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Quick question, for those writing "Why X" Essays, what are you labeling it as? Supplemental Essay? Addendum? Addendum: Why I want to attend X?

I'm also curious.

Also do titles need to be included IN the actual addendum? or just on the attachment labelling.

Put a header on your document, and include your name, LSAC number, and a title like 'Supplemental [or Optional] Essay for XXX Law School'. Don't call it 'Why X'; it sounds too informal.

I made my headers, margins and fonts uniform for all my attachments (except resume), so when my packet got printed it would look tidy and organized, not like a bunch of separate things tossed together in a folder.

Moomoo2u wrote:I'm also curious.

Also do titles need to be included IN the actual addendum? or just on the attachment labelling.

The attachment labeling is just for you, so you know which docs to send with which apps. As far as I know, the schools basically get your app as one big PDF-style file, and don't ever see the attachment labels. Put a header on your attachments so it's clear what they are.

Awesome call. Would you put the header on all the pages (only relevant to PS) or just the first one.

Moomoo2u wrote:Awesome call. Would you put the header on all the pages (only relevant to PS) or just the first one.

All the pages. And put a footer on the PS, with page numbers ('1 of 2'). If a page falls on the floor in the adcomm's office, you want it to find its way back to your folder.

rinkrat19 wrote:The attachment labeling is just for you, so you know which docs to send with which apps. As far as I know, the schools basically get your app as one big PDF-style file, and don't ever see the attachment labels. Put a header on your attachments so it's clear what they are.

AFAIK, this is correct.

rinkrat19 wrote:Put a header on your document, and include your name, LSAC number, and a title like 'Supplemental [or Optional] Essay for XXX Law School'. Don't call it 'Why X'; it sounds too informal.

I made my headers, margins and fonts uniform for all my attachments (except resume), so when my packet got printed it would look tidy and organized, not like a bunch of separate things tossed together in a folder.

Solid advice. I put a title like that at the top of the page, center-justified, but otherwise did the same things.

For every document I was attaching, including my PS and supplements (except the resume, as noted), I always made sure I had my name and LSAC# in the corner (I added it to the header in Word, right-justified) so that they could tell whose attachments they were if they got separated. Remember that they'll probably print out your application to read through everything. Making sure your headers, margins, and fonts are uniform is also a good idea since it makes your application look polished and professional. Presentation is a small but important thing.

.

A lot of schools require it to be on your resume.

I figure if everything has the same formatting with Name/LSAC #/Title on it then jsut keep the same format but remove the title/name

bmili wrote:Thanks for the input. One last question I had pertains to my resume. Do we need to include the LSAC # on it? Should it be in the header or with the other listed personal info? As of now, I have it right justified on its own in the header since there is not really a place to put it with my peronsal info (since it throws off the presentation). Im being nitpicky right now but want to make sure my app is flawless as can be.

I personally would, but that's just me. I think I added my SSN to my resume header for an extra item to even out the columns.

Can you give me an example of you'd format it?

(left) Name (middle) Title (right) LSAC #

?

bmili wrote:Thanks for the input. One last question I had pertains to my resume. Do we need to include the LSAC # on it? Should it be in the header or with the other listed personal info? As of now, I have it right justified on its own in the header since there is not really a place to put it with my peronsal info (since it throws off the presentation). Im being nitpicky right now but want to make sure my app is flawless as can be.

I think I left it off of my resume. The resume is the one document that is clearly identifiable as yours even wtihout an LSAC#; if it becomes separated from the rest of the app, they can still figure out that it came from your folder.

vanwinkle wrote:

bmili wrote:Thanks for the input. One last question I had pertains to my resume. Do we need to include the LSAC # on it? Should it be in the header or with the other listed personal info? As of now, I have it right justified on its own in the header since there is not really a place to put it with my peronsal info (since it throws off the presentation). Im being nitpicky right now but want to make sure my app is flawless as can be.

I think I left it off of my resume. The resume is the one document that is clearly identifiable as yours even wtihout an LSAC#; if it becomes separated from the rest of the app, they can still figure out that it came from your folder.

Great, appreciate the input

Moomoo2u wrote:Can you give me an example of you'd format it?

(left) Name (middle) Title (right) LSAC #

?

This is how I did mine.
(left columns are left-justified and right columns are right-justified)

Essay/addendum header:
(left)Full Name (right) LSAC No.
(left)Doc Title (right)SSN


Resume header:
(left)BIG FULL NAME
-------------------------------------- (solid line)
(left)LSAC No. (right) Address Line 1
(left)SSN (right)Address Line 2
(left)Email (right) Phone No.
-------------------------------------- (solid line)

The essay/addendum headers were Garamond, which was the font I used for titles in my resume. All body text was TNR. It all looked pretty uniform. I know SSN was probably extraneous, but it's on the app forms anyway, and it made things look nicer to have an even number of items in the headers.

What document titles did you use?

Putting X Law School Supplementary Essay I/II/III doesn't look very good.

I would put PS/DS but i dont want to write Why X as a title for the reasons you previously mentioned. Should I just call it a supplementary essay/addendum?

Moomoo2u wrote:What document titles did you use?

Putting X Law School Supplementary Essay I/II/III doesn't look very good.

I would put PS/DS but i dont want to write Why X as a title for the reasons you previously mentioned. Should I just call it a supplementary essay/addendum?

For a Why X, I'd call it a Supplemental Essay. Otherwise, call it what the school calls it. No need to get fussy.

Personal Statment for X Law School
Supplemental Essay for X Law School
Optional Essay for X Law School
Diversity Statement for X Law School
GPA Addendum for X Law School
Incidents Relevant to Character and Fitness to Practice Law
etc.