Spend a considerable amount of time brainstorming and outlining your ideas before you compileyour law school personal statement.
The personal educationis a crucial component of your law school applications. This essay,alongwith the optional essays, is an invaluable opportunity for you to share the personal experiences that go beyond your resume, GPA and LSAT score.
Law school admissions committees seek a scholarly personbody with diverse interests, passions and histories and what you write in your personal argumentationcould distinguish you and help you reinforce that you atomic number 18the exceedrealisticcandidate for admission.
[Don't make these 5 law school application strivemistakes.]
After a decade of working with prospective law students at Stratus Prep, I hurlcome to appreciate that angiotensin converting enzymeof the most challengeparts of writing a personal statement is selecting a topic or series of interrelated topics.
Once you have seta subject that demonstrates your unique attributes, it is essential to get yourtarradiddledown on paper or on sortand begin editing. This often feels like a much more(prenominal)manageable task than the Herculean, nerve-racking decision of determining what to write about.
So how do you choose from an abundance of rich life experiences and characteristicattributes? At Stratus Prep, I ask all in allmy clients to repleteout an extensive 10-page brainstorming questionnaire and then we discuss in depth their personal, faculty memberand – if relevant – professional lives to identify the best examples of their uniqueness, values and passions.
Below are some guidelines that I review with all my clients.
1. Avoid summarizing your resume: The admissions committeealreadyknows the bullet points included in your resume.
Go beyond the basics and opineabout experiences in your personal, academic and professional life to share with them that help give contextto your accomplishments.
[Follow these six personal statement do's and don'ts.]
2. Do not simply write what you think a school wants to hear: If you write what you believe testament"get you in," itwilllikely come across as inauthentic. In addition, readers will have heard those topics repeatedly, since other students will almostcertainlyact on the same misconception.
Instead of brainstorming topics that you believe admissions committees hopeto hear about, take the time to reacquaint yourself with the challenges you have overcome, your proudest accomplishments and the experiences that have fundamentally changed your perspective. These typically make for the most personal and induceessays.
For example, I worked with a student who wanted to study banking law and regulation. After thoroughly brainstorming essay ideas, she decided to write about her experience losing her family's home to foreclosure during the recession.
3. Differentiate yourself from similar applicants: Two popular, generic winetopics that prospective students often choose are studyoverseaor their experience with the legal system.
You mayfeel that one of these experiences truly best reveals your unique qualities.
One story likely to stand eruptthat of is a student with whom I worked who studied Talmudic law in Israel. He wrote about how this experience shaped his perspective on the relationship between law and morality.
Keep in mind, however, that a personal statement about one of these more common experiences maybe a topic about which the admissions committee has already read many times. This may make you less observableamong those in the applicant pool who share the samegeneralcharacteristics.
[Discover three sources of law school admissions advice.]
4. Go beyond simply your offensefor the law or a particular law school: If an admissions plymember is reviewing your law school application, they already know you are likely passionate about the law and their law school.
You want to go beyond reiterating your interest groupin the legal field. Instead, expand on your other interests, activities and experiences to submitthe distinct perspective you will bring to campus.
Be sure to throw awaysufficient time brainstorming and outlining your essays – in my decade of admissions experience, these 2steps, more than any others, have proven to be the key fruitto essay-writing success. Consider asking for input from teachers, family or friends, as they may have insight into which of the stories from which you are choosing sound the most bona fideand compelling.
Have you started your personal statement? Let me know in the comments, email me or sufferme via Twitter at @StratusPrep.
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Materials taken from US News
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