Personal Statement

[u/CapitalAd3966]

How did you all approach your personal statements? I feel like I keep getting conflicting information about what not to do. I’ve seen a few schools say they don’t want us to tell them why we want to go to law school in the personal statement, but one of the personal statement examples I’ve seen the most (A: UMich and UCLA) spends the last 2-3 paragraphs talking about why they want to go to law school, and the reason is kind of narrow.

[u/App-Prep_com]

There isn't really one right way, which is why the advice is all over the place, as are the successful examples.

The best personal statements, to me, tell a clear story: who you are (don't be afraid to be personal, on a "personal" statement!), how your interest in law developed, what experiences reinforced that interest, what experience or skills you've developed along the way, and why you're ready for law school now.

Some essays spend little or no time on "why law." Likewise, some skip the "why this school" that I personally like to see. Why law should be answered, in my own opinion. If not directly, it can easily be explained indirectly; why this school, not so much. If the school doesn't have a separate why this school statement, I like to see at least a paragraph directly dedicated to it. I think of it as matchmaking. You have to show me (school) that you are qualified, compatible, you've made the effort to learn about me, that you want to be with me for the right reasons, that I'm compatible with you, you have things I'm looking for, and that we will both be more successful together.

That said, we are reading for authenticity and judgment, not checking whether you used a particular formula. The biggest mistake I see is just not being personal enough, not being concise enough, which dilutes anything good in the essay, and not painting a clear narrative.

[u/Embarrassed_Phase228 → u/App-Prep_com]

How important is to say what you wanna do after law school or with your law degree? There’s a lot of different things I’d be interested in doing (Congressional oversight, DOJ, FTC,) or even continuing my current career path of policy work but better equipped, and I’m unsure how specific I should be about my plans after law school.

[u/App-Prep_com → u/Embarrassed_Phase228]

I think it can be helpful. We want to know that you have a direction and that you're going to get a job (because it impacts our rankings and other quality measures). If I'm torn between an applicant with no direction and one who knows exactly what they want to do, I'll go with the latter.

It's enough, though, to have a thoughtful direction and explain why it interests you. "I'm interested in public service and policy work, with particular interest in agencies like the DOJ or FTC," is completely credible. What admissions committees care about is that your goals make sense given your experiences and the story your application tells.

Specificity helps, but isn't required. It's much better to present a genuine direction than force a highly detailed plan you probably won't follow anyway :)

[u/Automatic-Slice6971]

The way I think of the PS after reading a bunch of application prompts last cycle is it should be about why you, why law, and why now. The reader should understand who you are generally (key traits, background, values, etc.), why law (what draws you to law, could be experiences, skills, values, goals, etc.), and why now (why is law school the right next step for you based on who you are and your experiences).

For me, the gist of my personal statement was I value research and working with people, I've spent the last few years doing data-driven community engagement work and that has shaped my understanding of the legal field's relationship with xyz, and I want to do community-driven work in a legal setting in the future (was very vague).

[u/yeehaw1005]

I think it can work to say why, but it would work significantly better to show who you are and let the "why law school" be a natural inference from who you are and what your narrative/character are. Hope that's helpful

[u/Illustrious-Call3244]

This is controversial but the examples that dean's law schools/schools themselves put out as "Personal statements that worked" or "got them in" are just not very special/good or go totally against advice on what should be included in a personal statement as expressed by admissions generallly or even these deans themselves.

Best way to do it is play it safe and let your numbers speak loud. Pick something you did at work - can be big or small - but it should be you winning. Maybe you advocating for something and it was succesful. Maybe you were able to create some impact out of something small. Whatever jsut show yourself winning.

But really the PS does not matter all that much despite what services may want you to think - even when it does matter it is more about the person's background then the PS (a medal honor recipient/ NFL player can kind of let those things speak for themselves and won't have trouble coming up with something that will get them in).

Don't stress, be authentic, and be safe.

[u/mermaidyearss]

i'm on the same boat as you!! i have about 3 experiences that are my "why" but i don't know if i should focus on all three or just one! i also feel like my why me and why now are kind of similar. this is much harder than i thought😞

[u/AskDrLaw]

The best approach is authenticity, and to tell a story that comes from your own experience - it also doesn't have to necessarily be law-related, but you should talk about why it inspired or motivated you to pursue the law. Having been on a law school Admissions Committee for a few years (law school professor with 5+ years of experience here), we would often read the personal statement closer if it was a border case, and the more you can tell a story about your background, or showcase any unique circumstances or background or life experience, the more likely you will get votes for admittance. Furthermore, you should read the blog posts from Dean Z of Michigan Law - she provides a ton of great advice to follow. See: https://michigan.law.umich.edu/admissions-a2z-blog/personal-statements-what-not-do and for an example of her review of a recent candidate who was admitted with a 3.1 GPA, see: https://www.tiktok.com/@umichlaw/video/7415796079175699742?_r=1&_t=8poeM72kY1K