Trade off between submitting better personal statement and submitting earlier Forum

[LawschoolHopeful2k16]

Does anyone have advice on when I should just suck it up and submit a possibly subpar personal statement?

My plan was to submit my applications 6-8 weeks ago. But life happened and stuff came up. And the biggest issue is that I'm having extreme difficulty in writing my personal statement. Ive probably spent over 80 hours on it and it's still a bit too long and just not very compelling. By the time I get home from work I'm tired and cant think straight at all, so my thoughts come out all jumbled.

I'd like to write an exceptional personal statement so that I have a chance at some sort of reach schools, but that will probably take at least another couple weeks and it's not guaranteed I'd even be able to write one that's better than what I have right now.

And then I still have to write my why x essays before I can finally start to submit my applications.

Is this worth it? Or should I just submit an essay that's "meh" and hope that having my applications in around December 1 is better than late December?

[Thomas Hagan, ESQ.]

In the end, numbers talk.

If you're a competitive candidate at the schools you're applying to, (above both medians) I would suggest you just submit what you have. Worst possible scenario would be if you were waitlisted at these schools because of a late application, when you would've been admitted otherwise. For schools that are more of a reach, definitely work on your personal statement and submit the best possible product. December is not late, despite it seeming like it on TLS.

Check out Spivey's podcast on "When is considered late" to help you feel better! He said that before thanksgiving is early, December is a normal application, and any time after Christmas is considered late.

Hope this helps!

[chili_davis]

Does anyone have advice on when I should just suck it up and submit a possibly subpar personal statement?

My plan was to submit my applications 6-8 weeks ago. But life happened and stuff came up. And the biggest issue is that I'm having extreme difficulty in writing my personal statement. Ive probably spent over 80 hours on it and it's still a bit too long and just not very compelling. By the time I get home from work I'm tired and cant think straight at all, so my thoughts come out all jumbled.

I'd like to write an exceptional personal statement so that I have a chance at some sort of reach schools, but that will probably take at least another couple weeks and it's not guaranteed I'd even be able to write one that's better than what I have right now.

And then I still have to write my why x essays before I can finally start to submit my applications.

Is this worth it? Or should I just submit an essay that's "meh" and hope that having my applications in around December 1 is better than late December?

I would base this decision heavily on your LSAT/GPA and the schools you're targeting. Also, hiring a consultant may benefit you greatly as this will be a writing sample the admissions committee will be reading. Some schools place a great amount of importance on this part of your application, especially when you find yourself in the middle of the pack when it comes to your LSAT/GPA. To directly answer your question, I would spend a few weeks working on your statement and submit prior to the Christmas holiday. There will still be plenty of scholly money to go around. Good luck.

[Blueprint Mithun]

Does anyone have advice on when I should just suck it up and submit a possibly subpar personal statement?

My plan was to submit my applications 6-8 weeks ago. But life happened and stuff came up. And the biggest issue is that I'm having extreme difficulty in writing my personal statement. Ive probably spent over 80 hours on it and it's still a bit too long and just not very compelling. By the time I get home from work I'm tired and cant think straight at all, so my thoughts come out all jumbled.

I'd like to write an exceptional personal statement so that I have a chance at some sort of reach schools, but that will probably take at least another couple weeks and it's not guaranteed I'd even be able to write one that's better than what I have right now.

And then I still have to write my why x essays before I can finally start to submit my applications.

Is this worth it? Or should I just submit an essay that's "meh" and hope that having my applications in around December 1 is better than late December?

It's a bit of tough call. One thing I'd definitely consider is to reach out to someone, ideally an admissions counselor. Get them to read your current personal statement and get their opinion on it. In my experience, it's pretty hard to objectively judge your own work once you've spent hours and hours laboring over it. So your essay might be better than you think. At the very least, the counselor will tell you which parts of it work, and which don't, so if you don't end up writing another one, you won't be starting from square one. And this person can also be invaluable if you do decide to write a new personal statement.