Top Law Schools

Vanderbilt is my top choice and I would love to go to the school there. I didn't know much about it, but after my interview I seriously fell in love (with the school). I want to write a short (1 page) "Why Vanderbilt" essay, but the application does not ask for it. The PS is only 2 pages so I can't tack it onto there. Would it be bad to attach an additional "why" statement?

I feel like they're such a small school and really appreciate the personable atmosphere that they might like hearing why a student really wants to be at Vandy, but don't want to ruin my chances by doing something wrong.

This is definitely a good idea!

ams wrote:This is definitely a good idea!

Yeah, I don't think it can hurt.

Actually, it can hurt--at least at Vanderbilt if Dean Morton is still there. The Dean cautions against "pandering" to the law school & suggests sticking to the limitation of a 2 page limit on personal stastements. See the Vanderbilt Law School profile on this website.

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Yeahhhh in reading the Vandy profile, that may not have been such a good idea. Oh well.

I haven't read the profile, but in the TLS interview with Dean Morton:

TLS: Could an applicant significantly improve his or her chances of admission by drafting a personal statement specifically for Vanderbilt as opposed to a general personal statement that briefly mentions Vanderbilt, if at all?

Readers are primarily interested in you as a prospective law student for which a “general” personal statement is likely to be very helpful, but we are also interested to know what has attracted you to Vanderbilt in particular because the “fit” between student and school matters a great deal. If describing specific interests in Vanderbilt has any effect on a decision, it is very likely to be positive.

eskimo wrote:I haven't read the profile, but in the TLS interview with Dean Morton:

TLS: Could an applicant significantly improve his or her chances of admission by drafting a personal statement specifically for Vanderbilt as opposed to a general personal statement that briefly mentions Vanderbilt, if at all?

Readers are primarily interested in you as a prospective law student for which a “general” personal statement is likely to be very helpful, but we are also interested to know what has attracted you to Vanderbilt in particular because the “fit” between student and school matters a great deal. If describing specific interests in Vanderbilt has any effect on a decision, it is very likely to be positive.

I'll hope for this

Also, the "pandering" statement you all are referring to was written by the author of the article and not the admissions dean. I'm sticking with my original opinion: a well-written and thoughtful "Why Vandy" won't hurt, and could help.

Someone else on TLS had asked the Vandy admissions office a few weeks ago if they would accept "Why Vandy" statements, and they said yes. I think they just encourage people not to write a generic personal statement and plug each law school into it. If you have genuine reasons for wanting to attend Vandy, I don't think this would hurt you. However, I might call or email admissions first. (That's my plan at least.)