Is it ok to write about your hobby in your PS? Forum

[roranoa]

Ok, so I was reading through this forum and so far I haven't seen any PS's about their passion for their hobbies.

I haven't got any life changing experiences or even a clear "why law school" cause, and so I was thinking about writing about my passion for a certain martial art. (Something like Kung Fu)

What do you guys think about this? Initially I thought it would be fine since a PS is suppose to convey what kind of person I am and I think my passion for that certain hobby fulfills the purpose.

But, I don't know.....I'm still brainstorming and I want to hear people's opinions.


What do you think?

[roranoa]

bump

[taxguy]

I think writing about your passion for a hobby is a great idea AS LONG AS:
1. It doesn't involve something trivial such as online gaming
2. It is well written and clever.

The PS is used to not only find out about you but to ascertain your writing and thinking style.

[xqhp82]

bump

ps: if i write about a hobby of mine do adcoms expect to see the connection between my hobby and law school?

[270910]

bump

ps: if i write about a hobby of mine do adcoms expect to see the connection between my hobby and law school?

No. My favorite PSs never mention the law.

Still, many see that as a risky strategy, so...

[roranoa]

bump

ps: if i write about a hobby of mine do adcoms expect to see the connection between my hobby and law school?

No. My favorite PSs never mention the law.

Still, many see that as a risky strategy, so...

why is it risky if people like it?

[270910]

bump

ps: if i write about a hobby of mine do adcoms expect to see the connection between my hobby and law school?

No. My favorite PSs never mention the law.

Still, many see that as a risky strategy, so...

why is it risky if people like it?

My career counselor, for example, freaked out that I didn't mention the law. I and many others believe it isn't necessary - that the personal statement is a vehicle for introspection and 'getting to know' a candidate / a candidate's thought process more than it is a "why I want to go to law school" essay. The traditionalists, however, see it as exactly that - an opportunity to discuss one's attraction to the law / law school. I think most on this board would agree it's totally unnecessary to mention anything related to the law, as long as it's doing a good job fleshing out your background as an applicant / human.

[roranoa]

bump for more opinions

[Cleareyes]

It's fine to use your experiences with a martial art as a VEHICLE to write about yourself and your maturity/values/discipline etc...

The essay should not actually be about the martial art. I think ideally the essay shows something about you that makes you a good candidate for law school. Like "I'm disciplined, determined, I fight to overcome obstacles, I am humble and focus on learning." You could even make this explicit at the end.

[Barouche]

I actually think writing about your hobbies is a great idea for a PS. I wrote about dancing and kind of connected it to my heritage for a diversity essay. For my PS, I wrote about writing fiction as a hobby. My advisors really liked it and my cycle went really well.

I think, especially if you're applying straight from undergrad, your PS will be better if it doesn't talk about why you want to go to law school. Most people don't have great experiences that relate to why they want to do a particular type of law. If you just give blah reasons like how you think the law is interesting and you enjoy reading/writing, the essay will be a lot more bland than it would be if it were about a hobby you cared about. A lot of people in the 50 Harvard admissions essays book (don't remember its actual title) wrote about their passions without addressing the law.

I think you could also possibly write about your martial arts hobby as a diversity essay, too, if you did it right.

[roranoa]

bump!

I'm suddenly getting suspicious after reading a thread saying

"why law is essential".

[billyez]

You can certainly have it both ways - you can write about your hobby's and about why you want to go to law school. I concur with Cleareyes, however, that the hobby should be a means to illustrate something about yourself that wouldnt' be clear from your resume, or perhaps, talk about a part that would be clear but in greater depth.

I think it's entirely possible that someone can write about something that doesn't answer the question "why law" and it can be a great PS. It just seems to me that most people don't do that. The most important aspect of a PS is giving a reader insight into who you are, not saying why you want to go to law school. But if you can do both I certainly don't see why you shouldn't.