Law School Personal Statement Strategies

Part of what makes the law school personal statement so difficult is that you need to do so much in one essay.

Unlike the college application essay where your motivation is unquestioned and your goals can remain undefined, and unlike other graduate programs where you are expected to write multiple essays in response to specific questions, writing a personal statement requires that you incorporate multiple themes in one composition. Needless to say, this can be tricky.

There are two basic themes for you to consider:

Why you want to be a lawyer/attend this law school.
Why you are qualified.

You might focus on only one theme in your law school personal statement or try to incorporate both. No matter how you choose to do it, remember that if your personal statement doesn't ultimately express your motivation for attending law school and pose an argument for why you should be accepted, you've missed the mark.

Whilst this can be easier said than done, every prospective law school student should be able to write a personal statement that catches an admissions officer's attention.

To help you with this process, LawSchools360.com have teamed up with EssayEdge, The Net's Law School Personal Statement Resource to provide you with the following personal statement strategies.

Personal Statement Strategies
By EssayEdge, The Net's Law School Personal Statement Resource

Law School Personal Statement Theme 1:
Why you want to be a lawyer/attend this law school
The secret to doing this theme well is to show why you want to be a lawyer. Don't just say it and expect it to stand on its own. Admissions officers want believable details from your life that demonstrate your desire and make it real to them.

One secret to avoiding the here-we-go-again reaction is to keep an eye on your first line. Starting with "I've wanted to be a lawyer since…" makes admissions officers cringe. Yes, we know it's an easy line to fall back on, but these poor people have read this sentence in law school personal statements more times than they can count, and it gets old fast.

Instead, start with a story that demonstrates your early call to law. Look, for example, at the first paragraph of this essay:

"That's not fair." Even as the smallest of children, I remember making such a proclamation: in kindergarten it was "not fair" when I had to share my birthday with another little girl and didn't get to sit on the "birthday chair." When General Mills changed my favorite childhood breakfast cereal, "Kix," I, of course, thought this was "not fair." Unlike many kids (like my brother) who would probably have shut up and enjoyed the "great new taste" or switched to Cheerios, this kid sat her bottom down in a chair (boosted by the phone book), and typed a letter to the company expressing her preference for the "classic" Kix over the "great new taste" Kix.

In telling the story, this writer demonstrates that the roots of her political activism run deep without having to ever say it. She doesn't just tell us and expect us to take her word for it - she shows us.

Another approach that is overdone in the law school personal statement is the "my dad is a lawyer" approach. Some admissions officers said that when the only reason an applicant gives for wanting to be a lawyer is that it is a family legacy, it makes them question not only the motivation but the maturity of the applicant.

While this doesn't mean you need to hide the fact that your parent is a lawyer, it does mean that you should avoid depending on that as your sole reason for wanting to go to law school. If a parent truly was your inspiration, then describe in your law school personal statement exactly why you were inspired by them, and what you have done to test your motivation in the real world.

Law School Personal Statement Theme 2:
Why you are Qualified
Writing about your experiences in the law field supports both the Why I Want to Be a Lawyer theme and the Why I Am Qualified theme, so it is always a good idea to spend time on the experiences that qualify you as a potential law student.

Including direct work experience in your personal statement is always the best, of course, for a number of reasons. For one, it proves your motivation to the committee. For another, it shows that you have the potential for being successful in the field. Perhaps most importantly, it shows the committee that you understand the profession and know what you will be getting into upon graduating.

One type of applicant that the committee keeps a wary eye out for is the kind who wants to go to law school but doesn't have any realistic idea of what lawyers do beyond the glamorized images seen in television and movies.

But you do not need to have had an internship at a law firm to show that you are qualified. Your experience might be political, such as the convention you volunteered to help organize or the campaign you helped raise funds for. Or it can be academic or issues-based, such as the thesis you wrote on law and the Internet. The rule here is, if you have it, use it.

If you have a lot of experience, the bulk of your law school personal statement may be spent on this theme rather than on the Why I Want to Go to Law School theme. You should try to relate your qualifications back to your motivation at some point, though, even if it is only a reference.

Often, people will do this in a single, concluding sentence to their law school personal statement. This can be a powerful approach as long as your passion is clearly demonstrated through your description of your experiences.

Admissions Officers' Pet Peeve: Making Lists
For some candidates the problem will not be that they don't have enough direct experience to write about; they have too much. The danger inherent in wanting to include all your experience is that space is limited and you can either end up with a law school personal statement that is too long, or one that consists of little more than a listing of your activities and accomplishments.

The law school personal statement should never be merely a prose form of a C.V. That's dry to read, and again, doesn't offer any additional information about the candidate.

It is all right to include all the experience you have had somewhere in your law school personal statement but keep it short and do it in the context of a story or a personal account using colorful details. After all, you can attach a resume that will list all your jobs and promotions. The law school personal statement has the much more important job of bringing these experiences to life.

Also, resist the hard-sell approach. The admissions officers at top schools read so many law school essays written by extremely qualified applicants that writing a self-serving "I did this, I did that" personal statement isn't going to wow them; it will simply make them yawn.

You are much better off with a humble attitude. Let your experiences speak for themselves and focus on making your statement personal and interesting instead. Having someone objective read your personal statement before you send it in will help you discern the kind of impression you are making.

To help you make your personal statement into a memorable masterpiece, LawSchools360.com recommend the use of EssayEdge who professionally edit law school personal statements.

EssayEdge's Harvard-educated editors will work with you to significantly improve your personal statement's style, transition, voice, grammar, and tone as well as making content suggestions to ensure your law school personal statement is unique and memorable.

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