Brithright israel as PS Forum

[JDanger007]

This is complete shot in the dark, but did anyone use their experience on their birthright trip to israel as the basis of their personal statement?

[TLSwag]

This is complete shot in the dark, but did anyone use their experience on their birthright trip to israel as the basis of their personal statement?

honestly bro, iv never been on birthright but this seems like an absolutely AWFUL idea for a PS. just pick a story or something that happened in ur life that was meaningful, not a free trip to israel for fun (even if it was educational, wtf does this have to do with adding substance to ur law school apps?)

ur PS is a chance to impress the adcomms, dont waste it

[Nova]

Agree with TLSwag. Any other ideas?

[JDanger007]

for me the experience opened my eyes up to the way people live i think it helped culture me in a sense and inpsire more of a passion for learning not just about israel but the middle east ... tie in passion motivation etc? nope still not good? I can take the cold hard facts.

The most meaningful experience for me then after that was being fraternity president that has truly shaped me and i have helped change the culture of our chapter

also in high school i did a national youth leadership conference with kids from all over the country, i know that could work?

sorry i sound so naive, im really just trying to explore options as i am in teh beginning stages of ps

[ben2587]

Look, it CAN work, but you need to use it in the appropriate context. Ad Coms get study abroad/short term travel experiences in PS's all the time and it bores them like crazy. Its ok to mention birthright as a step along your journey to maturation or maybe that it was one example of how you became who you are today as it ties into a larger theme of your PS. But I would definitely not recommend using it as the sole basis of your PS.

Source: I am Jewish and a rising 2L lol

[larsoner]

Your PS doesn't have to be about one certain experience that opened your eyes or whatever. If you want to go to law school, hopefully you have a compelling reason and can express yourself in writing. Write why you want to go to law school and make it interesting. My PS was about being good at rummy (I connected it to being a logical thinker, having a good memory, etc. and then I had some paragraphs relating this skill to some of my experiences, but no big life changing event) and both my Harvard and Northwestern interview said they liked it (and then I got into both schools). If you have one experience that encapsulates why you will be a good law student/lawyer use it, but if such an experience doesn't exist creating one probably won't work well.

[JDanger007]

hmmm all very interesting, thank u

[abc12345675]

I personally don't see the point in spending a ton of time of PS. Obviously make sure it's well written etc., but this is a number's game. You're not getting admitted/rejected because they thought your PS topic was dull.

[rinkrat19]

Look, claiming that your outlook on the world was changed by a 10-day tourist trip is likely to sound very shallow, unless you can relate it to other things/experiences in your life to make a broader point. How much could you have possibly learned "about how people live" and how much could it possibly have "cultured" you in that time?

I spent two weeks in the Oaxaca City slums laying concrete floors in dirt-floored tin shacks after high school graduation, but I don't claim that it taught me anything I didn't already know (some people are really poor) or really changed my life in any way. If I'd lived there for a year, speaking the language, getting to know people and really experiencing the lives of the people there, that would be another thing. Or if that one short trip had inspired me to do something else, like start a charity organization or change my career plans. But it didn't, so I didn't write about it.

Greek-related topics can also sound pretty shallow. As much as the members try to claim it's all about community service and leadership, frats and sororities are for partying, and everyone knows that.

And do not write about anything in high school, unless it A)had repurcussions in later life or B)was totally game-changing, like winning an Olympic medal. Writing about something that happened in high school makes it sound like you haven't done anything since.

As for the importance of a PS: A good PS likely won't help you outperform your numbers, but a bad one can certainly kill you.

[ben2587]

As for the importance of a PS: A good PS likely won't help you outperform your numbers, but a bad one can certainly kill you.

This.

[superbloom]

Write about that crazy guy in Tzfat. Or all the attempted hookups in the Bedouin tents. Good times.