Writing a "Why X" for Notre Dame

Comments

• Climb_to_170 Alum Member

  October 2020 426 karma

  Are those truly the reasons you want to go to NDLS? If so, then absolutely do not re-write it.

  You need to be yourself and express yourself to the admissions committee whether or not it might be "too controversial."* Look at it this way -- if why you want to go to a law school is too controversial* for them, then maybe they aren't the right law school for you.

  *within reason. Obviously don't be overly controversial for no reason. That doesn't sound like the case here: maybe the subjects are controversial to some but they clearly relate directly to the school.
• robotsoap Alum Member

  October 2020 edited October 2020 87 karma

  @Climb_to_170 said:
  Are those truly the reasons you want to go to NDLS? If so, then absolutely do not re-write it.

  You need to be yourself and express yourself to the admissions committee whether or not it might be "too controversial."* Look at it this way -- if why you want to go to a law school is too controversial* for them, then maybe they aren't the right law school for you.

  *within reason. Obviously don't be overly controversial for no reason. That doesn't sound like the case here: maybe the subjects are controversial to some but they clearly relate directly to the school.

  Thanks. So I personally don't believe I wrote anything too "controversial." The real meat of my essay was my interest in their religious liberty clinic. My professor expressed concern that perhaps some of the faculty in the admissions committee might have certain negative connotations associated with religious liberty and thus have a reason to not admit me.
• Climb_to_170 Alum Member

  October 2020 426 karma

  @robotsoap said:
  Thanks. So I personally don't believe I wrote anything too "controversial." The real meat of my essay was my interest in their religious liberty clinic. My professor expressed concern that perhaps some of the faculty in the admissions committee might have certain negative connotations associated with religious liberty and thus have a reason to not admit me.

  Yeah -- like I said, if you don't get in because some of the faculty have a problem with you being interested in one of their clinics then maybe that school wouldn't be right for you anyway.
• VerdantZephyr Member ⭐

  October 2020 2054 karma

  @robotsoap I think, without reading your paper, that this might be an issue of the strong liberal tilt in academia. If you were applying for a PhD program I think your professor would likely be correct. However, law school is not the same as academia in that regard. They deliberately look for diversity of perspectives and backgrounds. Not only that, but I believe that, insofar as a major law school is of a more conservative makeup, Notre Dame is probably among them. His concerns are probably not valid for law school, where there are strong liberal and conservative contingents and everything in between and beyond. That said, the Religious Liberty Clinic is might be the strongest of those three reasons, though I think you could also write a compelling argument for the others. You want your Why X? to highlight the academic experiences that they uniquely offer more than anything else. I would not rewrite it to sanitize it because of your professor, but do, of course, make any necessary edits.