Please Critique PS Draft - Non-Traditional Forum

[Anonymous User]

To set things up, I'm a slightly different type of applicant. I have already attended law school for a semester and a half, but had to leave due to family issues. I am now reapplying to my original first choice. That being said, I look forward to your feedback.


On particularly early mornings–often following longer than normal nights–I can still taste the lukewarm coffee I used to sip religiously in a valiant effort to prepare myself for class. The stark difference today is, apart from the temperature of the coffee, I am preparing myself for a long day of caring for my infant son rather than a long day of class. Although the differences may seem dramatic, I find that a lot of my day is analogous to my recent academic past.

Like most days, I’m awakened not by a traditional alarm clock, but rather shuffling and murmurs coming from a still sleeping baby on a monitor. It’s time to get up and get started on the first case of the day, which I have been called on to present—again.

-The issue is whether, without inspection, my son’s diaper should be changed when he wakes up.
-The two hour rule states that in the absence of immediate need, a diaper shall be changed every two hours, except when the child is asleep.
-Here, my son has been asleep for approximately ten hours. He was not awakened for a diaper change, and thus has not had a fresh diaper for those ten hours of sleep.
-Because my son’s diaper was last changed ten hours ago, eight hours longer than allowed by the two hour rule, my son must be changed when he wakes up.

It’s a fairly straightforward case, and one I have become intimately familiar with. Still, the sounds my son makes in response to my conclusion that he be changed seem every bit as challenging to respond to as the follow-up questions posed by Professor [omitted] following my first exposure to res ipsa loquitor. Happily, just as I was able to answer Professor [omitted]’s questions, I’m able to quiet my son and move on to the next case.

My days as a father seem to be going by faster than I ever imagined. It feels like yesterday when I found out that my wife was pregnant and that I would need to return to work full time in order to support her during and after the pregnancy. And so I was forced to make the decision to take a leave of absence from my legal education. I had been very successful as a 1L to that point. I had received the highest grade in Contracts I, with a CALI Award to put on my wall, and I was moving well into my second semester with my sights set on [omitted] Law Review. Still, the needs of my newly growing family outweighed my personal needs and I was able to attain a position which would allow me to support my family.

Shortly after the birth of my son, my wife and I found that daycare was cost prohibitive and that one of us would need to stay home to care for him. Ultimately, that honor fell to me. It was also during this time that I was able to return to my legal studies on a part-time basis while my wife cared for my son during the evenings. Again, things progressed well for me as I scored high on midterms and graded motions. But again, it was not meant to be. Just as I had earlier been surprised by the news of pregnancy, I found myself blindsided by a devastating marital issue, one which nearly destroyed my marriage. At that time, I found myself unable to focus on anything other than fixing my family. Once again, I was forced to make the difficult decision to postpone my legal studies in order to provide for my young family.

As is my nature, I refused to give up. And so, through tireless months of therapy, discussion, and no shortage of heartbreaking labor I have found a place of stability and peace in my personal life. I have managed not only to rebuild, but to improve my marriage. I have watched my son approach toddlerhood at an immeasurable speed. I have positioned myself to return to my legal studies full-time, without the concern of a family issue derailing my studies, and fulfill my dream of becoming an attorney.

No matter what has transpired in my life, I have remained focused and fully committed to becoming an attorney, a voice for my clients. This has been my mission and my passion since I was six years old and first attempted to argue constitutional rights, albeit unsuccessfully, to my parents. During my time at [omitted], I proved myself to be a competent and successful law student. Now, as I stand resolved to finish my legal education and fulfill my dreams, I find myself drawn to the impressive academic institution that is [omitted]. I know I can achieve all of my goals, to the fullest extent possible, at [omitted].