Anyone else second guess the PS they submitted? Forum

[idylls]

I only applied to two schools (long story) and I've been accepted to one of them, but I'm wondering if my personal statement helps or hinders. As I haven't heard from the second school yet, I've been second-guessing what I submitted and wondering if it makes me seem like an arrogant, crazy bitch.

When I was six, I could fly; I am quite convinced all children have a bit of Peter Pan in them that somehow gets lost in adult world. There is a bit of bright magic in youth that tends to fade as we grow up. My father nurtured the magic and fostered my early belief that I was invincible and he was immortal. When he told me that I could do anything if only I set my mind to it, I believed him. He taught me to face the world head held high with a stubborn determination that my mother still insists comes from his side of the family tree. From sports to academics, he rooted me on and encouraged me to hold on to the magic inside for as long as I could.
I learned that I was not invincible in the same instant I learned my father was not immortal. When I was seventeen, my father was killed. He had been hunting and a mentally challenged young man stumbled upon him in the woods and mistook him for a deer. A horrible hunting accident became much more criminal when the man, armed with an AK-47, shot my father and fled the state. My father was a volunteer firefighter, and I listened to the search on the scanner while home alone. I heard the call come over when the dog, a Belgian Tervuren, found the body. The magic in me, the ability to be and do anything, shriveled up into near inexistence.
After my father’s death, I became sullen - emotionless. But as much as I may have wanted it to, life did not stop under that oak tree with my father; essays on Hamlet had to be written, math problems solved, and college acceptance letters arrived with stacks of sympathy cards. I spent the remainder of my senior year with a heaviness inside of me that I could not face let alone name – a heaviness that nearly put out the bright magic entirely.
I do not mention my father’s death to suggest that tragedy was the catalyst that pushed me toward law, but it did force me to face some demons and realize my own strength and the viability of the magic inside me. With time, I faced the heaviness inside and it lifted. My father not only gave me his name and a stubborn determination, he gave me every resource necessary to survive his death with minimal scarring.
I was blessed with two loving parents who instilled in both of their children the same morals and ethics passed down by their parents. I was taught to be my best at whatever I attempted by a man with a high school diploma who worked ungodly hours at a paper mill to provide for his family. I know the legal profession is challenging and time-consuming, but I do not doubt the potential for my success in the slightest.
I would love to say that I have always known I wanted to be a lawyer, that my life’s course has always been set. But as a six year old girl, I was more intent on flying. My interest developed much later in life, after interning briefly with a publishing company and then working as an assistant editor for a literary magazine. My scholarly research and own writing made me want to understand how and why we must protect creations of the mind. Rowling v. RDR Books further strengthened my decision to go into intellectual property law.
I am sure you have read many statements from individuals who have been planning for this moment their entire lives; I assure you I am no less focused or driven. The magic inside of me has given birth to an intense passion that defines all of my endeavors. My father always said that the easiest path is seldom the best; I know this path I have chosen will contain obstacles, but I know I can and will overcome them with stubborn determination, willpower, strong ethics, and just a hint of magic; it is how I was raised.

So... anyone want to help me beat myself up over what I can't change at this point? lol

[koehn2]

Yes, I have definitely second guessed my personal statement, but I try not to think about it because as you said I can't change it now.

[chicoalto0649]

Yes.

After I got waitlisted at Duke and UT (oos) with auto-reject numbers (even for a urm) I figured my ps couldn't be all that bad and was happy that someone actually read it. Or at the very least glossed over it.

Oh wow. You actually submitted your own PS and you want us to tell you if it helps or hurts?

For me, it is pretty melodramatic and I stopped reading half way through it. You got into 1 out of the 2 schools you applied to so I figure your numbers were there to begin with. You've been accepted to 50% of the schools you applied to (perhaps 100%). People would kill to have a 50% success rate on their apps. I applied to 16 schools and only got into one. The cycle is almost over and you should relax. There is NOTHING you can do at this point. Enjoy law school next year.

In short, your PS will not help you if your numbers are borderline at best at the other school. If your numbers are solid for the other school then I guess youll get in

[bees]

Your PS is fine. Reading the line "magic inside me" got a bit old towards then end, but unless your PS managed to really rub someone the wrong way, it isn't what is keeping you out of any schools.

[Jetsetter]

Oh yes even now that all my aps are in (well one more I'm debating about sending in this late in the game) I still am tempted to edit and rewrite it over and over.

[Cupidity]

166/3.9 unexpected WL's at ND and BC....I think its my GLBT PS.

[chicoalto0649]

166/3.9 unexpected WL's at ND and BC....I think its my GLBT PS.

You should get into Cornell (joy). I think they're trying to recruit more LGBT- heck they ask you about your sexual orientation like 3 questions in to their app , plus I think the new dean there is LGBT

[02122015]

.

[Pearalegal]

I wrote heavily about my pro-choice activities and commitment to fight for reproductive justice in my ND personal statement and got in with a scholarship, so I wouldn't read too much into the WL having much to do with the LGBT statement.

[PlugInBaby]

I second guessed mine in so many ways. I could have written about some killer diversity factors but didn't because I was concerned about the stigma involved. I could have adjusted my personal statement to the exact lengths and things each school wanted to hear; I sent the shorter one from my top choice to all my schools. Got some shocking waitlists and rejections from schools that were virtually safety schools (probably due to other reasons). This cycle has been an absolute debacle, I screwed up in so many different ways other than the personal statement. I am trying again next year.