Personal Statement: "Don't want to be a lawyer." Forum

[tyrantlytamale]

.

[JCFindley]

I figure I would be more proud of a JD in three years than learning Farsi.

INDEED!

[sunynp]

Don't write a personal statement about why you don't want to be a lawyer. You wabmnt to sell yourself to the school and make them want to admit you. I think a topic about not wanting to be a lawyer is a but insulting to the admission staff. I don't think you will impress anyone with this statement.

[PolySuyGuy]

I want to complete a JD, but I do not actually want to become an attorney afterward. Or a clerk. Or whatever. I don't want to practice law.
My question then, is how do I talk about this in a personal statement? Don't schools want you to really want to be a lawyer?

Tell them you want to be a politician, both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have law degrees (ironically from the same school) and as far as I know neither has practiced law.

[AreJay711]

OP here. For those interested, I am in the military... and I'm not an MP. In my state (MN), the military will pay for my JD at the U of Minnesota. In the civilian sector I work on a retail theft investigations team. It's nothing big time, but it's related to what I'd like to do: something that requires extensive inquisition.

I should have no problem getting into the U of Minnesota Law numbers wise, and it ends up being almost free at the end. And I have a JD. And no debt.

I figure I would be more proud of a JD in three years than learning Farsi.

Shoot, do what you want then if you think it would be worth 3 years of income. Just phrase it as wanting to go for the FBI / investigations aspects and maybe say that you are open to other career avenues. I certainly wouldn't say "I don't want to be a lawyer" in those exact terms though.

[bk1]

Tell them you want to be a politician, both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have law degrees (ironically from the same school) and as far as I know neither has practiced law.

The latter might have had a tough time becoming a law professor without that law degree.

[JoeMo]

OP here. For those interested, I am in the military... and I'm not an MP. In my state (MN), the military will pay for my JD at the U of Minnesota. In the civilian sector I work on a retail theft investigations team. It's nothing big time, but it's related to what I'd like to do: something that requires extensive inquisition.

I should have no problem getting into the U of Minnesota Law numbers wise, and it ends up being almost free at the end. And I have a JD. And no debt.

I figure I would be more proud of a JD in three years than learning Farsi.

Oh then you're golden.

Why are you so intent on telling them how much you don't want to be a lawyer? I mean, all things being equal if you think your PS would make a compelling case for why you want a JD but at the same time stresses the fact that you want to go into FBI work, I don't think this would look bad. However, if your PS has a very resounding "I don't want to be a lawyer" message then I think it could hurt.

Good luck!

[splitbrain]

Sounds like you have better topics to cover on your PS, honestly

[tyrantlytamale]

Why are you so intent on telling them how much you don't want to be a lawyer?

I'm not. I'm pretty new to the whole personal statement thing. I have no problem leaving it out entirely.

[TommyK]

FWIW, my buddy wrote a PS for Uminn and it was essentially "I want to have a law degree to do profession X (which is not a bar-required position)"... and he was accepted. He was a splitter 167/2.7.

[tmack002]

A JD might give you a slight edge, but it is not worth the time and money you will spend getting it. If you are intent on going to school, you would be better off doing a master's program that would give you a stronger boost in the hiring process and more job specific knowledge. Learning to fluently speak a foreign language in strong demand in that field (Chinese, Arabic, etc..) would be more valuable than a JD. There are also Master's programs in Homeland Security, Intelligence, and International Affairs that would be better uses of your time.

[JoeMo]

Why are you so intent on telling them how much you don't want to be a lawyer?

I'm not. I'm pretty new to the whole personal statement thing. I have no problem leaving it out entirely.

Oh, then I would definitely just leave it out. You don't want to set off any red flags or even yellow flags. It sounds like you have a pretty good background that you could write about. Also, FWIW, I would look into possibly going to schools that have a strong preference for military softs like Mich and UVA and George Mason. I'm sure there are others out there but those are the three I'm familiar with.

[tyrantlytamale]

Thanks, JoeMo!

[JoeMo]

But then, I wouldn't expect someone who's entire self worth is judged strictly on GPA and their ability to do well on a standardized test to understand any of that or pay any more than lip service to the "deep respect" he has for our servicemen/women.

But hey, its the net and some people think there is no reason to value others so long as you did well on the LSAT and have a good UG GPA. To some, it is simply about tooting your own horn while offering no genuine advice except to sit out a year and crush the LSAT. That may well be good advice but there are more ways to reach the same destination

Thankfully, the one's with nothing productive to add seem to be in the minority and most here genuinely want to help.

JC

Not even close dude. Relax. Panties meet bunch.

[JoeMo]

Thanks, JoeMo!

YW, from what I've seen there are a lot of helpful people on here that would be willing to look over your PS and give you constructive criticism once you have one ready. I'm assuming you're applying for 2013 since it's kind of late to apply for 2012 if you haven't even started your PS? I would just caution against posting the whole thing on the board and say that you're better off to PM it to someone that you "trust" (using that word very loosely) to not do anything with it other than give you their honest opinion.