PS advice. Forum

[tofuspeedstar]

Thanks TLS.

[dingbat]

You should definitely have a separate addendum.
You want to inform them of most of that, but it'd take up your entire PS.

[tofuspeedstar]

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[gaud]

You should definitely have a separate addendum.
You want to inform them of most of that, but it'd take up your entire PS.

What would be most crucial to inform them of?

Well, if any of those health problems led to your dismissal, you'd want to include that. Make sure you include the parts you can write about best.

[tofuspeedstar]

.il.

[FantasticMrFox]

I think the addendum is more suitable for the reasons behind your dismissal.

However, the two years you lived on your own, your relationship with your sister (particularly how she influenced your decision to become a lawyer), and in part (if it is relevant) your friend's murder can somehow be integrated into a PS. I realize that it may seem a bit...I can't think of the word...to use your friend's murder, but if it does affect you applying for law school, I think it is important to mention it.

As for ITP and epilepsy, I cannot see how they relate to your application, even in an addendum.

I do not mean to be insensitive, but make sure to avoid the "woe, is me" tone that is very easy to fall into while writing a PS on personal sufferings. Good luck!

[CanadianWolf]

Consider a theme--such as maturity--that covers all of these aspects of your life.

[dingbat]

Consider a theme--such as maturity--that covers all of these aspects of your life.

Seconded

They didn't really, it was mostly the living on my own factor that led to the dismissal

Leave this part out - there are many candidates who had no problem living on their own and this isn't a good excuse (might reflect badly on you)

[tofuspeedstar]

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[rinkrat19]

Okay, this is my opinion.

A PS is a way to introduce yourself as a person to the adcomms. You want to draw them into your story (frequently people do this with an attention-grabbing description of a specific moment or event in their lives), make them like you, and make them think 'hey, this is a person I want at my school.'

A PS is not a laundry list of excuses for past poor performance. A lot of people address a negative factor with an 'overcoming hardship' or 'coming of age/maturing' PS theme, but there needs to be more to it than just 'this shit happened and made my grades bad.' You still need to introduce yourself and make them like you, on top of explaining whatever hardship. For sure you wouldn't be able to effectively address ALL the things you listed.

You can address other negative factors not covered in your PS in an addendum, so as to avoid making your PS entirely about excuses. But be aware that it probably won't help you too terribly much.

I'd suggest reading a bunch of the sample essays in the PS forum, to get a better idea of what it's supposed to be.

[CanadianWolf]

All of it seems to involve events & circumstances that affected your maturation process. In my opinion, living on your own is a significant & relevant aspect of your young life. The bottom line is that you need to write a draft before seeking critiques.