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Personal Statement

tjames40tjames40 Live Member
in Law School Admissions 8 karma

I have no idea how to put everything I want (need) to put in my personal statement. For example, I'm a veteran, mom of 7 children(one of whom passed away), I did stand up comedy and professional acting for 5 years, and I have 3 Gigi babies. All this on top of other stuff. I have no idea how to get all this stuff in without making my PS a novel

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  • anbeckley19-1-1-1anbeckley19-1-1-1 Core Member
    12 karma

    hey! I would say find a way to tell a story about or dive deep into one or two things - or you can try to find a unifying thread between several big parts of your life. It's okay to cut some things out for the sake of developing other points more. Just make sure to convey not just the facts but what they say about what kind of person you are. You're clearly a hard worker and good at juggling multiple things. What about this path led you to want to pursue law school/be a lawyer? What about it will make you a better lawyer? Tell a story!

  • canihazJDcanihazJD Alum Member Sage ⭐
    edited January 14 8318 karma

    Don't try to cram it all in. Write about one maybe two things well. It shouldn't read like a resume, manifesto, or life chronicle, but an engaging story about an event that compels your reader to think a certain way about you. You can tie events together but don't force it. Your entire app paints the broad picture of who you are. Your PS uses a discrete story to provide insight and also serves as a writing sample. It isn't to cram your whole life's story into.

    Also keep in mind that legal writing is crisp, punchy and concise. Concision is a skill—a highly valued one in this profession. Unless you're submitting to Berkeley, no weird 4 pagers. Stick to 2 pages. Use 12 point font, no cheating the spacing and margins. I review essays now and those tricks are noticeable and make me wonder why you had to resort to tricks instead of just editing. And trust me when I say you do not want to saddle your reader with a wall of text jumping from one event to another. Pay attention to the cognitive burden you impose, because it affects how a reader perceives your essay. Your essay should be engaging, like a good book you can't put down. Not a chore. Of course this is all subjective. You may get an app reader that doesn't care... but I woudn't risk it.

    You can also save your military experience for a DS... thats what I did. I'm a T14 3L, former tutor here, writing instructor for our LLM program and the university, law review editor, and have racked up a few national bar association essay scholarship wins. Feel free to reach out if you have questions... happy to help another vet/7sager.

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