Apart from your LSAT and undergraduate GPA, the most important aspect of your law school application is the personal statement. It is the one part of your file that is solely you. In your own words, you express your voice, experiences, and story. Every day we help students put together exceptional applications with our law school admissions consulting packages. We dispense tidbits of wisdom that help students craft a top-notch and unforgettable … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Law School Personal Statement Resource List
In the midst of the application season, one of the most common questions we receive is about crafting personal statements. Over the years, we've assembled an impressive array of free resources for students. If you're still struggling with finalizing your statement, you may find that one of the following tools helps you put everything in place. These tools cover everything from how to select a topic to avoiding common writing pitfalls. Let's take … [Read more...]
3 Pieces of Admissions Advice from the USC Law Fair
The University of Southern California's annual Law Fair was held in November, and I was fortunate enough to be in attendance. Over the course of the day, I spoke to dozens of prospective law students about their LSAT plans, several other test prep companies about their various offerings, and, most central to this blog, an incredibly gracious admissions officer from UC Hastings College of Law.*Our conversation was largely free-wheeling and … [Read more...]
Research Paper vs. Personal Statement: What’s the Difference?
This blog comes from admissions expert and founder of Pen and Chisel LLC, Eileen Conner. After years of working to improve your academic writing, you’re totally prepared to tackle the task of writing a convincing law school personal statement. Or are you?Actually, the personal statement is substantially different from the typical research paper taught in college. As such, it can present surprising challenges to even the most accomplished … [Read more...]
Personal Statement Do’s and Don’ts
This blog comes from special guest, Dan Brooks, the founder of The Admissions Sherpa. The personal statement allows you to show the admissions committee something they might not garner from the rest of your application. Some call it an interview or an elevator pitch. Here are three dos and three don’ts to remember. The Do Be personalIt’s called a PERSONAL statement for a reason. The admissions committee wants to know about you. If you … [Read more...]
Personal Statement Advice from our LSAT Discussion Forum
This PowerScore LSAT Forum Post of the Day comes from this past weekend (found here). One of our students posted a second draft of her personal statement, and PowerScore LSAT Bible author Dave Killoran weighed in on that draft in detail (and lots of it!). The link above leads to her second draft, and Dave’s extended comments immediately follow her post. If you are working on your personal statement or your applications in general, his post gives … [Read more...]
Is it Okay to Embellish My Law School Application Personal Statement?
Short answer: No. The long answer? Law school prepares you to serve as an advocate and representative of the legal system. You will be expected to abide extremely high ethical standards throughout your career. Misrepresenting yourself on your application sets an awfully poor precedent. If an appeal to ethics doesn't convince you enough, let me demonstrate how embellishment is strictly against your own self-interest. When considering a risky … [Read more...]
Law School Personal Statements You SHOULDN’T Write
I've been working with law school applicants for years. Every year I see some absolutely unique essays and I see essays that I swear I've seen before (sometimes many, many times). Some of them are strikingly good, while others are jarringly bad. In an effort to shed some light on essay topics that could quickly go from mundane to radioactive, I've compiled a list of a few of the topics that I wish would go away—or, at least, get done by fewer … [Read more...]
Why is the Law School Personal Statement So Important?
It's that time of the year. Everyone is scrambling to get their applications done and submitted before the deadline. And, of course, since the part of the application students struggle with the most is the personal statement, they've left it to the very end. Now is when we start getting stressed-out phone calls and emails: What should I write about? Does the statement really matter if I have great numbers? How long does the statement have to … [Read more...]