@JacobBaska yeah, this makes sense. I think - and have been told by people with far more experience than me - that my PS has a very clear arc and salient why law and why now. I guess I saw some of those examples that are like ‘I’m particularly interested in this very niche housing bill’, or ‘I spent years studying the intricacies of zoning regulations’, and I felt like my PS doesn’t do that. Really though, I guess I’m overthinking it. There’s a pretty straightforward a-b-c, and c is a compelling why law, which I suppose is the most important part

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

A lot of schools have a why x essay for this exact reason. In a case where they let you do that, I wouldn’t.

Some schools might ask you to. Off the top of my head, Berkeley does, though they also have a slightly longer personal statement than most schools.

In general though, I’d just use best judgment. If they have a why x, don’t.

@maydayings yes, this was along the lines of what I was thinking. You can’t know everything about a school just by what’s on their website.

I shot a few emails out to orgs midway through the week, but no dice so far. I’m guessing people are busy, or maybe my approach is off, lol