Is the addendum an appropriate place for "Why X Law School"? Forum

[Shiraz]

Hey all - I have a number of brief, "Why X Law School" statements that I want to submit. I know that UVA's Assistant Dean of Admissions says that an addendum is a good place fo a "Why X" statement, but I was wondering if this was an acceptable practice at other schools.

I could put it at the end of my personal statement, but I feel like it would seem forced and make the statement kind of inconsistent -- plus it would waste precious space. Hence a nice little paragraph in the addendum would work nicely, but I'm not sure if that is where admissions committees generally want to see such a statement. Schools I am applying to include UCLA, Vanderbilt, and Georgetown, and a couple of reach schools like Berkeley, Duke and UVA.

Thanks for any help!

[Shiraz]

bid-donk-a-bump.

[bp shinners]

I could put it at the end of my personal statement

Don't do this - for all the reasons you state and more.

Include it as a 'Why X?' addenda, but don't BS the schools (unless they specifically ask for one). If you don't have a specific reason for attending that school, don't force it. Then, if you get WLed/held, send a LOCI with that info.

[cahwc12]

I could put it at the end of my personal statement

Don't do this - for all the reasons you state and more.

Include it as a 'Why X?' addenda, but don't BS the schools (unless they specifically ask for one). If you don't have a specific reason for attending that school, don't force it. Then, if you get WLed/held, send a LOCI with that info.

I was actually thinking of writing a template PS and crafting it for each school I am applying to in terms of a program I'm interested in/etc. You're saying I should just craft one masterful, generic PS and then explain in "why X" essay separately?

I haven't looked much into the PS area yet, but I thought it seemed like a pretty good idea. Or are you just saying that it isn't good merely because it would look forced if he just tacked it on?

I plan (hope) to have it integrated nicely in each PS I make. If I can make it seamless, would you advocate for it then, or is this just crossing some unspoken threshold of "don't include why X in a PS"?

[rinkrat19]

Addenda just get included in the overall pdf file (or something very pdf-esque if not actually a pdf) of your application package. The schools can't really tell what was what, and don't see what you called each file. Putting a Why X at the end of your personal statement might not be a good idea just in case they think for some reason you literally meant to include it in your PS and ding you for not following their page limits. Including it as an addenda is fine; it's just another page in your package.

[bp shinners]

I haven't looked much into the PS area yet, but I thought it seemed like a pretty good idea. Or are you just saying that it isn't good merely because it would look forced if he just tacked it on?

I plan (hope) to have it integrated nicely in each PS I make. If I can make it seamless, would you advocate for it then, or is this just crossing some unspoken threshold of "don't include why X in a PS"?

It's almost never seamlessly integrated. And, for the most part, the people reading it skip over the paragraphs/sentences that include their name because they figure it's just a bland statement that was changed for each school to which you apply.

The exception to this is if there's a specific clinical/program offered by the school that's relatively rare, and you're also writing your PS about that topic. So, for instance, if you've worked as a teenage crisis counselor, you want to go into an area of law that will allow you to help at-risk youth, and you write your PS about it, AND that school has a clinical for providing legal advice to at-risk youth, include it. If your situation doesn't mirror that, it's going to come across as disingenuous and a 'fill-in-the-blank' section.