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I have a very low GPA, 2.7, so I have to show a major change to make up for that. I do have an upward trend in my last 4 semesters of undergrad and a 3.9 in grad school so I am hoping that will help some even though I know grad school grades so not count so much.

The summer between undergrad and grad school I gave birth to my first child who is now 19 months and who is in stage 4 kidney failure because of a birth defect. I plan on using my daughter as my inspiration for change in my personal statement because her life will be very difficult but I want to show her that even though life is difficult you have to work hard to achieve what you want- me going to law school as a single mother of two (their dad left because he cannot handle having a chronically ill child).

I am afraid that they will see that I have an ill child and am a single parent and think I do not have the time to be successful in law school. It will be rough but I will have the time because of strong family support.

I did start an MPA program (same university that I am applying to LS for) when my daughter was 10 weeks old and even had a second child during grad school and kept a 3.9 but I have not worked at all during that time. I hope my grad school experience will show my ability to manage my time with school and children but I am not sure.

Any thoughts?

micah0104 wrote:I have a very low GPA, 2.7, so I have to show a major change to make up for that. I do have an upward trend in my last 4 semesters of undergrad and a 3.9 in grad school so I am hoping that will help some even though I know grad school grades so not count so much.

The summer between undergrad and grad school I gave birth to my first child who is now 19 months and who is in stage 4 kidney failure because of a birth defect. I plan on using my daughter as my inspiration for change in my personal statement because her life will be very difficult but I want to show her that even though life is difficult you have to work hard to achieve what you want- me going to law school as a single mother of two (their dad left because he cannot handle having a chronically ill child).

I am afraid that they will see that I have an ill child and am a single parent and think I do not have the time to be successful in law school. It will be rough but I will have the time because of strong family support.

I did start an MPA program (same university that I am applying to LS for) when my daughter was 10 weeks old and even had a second child during grad school and kept a 3.9 but I have not worked at all during that time. I hope my grad school experience will show my ability to manage my time with school and children but I am not sure.

Any thoughts?

So long as you paint it well, I do not think the time management issue will hurt you. (You might have a new bf/gf or your family could assist you with the kids).

However, you might want to consider writing all this in an addendum, and using your PS to write about another faucet of your life... just an idea. If you write your PS about this, I think you're blowing the opportunity to show more of yourself by writing about a different topic. When you submit, you'll wonder whether or not you really conveyed who you are and what you can do - and another essay gives you that opportunity. Also, in this instance, I believe your addendum can be longer than most as it would serve doubly as a DS.