Law School Admissions: Tackling the Personal Statement (Part I)

For law school applicants, this time of year tends to be all about personal statements. It is often the last remaining piece holding up submission of an application. Candidates struggle with the blank canvas nature of the assignment as they try to figure out what to write about and how to fit it all into two pages.

Many of our clients seem to be making one of two common mistakes: 1) trying to cram everything into the personal statement, to the point it sounds like an annotated resume, or 2) writing at great length about their strengths. It is tempting to throw it all at the wall and see what sticks, or to lean on what you know works. Neither of these methods will get the job done.

Below are some suggestions for your personal statement that will help candidates avoid these problems and craft a meaningful, persuasive writing sample. The Veritas Prep approach to creating a great personal statement always centers on three elements: 1) positioning, 2) the law school themes, and 3) entertainment value.

Positioning. Positioning focuses on the major thrust of the personal statement. What is the strength you most want to advertise? The weakness you most need to mitigate? Is there a unique factor you can showcase? What is the one hole in your application that the admissions committee is dying for you to resolve in this space? This can be different for each applicant, but the one thing I know for sure is that the personal statement exists for you to tell the reader what he needs to know. Forget what you think you should write about or what makes for the best traditional essay – it all depends on a hierarchy of needs. If someone is a 4.0/180 from a great school, with a great resume, then the only concern is how entertaining the writing needs to be. For someone with amazing grades and LSAT scores, but zero real life experience, they had better be sure to talk about how they can lead and relate to people. And so on. During my time in admissions, I was always amazed by the fact that applicants avoided the "big issues" in their profile and wrote about something trite or off topic. Who cares if an applicant did relief work when my big question is whether or not they are smart enough to handle the work? I hope that does not sound harsh, but that is how it works.

Therefore, your biggest challenge as an applicant is to figure out how to frame your personal statement and what the scope should be, based on the preliminary facts that are in your favor, and those that are not. One of the most common application positions tends to be "my GPA and LSAT do not fully indicate my abilities." This isn’t going to feel amazingly original, but for a candidate with substandard scores, this will be the main question in the mind of the reader after glancing at a "one sheet" (the internal document that has your basic stats and information) and the resume. When you write your personal statement and review it, ask yourself: "Am I convincing the reader that I have the raw intellect to kill it in the classroom?" You want to be able to say yes to that.

Come back next Wednesday for Part II, focusing on the five law school themes as well as advice on bringing it all together in an entertaining fashion.

For more on how to draft fantastic personal statements, take a look at our law school admissions consulting services. We also offer specialized personal statement assistance services.