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It seems using Study Abroad as the main theme of a PS is not a good idea. What about Peace Corps service? I'm trying to decide what direction to go with my PS, and obviously Peace Corps gives me a lot of interesting material to work with. I'm not sure it's my main theme, though.

Any RPCVs here who wouldn't mind sharing? I'd love to hear how you dealt with it in your essay.

starrynight62 wrote:It seems using Study Abroad as the main theme of a PS is not a good idea. What about Peace Corps service? I'm trying to decide what direction to go with my PS, and obviously Peace Corps gives me a lot of interesting material to work with. I'm not sure it's my main theme, though.

Any RPCVs here who wouldn't mind sharing? I'd love to hear how you dealt with it in your essay.

A friend of mine used it for her Med School PS, so I'm pretty sure they are done. In her case, she talked about two intertwining families that she had experiences with (only one had to do directly with medicine). I think it depends on where you went and what kind of experiences you had, but there is probably a lot of good PS material.

The Peace Corps is one of the few softs a non-URM/non-prestigious scholar can use to their advantage in the admissions cycle. I don't think there's any reason at all not to use it as the basis for a PS.

I'm a current PCV, and I most certainly plan on using my PC service in my PS. Although, kinda like you, I've wrestled with whether to use it as my main theme or not (I have a lot of post university, real world experience to draw from).

i'm a peace corps volunteer and i certainly worked it into my personal statement and had a very successful cycle. anyone who has questions about the peace corps, applying from the peace corps, or advice on taking the lsat while in the peace corps, please feel free to private message me.

RPCV here. my PS drew heavily from my PC experience and made a huge difference. i think though that the most important advice for any PS is to not force it. if PC was or is something that has made a large impact on you and your aspirations for becoming a lawyer, i would definitely go with it. if it hasn't been that influential, it may be better to pick another aspect of your life and experiences that you feel are truly important. my PS worked out well more because i wrote about something i cared about personally, and less because it involved PC or time spent abroad.

thebunk wrote:RPCV here. my PS drew heavily from my PC experience and made a huge difference. i think though that the most important advice for any PS is to not force it. if PC was or is something that has made a large impact on you and your aspirations for becoming a lawyer, i would definitely go with it. if it hasn't been that influential, it may be better to pick another aspect of your life and experiences that you feel are truly important. my PS worked out well more because i wrote about something i cared about personally, and less because it involved PC or time spent abroad.

+1

My PC PS worked out extremely well for me, too, but it was also very much related to my future plans and why I wanted to go to law school. Like thebunk said, don't try to force it.

starrynight62 wrote:It seems using Study Abroad as the main theme of a PS is not a good idea. What about Peace Corps service? I'm trying to decide what direction to go with my PS, and obviously Peace Corps gives me a lot of interesting material to work with. I'm not sure it's my main theme, though.

Any RPCVs here who wouldn't mind sharing? I'd love to hear how you dealt with it in your essay.

I was not in the Peace Corps however I have met quite a few people with successful cycles who went through the Peace Corps and used it in their PS. It might not help (I would not know) but I know it has NOT hurt anyone I've ever seen use it.

My favorite of all my classmates was in the Peace Corp. I would definitely, definitely play that up.

work it.