A Note about Outside Help
Few applicants write their admissions essays in a bubble, and that’s a good thing. It can be difficult to know how something reads to a stranger when the story is one you know well; it’s tough to spot your own typos because you know what the sentence is supposed to say and may gloss right over the error and read it correctly.
The possibilities for help with these statements are myriad: college pre-law advisors, law school admissions consultants, professors, friends, family, attorneys or law students you might happen to know and others. However, there are pitfalls associated with outside help, too—it’s important to choose your helpers wisely and plan to make the best use of their input. Some key points to keep in mind:
-Make sure your reviewers have the question or prompt: It would be impossible for a reader to tell you how well you’ve answered a question or how much sense your response makes in context if he or she didn’t know exactly what the question was.
-Think about what type of advice each person is qualified to offer: Your roommate may be an excellent person to read through your essay and tell you how it flows, but probably isn’t the best source of information about whether the essay falls in line with what law schools are looking for; your mother may be the best possible proofreader for typos and grammar, but she’s entirely unqualified to tell you whether or not your essay will be interesting and attention- catching to a stranger. Think about what each person you ask for assistance has to offer and let him or her know exactly what kind of feedback you’re looking for before handing over your essay.
-Beware of conflicting advice: When you give your essay to multiple people for review, you’re likely to hear conflicting advice from different camps. Sometimes that will be a matter of personal preference and other times one person will be just plain wrong. This is one reason that it’s important to choose your reviewers carefully and to let them know exactly what type of input you’re looking for. It’s also a strong argument in favor of limiting the number of people you ask for input on any given essay. When you do hear conflicting advice, don’t panic and don’t go looking for a tie-breaker (unless it’s someone who has special knowledge of the issue in question). Listen to the reasoning of both parties, consider their relevant knowledge bases and then make your own decision and move on.
-Make it clear that you’re not looking for a cheerleader: Too often, when you ask friends and family for an opinion on your work, the response is a knee-jerk “That’s really good.” It may be “really good,” but that’s not a response that’s going to help you strengthen your application package. Make it clear up front that you’re looking for ways to improve the statement(s) and not just for affirmation.
-Think before you revise: At the outset of every admissions consulting relationship, I explain to the applicant that good essays take time, and that it’s important to write, let the essay sit, review, get input, revise and repeat. What I’ve learned over the years to include in that introduction is “then wait.” Even so, I often get an essay submission and then, four or six or twelve hours later, an email with another attachment and a note that says something like “Ignore the draft I sent this afternoon. I made some more changes.” Revision is one of those good things there can be too much of, particularly when you don’t take time to get some distance from the essay, absorb the advice you’ve received and then revisit it with a fresh eye.
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