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I have been trying to think of a topic for my personal statement, and like many others on this forum, I was fortunate to lead a very comfortable lifestyle with no traumatic events I could write about. I haven't traveled very much, I haven't known since I was young that I want to be a lawyer, and the only work experience I have is working for my parents at the family business... So here is what I have come up with(not in these exact words, but you get it):

1. Being around a family run business my entire life and how the responsibility that has come with it has allowed me to be more knowledgable and prepared. Talk about how I could've done that and taken the easy way out but I want to challenge myself and pursue law instead.

2. Base it around a bad relationship I was in for 5 years(high school and college), and specifically how it finally ended when I had a gun pointed at me during an argument, and how this was the point where I decided I needed to turn my life around and start caring about figuring out my career instead of being a slacker and smoking weed with my loser boyfriend all day.(This would also help explain how I went from getting F's in my first semester of college to having a 4.0 in my last 2 years)

3. Statement based on how my life goal in high school and the first year of college was to be a homeless person, because I actually though that the best way to prevent dissappointment in life was to not set any goals at all. Then discuss how as my outlook became more positive, I learned that I have potential that couldn't be wasted.(Maybe this could be combined with #2?)

I want to eventually end up as a prosecutor/district attorney if that is any help(It probably isn't)... and I realize that all of these ideas are pretty lame, but it's all I've got. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

ont84198 wrote:I have been trying to think of a topic for my personal statement, and like many others on this forum, I was fortunate to lead a very comfortable lifestyle with no traumatic events I could write about. I haven't traveled very much, I haven't known since I was young that I want to be a lawyer, and the only work experience I have is working for my parents at the family business... So here is what I have come up with(not in these exact words, but you get it):

1. Being around a family run business my entire life and how the responsibility that has come with it has allowed me to be more knowledgable and prepared. Talk about how I could've done that and taken the easy way out but I want to challenge myself and pursue law instead.

2. Base it around a bad relationship I was in for 5 years(high school and college), and specifically how it finally ended when I had a gun pointed at me during an argument, and how this was the point where I decided I needed to turn my life around and start caring about figuring out my career instead of being a slacker and smoking weed with my loser boyfriend all day.(This would also help explain how I went from getting F's in my first semester of college to having a 4.0 in my last 2 years)

3. Statement based on how my life goal in high school and the first year of college was to be a homeless person, because I actually though that the best way to prevent dissappointment in life was to not set any goals at all. Then discuss how as my outlook became more positive, I learned that I have potential that couldn't be wasted.(Maybe this could be combined with #2?)

I want to eventually end up as a prosecutor/district attorney if that is any help(It probably isn't)... and I realize that all of these ideas are pretty lame, but it's all I've got. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Two and three should be out of the question. In #2, you admit to committing a crime...I'm guessing that's not a good idea for...LAW school. There is also no point to #3. You're basically saying you were SUCH an idiot at one point in your life but you've grown up. "Growing up" is not an achievement, especially when the bar was so clearly low.

#1 has potential. In fact, it is a rather good idea.

Definitely not 2 or 3

umm.... -1. for even considering 2 and 3.

Anything that's not #2 or #3?

Just to make it clear I didn't break the law. My boyfriend got a gun from under his bed and pointed it at me. (i was not aware that he was in posession of it).But seeing that most people are in agreement that number one wins I will try and develop that more. Thanks for your feedback!

Topics 2 and 3 are way too dramatic for an appropriate personal statement-- if anything, because the correlation between those topics and going to law school seem forced and as if they were chosen out of shock value.

All of these are frankly really horrible.

If I were you I would go with the first one but I would drop the last part you talk about ,ie the easy way out part, might sound like you're showing off. If I were you I would just focus on what experiences you've gained from the business.

Curious1: I already stated in my original post that they were all really lame. Thank you for being obvious and redundant while offering nothing constructive whatsoever.

ont84198 wrote:Just to make it clear I didn't break the law.

ont84198 wrote:...and smoking weed with my loser boyfriend all day.

ont84198 wrote:Curious1: I already stated in my original post that they were all really lame. Thank you for being obvious and redundant while offering nothing constructive whatsoever.

My constructive advice would be to come up with a new topic. Remember it doesn't have to be some life-changing event. I know a girl who wrote about her experience installing a program on her computer--it was glitchy or something and through that experience she was able to tell readers what kind of person she is.

Edit: She's at Yale now.

Hope that's better.

Curious1 wrote:

ont84198 wrote:Curious1: I already stated in my original post that they were all really lame. Thank you for being obvious and redundant while offering nothing constructive whatsoever.

My constructive advice would be to come up with a new topic. Remember it doesn't have to be some life-changing event. I know a girl who wrote about her experience installing a program on her computer--it was glitchy or something and through that experience she was able to tell readers what kind of person she is.

Edit: She's at Yale now.

Hope that's better.

Yes, that's a lot better. I guess most of the guides and examples that i have read have indeed been about life changing experiences and/or overcoming undesirable circumstances. So if someone got into yale writing about fixing a computer program, that really is interesting. Ill have to continue looking at examples. Thanks.

Rinkrat: you are absolutely right. I forgot that I wrote that.

I voted for an essay combining themes #2 & #3 which should make for an interesting, eye-opening essay for both writer & reader. Topic #1 is a typical, PS snoozefest theme.

In my opinion, a personal statement about your first proposed topic is likely to be ineffective unless written with great skill. Topics #2 & #3 just need to be handled with care. Save topic #1 for your applications to business school.