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Should I mention how I have practically overcome social anxiety 100% in my personal statement? I feel if I can overcome this, I can overcome any obstacle in life. And the fact that I have went through this has led me to where I am today. I do not need to write a GPA addendum...my GPA is fine. My LSAT score will likely not be as high as it could due to the anxiety, but I will not be making excuses for that in the statement.

The downside is if Admissions still thinks I have Social Anxiety, would they fear accepting me? Or would they think I take meds? (I do not take meds.)

I feel the most emotional PS I could create would involve my story of social anxiety. My goal is to bring the Admissions people to tears.

LSATclincher wrote:Should I mention how I have practically overcome social anxiety 100% in my personal statement? I feel if I can overcome this, I can overcome any obstacle in life. And the fact that I have went through this has led me to where I am today. I do not need to write a GPA addendum...my GPA is fine. My LSAT score will likely not be as high as it could due to the anxiety, but I will not be making excuses for that in the statement.

The downside is if Admissions still thinks I have Social Anxiety, would they fear accepting me? Or would they think I take meds? (I do not take meds.)

I feel the most emotional PS I could create would involve my story of social anxiety. My goal is to bring the Admissions people to tears.

Sounds like a good topic to me

Always Credited wrote:

LSATclincher wrote:Should I mention how I have practically overcome social anxiety 100% in my personal statement? I feel if I can overcome this, I can overcome any obstacle in life. And the fact that I have went through this has led me to where I am today. I do not need to write a GPA addendum...my GPA is fine. My LSAT score will likely not be as high as it could due to the anxiety, but I will not be making excuses for that in the statement.

The downside is if Admissions still thinks I have Social Anxiety, would they fear accepting me? Or would they think I take meds? (I do not take meds.)

I feel the most emotional PS I could create would involve my story of social anxiety. My goal is to bring the Admissions people to tears.

Sounds like a good topic to me

Maybe it's a matter of how far I should go with the topic. My anxiety led to a few years of marijuana and alcohol abuse--leading up to a DUI, and then an accident in which a DUI (ironically) hit me while I was sober. Is this too personal?

LSATclincher wrote:

Always Credited wrote:

LSATclincher wrote:Should I mention how I have practically overcome social anxiety 100% in my personal statement? I feel if I can overcome this, I can overcome any obstacle in life. And the fact that I have went through this has led me to where I am today. I do not need to write a GPA addendum...my GPA is fine. My LSAT score will likely not be as high as it could due to the anxiety, but I will not be making excuses for that in the statement.

The downside is if Admissions still thinks I have Social Anxiety, would they fear accepting me? Or would they think I take meds? (I do not take meds.)

I feel the most emotional PS I could create would involve my story of social anxiety. My goal is to bring the Admissions people to tears.

Sounds like a good topic to me

Maybe it's a matter of how far I should go with the topic. My anxiety led to a few years of marijuana and alcohol abuse--leading up to a DUI, and then an accident in which a DUI (ironically) hit me while I was sober. Is this too personal?

You are going to have to mention the marijuana and alcohol abuse on the app, right? So its not like you'll be hiding it by not including it in your PS. I think all of this could make a very deep, lasting impression with the adcomms. Instead of seeing you as some punk alcoholic and drug user, it could show them exactly who you are... which is what the PS is for right?

On the other hand, it is very risky. I'm probably not the best person to advise on this, since my PS was quite conventional. But my gut feeling says if you do this the right way, it could work.

Any time you discuss something with negative connotations it's risky. It's a chance to portray yourself in a positive light now as having overcome that, but only if you can successfully depict it that way. Whether this will help or harm you ultimately depends on how you write it.

Good luck.

vanwinkle wrote:Any time you discuss something with negative connotations it's risky. It's a chance to portray yourself in a positive light now as having overcome that, but only if you can successfully depict it that way. Whether this will help or harm you ultimately depends on how you write it.

Good luck.

I agree, it is all about sucessfully getting your point across to the adcomms. You better write, re-write, and re-re-write this thing until you are blue in the face.

I think the fact that you got hit by a DUI driver after getting a DUI is a piece of... oh I dunno... poetic justice of some sort? You could really play that up as a turning point in your life that really "drove home" the importance of staying sober and making a difference in the world, yadda yadd *insert typical cliche PS stuff here.* It is risky, but I like it.

romothesavior wrote:

vanwinkle wrote:Any time you discuss something with negative connotations it's risky. It's a chance to portray yourself in a positive light now as having overcome that, but only if you can successfully depict it that way. Whether this will help or harm you ultimately depends on how you write it.

Good luck.

I agree, it is all about sucessfully getting your point across to the adcomms. You better write, re-write, and re-re-write this thing until you are blue in the face.

I think the fact that you got hit by a DUI driver after getting a DUI is a piece of... oh I dunno... poetic justice of some sort? You could really play that up as a turning point in your life that really "drove home" the importance of staying sober and making a difference in the world, yadda yadd *insert typical cliche PS stuff here.* It is risky, but I like it.

This is a great idea.

Keep in mind if you fail at achieving what ^^ said, you risk coming across as whiny and weak, the epitome of what people don't want around them. So yeah, get good critics to go over it when you're done.

romothesavior wrote:

vanwinkle wrote:Any time you discuss something with negative connotations it's risky. It's a chance to portray yourself in a positive light now as having overcome that, but only if you can successfully depict it that way. Whether this will help or harm you ultimately depends on how you write it.

Good luck.

I agree, it is all about sucessfully getting your point across to the adcomms. You better write, re-write, and re-re-write this thing until you are blue in the face.

I think the fact that you got hit by a DUI driver after getting a DUI is a piece of... oh I dunno... poetic justice of some sort? You could really play that up as a turning point in your life that really "drove home" the importance of staying sober and making a difference in the world, yadda yadd *insert typical cliche PS stuff here.* It is risky, but I like it.

This is what I was going for. The good thing about is I don't need to play anything up because it really was a true turning point in my life. I debated about different topics to write, and kept coming back to this story. It's the one thing I can write without having to fake anything to make it sound better.

LSATclincher wrote:This is what I was going for. The good thing about is I don't need to play anything up because it really was a true turning point in my life. I debated about different topics to write, and kept coming back to this story. It's the one thing I can write without having to fake anything to make it sound better.

This seems to suggest it's what you should write about. Go with your gut. If this is what will sound honest coming from you, then it will probably look honest to readers.

The suggestion about writing and re-writing is gold, though. Write it now, rewrite it once a week over the summer, and get feedback from people along the way. I wish I had taken this advice when it was given to me, I wonder if it would've helped (especially since I caught typos in my PS after my first couple apps were submitted ).

I agree with pretty much what everyone else has said, but this line sort of struck me as a little over-the-top...

LSATclincher wrote: I feel the most emotional PS I could create would involve my story of social anxiety. My goal is to bring the Admissions people to tears.

I think it's fine to write about an emotional experience you went through, but don't make it so emotionally charged that it becomes more like a Lifetime movie than a personal statement. Be authentic, but don't overdo it.