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It's obvious that law schools want a diverse student body, which leads me to assume that they also want alumni to serve in diverse fields. I was searching through SMU's website and stumbled upon this chart for the class of 2010 --LinkRemoved--. Not surprisingly, most graduates have chosen private practice while the military comes in last place. Do you think that mentioning (or writing completely about) the fact that I want to join the Marine Corps as a Judge Advocate help to create an effective PS? I'm sure in the past people have written similar PSs just to get into law school with no real intention of pursuing what they write about, but Marine Corps OCS was my first choice after graduating from college before I decided that I wanted to apply to law school, so I do have a genuine interest (if it even matters).

Also, I minored in Spanish and am able to pick up on it pretty quickly. I have been and plan on continuing pursuing fluency. Do you think this would be something worth mentioning anywhere in my PS or is that too unimportant to mention?

Thanks for the input!

I'd say: no and no. Unless you're already a Marine, in which case, yes and no.

Don't focus your PS around anything that you haven't done yet. You can mention that that is your ultimate goal, but your P.S. is supposed to tell about who you are and what you have accomplished (or possibly overcome). You could possibly center it around this goal if you have already taken significant steps to achieve that goal (i.e. joined the military).

shoeshine wrote:Don't focus your PS around anything that you haven't done yet. You can mention that that is your ultimate goal, but your P.S. is supposed to tell about who you are and what you have accomplished (or possibly overcome). You could possibly center it around this goal if you have already taken significant steps to achieve that goal (i.e. joined the military).

This. Your PS should tell a story about what you've done, what makes you special, etc. If you have some military background then I think it's ok to work your future goals in there, but it shouldn't be the focal point.

Also, be sure to pay special attention to the "Why SMU" essay. Supposedly they really like that one.

I figured it wouldn't be smart to focus on something I only plan to do, but I figured I'd ask. Thanks for the input! And thanks for the heads up on the "Why SMU" essay, ebo. I've heard the same thing about it.

Thanks again!