Law and Justice

Posts Tagged ‘Personal’

Writing your law school application personal statement can be as nerve-wracking as preparing for the LSAT exam. You probably feel as though much of your future hinges on getting accepted into the college of your choice. Even the smartest of undergraduates struggle to find the right words to say. Before the panic attacks start, try this advice first.

Consider the purpose of a law school personal statement, which is two-fold. First, you must try to convince an admissions committee that your accomplishments are worthy of consideration. Second, you need to prove that you are not only lawyer material, but you are also a perfect addition to the student body at that particular institution. These are the two main questions that you need to answer.

Like a good courtroom argument, you need to focus your efforts on offering evidence. Emotional pleas may move a jury to tears, but only evidence will convict. The admissions committee is your jury, and they need to see the proof that backs up your arguments. ‘I work hard’ is not an evidentiary statement. How do you work hard? How have you demonstrated your work ethic throughout your lifetime, particularly in your undergraduate studies and employment? Your college grades at your undergraduate school will provide some evidence as to how hard a worker you are. Sharing your experiences in the workplace will too. Talking about your volunteer work and community service is another powerful piece of evidence. Faced with this type of evidence, your ‘jury’ will be convinced you are a hard worker.

For the first part of your law school personal statement, supply proof that you are law-school material. Refer to your GPA, especially if it was high (your transcript will back this up). Expand on the courses that you took in college and how they inspired and prepared you for this venture. Share how your job experiences have prepared you for a career in jurisprudence.

The second part of your essay needs to persuade your ‘jury’ that you are a fit for that school. What is it about the institution that attracted you in the first place? For example, if the law school you are making application to has a strong commitment to encouraging pro bono work, describe why this appeals to you. Follow that by sharing related volunteer work that you’ve done.

It isn’t wrong to use emotional arguments. Sharing your emotions lets your ‘jury’ know that you are a real person with an intense passion for the law. It expresses your desire to be a part of that particular college. But don’t rely solely on emotional arguments. Whenever you make an emotional statement, back it up with evidence. In other words, you might state ‘I am drawn to working with at-risk youth.’ Then, refer to the two years that you spent volunteering as a mentor at a homeless shelter for teenagers. This proves that you’re more than just a lot of talk. When faced with your body of evidence, your ‘jury’ will have a hard time refuting your desire to pursue a law career.

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OK, I understand that applying to law school can be a frightening proposition and that you are looking for all the help you can get – and that’s why you are scouring the internet and the book stores for law school personal statement samples.

Well stop it.

You don’t need samples to show you how to write your law school personal statement. Each and every application you are completing tells you exactly what you need to know. The school has defined the rules, including how long the law school personal statement should be, what topics should be addressed, and frequently what topics should be avoided.

But, many ask, shouldn’t I look at what others have done to give me an idea of how to do it? While this is often good advice – and is something I frequently do in my law practice – I fervently believe that it is something that should be avoided when it comes to the law school personal statement.

The main reason you should avoid reading law school personal statement samples is that they all look the same, and you run the very real risk of looking the same if you follow those samples. In every area of life the great reward go to the outstanding people – not the good, or even excellent performers. To be outstanding, you need to do things differently than every one else.

The problem is that everyone is scared to death of screwing up their law school application by not giving the admissions committee what they expect. This kind of thinking probably won’t hurt you, because 99% of the law school personal statements they review are exactly the same. Such thinking will definitely, however, not help you because you cannot be outstanding if you look like everyone else.

Let’s face it, if you are shooting for the moon and trying to get into a law school that is not going to accept you based on your grades and LSAT scores alone, then turning in a bland personal statement isn’t going to do anything for you. You need to do something to set yourself apart, and the personal statement is one of the few areas you have an opportunity to do that.

I’m not recommending that you be crazy and violate the rules set down by the school, but I am recommending that you use those rules as your boundaries and fashion something truly personal, and different. By avoiding the same samples that every one else is reading you stand a better chance of falling in with the sheeple you are competing with.

Your goal is to get into a good law school and its my job to help you achieve that goal. One of the most important pieces of advice I can give is to encourage you to stand out, so make that personal statement yours and not someone elses.

This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

My long time friend and mentor H. Jefferson, Jr. is an expert on on law school admission, having applied to and been admitted by 11 of the top law schools in the United States. To learn more about the the techniques and strategies you can use to get into the law school of your choice, visit lawschoolacademics.blogspot.com

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Writing a personal statement for law school can be stressful and difficult.  The personal statement is such an important part of your application package, it can easily spell the difference between whether or not you are admitted into the school of your choice.  You may feel pressured to come up with an excellent essay, but you should always remember that you can always get help from the people around you.  One of the best ways to compose a great application essay is to have other people read your essay.  It can be hard to take a step back and look at your personal statement from an objective point of view.  For this reason, it may be a good idea to get the help, advise, and guidance of others, resulting in a more refined and well-edited personal statement.  Read on for some helpful tips on how to get help from others for your law school personal statements.

Writing your draft

Before you can ask someone to read through your essay, you first have to come up with a draft.  Try to set aside ample time for preparation, writing, and editing.  During the preparation stage, you should try to gain more knowledge about the law school you are applying to and how to write personal statements.  Learning about the law school will help you to tailor your essay to the specific school you are applying to.  When researching about personal statements, you should check out the school’s homepage to see if they provide any tips or suggestions on essay writing.  Also, look for some sample law school personal statements so you can get a better idea of what the personal statement looks like, how it reads, and how the themes are developed.

Here are some basic tips on writing your law school personal statement:
-  Try to be honest and natural, letting your character and personality show in your essay.
-  Be concise, specific, and accurate.
-  Make sure that there are no syntax, spelling, or grammatical errors.
-  Don’t dwell on the negative.  Instead, focus on the positive and how you are ready for law school.
-  If you don’t know how to go about your personal statement, try taking a look at some sample essays from other people.

Seeking the help of language experts

One of the best sources of help when writing personal statements or any type of essay is a language expert.  An expert in English can help in proofreading and editing your law school personal statement to ensure that there are absolutely no language mistakes.  You may want to ask for help from an English or Literature teacher in college or high school.  Another choice is to get help from a tutor or consultant who is willing to look through and edit your paper.

Seeking the help of people in the legal profession

Legal professionals and other people who may have been through the experience of writing law school personal statements also make great proofreaders and editors.  Not only have these people been through what you are going through now, but they also have experience of what the legal profession is like after schooling.

Seeking the help of family and friends

Finally, who best to ask help from than your own family and friends?  Whether you ask for help from parents, an uncle who is an attorney, or a friend who is also applying for law school, you can get great help from those around you.

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