I am finishing my 3rd year UG. I am taking the LSAT in October. I want to work on my personal statement, applications, Why? essays, etc. this summer. I will start basketball workouts in September and my Sep-Dec will be hell with school, basketball, applications, studying for the LSAT and the LSAT. My current GPA is 3.95. I will spend my summer studying for the LSAT, working 12-20 hours per week and my basketball workouts.

My question- should I use basketball as a theme in my personal statement? It is a part of who I am and it has paid for college. My strength has been time management- balancing the basketball requirements and school. Or do you think this would be a little goofy and maybe just stick to the basics. Stand out and take a risk or maybe blend in and sprinkle in some references? I have not started any drafts but just curious what you would think? I am unsure as to what law schools I will be applying. I was just thinking about Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa but some of my instructors want me to stretch it to the limit. I know the LSAT will determine where I apply. Thanks for any suggestions and guidance. All criticism welcome.

Don't worry about your personal statement, with your GPA if you kill the LSAT -and I mean really study - you can use the self-study resources here instead of paying for a whole course, you will have options beyond your dreams right now.

I think that basketball would be fine, but you can always write a draft and post it here for comments as well.

But-- STUDY FOR THE LSAT!!!

Sports are a really popular topic for a PS. Your PS should absolutely NOT just be information the adcomm can get off your resume; it should be much more personal than that. (Hence calling it a "personal statement.")

And while a PS shouldn't leave the adcomms wondering "so, why IS this guy going to law school?' it doesn't have to explicitly spell out 'why law school.' You can illustrate your interest in/qualifications for law school implicitly, through the story you are telling them about yourself as a person.

While sports may be a popular personal statement, it appears you are a scholarship athlete so that makes your story a little different. I think talking about yourself and something you know makes the statement personal. Just don't use a lot of cliches. Also I am not sure what you mean by stand out and take a risk?

And with your GPA aim for a good LSAT and cross all those schools off your list.

It would make it a slam dunk.

-1

YEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHH!

Thanks for all the quick replies and all make sense. What I meant by "Stand out and take a risk" was going into this basketball theme. It sounds like I should use this to my advantage when the time comes to write my personal statement BUT study for the LSAT first.

The thing is, it's not standing out or taking a risk; it's actually probably the safer route.

Bad PS:
I would make a good law student because I possess this list of positive attributes. Now I will briefly describe these attributes and my qualificiations, most of which are listed on my resume.

Good PS:
This is me; I am interesting. This is something that happened to me, this is what I learned/how I dealt/how I felt, showing attribute X, implying I would succeed at law school.

But yes, study for the LSAT first. The torturous month where you're waiting for your LSAT score is a great time to write your PS.

The LSAT can open up a whole world for you. It is a learnable test and you should aim high. You have time to work on your PS. Like I said, people here will read it for you and give you suggestions, but your numbers are the primary concern.