If you’ve been reading my articles, you've probably noticed by now that there’s a PRECISE formula for writing the perfect law school personal statement. The problem is, all students have different experiences.
So, while the must-have components of writing a fantastic law school personal statement are the same for everyone, not all students can approach it the same way.
Believe it or not, that’s a good thing. After all, you don’t want to sound like everyone else.
Until we begin working together, I won’t know the right approach for you. Your law school personal statement should show why the experiences you’ve had set you on this path, but in order to make that connection, we need to first determine what those standout experiences are.
In other words, it will require some reflection.
This is the first must-have item for every law school personal statement: reflection.
You can use the law school personal statement as an opportunity to answer these questions:
“Who have I been?”
and
“Who am I now?”
Those are broad questions, and they’re not easy to answer.
Sometimes, it takes a little bit of a back-and-forth exchange with someone else to answer these questions. The good news is, I know exactly how to do that.
You know who you are… but your identity isn’t easy to put into words. That’s where I can come in.
Here’s an example of how the process works:
A student I worked with recently (I'll call her "Sarah"), was a confident and ambitious college graduate, but she wasn’t always that way.
When she began college, she was shy and afraid to speak up.
It wasn’t until she joined a feminist society that she found her voice.
Not only did she become more comfortable sharing her views, but Sarah also became more driven to make a positive change in society.
When we worked together, I encouraged Sarah to reflect on key moments in her feminist society that had the greatest impact on boosting her confidence and helping her become more of an activist.
After we identified these moments, Sarah was able to write a moving law school personal statement about how feminism developed her into the person she is, and how it will continue to play an important role in her education and future.
Do you see how Sarah's statement was both reflective and personal?
It worked.
Her mother emailed me to share the good news: she had been accepted to Cornell Law!
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Dawn may have thought her family's dreams of her daughter attending an Ivy League Law School were a long shot, but that was before we started working on her law school personal statement together.
What about you? Are you shooting for a top school, but you’re not sure if you have what it takes?
I’d love to hear all about it. Reach out and let me know where you’re at. I’ll do whatever I can to help.
Because we can do the same thing with your law school personal statement. If you want to get started, just get in touch and let me know.
If not, that’s ok, too. I’ll be sharing more resources in the coming weeks to able you identify these potential topics, whether we work together or not.
All I ask is that you reach out and let me know:
“What’s your #1 struggle with the law school admissions process?”
I’ll use your responses to help me decide what to share more about in future articles.
And check out my law school admissions coaching sessions on YouTube for more.
Talk soon,
Steve
P.S. Usually, the students with the best law school personal statements don’t just sit down and begin writing. Unfortunately, it’s not some magical process that just “happens” on its own. It requires a lot of planning, including writing an outline. If you’re wondering how you can use an outline as a tool to get you started on your law school personal statement, be sure to watch for my next article.
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