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Berkeley Law Personal Statement

The 180 Bro_OVOThe 180 Bro_OVO Alum Inactive ⭐
in Law School Admissions 1392 karma

For those of you who applied and go in to Berkeley/have legitimate insider info, how critical is it have a 3-4 page Personal Statement?
I've seen conflicting information online. Some say it's fairly important to make sure it's longer, others have said avoid adding fluff if you do a solid job in 2 pages.

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  • dennisgerrarddennisgerrard Member
    1644 karma

    @"david.busis"

  • Accounts PlayableAccounts Playable Live Sage ⭐
    3107 karma

    A solid 2 pages is better than an extra page of fluff. It's like what my old high school english teacher would say when everyone would ask "how long does this essay need to be?" His answer was always "as long as it needs to be to sufficiently convey your point; no more, no less." I'd say the same thing with your Berkeley statement. If you can write an extra page or two that adds meaning, then go for it. If you can't, then I wouldn't worry about it.

  • rafaelitorafaelito Alum Member
    1063 karma

    Good question. On Berkeley's admissions page they state that the personal statement should be "ideally four pages double-spaced." Of course fluff is always unnecessary and counter-productive but if we can write more, although annoying, I wonder if it would be worth it. Why does Berkeley suggest such an atypically long statement? Is this their way of being "holistic"?

  • Freddy_DFreddy_D Core Member ⭐
    2983 karma

    I was gonna try to write a 4 pager for Berk by extending my original essay with more specific "why Berk" information; however, as of last year, I'm pretty sure they have added a "Why Berkeley" portion to their app. So, I'm just gonna keep my essay at two pages and then write a "why Berkeley" essay as well.

  • David BusisDavid Busis Member Moderator
    7403 karma

    It's definitely better to write an excellent, tight, two-page essay than to write a loose, fluffy four-pager. If they had a minimum, they would say so.

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