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I'm currently applying to transfer to HYS and have a few questions about the PS:

1) Since I didn't apply to HYS as a 0L, should/can I reuse my old PS?
2) Do I need to add stuff about 1L year?
3) Do I need to talk about why I'm choosing to leave my current school? I'm leaning toward just focusing on why HYS is a better fit for me.
4) Should the PS sound more like a why X school statement or a 0L PS?

Any insight would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I can only post based on what I did this cycle for my transfer application but maybe that will help. I reused part of my 1L statement, however, I revamped the second half of it to focus more on the school I was applying to. I also did add a section talking about my 1L year. You've experienced a year of law school now and are applying to another law school so it seems appropriate to write about your experience as a 1L. I will say (however) that while the personal statement is marginally important for 1L admissions, there is a ton of evidence to suggest that transfer admissions is purely a numbers game. Focus on providing a clear and concise "writing sample" in you PS but dont go crazy over it. (sorry if my grammar is a mess, it has been a very long day).

I totally rewrote mine (in like a couple hours - it wasn't some huge undertaking). I mostly tried to explain why I wanted to transfer and sell myself as someone who could be a successful transfer student. I explained that I didn't understand just how important school rankings were when I applied to law school (I clearly hadn't found TLS) and tried to convince them I was a hard worker and good at law school and could therefore handle the new school. I didn't even mention anything specific about the schools I was applying to (and didn't always even plug in their name); mostly just made clear I was looking to transfer to a very-top-ranked school.

In the end, though, I think that it's mostly a numbers-driven process. I was #1 at my T30ish school with pretty perfect grades and I'm sure that did most of the work. It certainly wasn't my undergrad or my LSAT or anything like that.

Goldie wrote:I mostly tried to explain why I wanted to transfer and sell myself as someone who could be a successful transfer student.

This^

I wrote PS's carefully tailored to the two schools where I was applying (Harvard and NYU), and discussed which specific opportunities I hoped to pursue if I was accepted so they would have a picture of what kind of student I would be and consequently what I brought to their student body.

I definitely would not write a 0L-esque essay, even if AdComms leave the prompt open ended. Transferring is risky--it's a major tuition+COA cost increase for most people and it can mean forgoing Law Review membership, your rank, and clerkship recs from 1L profs. So I think it's important to make clear, keeping the risks in the back of your mind, why you think transferring is the right decision for you nevertheless. And obviously you're selling yourself to them, so it's important to convey why you're valuable and why they should take you.

Ever196 wrote:I can only post based on what I did this cycle for my transfer application but maybe that will help. I reused part of my 1L statement, however, I revamped the second half of it to focus more on the school I was applying to. I also did add a section talking about my 1L year. You've experienced a year of law school now and are applying to another law school so it seems appropriate to write about your experience as a 1L. I will say (however) that while the personal statement is marginally important for 1L admissions, there is a ton of evidence to suggest that transfer admissions is purely a numbers game. Focus on providing a clear and concise "writing sample" in you PS but dont go crazy over it. (sorry if my grammar is a mess, it has been a very long day).

This. I also used part of my 1L statement. I obviously worked in stuff about my 1L year and why I thought I was prepared to succeed as a transfer student. So I don't think you can go wrong either way.

Mine was about what I want to practice and why I want to transfer. I targeted it to each school explaining why they offer me the best shot at my goals. Your transfer PS should be individually targeted to each school. It's not that hard since you're only going to apply to a handful.