if you were a crazy internet message board CAPS LOCK POSTER/SCREAMER, your law school personal statement would be in all caps.
You have two pages, double-spaced, to make yourself into an interesting person who will add to the law school. That’s not a lot of space. Every single word in that essay should be worthy of BEING IN ALL CAPS. You can’t waste a single word, so, when editing, make sure that each and every one adds something to the essay.
Just make sure your pinky doesn’t slip off of that “a” key.
Law School Personal Statement Advice: CAPS LOCK EDITION was originally published on LSAT Blog
Inside a Mock Law School Admissions Committee Meeting
Last week, Hank attended a handful of events at the 2014 Pacific Coast Association of Pre-Law Advisors (PCAPLA) Conference and blogged about them. This is part 1 of 3.
There was one resounding theme at the PCAPLA Conference Mock Law School Admissions Committee Meeting last Thursday on the campus of Southwestern Law School:
It ain’t just about the numbers.
In a room of dozens of pre-law advisors from all over the country, Southwestern Law Assistant Dean of Admissions Lisa Gear and a panel of admission committee members from the University of San Diego School of Law, Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law, San Francisco School of Law and Santa Clara Law School discussed the applications of three students vying for admission.
The goal of the discussion was to pinpoint each application’s strengths and weaknesses, and to decide which ones had the best chance of admission. It was an engaging look at what the people deciding your law school fate are thinking about when deciding whether or not you’re the right fit for their school.
Granted, the first step in reviewing the applications was to read the back of each applicant’s “baseball card”: weighing their LSAT scores, GPAs, undergrad majors, class difficulty, etc. However, both the pre-law advisors and the law school committee members were overwhelmingly more interested in the applicants’ goals and motivations — especially for the applicants lacking in numbers.
Letters of recommendation were a particular focus. Advisors and committee members placed great value in the endorsements of undergrad professors. The more prestigious the recommender, the better. The strongest LORs echoed the applicants’ motivations and skills as a student. The weaker LORs were either off topic or way too brief. The best advice given: make sure your LOR scribes understand why you want to go to law school. Although it’s not always best to request to read an LOR before it’s submitted, it’s wise to communicate beforehand with whoever’s writing them. If your professor has a clearer idea of your goals, they’ll better connect how their past experiences with you will help you achieve them.
There was also much discussion about red flags on law school applications, but everyone agreed that there are numerous ways for applicants to show that they’ve moved on. Law school committee members understand that people make mistakes (especially college students). The key is to show law schools who you are now, not then. Law schools want to feel that you’ll be a productive, successful law student; by showing you’ve overcome your mistakes in the past, you can show law schools that you can handle adversity and the difficult load of law school. Law school admission committees are very forgiving of past mistakes as long as you’ve shown you’ve moved on from them and are a better person — and student — because of them.
According to the mock meeting attendees, a key to showing your drive is the law school personal statement. As long as applicants follow the personal statement prompt, a strong essay can go a long way. That’s why it’s always worth applying to your dream schools; you never know who’s reading your application. Those in attendance agreed that a good personal statement doesn’t just recap your past, but explains why your past has prepared you for law school, and why you’d make the school proud to have you as a student and graduate. Also, if you know what kind of law you want to practice after you graduate, great, but it’s not critical. Students often change focus in law school, and admission committees know that. If you’re not sure what kind of lawyer you want to be, that’s perfectly normal. Remember: you’re showing why you want to be admitted, not what you want to do with your degree.
Thursday’s event was a good reminder that no matter what is in your law school application, your fate is entirely dependent on who is reviewing it. While one piece can be a deal-breaker for some law school admission committee members, it can be strength for others. Many applicants assume law schools only care about the back of that baseball card, but it’s quite the opposite. Yes, the best way to book your ticket to law school is with an impressive LSAT score, GPA and major, but in today’s admissions landscape, it’s about much more than that.
In other words, it ain’t just about the numbers.
Stay tuned tomorrow and Wednesday for parts two and three, which include an overview of law school personal statements and letters of recommendation, as well as a discussion with a panel of law school admissions deans.
Inside a Mock Law School Admissions Committee Meeting was originally published on LSAT Blog
Talking Law School Personal Statements and Letters of Rec
Last week, Hank attended a handful of events at the 2014 Pacific Coast Association of Pre-Law Advisors (PCAPLA) Conference and blogged about them. This is part 2 of 3.
It might be a law school applicant’s market right now.
But you still have to make a compelling case.
That was the final message delivered by Golden Gate University School of Law Associate Dean of Admissions Angela Dalfen to close out the PCAPLA Conference discussion on personal statements and letters of recommendation last Friday at UCLA School of Law.
Dalfen, along with UCLA School of Law Director of Admissions Talin Broosan, discussed law school admissions essays and letters of rec for about an hour, passing along their best pieces of advice to the dozens of pre-law advisors from all over the country who were in attendance.
Broosan likened the process of sorting through law school applications for the right candidate to looking for a mate. Your personal statement should show that you’re a good match for the law school you wish to attend. After all, admission committee members are looking out for the well-being of the entire school.
The key, according to Broosan, is to stand out in the pile. One of the worst ways to do that: regurgitating the school’s website in your personal statement. Broosan said she’s seen plenty of admissions essays where applicants simply copy and pasted the school’s mission statement. There are other ways to appeal to the law school without doing that.
Dalfen added that the purpose of the personal statement is to show you will be successful in a law school’s program, not just in your legal career. Your personal statement should paint a picture that you’re prepared for the hard work of being a law student.
How you show that is the tricky part.
Overcoming past hardships is the go-to theme of most law school personal statements, and most of the questions from pre-law advisors in attendance focused on how to best execute that theme. Dalfen and Broosan both agreed that capturing the reader’s attention early is key, but the point of the essay should always be brought back to why an applicant wants to attend the law school they’re applying to. You want to detail your past so the law school gets to know you, sure, but you have to show how you learned from your past and how it will help you handle the academic rigors as a 1L student.
If you have an especially remarkable story, Dalfen and Broosan encouraged writing about it in your law school personal statement under one condition: make sure it’s true. Dalfen and Broosan said they won’t hesitate to Google any candidate claiming to have an unbelievable story in their personal statement. In general, it’s good to Google yourself before applying to law school — just in case there are any red flags that might pop up in the review process. Also, if you have an exceptionally personal story you wish to discuss in your essay, make sure you ease the reader into it and connect it to how it applies to your motivation as a prospective law student.
While you are in complete control of what goes into your law school personal statement, it might seem as if you are helpless when it comes to the content of law school letters of recommendation.
Wrong.
Dalfen and Broosan encouraged applicants to have a lengthy chat with their professors (or whoever is recommending) before they sit down to write so that the recommenders have an idea of what the law schools you’re applying to are looking for. Just as you should know who’s reading your law school personal statement, your professors should know who’s reading your law school letters of recommendation.
Although Broosan admitted that law schools do take the writer into account, it’s up to the student to find the right recommender. She suggested asking professors if they can write strong, confident recommendations — not just scripted approvals. If a professor is hesitant to write you an LOR, run. Dalfen added that applicants should always have a backup plan, in case their recommenders fall through. And if you think a poor letter of rec doesn’t have an effect, think again. A basic rule of thumb: never ask for an LOR unless you’re confident you’ll get a good one.
So no matter the state of the law school admissions market, you still need a convincing personal statement and strong letters of recommendation.
If you don’t believe me, Google it.
Stay tuned tomorrow for part three, which recaps a discussion with a panel of law school admissions deans. Check out part one of Hank’s series.
Talking Law School Personal Statements and Letters of Rec was originally published on LSAT Blog
Hindsight Is 20/20: Reviewing My Own Personal Statement
Today we’re bringing back a classic post from the vault. This post was originally published on October 18, 2011 – and, much like a fine wine, has only improved with age. Matt Shinners is a Harvard Law graduate who taught and provided application counseling for Blueprint LSAT Prep. His application clearly turned out *okay*, but nevertheless, we can all learn from his successes (and failures, such as they are).
I applied to law school in October/November of 2006 with a 3.7/180 and the following law school personal statement. It was not even close to the strongest element of my application package.
I’ve annotated it in the many, many areas where I messed up. However, I didn’t really say anything in my law school personal statement. I ramble a bit about being lost in my academic career, then I start talking about law. You should be more concrete in your law school personal statement. Have a clear focus, theme, or passion.
If there’s anything good about this law school personal statement (although, screw you, you can’t argue with results!), it’s that I feel it encapsulates my personality fairly well. I’m funny, but I’m not as funny as I think. I like taking risks. I’m mostly fluff. I’ve got an almost-schizophrenic level of areas of interest. Personalizing yourself is the most important part of the law school personal statement — make sure that the reader knows you better than they did before they first read your law school personal statement.
So, without further ado, paragraph by paragraph, here’s my law school personal statement:
I had no way of knowing it at the time, but all of those long hours in the gym were about to pay off. The pain, the sweat, the tears…I mean, all those times there was something in my eye; these were all about to come together to make something possible that would change my life forever. The culmination of all of that time spent pushing my body as far as it would go was sitting right in front of me. I flexed my muscles and picked up my 15 pound, 1300 page copy of The Brothers Karamazov; by the time I put it down, I would be exhausted both mentally and physically, and my future would be radically different.
Matt’s note: I’m trying way too hard here in this first paragraph to distract the reader from what I’m trying to say. There’s no reason for this long of a misdirect/intro – I should have just jumped into it.
My life had become rather uncertain right before I embarked upon a literary quest that could only be rivaled by the Old Testament. I had spent the majority of my first two years studying the varying aspects of the physical sciences, having come to Boston College with the idea that I was going to find a cure for some terrible disease. My degree would get me a job at Pfizer, Merck, or some other big name in the pharmaceutical industry, and my work would be directly responsible for alleviation of the pain of millions of people throughout the world. I loved science, and I loved learning about the ways that both the body and the chemicals it contained work. Everything seemed to be going according to plan. Then, I started independent research in a lab.
Matt’s note: This paragraph does a good job of setting up where I was in my life at this time, I guess. However, it’s rather boring. As such, it could do with some trimming.
As a sophomore in the Honors Chemistry program, I was entitled to start my independent research a semester earlier than most. I eagerly showed up for my first day, wearing my excitement like a lab coat. I introduced myself to my faculty advisor and set myself up on the undergrad desk, ready to solve whatever problem came my way. As the weeks went on, and the experiments continued, I slowly realized that the work I imagined was not what I believed it to be. At first, I chalked it up to the lab I was working in. However, as the weeks became months, it became more and more apparent that, for whatever reason, research was not my calling. I simply did not enjoy what everyone else in the lab was dedicating their life to. The thought of spending countless hours in the lab, experimenting as I had been doing, caused me great distress. This moment is when The Brothers Karamazov came into my life.
Matt’s note: You know what rivals lab work for tedium? Doc review. It probably wasn’t the best move to admit that this type of work bored me. However, I’m sure the lawyers at the admissions offices like to think that legal work is more interesting than scientific research. Or not – I mean, they’re not practicing anymore for a reason.
I realized as I was reading it that the advice of Father Zosima to Alyosha was just as relevant to me. I learned that I should not continue spending my life pursuing a goal that did not make me happy. I should not do what I think I should do; I should do what I enjoy doing. The dilemma was that I still enjoyed learning about the sciences. However, I took a frank assessment of what I did in my free time. I was a prominent member of the College Democrats, filling the position of Vice President. I was also in the process of starting my own student newspaper, “The Patriot”, to foster intelligent political discussion on campus. I spent time with my friends debating ethical issues, politics, and the ways in which the world should be run.
Matt’s note: Ugh, self-aggrandizing rèsumè-listing. Cut this, please.
I started to think back to my childhood in an attempt to find answers there. I remembered the week that I had desired to be a fireman; however, I remembered my crippling fear of Dalmatians, so I decided against that. Then I asked myself, “Why not be an astronaut?” I latched on to this for awhile until I realized that not only am I deserving of a better profession than one NASA could offer, but they also wouldn’t accept me because of “physical standards.” Psychologist, doctor, World War II reenactionist… all of these ideas went as fast as they came. My friends and family always told me while I was growing up that I should be a lawyer because of my propensity for debate. I had considered it for awhile, especially when my high school “American Government” teacher, a woman I have a great amount of respect for, recommended it. All of these options were floating through my head when I decided to finally sit down and figure out what I liked to do, and which careers would line up with that conclusion.
Matt’s note: Humor’s a gamble – you never know if it works (because you’ll always find yourself funnier and more clever than others do), and even if it does, it won’t work with everyone. I’m a risk-taker, though.
Also: Don’t do this. Don’t talk about how everyone always thought you’d be a great lawyer, or how it’s what you always wanted to do.
This process showed me why I enjoy science so much; it is the problem-solving aspect of it. I love taking a set of rules and applying them to situations where the answer is not clear. I love working out the answer to a logical question based on a seemingly sparse amount of information. I love the process of debate, a process present even in the scientific community, and the development of new ideas by refining old ones through discussion with others. I love a good Scotch, but that did not get me anywhere. In short, I love all the aspects of science that have to do with the discussion of the ideas, and not the researching of them in a lab.
Matt’s note: It’s true. I do love a good Scotch.
When I realized that problem solving was a strong interest of mine, I reconsidered the profession of law. The whole profession is built around unraveling complex situations and finding a resolution. It also involves much reading and writing, both of which are hobbies of mine (my senior thesis is even a creative writing project). Finally, it would afford me the opportunity to apply my problem solving abilities to any field that I desire, be it the sciences, politics, or another area that may catch my interest. To me, the study of law will give me the problem solving skills to work in whatever field interests me. It will open up many different opportunities for me, and, at this point in my life, that is as important as knowing what I am going to do.
Matt’s note:This is the right place to relate what you’ve talked about to law. However, there’s really not a good connection here. I’ve rambled for a few pages, now I’m talking about law school. Have your connection be more concrete.
This is about as weak as a reason as you can have. I might as well have just written, “I don’t want to enter the real world yet, so law school why not?” Which, you know, was the truth. But don’t write that!
Oh, and I ran the Boston Marathon. That was fulfilling.
Matt’s note: I’m a cheeky bastard.
Congratulations if you made it this far. Feel free to discuss in the comments.
Hindsight Is 20/20: Reviewing My Own Personal Statement was originally published on LSAT Blog
#Lawschool personal statement examples - U of T Law School
#Lawschool personal statement examples – U of T Law School
It’s time for you to consider the Law School Personal Statement. https://twitter.com/LSATPreparation/status/617708597200461824 Personal Statement samples from the the University of Toronto law school: https://twitter.com/LSATPreparation/status/617707811858960384 Personal Statement samples from the University of Chicago law school: https://twitter.com/LSATPreparation/status/617706953767301120…
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