Luckily, I’m here to help. I know there’s a lot of information out there, but you can find all of the answers you need to the most commonly asked best law school personal statement questions here in one place.
These are the answers I usually share with my own students when I work with them, so enjoy some of the sneak peeks to my best answers, below!
1. How Do I Start?
Most students can’t just sit down and write their entire law school personal statement. Unfortunately, it’s simply not that easy! Instead, I encourage students to start by determining their goals. What is it you want to highlight in your law school personal statement? What’s the most important standout quality you want admission officers to know about you?
Then, you can select a topic, brainstorm, and develop an outline. Finally, you’ll write your first draft.
(If you’re interested, I share more detailed step-by-step tips for getting started here.)
2. When Should I Start?
Ideally, you should start as early as possible! For most students still in college who want to go directly to law school, the summer before senior year is a good time to start thinking about the law school application.
Most college students still complete their applications during the autumn of their senior year. Yet, you can start brainstorming about the law school personal statement as early as five to six months before you submit your application.
Three to four months before you submit it, write your first draft so you can leave ample time for editing.
3. How Personal Should It Be?
This is about you, so don’t be afraid to get too personal. Very few topics are considered “off-limits.” Your law school personal statement should make the reader feel like they’re there with you, experiencing your memory.
You’ll probably have to do some serious brainstorming to dig into your emotions and thoughts. Your law school personal statement might include some things that most people may not know about you, and that’s okay. Allow your reader to see the truest version of yourself.
4. Do I Need to Write a Different Law School Personal Statement for Each School?
Simply put, no. All law school personal statement prompts are essentially asking for the same thing, something like "Tell us about yourself."
It's hard not to answer the question asked on the application.
5. What Are Supplemental Essays?
Supplemental essays have become more popular in recent years. They’re designed to give you an extra opportunity to share more information about yourself.
Some schools might ask questions along the lines of, “Why do you want to go to this school?” Many allow you to submit a "diversity statement" as well.
While these law school application essays are sometimes optional, answering them allows you to paint the fullest picture about yourself as an applicant.
Hopefully, I’ve answered most of your questions about the law school personal statement essay. If not, you know where to reach me! Simply reach out and get in touch.
Until next time,
Steve
P.S. Just because these are the most common questions doesn’t mean there aren’t other very good questions to ask. Many students who come to me with genuine concerns about their law school application essays or another aspect of the law school application process are surprised by the answers I give them.
If you have a question you think might sound strange or silly, I encourage you to ask it anyway. It might just help another student who’s wondering the same thing, too!
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