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I'm a little late on starting my PS but I need help figuring out what are good softs and what aren't. Male Mexican American 25 years old.

- Parents came to America illegallly; are now citizens
- Father was alcoholic / drug user who was physically / verbally abusive
- Parents divorced; single mother who worked two jobs so I basically raised myself.
- Grew up extremely poor
- Grew up in the ghetto of Los Angeles
a) witnessed robberies, have been robbed, been shot at while at a party.
b) students carried guns in high school to protect themselves.
c) witnessed students doing cocaine during high school homeroom class.
d) childhood friends have died growing up or walked down the wrong path and committed murder and are now in jail.
e) obviously gang infested.
f) fights occurred literally every day, and fairly common to see people get jumped in the restroom.
- First generation college graduate in family
- I work at a law firm as a clerk in Los Angeles to gain experience.

I need to get my transcripts in, but my junior college GPA was 3.05-3.1 and my alma mater GPA was 3.148
There was an upward trend my second year and 3rd year. 1st and 4th there were low. So probably 3.0-3.1. LSAT scores are 151 first time and 160 this past October so I feel there needs to be an emphasis on softs.

- I really want to eventually come back and help the youth by speaking at my high school and showing them that it's possible to to make it out.

I know I'm a bit late on the app game, but I am asking for your help as TLS has been a valuable source for me while preparing for the LSAT. I need help figuring out what's useful and what isn't that I just mentioned.

Aequitas_ wrote:I'm a little late on starting my PS but I need help figuring out what are good softs and what aren't. Male Mexican American 25 years old.

- Parents came to America illegallly; are now citizens
- Father was alcoholic / drug user who was physically / verbally abusive*
- Parents divorced; single mother who worked two jobs so I basically raised myself.
- Grew up extremely poor
- Grew up in the ghetto of Los Angeles
a) witnessed robberies, have been robbed, been shot at while at a party.
b) students carried guns in high school to protect themselves.
c) witnessed students doing cocaine during high school homeroom class.
d) childhood friends have died growing up or walked down the wrong path and committed murder and are now in jail.*
e) obviously gang infested.
f) fights occurred literally every day, and fairly common to see people get jumped in the restroom.
- First generation college graduate in family
- I work at a law firm as a clerk in Los Angeles to gain experience.

I know I'm a bit late on the app game, but I am asking for your help as TLS has been a valuable source for me while preparing for the LSAT. I need help figuring out what's useful and what isn't that I just mentioned.

The underlined items are good to write about in a PS/DS.
The bolded items you should keep on your resume.
The strike-through items you should ditch unless you can make them relate to you specifically.
The astricks I'm on the fence about, since I think you can relate them to your personal interests and goals. If you can't, don't write about them.


Nice seeing another Mexican-American from the LA ghetto. Did you go to El Camino?

Awesome, thanks for the thorough reply. Nah I went to Benjamin Franklin High. Northeast LA. Probably very similar tho.

I forgot to add that I have a corneal abrasion in my right eye. Basically just means I have a scar on my eye and my sight is very limited in that eye. Not sure if the other stuff I have overshadows this or if it is worth mentioning?

Aequitas_ wrote:I forgot to add that I have a corneal abrasion in my right eye. Basically just means I have a scar on my eye and my sight is very limited in that eye. Not sure if the other stuff I have overshadows this or if it is worth mentioning?

The most important thing about a PS is that it needs to follow a narrative. If that doesn't fit naturally into the story you're trying to tell I wouldn't force it.

Reppin' Boyle Heights over here! Good to see that the Los Angeles community has so many strong MA law aspirants. Good luck on admission. If you want to trade PS pm me.