Hi guys! Would love to hear any thoughts on this. How damaging or bad would it be to write a personal statement about a family member's experience that influenced my "why law"?
I know a lot of people generally advise against it, but it is a core reason why I want to be a lawyer and I feel like I could write a really strong statement about how seeing a certain experience as a child impacted a lot of the work I chose to do and what I hope to do in the future.
I understand that I generally shouldn't spend more than a paragraph discussing the story and that I shouldn't overshare because at the end of the day, it is not my story. But would it be a really big problem or dealbreaker for schools if I wrote about it? Any thoughts are appreciated, thanks!
6 comments
From someone who has read a lot of apps, it's alright to talk about this kind of event. Although it happened to a family member, you witnessed it and it affected you. And if that's part of your authentic reason why you want to go to law school and be a lawyer (which is the point of the personal statement), you'll be fine. But just to throw it out there for you and as the other folks have mentioned, just be sure to give a clear sense of why this event was important to you AND be sure that it's just context for the broader rationale you're going to provide. What I mean is that it would be bad if this was the one and only reason why you want to go to law school. But if this is just your "origin story" and then you pivot into the other experiences you've had that have led you to conclude that you want to go to law school, you'll be alright!
@JacobBaska ok that's definitely helpful! Will keep that in mind thanks!
I think the trick is to focus less on the other person’s experience, and more on how it made you feel, if that makes sense. Like, say your dad was arrested when you were a kid. I think it’s perfectly okay to talk about that, but it should be focusing on you
@ShaneTrullo That makes sense thank you!
I think it absolutely could work if you articulate well how you reflect on the story and whether you took any actions etc. etc. A general rule that I stand by is that it is better be authentic or honest about Why Law for you than trying to fit into some boxes. So I second the other comment that it should still be about you. If you spent 80% talking about the story and simply say "this is why I want to study law", it's not going to work very well. But focusing on the details, how you acted when the events happened and what part of it motivated you could absolutely turn it from "other person's story" to "my account and experience of other person's story and how it changed my life".
@xchen292 Thank you for your advice!