Write your law school personal statement *now*

Are you feeling pressure to work on your law school applications, but still haven’t settled on a list of schools yet?

Maybe your parents and friends are asking you every day. Each time they ask, you get more worried about what you should’ve done by this point.

That’s okay. Instead of panicking about where you’re going to go, I encourage you to just sit down and write your law school personal statement.
You’re probably thinking, “Why should I even bother writing it if I don’t even know where I’m sending it?”
Let’s find out why. 


1. You can use it for comparison.

To write a great 
law school personal statement about your experiences and your future plans (which is what most law school personal statements essentially consist of), you’ll need to do a little introspection. A self-analysis will help you better understand who you are now, why you’ve become the person you are today, and how you plan to impact society with your skills.

This deep thinking may lead you to uncover some interesting discoveries about yourself. You may make new realizations about your values, beliefs, and outlook on life. Comparing these traits to law schools that are known to share the same values may help you in the decision-making process.


2. It might help you determine a career path. 

By this point in your education, you probably already know which legal practice areas interest you most. But in between LSAT studying, keeping your GPA up, and  requesting letters of recommendation, have you really had time to just sit and think about what you’d like to do with your law degree?

The 
law school personal statement allows you to focus on your future. It gives you ample time to reflect on your past, too. By brainstorming topic ideas, you can think back on what you did well in school and work and compare that with what you actually enjoy. Your future legal practice area just might be right in the middle.

And, once you have a legal practice area in mind, it’s even easier to narrow down school choices.


3. You’ll have one less task on your list.

Once you do decide on a list of target schools, you’ll be glad to have one less thing to do to complete the application process!

Bottom line: You can use the same law school personal statement for most schools anyway!

But where do you start if you don’t have a particular law school in mind? 


That’s completely fine. Most law schools have the same personal statement requirements, so you can get a jump start on writing your law school personal statement now without even knowing which schools you’ll wind up applying to. You can always go back and tweak it for length or tone once you have reached a decision.

In fact, that’s what many of the students I work with wind up doing. Rachel, for instance, was unsure about which law school she’d want to attend. 


Yet, she knew it was getting late in the law school application cycle.
I gave her a prompt, and together we came up with a law school personal statement that would wow any admissions officer.

In my next article, we’ll discover how Rachel was able to produce an impactful essay without even knowing which school she wanted to attend.


Until next time, 

Steve



P.S. If you need help with your law school personal statement, just reach out and let me know. I’m a real person and read every message myself. I’ll do whatever I can to help you.

Recommended Resources:

1. Law School Admissions Coaching
Get personalized 1-1 help on every aspect of the law school admission process -- or just the law school personal statement.

2. Law School Admissions Guide
I've written a concise guide to the law school admission process with tips on completing every aspect of your applications from start to finish. It's a small price to pay for a whole lot of guidance, and it's short enough that you'll actually read the whole thing.

3. Law School Admissions Cheat Sheet
Quick-reference guide for the law school personal statement, the "Why X?" essay, and the law school résumé. (You can also get it with the LSAT Cheat Sheets.)





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