Why don't schools care about why you want law? Forum
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Why don't schools care about why you want law?
I've seen three things on here quite frequently. 1) Don't write your personal statement about "why I want to be a lawyer." and 2) Don't write a why X unless absolutely necessary and 3) Don't turn your why X into Why Law.
Why aren't law schools more interested in knowing why you want to be a lawyer?
Why aren't law schools more interested in knowing why you want to be a lawyer?
- Robbin Blue
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Re: Why don't schools care about why you want law?
Because no one really cares about why you fell in love with JUSTICE.
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Re: Why don't schools care about why you want law?
Because why you want to be a lawyer says much less about you than many other PS topics.Seoulless wrote:I've seen three things on here quite frequently. 1) Don't write your personal statement about "why I want to be a lawyer." and 2) Don't write a why X unless absolutely necessary and 3) Don't turn your why X into Why Law.
Why aren't law schools more interested in knowing why you want to be a lawyer?
Also you will soon figure out that your reason for going to law school or wanting to become a lawyer has very little chance of informing what you do or will want to do when you leave law school.
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Re: Why don't schools care about why you want law?
I read that you should almost always try to write a why X…. because it is another opportunity to talk about yourself and make yourself unique from the pack….. I think. I also read that your PS should almost always discuss an influence or reason for becoming a lawyer, or at least characteristics that you acquired through certain life experiences that will make you a good lawyer…. I was told it should almost always tie back to becoming a lawyer in some way. In other words, it shouldn't just be a floating narrative.Seoulless wrote:I've seen three things on here quite frequently. 1) Don't write your personal statement about "why I want to be a lawyer." and 2) Don't write a why X unless absolutely necessary and 3) Don't turn your why X into Why Law.
Why aren't law schools more interested in knowing why you want to be a lawyer?
- A. Nony Mouse
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Re: Why don't schools care about why you want law?
I don't think it's so much that law schools never care why you want to be a lawyer, so much as it's that most people write terrible "why I want to be a lawyer" essays that all sound the same and bear very little resemblance to what being a lawyer is actually like (that's not meant as a jab at the authors - most people applying for law school, including me, have very little idea what being a lawyer is like, because they aren't one, or they wouldn't be trying to go to law school). I think tying your essay to law in some way makes sense, but that doesn't have to be "why I want to be a lawyer."
Also, keep in mind that "why I want to be a lawyer" and "why I would be a good lawyer or at least good at law school" are not the same topic. With the latter you want to avoid rehashing your resume (don't just list your accomplishments), but something about, oh, working in construction and how it made you more disciplined or whatever would work and potentially make you a more interesting candidate than talking about how much you want to HELP people.
(I tend to think that career-changers who have very specific, concrete reasons for going into law - e.g. "I've spent the last 6 years working in the HR department of a multi-national corporation and have worked closely with in-house counsel and I want to do what they do" / have a little more success/leeway to write about "why I want to be a lawyer" than a K-JD. But that's just a hunch.)
Also, keep in mind that "why I want to be a lawyer" and "why I would be a good lawyer or at least good at law school" are not the same topic. With the latter you want to avoid rehashing your resume (don't just list your accomplishments), but something about, oh, working in construction and how it made you more disciplined or whatever would work and potentially make you a more interesting candidate than talking about how much you want to HELP people.
(I tend to think that career-changers who have very specific, concrete reasons for going into law - e.g. "I've spent the last 6 years working in the HR department of a multi-national corporation and have worked closely with in-house counsel and I want to do what they do" / have a little more success/leeway to write about "why I want to be a lawyer" than a K-JD. But that's just a hunch.)
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Re: Why don't schools care about why you want law?
There are a couple of vids out there by Kaplan with Admissions Deans who specifically said "we know you want to be a lawyer - you're applying to law school." So tell them something about you.
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Re: Why don't schools care about why you want law?
Put on your critical thinking glasses, and look at it from an Adcom's point of view.Why aren't law schools more interested in knowing why you want to be a lawyer?
Is it really relevant to them? Do you want them to really value each PS on who wants to go to LS more?
They are assembling a class of data points (GPA+LSAT) first and foremost. After those numeric thresholds are met, they they seek to add who might be interesting conversation partners/classmates. Why you want to be lawyer and/or how bad, is meaningless in that analysis. It's a professional school application. Of course, everyone wants to be a lawyer, or at least earn a JD. Otherwise, they wouldn't waste their time with the LSAT.
- Crowing
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Re: Why don't schools care about why you want law?
If I was an adcomm I wouldn't want to read 5000 essays a year on the same fucking topic either.
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Re: Why don't schools care about why you want law?
How about, "I was in utero when the OJ verdict was released, and my mom was sooooo upset, she knew - and more importantly, my 5 month fetus brain knew -- that I was destined to become a prosecutor." That why I want to go to LS, to fulfill my destiny. 

- ScottRiqui
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Re: Why don't schools care about why you want law?
I didn't waste space in my PS talking about a "passion for the law", or wanting to "change the world", but I did tie my education, work experiences and interests into intellectual property/patent law, so that was kind of a "why law". But most of that also did double-duty as to expressing why I'd be a successful law student.
- J-e-L-L-o
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- 2807
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- TheSpanishMain
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Re: Why don't schools care about why you want law?
I think if the "why you want law" essay is basically "I want to be a lawyer because I'm interested in the law and think I'd enjoy the work" then I can see why it's a bad idea. Adcomms assume you're interested in the law; you're applying to law school.
If the answer is that you had some unique experience or story that got your interested in the law, then I can see that working. Just make sure that 80% of the essay is about the unique experience, and THEN tie it into "why law."
If the answer is that you had some unique experience or story that got your interested in the law, then I can see that working. Just make sure that 80% of the essay is about the unique experience, and THEN tie it into "why law."
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Re: Why don't schools care about why you want law?
My whole PS was basically "Why Law?"
I agree with the above, that adcomms really just don't want to read cliche "ever since I was a little girl/boy, I've always loved to argue" essays or essays with latin phrase/legalese or disingenuous "this SCOTUS case changed my life" nonsense.
I agree with the above, that adcomms really just don't want to read cliche "ever since I was a little girl/boy, I've always loved to argue" essays or essays with latin phrase/legalese or disingenuous "this SCOTUS case changed my life" nonsense.
- vicpin5190
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Last edited by vicpin5190 on Sun Dec 06, 2015 7:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Why don't schools care about why you want law?
Everyone would have the same BS and nobody would want to read thousands of the same thing year after year.
- UnicornHunter
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Re: Why don't schools care about why you want law?
+1vicpin5190 wrote:I didn't even try to BS "why law" it in my statement (I had attempted to at one point and it made my statement way worse). Instead, I wrote about my character and personal qualities and related them to a particular anecdote from my life. I don't think I would have been able to write an even slightly compelling PS telling the adcomm's about "why law". I think you are better off writing about something that doesn't necessarily even address why law school is the next logical step in your life, so long as it is a compelling statement and provides a unique insight into your life that wouldn't come up otherwise. Sometimes the reasons why you would be successful etc in law school or why you want to do law school can be a more subtle message entwined in the main point of your PS.
That being said, if you're planning on applying for the class of 2017 and "why law" is all you got, I would go ahead and submit yesterday.
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