Length Forum

[lawschool2k11]

I was told by one person that a PS should be no longer than 500 words and by another 1,000 words is a good ballpark. Both are knowledgeable about law school admissions-- who is correct, all things considered?

[bk1]

Roughly 2 pages, double spaced, 12 pt, TNR, is about right.

500 words seems too short.

[krad]

I was told by one person that a PS should be no longer than 500 words and by another 1,000 words is a good ballpark. Both are knowledgeable about law school admissions-- who is correct, all things considered?

It depends on the school, so take a look at their apps. Most go by page length. As a guide, I wrote a two page PS and then tailored it to individual schools.

The only one of my ~20 apps that went by word length was U Washington, which ended up coming out to almost exactly two pages.

[fastforward]

We wrote about this on our new blog recently. --LinkRemoved-- It's absolutely critical to stay within the parameters set out by each school. If there is no word limit, in academia the standard is, one page equals 250 words. Do not tinker with margins or font size to cram your statement into the prescribed limit. If there is no word or page limit, many admissions deans (including Yale's Asha Rangappa) suggest limiting yourself to three pages, or 750 words. Verbosity is not a sought-after quality in a law school applicant. And be certain to have someone you trust proofread. It's actually a neurological phenomenon that we see what we think is on the page as we read our own work. In other words, we are physically incapable of proofreading our own work accurately