Yale 250 Forum

[Anonymous User]

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[clovis]

It sounds like your personal statement already touches on diversity--or at least that that would be an appropriate place to address it. I like the policy argument idea, but that can be harder to pull off.

Do you talk about your reason for going to law school in your personal statement?

[Anonymous User]

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[Bearlyalive]

It sounds like your personal statement already touches on diversity--or at least that that would be an appropriate place to address it. I like the policy argument idea, but that can be harder to pull off.

Do you talk about your reason for going to law school in your personal statement?

I mentioned very briefly at the end of my personal statement.

My 250 policy argument essay will end on why I want to study international trade law. I'm leaning toward this option, but I'm afraid that (1) this would be purely academic, and thus more boring than the hobby option, (2) my argument is not really novel or eye-opening that could wow Yale faculty, and (3) I don't have work experience in this specific field of law, so I worry that declaring an interest in an area w/o practical experience may sound naive and immature.

If the policy argument isn't something that you can really show your passion for, skip it. I would honestly write about your hobby. When I was talking with a Yale admissions officer during my visit to the campus, I asked what his favorite 250 was about. He told me it was about eggplants.

Point is, there are very few things that you can't write about for a 250. Just make sure it links back to you, has some sort of point, and builds on the overall narrative that you're trying to convey throughout your application. And above all, make it a fantastic piece of writing. If you think a policy argument is the best way to do that, then it's not a bad option. I've never heard anything against having an academically-focused 250. But, building on your third point, if it feels like it's coming out of left field, I think you can find a better topic that contributes more to your application.

Fellow 0L, so take the above advice with a grain of salt.

[clovis]

It sounds like your personal statement already touches on diversity--or at least that that would be an appropriate place to address it. I like the policy argument idea, but that can be harder to pull off.

Do you talk about your reason for going to law school in your personal statement?

I mentioned very briefly at the end of my personal statement.

My 250 policy argument essay will end on why I want to study international trade law. I'm leaning toward this option, but I'm afraid that (1) this would be purely academic, and thus more boring than the hobby option, (2) my argument is not really novel or eye-opening that could wow Yale faculty, and (3) I don't have work experience in this specific field of law, so I worry that declaring an interest in an area w/o practical experience may sound naive and immature.

If the policy argument isn't something that you can really show your passion for, skip it. I would honestly write about your hobby. When I was talking with a Yale admissions officer during my visit to the campus, I asked what his favorite 250 was about. He told me it was about eggplants.

Point is, there are very few things that you can't write about for a 250. Just make sure it links back to you, has some sort of point, and builds on the overall narrative that you're trying to convey throughout your application. And above all, make it a fantastic piece of writing. If you think a policy argument is the best way to do that, then it's not a bad option. I've never heard anything against having an academically-focused 250. But, building on your third point, if it feels like it's coming out of left field, I think you can find a better topic that contributes more to your application.

Fellow 0L, so take the above advice with a grain of salt.

+1 on the narrative. My 250 was a policy argument that was kind of out of left field, but it was also personal and related to my reason for wanting to study law.