Personal Statement (Why law school)

J.D.s_maketheworldbetter

Hi all,

Do we really not need to address why we want to attend law school for schools that don't specifically ask for an answer in their PS prompt? It doesn't neatly fit into my PS, but one of my recommenders strongly suggested I include it.

Thanks!

tringo335

From webinars I've sat on with David Busis, he has stated that no, you don't have to include it. I myself will be including it in my statement because a significant life event caused me to want to go law school and I'd like to speak to that but no you don't have to.

Maddie D.

(I'll start by saying you should take this with a grain of salt because I'm by no means an expert and I'm in the thick of this process right along with you, but here it goes.) Based on feedback I've gotten from admissions folks and editors, if your statement says something important about you as a human being, then it has done its job. I, for example, wrote about how being an artist has shaped my worldview. I did tie it to legal study at the end in a way that felt natural but my statement was conducive to that. If it doesn't feel natural or if it reads sort of clunky, then it may not help much.

For what it's worth, admissions people I've spoken to from two T14 schools said that they just want to learn more about you as a person and gather info about you that they can't get from your other application materials. If that has to do with why you want to go to law school, awesome. If it doesn't deal with that directly, that's okay too. Also, if you haven't purchased the admissions course add-on, I highly recommend it. Even the cheapest option has so much to offer as far as getting the best possible application out there. Hope that helps!