BIGGEST law school personal statement myth

If you’ve been reading my articles, by this point you can probably guess that I’m pretty passionate about the law school personal statement. After all, excellent law school application essays have helped many of my students get into their top-choice law schools. So, if you were to ask them how important the law school personal statement is, they’d probably agree that it’s very important! But many students still wonder, just how much does the law school personal statement really matter? If it were a test, for instance, how much of the overall application would the personal statement “count for?” How much does it matter compared to your GPA and LSAT scores?

Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to answer that question. That’s because the law school application is unlike the LSAT or any normal “test” you’ve ever taken. In fact, it’s not a test at all. It’s something far different. Instead of trying to put a precise value on “how much” the law school personal statement matters, I’m here to help you discover for yourself how much it should matter to you. I’ll share some of my most interesting findings with you: It answers questions the law school application doesn’t ask, but admission officers still need to know.    The general law school application can only ask so many questions. Yet, admission officers still need to know more about you to decide whether you’re right for their school (and, whether it’s right for you, too!). The law school personal statement gives you the chance to answer questions like, “Do you take initiative?” and “Can you overcome difficult circumstances?” (Click here for my full list of questions every law school personal statement should answer!) The BIGGEST myth about law school personal statements is… that no one reads them! FALSE. In fact, admission officers love reading them.    Many have told me that the law school personal statement is their favorite part of the application! Since the decision to accept you falls on them, don’t you think it’s important to work extra hard on their favorite aspect of the application? The idea that they “don’t matter as much as you think” is a lie. And I’ve repeatedly heard the same from law school admission officers I’ve interviewed and worked with at schools like Harvard, NYU, UChicago, and UCLA. (You can see our discussions on the LSAT Unplugged YouTube channel and podcast.) No, a law school personal statement can’t make up for poor academic performance or extremely low LSAT scores. But it definitely showcases your unique abilities and goals as a student. And, this might just be enough to supplement average performance. After all, it's worked for the countless students I’ve helped. Until next time, Steve P.S. Know what else is extremely important in the law school application process? Giving admission officers the “complete package.” In addition to your law school personal statement, including supplemental essays is always a good idea, since it gives them the broadest understanding of you and your academic goals. For my next article, I’ll share some examples of supplemental essay questions, along with a sample from a student I’ve worked with.

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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