Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Revealing names in Personal Statement?

Tina ChoTina Cho Free Trial Member
edited January 2017 in Law School Admissions 442 karma
Hello,

So if we want to talk about interviews we had, speakers in a meeting etc, do we have to reveal their real names in PS?
In fact I forgot some of their names...
If I just say "a guest speaker" would it look weak?

Also, how gramatically strict PS should be?
I read some PS but some sound poetic like fiction novels, not like the tone of academic research paper...

Thank you!

Comments

  • Cant Get RightCant Get Right Yearly + Live Member Sage 🍌 7Sage Tutor
    27902 karma
    @"Tina Cho" said:
    Also, how gramatically strict PS should be?
    I read some PS but some sound poetic like fiction novels, not like the tone of academic research paper...
    PS should be grammatically perfect, but that doesn't mean it should be academic. It's a narrative, and nobody wants to read a narrative written in the style of an academic research paper. How effectively you tell your story is very important. Stay away from poetry for sure, but if it can read like a good novel then that's great.

    Names aren't important unless the person's identity is important to the story. Nobody cares that you beat some random guy in a one-on-one game of basketball, but all that changes if it turns out that random guy was Lebron James. In most situations, "a guest speaker" will be fine.
  • Tina ChoTina Cho Free Trial Member
    442 karma
    @"Cant Get Right"

    Thanks. :)
    Can I ask one more question?
    Can a paragraph consist of only 2 sentences? Or it's not appropriate?
  • Cant Get RightCant Get Right Yearly + Live Member Sage 🍌 7Sage Tutor
    27902 karma
    It can, but you may want to consider whether or not the paragraph is really needed if you don't have any more to say on it. A lot of times when I write a paragraph that short, I'll realize that I can usually do better to consolidate it with the preceding or following paragraph.
  • Tina ChoTina Cho Free Trial Member
    442 karma
    @"Cant Get Right"
    Thanks again.
    I don't know, because people say you have to attract their attention and I put the two sentences kind of trying to be appleaning but...
    And, when they say the page number is unlimited, is it really unlimited? Or should we still make it to be 2 pages?
    I wonder how many pages people usually write for this type of instruction.
  • Tina ChoTina Cho Free Trial Member
    edited January 2017 442 karma
    ALso by the way,
    When they ask whether we applied to other schools,
    Can we just choose "do not apply me" box and leave it blank? (like Fordham school)
    Or we should fill them out if we do apply other schools...wonde why they ask this in the application.

    I also wonder why they ask ethnicity...
    Do people answer this or leave it blank?
    Will it affect the decision?
    I know officially they will say no, but...
  • Cant Get RightCant Get Right Yearly + Live Member Sage 🍌 7Sage Tutor
    27902 karma
    Page number is technically unlimited, but they do like to see that you've got the good judgement to limit it anyway. Personally, I'd set an absolute maximum of four pages for these "unlimited" essays.

    And the other schools applied to section is for yield protection. If they're the only school a student is applying to, they can offer a spot and feel confident they haven't wasted an offer. If you're applying to lots of schools, it's helpful for them to know where in your range they fall. If you're applying to multiple schools, you should answer.
Sign In or Register to comment.