Transfer personal statement help...Share sample Forum

A forum for those current students who are or may be transferring from one school to another. Post any questions, advice, or other transfer related comments here.
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Transfer personal statement help...Share sample

Post by Anonymous User » Fri May 09, 2014 11:19 am

What is the goal of the transfer personal statement. What needs to be conveyed? What topics need to be covered? Is it ok to use the same statement from 0L?

Please share a sample.

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BVest

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Re: Transfer personal statement help...Share sample

Post by BVest » Fri May 09, 2014 11:45 am

I would not (and did not) use the same as 0L. Definitely don't do this if you applied to the school as a 0L. 0L was more about you/why law school/why X. IMO, this should be why transfer/why Y, with at least one humblebrag about 1L.

Focus on the clinical opportunities, programs, location, or whatever other non-ranking issue is attracting you to that school, unless none of those apply, in which case find one that does and be as sincere as possible about it.

ETA: from Arrow's transfer advice:
Arrow wrote: VII. Personal Statement (PS)[/u]

This is just not a fun thing to do. Ever. However, you know the drill, just write about yourself. Most schools have general instructions that ask you to write about your background and why you want to transfer, so go for it.

Before I even get to writing the oh so dreaded essay, I want to reemphasize that the PS is a lot less important than people think. The weight of the transfer PS pales in comparison to regular law admissions PS or your undergrad admissions PS. Most people write about the same things (their epic studying as a 1L and how they want to have better employment prospects), so it ends up generally sounding the same. I would not spend too much time trying to come up with something super unique. In fact, the most important thing is probably to just not have any errors (duh), since the PS can still hurt.

What I Did

My PS was 2 pages double spaced, which allowed me to single space it for those that asked for one page. In addition, the first half of my PS was about my background (high school, college, and law school) while the second half focused on why I wanted to transfer.

I also used one paragraph about my background from my old PS (from when I first applied to law school) as part of my new transfer PS. If you did not originally apply to the school during regular admissions, I would say feel free to use a good apportion of your old PS in your new one (some parts may need to be tweaked of course).

What do you write about?

You can write whatever you want. Seriously. Some people do not even address why they want to transfer and they will be fine (not every school inquires for your reasons for transferring, especially since it is usually kind of obvious). Some people recommend tailoring your PS to the schools you apply to, but this understandably takes longer.

Everyone struggles with what to write about. I cannot really help you there, but just use the same methods you did when you wrote your other PS. Regarding the why you want to transfer section, write about certain professors/clinics/journals at the school. Talk about smaller class sizes or geographical preferences. I also talked about the obvious employment benefits, and spent another paragraph on my interests in potentially clerking. Perhaps the new school has a better curriculum in a certain field of law. Basically, just do your research. I would see the “Why Transfer” section above for more motivation.

Regarding optional essays, you can do them if you want, but again I doubt they will have much influence. I personally did not write any. For schools like Penn (or maybe Michigan) who really like students who actually want to be there, I would either address your reasons for transferring in your PS or in one of their optional essays.

If you struggle with the PS, I feel your pain. Why would we want to write about ourselves and how awesome we are? We are all too humble for that.
Last edited by BVest on Sat Jan 27, 2018 6:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Transfer personal statement help...Share sample

Post by Anonymous User » Fri May 09, 2014 11:55 am

BVest wrote: IMO, this should be why transfer/why Y, with at least one humblebrag about 1L.
[/quote]

What would be a humble brag about 1L? I really haven't accomplished anything like mock trial or moot court, just grades so far.

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Re: Transfer personal statement help...Share sample

Post by txig » Fri May 09, 2014 12:12 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
BVest wrote: IMO, this should be why transfer/why Y, with at least one humblebrag about 1L.
What would be a humble brag about 1L? I really haven't accomplished anything like mock trial or moot court, just grades so far.[/quote]

Our school has an early journal competition so I made that, would that be something to brag about?

Also how long does the "why X" part need to be? Do we need to tell a story about some hardship or this or that, or just write the whole thing on why that school?

Thanks!

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BVest

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Re: Transfer personal statement help...Share sample

Post by BVest » Fri May 09, 2014 12:14 pm

I slipped in reference to my grades in talking about how great their school was. (It may not have been that humble).

ETA: Obviously you don't want to repeat your entire resume, but if there's one particular thing you want to highlight, slip it into your PS.
Last edited by BVest on Sat Jan 27, 2018 6:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Nebby

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Re: Transfer personal statement help...Share sample

Post by Nebby » Fri May 09, 2014 12:32 pm

My PS was the standard two page, double space, 12 pt font. My first three paragraphs were about me. The rest was about the career opportunities, clinical opportunities, journal opportunities, and externship opportunities that the school had that made me choose to apply to them. I always made it about me and them.

I'm interested in X aspect of law, and Y journal covers that. I'm interested in working in X in city Y, and your school places well there. Your school has X clinic, and I'm really interested in the work done there.

Transferring is 95% 1L grades, 5% everything else. (Except for HYS)

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Re: Transfer personal statement help...Share sample

Post by Anonymous User » Fri May 09, 2014 2:31 pm

samples will be very helpful

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Re: Transfer personal statement help...Share sample

Post by Nebby » Fri May 09, 2014 2:48 pm

Anonymous User wrote:samples will be very helpful
How much a transfer PS should be thought about: This much
How much you're thinking about it: This much

It's a personal statement about you. Literally no one can make a sample personal statement about anyone other than themself.

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