Writing a Personal Statement about something that may hinder Forum

[ADks]

What do you think about writing a personal statement about something that may in-fact hinder your chances of getting into law school? For instance, maybe during your undergraduate or high school years you were arrested or perhaps did something stupid but it had a profound effect on who you are today?

[thelawschoolproject]

If it had a seriously profound/positive impact on you in the end, why do you think it would hinder your chances? Wouldn't the adcomm know about the infraction from the Character and Fitness section anyway?

[ADks]

Right, but do you want to bring more attention to that on your application?

[sach1282]

Write about what's most meaningful to you, regardless of what you think they want. The rest will work itself out.

[theadvancededit]

Right, but do you want to bring more attention to that on your application?

You can bring more attention to it if, in the end, it is something that has affected you positively and can be written about in a compelling, intelligent way. If you don't feel comfortable writing about it and using all of that experience to your benefit, then don't write about it. But if you feel confident about this topic to write a strong statement, then do so. It's not so much the topic itself as it is how you write about it.

[dani_burhop]

It's true; it's about *how* you write about the topic at hand. If what you write feels like a personal journal, don't send it anywhere. But if you write something that seems like it could be a quite-good column in a respected newspaper, you might have something.

Best, Dani