Personal Statement Help Forum

[glitched]

I've written two personal statements, but I cannot decide which one to finish up and fine tune. Here is some background on me. I graduated in may 2010 as molecular and cell biology from UC Berkeley. I love science and I love doing research and I think that I would love to practice law in relation to bioscience technology. But I want to raise my chances of getting into law school first. I like reading fiction and history. My second personal statement was about that because i wanted to "break from the mold" of a typical science major and explain that I have a liberal arts side.

So my two topics are:
1. A narrative that follows my undergraduate research (which I spent 2.5 years doing, eventually producing a thesis, and mentoring a young undergraduate). I also wanted to add how I was at a crossroads in my life with deciding a future in science - whether its medicine, research, or law and ultimately choosing law. Pros: I feel I have more passion for this. Cons: Doesn't really show diversity and it might not add much to my application since everything is science.

2. A descriptive account of my interest in novels and my time reading novels. Pros: Shows that I don't fit the typical mold of a science major. Cons: It is not as compelling.


Thanks for the help!

[hadisious]

I would focus on topic 2, but try to use examples from topic 1. Especially the mentoring and the 'crossroads bit'. I think you can intro and use the theme of love for novels, but then tie in your drive, work ethic, and desire to help others with examples from your life. I would then return to the novels idea for a clever 'tie-in' conclusion.

Topic 1, while strong academically, might end up being too much of a rehash of things they can find on your resume.