Thoughts on PS topic? Forum

[westinghouse60]

I posted a thread awhile ago with my outline for my PS and the consensus was that it wasn't personal enough. So my rough idea for my new statement is a discussion of the classes I've taken (particularly in law and economics and political ideologies) and how those classes and professors have helped shape who I am. The general idea is that before I started college I was someone who, like a lot of Americans today, was simply in college because it was the de facto standard, but after taking these classes, I've become someone who is intellectually engaged. E.g., I now read for fun, it's helped me mature in my other classes and get better grades, and ultimately I've decided to attend law school, which previously was just something someone suggested to me but something I was not truly interested in.

I'm still working out the details but is this generally a good idea for a topic? How much should I go into detail about my relationship with my professors? I'm certainly asking one and maybe both for a LOR; will that help my PS if the LOR(s) are good/hurt it if they're bad?

[NoJob]

How about you go into detail about how it is your life's goal to work doc review in the basement of Paul Weiss? Or, how your legal training will help you navigate the "legal" paperwork to apply for food stamps?

[westinghouse60]

How about you go into detail about how it is your life's goal to work doc review in the basement of Paul Weiss? Or, how your legal training will help you navigate the "legal" paperwork to apply for food stamps?

Your username detracts from the validity of posts like this.

[NoJob]

Reading for fun? Nobody does that in law. Cases are boring. Outside of what is necessary for whatever work we are doing, people at my company rarely ever read cases. Who cares? I am working on a Motion right now, and I couldn't care less right now about what's going on in these cases except to the extent that there is some wording that helps me.

Law school will help you mature in the sense that you will be three years older and one hundred thousand in debt. Otherwise, I think you are wasting your time. You will learn fast how not to pass up any paying gig like http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2011/09/13 ... k1%7c95292. Take a look at the blogs and the lawsuits cited therein.

[writetrack]

Hi Westinghouse60,

While corporate law is indeed not the most glamorous work, law school can be a completely different experience. We can speak more frankly how I made law school worked for me personally, but at this point we need to help you get in first.

Here is my two cents about your Personal Statement topic, speaking about how classes and your undergraduate education shaped who you are may be quite mundane and not very personal. I would weave in another tangential personal topic to grab their attention so that it is not simply a critique of the education system. I think you should include how your studies translated to some interesting jobs, volunteer work etc that exhibit the skills that would benefit you as an aspiring law student and lawyer.

Please feel free to share your updated draft PS with me, and I can provide you with a more in-depth feedback.

MOD EDIT

[westinghouse60]

Hi Westinghouse60,

While corporate law is indeed not the most glamorous work, law school can be a completely different experience. We can speak more frankly how I made law school worked for me personally, but at this point we need to help you get in first.

Here is my two cents about your Personal Statement topic, speaking about how classes and your undergraduate education shaped who you are may be quite mundane and not very personal. I would weave in another tangential personal topic to grab their attention so that it is not simply a critique of the education system. I think you should include how your studies translated to some interesting jobs, volunteer work etc that exhibit the skills that would benefit you as an aspiring law student and lawyer.

Please feel free to share your updated draft PS with me, and I can provide you with a more in-depth feedback.

Hamada | WriteTrack Law
hamada@writetrackadmissions.com

I've done internships in law offices, volunteer work, clubs and organizations, but TBH none of them were terribly important to me personally. Any suggestions on things that might be outside of the box for something like this to connect my story? There might be some things I've done but just haven't thought of in the context of a personal statement. Although that is kind of asking the impossible.

Reading for fun? Nobody does that in law. Cases are boring. Outside of what is necessary for whatever work we are doing, people at my company rarely ever read cases. Who cares? I am working on a Motion right now, and I couldn't care less right now about what's going on in these cases except to the extent that there is some wording that helps me.

Law school will help you mature in the sense that you will be three years older and one hundred thousand in debt. Otherwise, I think you are wasting your time. You will learn fast how not to pass up any paying gig like http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2011/09/13 ... k1%7c95292. Take a look at the blogs and the lawsuits cited therein.

1. I'm not stupid enough to assume that all you do is read interesting landmark Supreme Court decisions they assign in undergrad. I'm well aware that most cases/anything you would read in legal employment are pages of esoteric technical references that are indeed quite boring.
2. Did I even say I was reading anything legal related? I already read stuff most people would think was mind numbingly boring, but that's irrelevant.
3. It amuses me how posters like you assume everyone ends up in the same position. However, I understand you have lots of other threads to spam while you're supposed to be working on this motion, and making assumptions speeds up the process.
4. Yes, I have read many of the law school scam blogs/news articles about the horror of the legal market. But once again, it goes back to the idea of validity and authority. It really doesn't affect my decision to see your posts or stories about more TTT grads unable to find employment. Show me stories about T14 grads struggling to find jobs and I'll start paying attention. (Yes, I'm aware that there are stories out there, but even anecdotal evidence of these is rare).

[NoJob]

Hi Westinghouse60,

While corporate law is indeed not the most glamorous work, law school can be a completely different experience. We can speak more frankly how I made law school worked for me personally, but at this point we need to help you get in first.

Here is my two cents about your Personal Statement topic, speaking about how classes and your undergraduate education shaped who you are may be quite mundane and not very personal. I would weave in another tangential personal topic to grab their attention so that it is not simply a critique of the education system. I think you should include how your studies translated to some interesting jobs, volunteer work etc that exhibit the skills that would benefit you as an aspiring law student and lawyer.

Please feel free to share your updated draft PS with me, and I can provide you with a more in-depth feedback.

Hamada | WriteTrack Law
hamada@writetrackadmissions.com

I've done internships in law offices, volunteer work, clubs and organizations, but TBH none of them were terribly important to me personally. Any suggestions on things that might be outside of the box for something like this to connect my story? There might be some things I've done but just haven't thought of in the context of a personal statement. Although that is kind of asking the impossible.

Reading for fun? Nobody does that in law. Cases are boring. Outside of what is necessary for whatever work we are doing, people at my company rarely ever read cases. Who cares? I am working on a Motion right now, and I couldn't care less right now about what's going on in these cases except to the extent that there is some wording that helps me.

Law school will help you mature in the sense that you will be three years older and one hundred thousand in debt. Otherwise, I think you are wasting your time. You will learn fast how not to pass up any paying gig like http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2011/09/13 ... k1%7c95292. Take a look at the blogs and the lawsuits cited therein.

1. I'm not stupid enough to assume that all you do is read interesting landmark Supreme Court decisions they assign in undergrad. I'm well aware that most cases/anything you would read in legal employment are pages of esoteric technical references that are indeed quite boring.
2. Did I even say I was reading anything legal related? I already read stuff most people would think was mind numbingly boring, but that's irrelevant.
3. It amuses me how posters like you assume everyone ends up in the same position. However, I understand you have lots of other threads to spam while you're supposed to be working on this motion, and making assumptions speeds up the process.
4. Yes, I have read many of the law school scam blogs/news articles about the horror of the legal market. But once again, it goes back to the idea of validity and authority. It really doesn't affect my decision to see your posts or stories about more TTT grads unable to find employment. Show me stories about T14 grads struggling to find jobs and I'll start paying attention. (Yes, I'm aware that there are stories out there, but even anecdotal evidence of these is rare).

There are Columbia and Michigan grads (non-URM) who are working the doc review circuits. Biglaw layoffs struggling to make ends meet. There is a growing number of them too.

How about OSU? While not T14, it used to be a respected school and is certainly first tier. Take a look at the work that Professor Campos of The University of Colorado Law School highlighted at INSIDE THE LAW SCHOOL SCAM. There, I believe an Ohio attorney used FOIA requests to demonstrate how poor the job market is for the Class of 2010 from Moritz.

But, I guess you have made up your mind. So good luck with law school, take out the maximum in loans offered, and have a blast. With that GPA and LSAT, you likely will not wind up at a school good enough to make this worthwile.