Several Questions (regarding Core Curriculum, and Applications)

MsM1998_

Hi, I'm hoping I can get some responses for the following concerns:

Core Curriculum

I've been steadily going through the CC, and it has been a slow process (I'm trying to do as many of the problem sets I can). However, I often feel bad about myself due to the fact that I get questions wrong once past "medium" level sets. For example, on medium difficulty I may get one wrong (for SA, for example). But, when I start getting to the harder difficulty sets, I'm bound to get 1-2 wrong per set. (1) Is this normal? I mean, (2) upon going through the lesson on how to tackle the specific argument type, should we be able to get almost every one of the questions from the problem sets correct? (3) How is/was your experience with this (did you hardly get any questions wrong)?

Applications

The deadline is November 1st, and I want to get started on my applications, but I'm really worried about the personal statement portion. I have very little work experience during UG, and no volunteering (I fucked up, I know). My GPA is very strong if that counts, but I'm not so sure how I can remedy this crappy situation. What would you suggest I focus on instead in my PS (any ideas)? My reference letters are both from profs and should be good, so I'm not too worried about that, thankfully.

Also, the maximum for personal statements and whatnot tends to range from 2000-5000 characters (from what I've seen), but is it advisable to actually write that much? I would assume being sweet and short would be better, but again, I have no knowledge on this.

If anyone can help and respond to some of my questions with beneficial information, I'd really appreciate it!

DEC_LSAT

@yasincelik usually it's 2000-5000 characters so it's not words.... double check on that!

MsM1998_

@Nina_Lucas Thanks, got that corrected now

DEC_LSAT

@yasincelik great! cause that lowers the number of words considerably!

Cant Get Right

@yasincelik said:
it has been a slow process

Good. It's supposed to be.

@yasincelik said:
I often feel bad about myself due to the fact that I get questions wrong once past "medium" level sets.

Don't.

@yasincelik said:
Is this normal?

Yes.

@yasincelik said:
upon going through the lesson on how to tackle the specific argument type, should we be able to get almost every one of the questions from the problem sets correct?

No. You want to use the problem sets to gain comfort and familiarity with the concepts. Once you've gotten this, move on. Save those remaining problem sets for later. Mastery is too much to expect at this point.

@yasincelik said:
How is/was your experience with this (did you hardly get any questions wrong)?

Very similar, haha.

@yasincelik said:
My GPA is very strong if that counts

It does. It counts a whole lot. Way more than your PS.

@yasincelik said:
What would you suggest I focus on instead in my PS (any ideas)?

You don't have to have climbed Everest. In fact, even if you have, I wouldn't personally find that a very compelling PS. Most of the best PSs I've read are those that take what may seem like a small moment, but are then able to pack that moment with great significance and consequence. I don't care how charmed a life a person's led: Just by virtue of participating in the human experience, each of us has had to struggle and overcome. Find your moment. Even if it isn't something that sounds impressive (I'm sure admin officers are so sick of PSs that are trying to impress them); if you can show how it affected you in a meaningful way, it can make for a powerful PS.

MsM1998_

@"Cant Get Right" thanks a lot for the responses. So, I'm assuming the categories the schools provide on the personal statement (i.e equity, work, academic life,etc) are just suggestions? I could, in fact, talk about a moment in my life that sparked my interest for law? I'm just worried that if I don't mention volunteering or work experience that they might look negatively at my application, not too sure how the personal statement works though.

Cant Get Right

So you've definitely got to follow the guidelines for each school's PS. But for the most part, those are all just different ways of asking you to write about an experience that reflects well on why you'd be an asset to their program. You've got to play to your strengths. If work experience and volunteering aren't your strengths, stay away from those topics. Go with academics or whatever else tells your story best. Check out the Lightning consults with @david.busis . I think there's one this Saturday, and in sure there will be another one soon.

Harvard also published a book of PSs which were taken from students admitted to Harvard Law. I'd recommend checking that out in order to start developing a sense of the range of topics that are appropriate and effective.

And remember, it really is all about the numbers. So if you can get an LSAT score that matches the strength of your GPA, that's going to really take a lot of pressure off of the rest of your application.

MrSamIam

CC:
1) Yes, it's normal. Especially when you first complete the lessons. Remember, with the LSAT, practice makes perfect. Leave some of those problem sets untouched, and come back to them after PTing/BRing a few tests. Now, if you're consistently missing a handful of questions, you may need to revisit the lesson. Figure out why you're missing said questions, and work on that.
2) In an ideal world, yes. We don't live in an ideal world, so expect to miss a few. The more you expose yourself to those questions, the more likely it is that you'll notice the little tricks that the writers use to trap us, and the less likely it is that you'll fall for them.
3) Similar to yours when I first started studying

Can't help too much with the application questions. However, I have heard time and time again: At least meet the minimum word count requirement, and focus on quality, not quantity.

David Busis

Admissions Starter has a couple videos on choosing a personal statement topic—and much more. Check it out!

As @"Cant Get Right" said, you don't need to write about teaching sign language to disabled children. Write about an important experience or something you care about. Tell a story.

I find that personal statements between 600 and 800 words tend to hit the sweet spot, even if you're allowed to write more.

I'll be doing another round of lightning consultations this Wednesday. Sign up here.

MsM1998_

@"Cant Get Right" @david.busis I'm applying in Canada though, but I imagine a theme of story telling mixed in with my observations of the legal world and why I want it, and what I would do with it, is a good focus?

Cant Get Right

I'm not sure how things differ in Canada, but I do think creating a strong narrative (storytelling) is going to be critical anywhere. As far as your observations about the legal world, I just can't imagine they'd have any interest in that. I know that for me, any observations I have about the legal world are going to be laughably misguided. And that's okay. I have no experience with that world and there is no expectation that I would as a law school applicant. If why you want to be a lawyer and what you want to accomplish are rooted in compelling experiences, then those can be okay. If not, you're probably just going to get an eye roll and a "not another one." So unless you have a very specific story that's going to make that PS stand out from the thousands of other "why I want to be a lawyer" essays, tread lightly. These guys read loads of these and the majority of them are almost certainly terrible.

The Admissions Starter Course might be a really good resource for you to check out. Lots of guidance and examples of what to do and what not to do. I very begrudgingly removed an excellent pun from mine based on that course. Such a shame.