Subscription pricing
Do you have questions about personal statements, diversity statements or other law school essays? Post them here. I'm writing an F.A.Q. for the personal statement course, and I want to know what's got you confused. If someone else has already asked your question, please "like" the question, even if I've already answered it. That information will help me make the F.A.Q. more useful.
I'll do my best to answer each question within a day or two.
1
57 comments
thanks for the advice!
Great question. It's not about the content; it's about the tone. Your essay won't come off as a sob story as long as you don't complain, whine or beg. Say what happened to you, and focus on how you overcame those challenges. It is totally, one hundred percent valid to talk about your hardships.
The question isn't whether a given thing puts your story over the top and makes it a sob story; the question is whether it fits with your theme.
Hi David, At what point does a personal statement just become a sob story and how do you avoid that? Even though it's pretty clear my hardships have shaped who I am/helped me decide to go to law school, I don't want to seem like I'm just dumping all the bad things in my life into this essay. Thanks!
@mes08820 No, don't write a diversity statement. This is a special essay. I'm creating a lesson about this, but here's the gist: stake out new territory. Write about anything. The normal rules don't apply: you don't have to tell the committee about yourself, at least not directly. Think of it as a chance to show off your writing and thinking. It's a more pure writing sample than the PS because it's not self-propaganda.
If we've already written a personal statement and a diversity statement, what are we expected to/what should we write for the Yale 250-word essay? Is that an essay in place of a diversity statement?
I agree with this. It's for these tough topics/spots that professional editing exists.
Definitely a tough needle to thread, and 95+% of such attempts would not be able to do it and would look bad. But the payoff would likely be pretty good if you're in that less than 5%. If you have a high GPA/high LSAT I wouldn't bother risking it. But if you're a splitter/reverse splitter then I'd definitely consider it more, but I probably wouldn't do it without professional help in order to avoid the various pitfalls.
@mahdiall408 That's a tough one. Can you de-emphasize the rule-breaking and just say that the organization had its hands tied, so you stepped in? I realize, though, that you're interested in the conflict between the rules and the right thing, and to write about that, you HAVE to say you broke the rules.
My gut instinct is maybe, which, I admit, is the lamest gut instinct ever. It depends on how the essay comes out. You'll have to address a sharp reader's possible objections. Were there good reasons for the policies that prevented your organization from helping the woman? If you can convince us that there weren't--if the policies were the result of an administration with misplaced priorities, say--then you might be on solid ground.
I am no expert but I would be careful. I think the story would be better if you focused on your fight against the policy; that you stood up (maybe contacted the ppl in charge) and said that the policy goes against the very principle of the foundation etc. Turn it into more of a David/Goliath than a Robin Hood as you don't really have an evil sheriff (everyone is trying to help!), just a stealing Robin. The policy was, albeit inadequate, added for a reason. The success story lies in an attempt to change the policy.
@davidbusis895.busis Hi David, I hope you are still answering questions. I didn't see an answer to this in the PS course, but I haven't finished it yet, so please link info if it's relevant.
I want to write about when, as a disaster volunteer, I broke the rules and used funds from my expense account to help a victim of a major disaster. For various policy reasons we couldn't give help her otherwise. She was a single mother of 3 (2/3 autistic children) and I went to the store to buy some formula and diaper for the youngest/ and things like toothpaste, etc.
I like this story, because it's one of the only times I can remember having a major conflict between doing the right thing / following the rules - and use this to talk about law and ethics and how that's I'm interested in studying the overlap/ and non-overlap of the two.
BUT, is it a bad idea to talk about breaking the rules (at all) in a law school personal statement?
Thanks!
@coreyjanson479.janson35 It depends. I'd shy away from writing a "I want to save the children" type essay if you have never volunteered for children-helping organizations. It would be perfectly reasonable, on the other hand, to say that you're interested in learning more about intellectual property law. Nobody would expect you to have IP experience before going to law school.
Thanks for the help! Trying to decide on a topic and have a few ideas. One more question: is it possible to write an essay about a certain topic without it being grounded in direct experience?
@coreyjanson479.janson35 No story is cliche if you can write about it compellingly. I've read great essays about injuries. Go for it.
Would an essay about a college athlete overcoming injuries/setbacks be viewed as cliché? It feels like a natural fit because of how much you put into sports in order to get to that level, but I don't know if it's overdone.
Okay, thank you! ( :
@7891 You need a college degree before you can apply for law school.
Good afternoon, sir. This question has no relation with the essay but I desperately need help. I just graduated from high school with a GPA of 4.0 in India. Can I apply for LSAT?
@davidbusis895.busis Thank you for responding! I just purchased the course and look forward to going through the process. The hardest thing is getting started, as it is with most things. During the process of using the course, if we have any question or would like assistance in editing our letters, may we come to you ? Or is there a separate avenue in which we may acquire your assistance?
@nordeend22 My gut is that your parents' divorce might be a tough sell for the DS, but as I think you know, it depends on the essay you end up writing. If your parents' divorce was a formative event, you might consider writing about it in your personal statement as well.
Whether you write about it in your DS or PS, though, you want to quickly move past your sadness and start talking about what you learned from it.
@7491 I wouldn't worry too much about your extracurriculars for your PS. The idea is to tell a story about who you are. Check out the Personal Statement course--still only $.59--for some advice about how to get started.
As for your DS, I think everything you said is compelling. Try to think of one or two anecdotes that really encapsulate the adversity you faced, or the discomfort you felt in your household.
Actually, that advice applies for both stories. Start by brainstorming events and anecdotes that were meaningful to you and which speak to your identity; then figure out how to stitch them into an essay.
@2543.hopkins I totally agree. I definitely did not intend to make a strong comparison since all I said was "seems similar."
The strength of the comparison remains the grounds for my urging caution/discretion. Sure, it might work for a DS, but it depends on the individual's circumstances.
@2543.hopkins hence "not the same."
It's certainly a disadvantage, but I would caution you on the comparison to socio-economic disadvantage. For instance, I had many friends in undergrad who had grown up with divorced parents (several of them, rather gruesome divorces). Nevertheless, their prosperity (especially relative to myself and others who came from relative poverty) meant they had many advantages that students from other kinds of socio-economic statuses did not.
Another thing—divorce of parents is so common for our generation. For some people, it was a crushing blow they had to overcome. For others, it was just a particular kind of dysfunction they experienced.
Is growing up with divorced parents constitute a valid diversity statement? It seems similar (albeit not the same) to growing up in poverty. Without a doubt it puts stress on kids and it makes for a unique childhood of being introduced to step family and living in two places at the same time, among other things.