what makes for a bad "why?" essay? Forum

[sangr]

hey guys i ask this question because a lot of people seem to write VERY personal reasons like:

"i met with this person and that, and i am connected with this school by doing a super intricate indepth, studying the trends of the desolate peoples study balh blah blah blah"

its just for me. yeah i REALLY wanna go to your school but i never had that kinda connection with it.

dont the school's ranking in terms of employment, prominence in certain areas of law, etc. provide legitimate reasons?

must u add some kind of "intimacy" in there? and if so, how? for someone who was never really connected with the school

[Moomoo2u]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/writing- ... endum.html


A good one should be one that shows how you can contribute to the school (specifically) and what programs interest you and how they will further your career goals etc etc. Speaking to people who run the programs you are interested in is also a good idea.

[Bildungsroman]

I don't think you need to have personal ties to the school for a good why x, although they can certainly help. The why x addendum is an opportunity to show genuine interest and demonstrate that you have real reasons motivating you to apply. Talk about specifics regarding employment, the location, QOL at that law school and that area, specific strengths in particular areas, etc. Be specific enough that it's obvious you've done more than just flip through a brochure or click through a couple links on their webpage, but you don't have to get so specific that it's a little strange ("here's my planned course schedule for 3L winter quarter!").

[confusedprelaw]

This deviates from the OP, but I was wondering, where would you submit a why X essay? I'm looking at the applications right now, and I'm not quite sure where to place them?

Thanks

[shoeshine]

Duke: I want to go here because I heard about this guy named Tucker Max.

NYU: My first choice was Columbia...

Berkeley: So I heard about medical marijuana and I thought...this is the place for me.

Harvard: I heard Mark Zuckerberg went to Harvard. I am on Facebook all the time!

Penn: In west Philadelphia born and raised, On the playground was where I spent most of my days

Cornell: After I realized Ithaca was only four hours from NYC...

[descartesb4thehorse]

Duke: I want to go here because I heard about this guy named Tucker Max.

NYU: My first choice was Columbia...

Berkeley: So I heard about medical marijuana and I thought...this is the place for me.

Harvard: I heard Mark Zuckerberg went to Harvard. I am on Facebook all the time!

Penn: In west Philadelphia born and raised, On the playground was where I spent most of my days

Cornell: After I realized Ithaca was only four hours from NYC...

This started off really strong. By the time you got to Harvard, it dropped off a bit.

Northwestern: No one else is going to take my 1.7/179 with 2 years party catering experience seriously.

[Moomoo2u]

This deviates from the OP, but I was wondering, where would you submit a why X essay? I'm looking at the applications right now, and I'm not quite sure where to place them?

Thanks

most schools have a place for "additional info/addenda". THe same place you would attach an LSAT/GPA addendum.