Although all components of a law school application are important, the most important one is the personal statement. To that end, this series explains some of the pivotal points you should keep in mind as you prepare to write your law school application personal statement. This is a 10-part series that will help get you from starting to finishing your personal statement.
Don’t Be Afraid
Well, we’re at the conclusion of this 10-part series on the Writing Your Law School Personal Statement. Now it’s time to address the last piece of submitting your application. Fear. Whether or not you like to admit it, a huge component of applying to law school is fear. The whole experience is chock full of scary aspects!
- Taking the LSAT
- Studying for the LSAT
- Asking for Recommendations
- Choosing the Right Law School
- What Does Your Transcript Say About You?
- What Are Your Admissions Chances?
- And of course, Writing Your Personal Statement
When it comes to the personal statement, write about something that inspires you, something you’re passionate about, something that invokes feelings within you. If you do that, be putting your heart and soul into what you’re writing. That’s what makes for a memorable essay.
It’s interesting how much students censor themselves because they think no one wants to hear what they have to say, or because they feel uncomfortable talking about themselves. Here’s a (not-so) secret, though. Law schools want to hear what you have to say. They want to hear about you, to know your story, your likes and dislikes, your desires, your idiosyncrasies. Why? Because they’re trying to get a picture of you as a whole person, not just a GPA/LSAT combination. They’re admitting people, not numbers.
The Hard Truth
Let’s be honest, at the end of the day, the reason you’re hesitant to write your personal statement is not because you don’t know what you want to say. The truth is that you’re afraid that what you have to say won’t be what law schools want to hear. The problem with this kind of thinking is that you’re self-censoring without any knowledge of what the other party is actually thinking or looking for. You’re giving in to your fear of not being exactly right for a particular school, when you should use that fact to empower yourself. If you say exactly what you want to say, then you’ll be admitted to schools based on your own merits and your own words, and not the merits and words you think you should have.
To put it another way: If a school rejects you because of what you said, aren’t you better off not going there in the first place? And another way; when a school accepts you because they love what you said, uncensored, you’ll never have to worry about deviating from the person you presented in your applications. The person in your applications is you, no frills or pretensions. Just you.
Discard the Fear
So, dear applicants, discard the fear. Remember that it’s better to be rejected on your own merits than accepted on fabricated ones. When you put yourself out there, you know that the results are exactly as they should be, because they are based on your overall truth as a person.
How does this work when it comes to your law school personal statement? Don’t be afraid to be unconventional! Have an unusual hobby that you are unusually passionate about? Talk about it! Have a strange personal anecdote or history that has influenced a large part of your life? Talk about it! Feel strongly about a topic that has affected you personally? Talk about it! Don’t self-censor for fear of rejection. Instead, embrace your personality, your history, your self, and put it on paper for the world to see. Not only will it be liberating, but you will shine through the essay, making yourself memorable and distinguishing yourself from the pack.
Read More in This Series
- Take Your Time
- Plan It Out
- Get Personal
- Get Specific
- Embrace Variety
- Step Away
- Edit
- Involve Others
- Proof
- Don’t Be Afraid (You Are Here)
Subscribe to the blog to get notifications when we post new content!
Leave a Reply