Topic Advicde Forum

[happyshapy]

Looking for some advice on my topic...

Most of my work experience is with children and teaching and I wanted to write a PS that blends that with my desires to go to law school. A lot of my teaching has been in lower-income areas with younger children whose parents get state assistance. Over the years I've seen a lot of families get screwed over by the system, and it's really sparked my interest in family law, child advocacy, and juvenile law. I don't want my PS to be cheesy public interest blah blah, but at the same time I feel really passionate about this, and it obviously relates to my work experience which is almost exclusively teaching. But I've heard the why I want to go to law school topic almost always fails...What do you guys think?

[happyshapy]

My goal is Columbia which I've read is a great for family law, but I don't think I have much of a chance with a 167/ 3.9. I'm hoping if my PS is tailored to them through family law it might work in my favor, but I thought schools were turned off by people who go in wanting to practice something specific.

[bluepenguin]

Retake. Seriously.

It's fine, maybe even beneficial, to say you want to practice a specific kind of law in a PS, if you have significant experience(s) in that field. In this instance, that'd probably mean time volunteering with legal advocacy nonprofits or the like.

[TripTrip]

167/ 3.9

And your personal statement could indeed work. You might want to look at NYU, after you retake, because they've got some killer PI scholarships.