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Unlike medical and business schools, law schools
usually do not include a personal interview as part
of the admissions process. Your personal statement
is your only opportunity to impress the admissions
committee as a person – to show them the living,
breathing human being behind your GPA and LSAT
score.
Think of your personal statement as a five-minute
long personal interview on paper. Many of the same
things that would help you make a good impression in
person will help you make a good impression in
writing:
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Be concise. Don't ramble. Don't repeat yourself. Get to the point,
quickly, keeping within the word or page limit
the school has set. (Law schools often limit
personal statements to two pages, typed and
double-spaced.)
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Be clear. Say exactly what you mean to say. Start with an
introduction and end with a conclusion.
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Be genuine. Don't use words you don't know. Don't resort to
clichés.
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Be interesting. Don't bore your audience.
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Be focused. The 'interview' is about you. Don't spend your time
talking about other people or about things or ideas.
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Be courteous. The 'interview' is about admissions to this school.
Don't let slip anything that suggests you'd rather
go to a different school.
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Be mindful of time. Don't use 'interview' time to tell committee
members what they already know from reading the rest
of your application.
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Be memorable. That doesn't mean, 'Be weird.' But do convey
something to your readers that will help them
distinguish you from hundreds of other applicants
with similar backgrounds and qualifications.
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Be confident. You know you belong at this law school. Project the
calm self-confidence that will persuade your readers
of that, too.
Adds Heike Spahn, a senior law school admissions
consultant at Admissions Consultants and former
Assistant Dean at University of Chicago Law School,
"The best personal statement is
one which compliments and/or completes the rest of
your application. I recall reading essays where the
content or tone didn't match the rest of the
application. In those cases, a quick review of the
LSAC writing sample would confirm whether or not the
personal statement was written by the applicant."
Click the links below for specific information on the following types of personal statements:
Medical School Personal Statements
Graduate School Personal Statements
General Tips on Writing Personal Statements
Personal Statement Checklist |
