Law school personal statement - digging deeper

If you’ve never seen the phrase “dig deeper” written in the margins of one of your papers, consider yourself lucky. It seems as if it’s something every professor always says, and for most students, it just sounds like more work.   You might not want to hear this, but your professors are actually right. In order to produce an excellent essay, you really do have to dig deeper.

But what you don’t have to do is make it harder than it has to be. Yes, “digging deeper” requires a bit of extra thinking, but you won’t need to scrap your law school personal statement idea altogether if someone prompts you to dig deeper. Instead, it might mean taking an existing idea and expanding on it. Let’s find out what “digging deeper” actually means with an example from one of my recent students. Jasmine began her law school personal statement with a story about how she helped a Chinese-American friend pick out clothes for an important job interview. On the surface, this anecdote illustrates Jasmine’s interest in fashion. It shows how she enjoys helping others feel confident through their clothing choices. But it’s not enough.  You see, the anecdote is only one part of a larger story. After reading about her experience, we might still have questions, such as: Why is fashion so important to her? What does she find exciting about the world of fashion? What are her future plans for pursuing a career in fashion law? Instead of simply stating that she likes fashion and citing an instance when she used her passion to help a friend, Jasmine transforms her law school personal statement into a much more compelling story by answering those questions.   Her Chinese-American friend, she says, is like many other Chinese immigrants. They have ambitious career goals, but typically don’t pay much attention to details like appearances. Yet, Jasmine argues that appearances can go a long way in helping someone gain the respect and opportunities needed for success. Jasmine also notes that although modern Chinese fashion has gained popularity in Western culture, countries like the U.S. still have only had a small glimpse of what Chinese designers can do. So, Jasmine’s goal in pursuing fashion law, is to “assist China in its development as a center of global fashion.” In doing so, she also hopes to help people like her friend embrace Chinese fashion and all of its benefits, including dressing the part for important professional events. As you can see, Jasmine took just two elements – a love for fashion and a tale about helping a friend – and turned them into a law school personal statement that would make a major impact on admission officers. Believe it or not, you can do the very same thing. All you have to do is dig a little deeper to get there. In my next article, I’ll share how to write about someone who inspires you with examples from Jasmine’s law school personal statement, so stay tuned!  Until next time, Steve P.S. In the meantime, you can find out more about what to include in your law school application in these articles.

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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