PS for Fordham. Hack it up!
Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2011 3:21 pm
Hi all, I've finished draft number 1 for my application to Fordham. Let me give you some background info:
1. 3.98 GPA/163 LSAT (My LSAT is a little below Fordham's median, so I really want to nail the PS)
2. Applying to Fordham (and possibly Columbia--any thoughts?!!) to study IP law, because I want to pursue a career in music business law.
3. In my PS I've tried to emphasize a few things:
A.) Telling a story that conveys passion and excitement about a topic
B.) Evidence of social activity/engagement
C.) Evidence of work experience
D.) Showing that I'm in touch with reality
E.) Displaying resourcefulness and creativity
F.) Showing that I have good reason to go to law school, and that I have what it takes to succeed there
One thing that I'm worried about is that my flow of logic in terms of addressing "why I want to go to law school" may be a little weak. Any suggestions or comments about this, as well as any other comments and suggestions, would be appreciated. Thanks!
-----
As a professional guitar player, I’ve done some thrilling stuff. I’ve nailed that killer lick. I’ve laid down a track in the studio with one perfect take. I’ve found myself lost in the music I’m playing, and in rare moments of transcendence above body and mind. The biggest thrill, though, comes when I’m in a five-by-five foot room, with a student sitting in the chair across from mine. Usually, professional musicians consider teaching lessons as a necessity to make ends meet. I consider it the best part of the job.
Students are like complex puzzles. Each has peculiarities of personality that once solved, allow me to teach to the student in a focused, personal way. The students pay back my attention with enthusiasm and hard effort. The smile on a student’s face after he or she has finally nailed that tricky chord change or lick makes me misty-eyed, because knowing that I’m partly responsible for his or her success is the most satisfying prize.
I’ve had some students for a long time. By seeing them week after week, year after year, I’ve developed a strong sense of community with them and their families. I’ve seen innocent five year olds grow into mischievous middles schoolers; I’ve seen scrawny, shy sixth graders grow up to be young adults with strong personalities, who drive themselves to lessons, perform gigs of their own, and take days off to visit colleges.
The lessons themselves became note enough: I needed something more. So, in 2008, I created and directed a guitar ensemble and a summer jazz band program for my students. My goal in founding these groups was to provide a forum in which students of varying age, skill, and interests could learn and play together, sharing their skills and ideas, and all reaching towards a goal of perform music. My plan worked: at the start of each new program session, new faces joined the groups on account of what they had seen and heard of us before. Through quality public performances and word of mouth, I increased enrollment in my ensembles by 300 percent, and succeeded in creating the type of collective forum I had envisioned.
Still, the community I’ve created is a small one. In some ways, it still occupies only the five-by-five-foot space of my lesson room. And though I love the puzzle-world of teaching, I know that more complex puzzles, more formidable intellectual challenges, and greater opportunities exist within the music business law community.
Like my students who are preparing to start college, or even high school and middle school, I am geared to embark a new start in law school. My passion for the music world, coupled with my craving to creatively solve challenges, has ignited a desire to extend my passion for teaching to the study and practice of intellectual property law.
Intellectual property law is much like a new student: it is young, malleable, and growing up very quickly. Students need the guidance and wisdom of teachers to realize their full potential. Intellectual property law—especially as it relates to the rapidly-changing music business—is another puzzle that needs savvy, skilled, and attentive individuals like me to sort through its pieces, discover its potential, and guide it to maturity.
1. 3.98 GPA/163 LSAT (My LSAT is a little below Fordham's median, so I really want to nail the PS)
2. Applying to Fordham (and possibly Columbia--any thoughts?!!) to study IP law, because I want to pursue a career in music business law.
3. In my PS I've tried to emphasize a few things:
A.) Telling a story that conveys passion and excitement about a topic
B.) Evidence of social activity/engagement
C.) Evidence of work experience
D.) Showing that I'm in touch with reality
E.) Displaying resourcefulness and creativity
F.) Showing that I have good reason to go to law school, and that I have what it takes to succeed there
One thing that I'm worried about is that my flow of logic in terms of addressing "why I want to go to law school" may be a little weak. Any suggestions or comments about this, as well as any other comments and suggestions, would be appreciated. Thanks!
-----
As a professional guitar player, I’ve done some thrilling stuff. I’ve nailed that killer lick. I’ve laid down a track in the studio with one perfect take. I’ve found myself lost in the music I’m playing, and in rare moments of transcendence above body and mind. The biggest thrill, though, comes when I’m in a five-by-five foot room, with a student sitting in the chair across from mine. Usually, professional musicians consider teaching lessons as a necessity to make ends meet. I consider it the best part of the job.
Students are like complex puzzles. Each has peculiarities of personality that once solved, allow me to teach to the student in a focused, personal way. The students pay back my attention with enthusiasm and hard effort. The smile on a student’s face after he or she has finally nailed that tricky chord change or lick makes me misty-eyed, because knowing that I’m partly responsible for his or her success is the most satisfying prize.
I’ve had some students for a long time. By seeing them week after week, year after year, I’ve developed a strong sense of community with them and their families. I’ve seen innocent five year olds grow into mischievous middles schoolers; I’ve seen scrawny, shy sixth graders grow up to be young adults with strong personalities, who drive themselves to lessons, perform gigs of their own, and take days off to visit colleges.
The lessons themselves became note enough: I needed something more. So, in 2008, I created and directed a guitar ensemble and a summer jazz band program for my students. My goal in founding these groups was to provide a forum in which students of varying age, skill, and interests could learn and play together, sharing their skills and ideas, and all reaching towards a goal of perform music. My plan worked: at the start of each new program session, new faces joined the groups on account of what they had seen and heard of us before. Through quality public performances and word of mouth, I increased enrollment in my ensembles by 300 percent, and succeeded in creating the type of collective forum I had envisioned.
Still, the community I’ve created is a small one. In some ways, it still occupies only the five-by-five-foot space of my lesson room. And though I love the puzzle-world of teaching, I know that more complex puzzles, more formidable intellectual challenges, and greater opportunities exist within the music business law community.
Like my students who are preparing to start college, or even high school and middle school, I am geared to embark a new start in law school. My passion for the music world, coupled with my craving to creatively solve challenges, has ignited a desire to extend my passion for teaching to the study and practice of intellectual property law.
Intellectual property law is much like a new student: it is young, malleable, and growing up very quickly. Students need the guidance and wisdom of teachers to realize their full potential. Intellectual property law—especially as it relates to the rapidly-changing music business—is another puzzle that needs savvy, skilled, and attentive individuals like me to sort through its pieces, discover its potential, and guide it to maturity.