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Should I have a "Why this Law school" essay?

Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2017 1:23 am
by Jimlaw123
Just a question,

Should I have a "Why this particular law school" essay in my addendum section?

I've done it for some schools, but right now, I feel like it's overkill, the admissions people seem swamped, but Is it important, does it help? Or should I leave it out?

Re: Should I have a "Why this Law school" essay?

Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2017 5:11 pm
by 2000andBeyond
It depends...
If your stats are above medians and you fear being YP'd, I would write one. Alternatively, if your stats are low, it would be a good idea to write a "why x" for every school, if possible. Top 6 generally don't need a "why x" essay, though.

Re: Should I have a "Why this Law school" essay?

Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 3:02 pm
by Americanengine
Jimlaw123 wrote:Just a question,

Should I have a "Why this particular law school" essay in my addendum section?

I've done it for some schools, but right now, I feel like it's overkill, the admissions people seem swamped, but Is it important, does it help? Or should I leave it out?
I would strongly recommend that you write a "Why X law school" minus maybe H/Y. In my experience, I was WL/Rejected by about half of the schools I did not write a "Why X" for (Chicago, NYU, Penn, Duke, GULC) and was accepted (Columbia, Michigan, Berk, NW) by most of the schools that I wrote a why for (waiting on Stanford). I may be wrong on this, but I believe I was WL'd by Chicago/NYU because I did not write a "Why X" and was accepted by Columbia because I did. 8)

Re: Should I have a "Why this Law school" essay?

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 3:51 am
by brinicolec
I think this depends on the quality of the essay.

But if we're talking about a well-written Why X essay, then yes, I think it helps.

I agree that T6 generally don't need a Why X, but if it's a reach, then a Why X could help.