Optional Statements Forum

[curly3426]

I.E on BU, Columbia, Fordham applications.... opinions on these? Necessary?

[bk1]

Not necessary in general. Helpful if well written. Not so much if crappy or mediocre.

Why X is probably necessary to avoid YP though.

[curly3426]

what does that mean? that could have been in french lol

[s0ph1e2007]

what does that mean? that could have been in french lol

If you can write good ones, then you should write all the optional statements.
If you aren't someone with an aspect of diversity don't write a diversity statement.
Always write a "Why school X" statement (duke, penn etc.)

[curly3426]

thanks - diversity I guess we are talking about racially, not a unique background - like accomplished professional actor... they can get that from resume?

[bk1]

Schools where you your numbers are far above their medians (i.e. a 3.8/172 applying to Fordham) will probably get waitlisted because the school doesn't want to accept those people when they are pretty sure they won't attend (that would hurt their selectivity rating in USNWR). This is called yield protect. Thus people with stats greater than the school they are applying to need to convince them that they are serious about attending and it isn't just a safety school for that applicant. Thus a "Why X?" essay helps you avoid getting YP'ed.

As for the first comment, extra essays are helpful, but really only when well written. Considering law school is almost 100% a numbers game, you don't want to do anything to detract from your numbers like submitting bad or even just meh optional essays. On top of that, even good statements won't really help you outperform your numbers but are still worth including because they will help a bit. My point is that a statement is far more likely to hurt you than help you so make sure it is good when submitting or just don't bother.

[curly3426]

thanks so much!

I think I'll attach my professional resume and my theatrical resume... unless by some grace of god i scored a 175 on this past test, I'll avoid the optional essay!

thanks again

[bk1]

I think it's worth trying to write the optional essay if you have the time (though obviously don't write a DS if you aren't diverse). If it makes the grade then great, if it doesn't then you just don't submit it.