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Appropriate Personal Statement Topic?

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 4:38 pm
by dynh
Hello, I just wanted some feedback on my general idea of a personal statement. I've scrapped what I was working on earlier and thus have no draft to be critiqued.

Would it be appropriate and plausible to discuss my mother's death from cancer when I was 10? I could integrate the topic into my statement without making it the main focus, but I don't want it to seem that I am making a plea for pity.

Re: Appropriate Personal Statement Topic?

Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 12:29 am
by Master Tofu
Everything is appropriate, just a matter of how you spin it.

Re: Appropriate Personal Statement Topic?

Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 12:47 am
by sumtimesuwonder
I had this exact same problem, but I have since learned how to frame it. You have to frame it in the light that you have improved and are better prepared to become a lawyer due to the adversity you have overcome due to your mothers passing. At least thats how I went about it.

Re: Appropriate Personal Statement Topic?

Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 8:10 pm
by theadvancededit
To make it seem less like a pity party, you need to frame our statement around you. Adcomms are only interested in reading about your experience and how it has changed and shaped you into a candidate ideal for law school. Keep the focus on you and on the positive and you should be fine.

Re: Appropriate Personal Statement Topic?

Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 8:13 pm
by thelawschoolproject
theadvancededit wrote:To make it seem less like a pity party, you need to frame our statement around you. Adcomms are only interested in reading about your experience and how it has changed and shaped you into a candidate ideal for law school. Keep the focus on you and on the positive and you should be fine.

+1

A common mistake many people make is writing about someone else or focusing too much on the experience and not enough on how it has made you prepared for a career in the legal field.