Mentioning the school name briefly in PS Forum

[gmreplay]

If my PS ends with "and that's why I want to go to X university law" or something similar, is that appreciated by the adcoms, or is it seen as petty and insignificant?

[Ratchet Jackson]

If my PS ends with "and that's why I want to go to X university law" or something similar, is that appreciated by the adcoms, or is it seen as petty and insignificant?

Doubt it's seen as "petty". I tailored the end of each PS to each school I applied to for good measure. I wouldn't necessarily want an acceptance letter saying "Dear Applicant..." (even though i'd take that over a rejection). Take the time to attach a PS with each school's name in it. Doesn't take too long and I would imagine it could do more good than harm, it's still probably pretty insiginifcant though. Your call. Just dont attach the wrong name to a school.

[sarahh]

If you just put "and that's why I want to go to X university law" it is pretty clear that it is not really tailored to the school and you are just changing the name for each application. I don't think doing this will hurt you, but it won't help. It may help your application if you provide some specific reasons why you want to go the school - an interest in a particular clinic or journal, like the location, etc.

[Ratchet Jackson]

If you just put "and that's why I want to go to X university law" it is pretty clear that it is not really tailored to the school and you are just changing the name for each application. I don't think doing this will hurt you, but it won't help. It may help your application if you provide some specific reasons why you want to go the school - an interest in a particular clinic or journal, like the location, etc.

...enter the why X essay. If you REALLY want to go to X Law School, unless they tell you not to write one, you should submit a why X in addition to the "tailored" PS. Personally, I think it just makes the application package flow a little nicer if everything is kind of geared toward the institution. But I agree with sarahh that the tailoring probably won't help much, per se. Just my 2 cents.

[vanwinkle]

If my PS ends with "and that's why I want to go to X university law" or something similar, is that appreciated by the adcoms, or is it seen as petty and insignificant?

I think it depends on the PS. If you just got done describing why you love and want to work in the city/state the school is in, or something specific about the school, or anything else that actually gives reasons specific to that school/city/state, then it's probably appreciated. If you're just throwing it at the end of a PS about being a star running back in high school, that one time you brought together your community in musical opposition to unfair rent increases, or how Jack McCoy inspired you to save the world, then "petty and insignificant" is a good phrase for how it'll be received.

[manthony]

I talked to a number of people about this. Most important, my law school adviser, who sat on two admissions committees, said not do it. It sounds petty and fake. Law schools will be able to see right through it. If you really want to put a specific school in your PS highlight a program or some aspect of the school that interests you. Just adding a throw away sentence will probably hurt you more than it will help.

[JJDancer]

I havent put any schools names in my PS yet.

I think there is probably a difference in saying "and thats why X law"(this will likely do nothing, and might hurt?) and saying "Xlaw's Y program would allow me to use my A B skills and C experience. I am also looking forward to XLaw's something else" (this is actually tailoring your end to the XLaw and may be helpful)

[manthony]

I havent put any schools names in my PS yet.

I think there is probably a difference in saying "and thats why X law"(this will likely do nothing, and might hurt?) and saying "Xlaw's Y program would allow me to use my A B skills and C experience. I am also looking forward to XLaw's something else" (this is actually tailoring your end to the XLaw and may be helpful)

+1

[gmreplay]

My situation is that I'm doing a Why X statement for my #1 school, so I'm not going to duplicate those efforts in the PS. I was just considering using "X law school" rather than just the generic term "law school" in my final sentence. Given what I've read here, I think I'll use the generic.

[nsideirish]

What about if the PS is about overcoming adversity and is something like "...fought through adversity...family made sacrifices...etc. etc. and I know that I am ready for the challenges that law school presents."

Should I just keep it with a generic "that law school presents" or should I be specific with whatever school it is (i.e. "that XYZ Law School presents.")

Thanks

[JJDancer]

What about if the PS is about overcoming adversity and is something like "...fought through adversity...family made sacrifices...etc. etc. and I know that I am ready for the challenges that law school presents."

Should I just keep it with a generic "that law school presents" or should I be specific with whatever school it is (i.e. "that XYZ Law School presents.")

Thanks

keep it generic.