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Showing fit for law school in Personal Statement
Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 12:05 pm
by collegebum1989
I've had a tough time trying to relate my experiences to interest in law school. I was an engineering major, and want to go to law school because I am interested in a career in IP. However, I also am interested in international policy as most of my experiences are relevant to healthcare in developing nations.
Would it be too ambitious or unfocused to say in my personal statement that I'm interested in both because of my varied experiences in engineering and the global healthcare?
Re: Showing fit for law school in Personal Statement
Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 3:00 pm
by collegebum1989
Fyi, here's the beginning of my first draft of my PS. Comments and/or suggestions with regard to my original question would be helpful!
I plan on condensing this part and adding two paragraphs at the end focusing on interest in law school.
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Re: Showing fit for law school in Personal Statement
Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 3:25 pm
by rinkrat19
The first three paragraphs are really boring.
Start with the 4th paragraph. Start with that exact sentence, actually, because it was very effective at immediately grabbing my attention, which had been wandering. Describe that experience (the conversation, your efforts to get the funding, and the program itself) in more depth and make the essay less of a play-by-play of your entire academic career to date reduced to bullet points.
A PS does not (usually) have to be explicitly 'This is why I want to go to law school and this is what I want to study there and this is what job I want to get afterwards.' (I say usually because a few schools really are quite specific in wanting a 'why law school' essay. Most are much more vague as to subject.)
A PS is your chance to introduce yourself as a person to the adcomms. It's called a PERSONAL statement, after all. Tell a story about yourself that illustrates qualities and skills that you possess that A)make you seem like an interesting person and B)almost incidentally, would also be excellent qualities in a law student/lawyer.