Your Personal Statement (School Submission) is a critical part of your application. It will be reviewed holistically in conjunction with the responses to the mandatory online interview and the other application components.
If you are applying under the Indigenous Category, you must include a statement that speaks to your relationship to your Indigenous identity and community. You may choose to include this reflection within your Personal Statement, or in the Additional Explanation Essay section. If you do not address this in your Personal Statement, it must be included in the Additional Explanation Essay.
We recognize that identity and connection can take different forms, and we do not require any specific lived experience, historical trauma or institutional involvement to be disclosed. We are committed to an approach grounded in respect, self-identification and reconciliation. We invite you to share in the manner that feels most appropriate and authentic to you.
The statement must be authored entirely by you and it must not exceed the maximum character length, including spaces. The statement has 2 parts:
Part A (maximum 6,000 characters)
Describe how your personal, professional, academic or extracurricular experiences have shaped your decision to pursue legal education, and why the Lincoln Alexander School of Law is the right fit for your journey. How do these experiences position you to succeed and contribute meaningfully to our law school community and to the future of the legal profession?
The question is intentionally open-ended to give you the discretion to respond in a way that feels true to you. There is no single correct approach or template. If you are looking for inspiration, you may wish to reflect on one or more of the following areas to support your Personal Statement. These are entirely optional and offered only as prompts to help you begin:
Experiences (academic, personal, professional or volunteer) that have shaped your values, perspectives, goals or skills.
Moments of challenge or resilience that illustrate how you have grown, adapted or come to understand yourself more deeply.
Aspects of your identity or background, including, but not limited to, race, ancestry, colour, place of origin, ethnic origin, age, sex, gender identity and expression, (dis)ability, sexual orientation, family status, religious and spiritual belief, and the ways in which these may intersect to shape your worldview or your orientation toward law and community.
Encounters with, or reflections on, social, political or legal issues, systems or institutions that have shaped your interest in law, your understanding of justice, or your approach to advocacy and service.
Accomplishments, interests or creative pursuits that highlight your potential to thrive and meaningfully contribute to the Lincoln Alexander School of Law community and the legal profession.
Other relevant experiences, insights or values that convey who you are, demonstrate your readiness to succeed in legal education and reflect how you hope to contribute to the Lincoln Alexander School of Law community and the legal profession more broadly.
Part B: Additional Explanation Essay (optional, maximum 1,000 characters)
If you have extenuating circumstances, unexpected events or barriers that impacted your academic record, or other life experiences that you feel impact your application, you can share the context of your circumstances in this section.
This section is not scored as a part of the admission process and will only be used to give additional information and context for your application.
If you are applying through the Indigenous Category and did not speak to it in your Personal Statement, you can use this section to outline your relationship and connection to your community or your connection to Indigenous culture.
