Is it normal if your personal statement is not good enough in retrospect? Forum

[ihenry]

I mean, its general idea and overall structure should be okay (I did decent proofreading and asked a couple of friends to review it to make sure I did not make egregious mistakes), but after I submit it and when I open it again for some reason, I can see there might be better ways to phrase things here and there, not too significant though. Is it normal? Am I just being paranoid? Thanks.

[jetsfan1]

I mean, I'm one of those people who is never fully satisfied with what I write. Definitely fix/improve anything you can, but at a certain point you just gotta let it go.

[PoopyPants]

As someone who has been paid to write and who has sold fiction, let me tell you that I stopped looking at pieces after I deem them finished, because I always find things I'm not fully satisfied with in retrospect.

At some point you have to just let it go and move on.

[Troianii]

I mean, its general idea and overall structure should be okay (I did decent proofreading and asked a couple of friends to review it to make sure I did not make egregious mistakes), but after I submit it and when I open it again for some reason, I can see there might be better ways to phrase things here and there, not too significant though. Is it normal? Am I just being paranoid? Thanks.

Speaking for myself, I've had it reviewed multiple times and felt it was "good enough" nearly every time after reviewing and editing, but then I've found that it'd be worthwhile to have a second pair of eyes look it over to make sure it's ready to send. Each time, I've had a new reviewer give more/different suggestions.

And to be fair, each time I've stepped up to people who are probably better reviewers. First it was my mom - of course, she thought it was amazing and had nearly no changes to offer. So I asked a friend/classmate, who had a few things to offer but that it was pretty damned good. Then I asked a Professor - who had a little bit to add with fine tuning phrasing to sound more professional. Then I had it reviewed by a high-powered attorney, who thought it was good with a few changes, but suggested (as I was pretty well aware) that it *needs* to be school-specific to show each school that I know their program and am a serious applicant (because schools want people they accept to actually attend). Then I had it reviewed (w/o the individual school bit) by someone from Service2School (they specifically help vets with the application process) who had a TON of amazing advice and helped rewrite my PS to the point where.... damn, I nearly cry when I read it.

So honestly, I think its quite normal. I sent in an application with an earlier ps after three reviews and revisions, but mostly just to safety schools. Now I feel like it could have been far better, and there's at least one school where I know I'm not a shoe-in that I wish I didn't send my app in yet. I'm looking at asking to substitute a page in my application - I've read in law school books, like the Ivey Guide and Lavine's, that you can do so and as long as it isn't excessive it won't affect you negatively. So, from what I've read, you can ask a law school to change one thing on your app and it should be fine - like the PS. Just don't ask to change this, that, that, etc.

And again, this is from what I've read - there are lots of people better versed in the process who may correct me, but I'd suggest considering rewriting it and looking into the possibility of sending in a new PS.

[ihenry]

Well thanks everyone! It made me feel a bit better.

I've read in law school books, like the Ivey Guide and Lavine's, that you can do so and as long as it isn't excessive it won't affect you negatively. So, from what I've read, you can ask a law school to change one thing on your app and it should be fine - like the PS. Just don't ask to change this, that, that, etc.

That's interesting - I will definitely consider that if I come up with something substantial. For minor issues, um, I think I'll just let it go