Anybody out there how transferred have any insight on what admissions are looking for in a personal statement? Same deal as first time around, or should we be focusing on something else?

Any info is appreciated.

Also, anybody willing to share their successful transfer personal statements/any other tips?

Thanks.

A reason to transfer and perfect grammar.

and proper bluebooking

I think we all can agree proper bluebooking is a necessity.

Either of you guys have actual experience/personal statement you'd mind sharing?

I will tell you in late July...

or alwooding depending on the school

I hope I don't sound like a total idiot, but why is proper bluebooking needed for a transfer PS (unless, of course, you cite to a case, article, etc. you have an interest in)?

They're kidding.

Thanks for not giving me crap for that -- I deserve it

For my personal statement, I basically made the destination school sound like the most glorious institution of higher learning on the face of the earth, and that it would be an honor to join it. (See: Ass Kissing 101).

In more detail:

- 2-3 sentences about undergrad achievements of note.

- A paragraph on my relevant international experience (I targeted schools with more well known International Law programs).

- A paragraph about how my current school is all rainbows and kisses, but that ultimately I need to peace out to better myself.

- The rest (I did two pages, double spaced) was about the particular school I was applying to. I usually outlined a specific program, professor, news story, etc. about the school.

It was an easy formula to adjust for each destination school.

Hope it was maybe a little helpful, and best of luck on your endeavors!

A transfer PS should focus on the reason or reasons for wanting to transfer to that particular law school. Duke, for example, claims that this is an important factor in their decision. For most law schools, your class rank is enough to determine whether or not you'll be admitted as a transfer.

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PM me if you want mine.

Most schools ask for 2 pages double spaced. The first page was why I went to law school, how I prepared for it, and how I succeeded. The second page was why I wanted to transfer to X school. It wasn't perfect, but I would say that I outperformed my numbers.

Mine was similar, except I generally devoted 1-2 paragraphs (or about 1/4-1/2) of a page on why I wanted that school in particular. I feel that, if I have not under-performed my numbers, I certainly have not reached their potential. Hard to know if not buttering the schools up enough contributed or not, but it would be one explanation.

Here's my input...

My PS basically centered around the reasons why I wanted to go to law school and why the transfer school is ideal.

I started with a brief history how my desire to go to law school evolved, which conveniently highlighted achievements from my past. Then I moved on to showing that I'm focused on my goals, the goals I've achieved in the past, and the goals I want to achieve in the near and far future. I then complimented and highlighted my former school's good points and how my experience there improved me in relation to the above, but also gave a reason as to why it was not a good match for me and my goals. Lastly, the frosting on the cake, why the [target school] was ideal for my goals, and a confident remark about a mutually beneficial relationship.

All that was under 500 words. Straight and to the point. I think the last thing admissions want to read is a wordy recant of someone's experience backpacking in Africa.

Apparently that must have played a role in the admission decision, since others with similar/better numbers than me have gotten dinged.

Summary of my successful Transfer PS to Penn (I was top 8% at a T40):

Paragraph One: As I mature, I can better see what I need to achieve my goals. Penn is what I need to achieve my goals.
Paragraph Two: I really want to be closer to family. Family lives 3 hours from Penn, 11 hours from old school. Grandparents and Uncle live in Philly.
Paragraph Three: I really want to work in Philly or New York. Penn will help me do that.
Paragraph Four: I really want to contribute to the Penn community. I plan on participating in a journal, joining some student organizations, and being an all-around good guy.
Paragraph Five: Penn will provide me opportunities I can't really get anywhere else. I look forward to joining the Penn community.

663 words, just under 2 pages double-spaced. I'd imagine it was a moderate-to-large boost to have ties to, and really want to be in, the Philadelphia area (in addition to having family in Philly, I lived there for the first 5 or 6 years of my life). But, yeah, nothing too special. Just get to the point, say what you want to, and make sure it's well-written and free of grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. Be pleasant, not just to your (potential) new school but to your old school.

I wrote about a particular experience working for a public interest organization (my career before law school). I dedicated 1 and 1/2 pages to the experience, which consisted of failing to accomplish a major goal, learning valuable lessons, applying those lessons and ultimately succeeding. I then dedicated the last 1/2 of the second page to discuss why (insert school) is the right law school for me, given that I want to continue to do public interest work.

I speculate that the essay has been very helpful. I have been admitted to GULC and NYU so far, which both have strong public interest programs. I'm still waiting to hear from CLS. Stats: T80s, 4.09 GPA (no rank, but probably 1%).

Feel free to PM me if you want more specific info on my PS.

Top 5% 90-100TT to Berkeley

Things I talked about:

Why the reason for attending on the East Coast is gone
California connections(don't limit yourself to where you grew up. Example-mention family in the school's area even if you didn't grow up there)
First in family to go to college
Law school activities
Law school accomplishments
Summer work
Why Berkeley

T2 80s, #1 to Penn probably. Here's what worked for me with minimal work:

1.5 pages - anecdote
last .5 pages - conclusion from anecdote, relate to some perk about the school/city

Just pick something interesting that happened to you and tell the story. That's 75% of the essay for all of the schools, so you only need to modify the last 25% for each school - and you can do so formulaicly, especially if several schools are in the same city. It'll take the form: 'From this anecdote I learned that I need [X], and [SCHOOL/CITY] provides me with [X].'

That form got me into Berkeley, Penn, Michigan, NYU, and GULC EA. That many acceptances is kinda unlikely given my numbers, so I think the personal statements had something to do with it.


Edit: It's basically the same thing that InSport did. High five.

Pm me