Law School Discussion
Applying to Law School => Personal Statements, Resumes, and Letters of Recommendation => Topic started by: lazybum on October 28, 2004, 08:35:23 AM
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Now that people have sent in some/all of their apps and are either finished with, or nearly finished with, their PSs, I was just wondering....
I mean, I know ideally, we'd all work on it till it was 100 percent perfect but there are time constraints and the like that prohibit us from doing so. And then there are others who have excellent scores that are applying to mediocre schools and opt not to bother spending a ton of time on the PS. Whatever your situation, how do you feel about your PS now?
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Um, I wish I was nearly finished with my PS :)
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:) Not to worry; you'll get there soon enough.
Good luck!
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i would love to see national stats on this. i bet 80% of applicants think their PS is better than average.
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But how many think their PS is 80% better than average? :P
i would love to see national stats on this. i bet 80% of applicants think their PS is better than average.
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I bet you're right; that's why I asked the question initially. :)
I think people overrate their performoance.
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I see your picture and have saved it for internet-wide distribution! ;)
I bet you're right; that's why I asked the question initially. :)
I think people overrate their performoance.
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I said 'okay' because I think mine is well written and rather strong but doesn't really bring anything interesting to the table. I just wrote about my personality and how I approach difficult situations with confidence, etc. Its pretty basic and "safe". I didn't want to go out on a limb too much and jeopardize my chances by trying to fake "passion" for the law or trying to make a claim about how I am diverse. I tried to portray myself as someone who adcomms will have no reason to worry about accepting. The problem is that I never provide any compelling reason to be accepted. I'll see who it turns out.
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i would love to see national stats on this. i bet 80% of applicants think their PS is better than average.
more than 20. probably 40% ???
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Plus my reason to go to law school changes daily, and writing "so I can wear sweatpants more and postpone the real world" doesn't really cut it.
errrr, maybe i should re-think mine :-\
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I will squash you like the bug you are.
jk ;D
I figured I'd finally give in and put a picture up afterall. at least for a little while anyway.
I see your picture and have saved it for internet-wide distribution! ;)
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Wow. On second thought, maybe it's just plain terrible... :-\
no, maybe you just don't have a totally inflated sense of self... or maybe you even underestimate yourself ;)
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Mine's poop!
But at least it's gone.
V
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Wow. On second thought, maybe it's just plain terrible... :-\
no, maybe you just don't have a totally inflated sense of self... or maybe you even underestimate yourself ;)
Can I include that in my PS?
Because really, the fact that my student-self likes to forgo daily showers is not a huge selling point for most schools. I'm not even kidding! So I'm desperate...;)
umm, ... ew :-\
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yeah, i've been rocking the sweatpants all year too...And the sandals well into winter. I suppose when it snows I'll have to find my shoes :D
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It's the best I could do...but I don't know if the adcoms will think I'm a God among mortals, but I'd like to think that they do ;D
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My PS is done and it is awesome. Reading it makes me happy. It's been 99% done since early September.
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I thought mine was pretty decent. But apparently the last person to read it saw it as "extremely weak" and unconvincing. Win some and lose some.
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I love how EVERYONE on here that is asking about compensating for a crappy LSAT says "I have a strong PS."
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I love how EVERYONE on here that is asking about compensating for a crappy LSAT says "I have a strong PS."
i know, and even better, "really awesome LORs" (that theyve never seen).
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Whatever guys, you know acceptane is all about the intangibles.
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Whatever guys, you know acceptane is all about the intangibles.
drainsy, we accept you regardless of your intangibles ;)
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Whatever guys, you know acceptane is all about the intangibles.
drainsy, we accept you regardless of your intangibles ;)
Oddly enough Lex, my unrequited love from 6th grade whom I will always think of when I smell Carmex lip balm used to call me y-y, for reasons you may or may not understand.
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Whatever guys, you know acceptane is all about the intangibles.
drainsy, we accept you regardless of your intangibles ;)
Oddly enough Lex, my unrequited love from 6th grade whom I will always think of when I smell Carmex lip balm used to call me y-y, for reasons you may or may not understand.
was her name Katie, by any chance? I was talking about unrequited love with a friend in college one night. It oddly turned out we were both talking about a girl named Katie.
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I love how EVERYONE on here that is asking about compensating for a crappy LSAT says "I have a strong PS."
i know, and even better, "really awesome LORs" (that theyve never seen).
indeed
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Whatever guys, you know acceptane is all about the intangibles.
drainsy, we accept you regardless of your intangibles ;)
Oddly enough Lex, my unrequited love from 6th grade whom I will always think of when I smell Carmex lip balm used to call me y-y, for reasons you may or may not understand.
was her name Katie, by any chance? I was talking about unrequited love with a friend in college one night. It oddly turned out we were both talking about a girl named Katie.
Courtney was from 6th grade, Katie was from junior year of college :'(
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Here's to all women named Katie... Screw you, you dirty *&^%$'s!
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Whatever guys, you know acceptane is all about the intangibles.
drainsy, we accept you regardless of your intangibles ;)
You mean irregardless of my intangibles, right? ;)
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Is "It's strong." considered better or "It's better than most" better?
I picked "it's strong" but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it was better than most.
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Big H,
I assume you're referring to me. :) I'm just tryin' to help you man. I don't hold back.
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Finished my PS and sent it off to be edited. I really wanted to do my PS in bullet points:
-I'm smarter than my academic index indicates
-I'll work real hard
-Pick me and you won't be sorry
Obviously that wouldn't cut it..I've been out of school 20 years and haven't written an essay since. Business writing is sooo much different...
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I chose "It's strong", since I have no idea (like others) whether or not it's better than average. It's strong for me and displays my good qualities and unique experiences well.
I personally think it sucks (the more I read it, the more sick of it I get), but everyone else I've read it (professors, LSDers, my brother - objective much? ;) - have said it's strong, so I'll go with them). I really do like it; I've just read it too much as of late.
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I chose "It's strong", since I have no idea (like others) whether or not it's better than average. It's strong for me and displays my good qualities and unique experiences well.
I personally think it sucks (the more I read it, the more sick of it I get), but everyone else I've read it (professors, LSDers, my brother - objective much? ;) - have said it's strong, so I'll go with them). I really do like it; I've just read it too much as of late.
Other applicants should be so lucky to have a personal statement like yours, Matokah.
Anyway, I was satisfied with my PS...it wasn't amazingly wonderful and profound, but it was good enough for me (ie. I got sick of the stupid thing and refused to touch it anymore...besides, I have my own personal theory on just how good a PS has to be). It was as good as it could be without turning into two pages of cliches.
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I wish I'd sent in a blank sheet of paper instead.
I haven't written any of them yet, but I really have nothing good to write about..
I'm going to have to go to an "LSAT whore" school
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Other applicants should be so lucky to have a personal statement like yours, Matokah.
Anyway, I was satisfied with my PS...it wasn't amazingly wonderful and profound, but it was good enough for me (ie. I got sick of the stupid thing and refused to touch it anymore...besides, I have my own personal theory on just how good a PS has to be). It was as good as it could be without turning into two pages of cliches.
You are the most wonderful person. Ever. &I agree with you; I wasn't really trying to be profound; I just want to show ad comms who I was and what I learned from my experiences (+why this would make me a good law student). But now that I've pretty much got the thing revised to death, I think I'm done with it. I just need to add that personalized statement to the end of each one 9 more times, and I'll be set. :D
&on a totally unrelated note, I absolutely hate Cornell's application. They want me to fill out three separate sheets, detailing honors, extracurriculars (uhm. . .does that mean things like my research assistantship and my figure skating TA appointment that I didn't get paid for?), and work experience. Why the heck won't they just let me send in my CV? ??? That's coherent and exhaustive.
P.S. I sent you a message (PM) that was long and rambly, but my computer's acting up, so I have no idea whether or not you got it.
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I love how EVERYONE on here that is asking about compensating for a crappy LSAT says "I have a strong PS."
I love how people with T.T.T. trailer park lives compensate by making up LSAT scores.
You = T.T.T. LF
DOWNY = GOD
FOAD (@#!* Off And Die)
DOWNY
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I wrote my personal statement about the time Jay and I ate mushrooms while driving. I was driving and all the shadows kept moving into each other and had weird tracers- you know what I'm talking about. Well, as we were pulling out onto the street I had this eerie feeling that something bad was going to happen. Then it happened- I heard this sickening *thump* as if I just ran someone over. I looked back through the window but I was too screwed up to see. 'Did I just run someone over?' I had no idea- I looked to Jay but he was so f-ing lazy he wouldn't have cared anyway. To this day I still don't know. The last time something like this happened was when I accidentally puked on Baker Tower. I know I'm going to hell for that one.
DOWNY aka 1LCOHOLIC
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Whatever guys, you know acceptane is all about the intangibles.
drainsy, we accept you regardless of your intangibles ;)
You mean irregardless of my intangibles, right? ;)
Draino:
DOWNY would like to inform you that "irregardless" is not a word. In actuality it is a false permutation of "irrespective" and "regardess"- a semantic bastardization, if you will. DOWNY thought you would want to know.
HTH
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Draino:
DOWNY would like to inform you that "irregardless" is not a word. In actuality it is a false permutation of "irrespective" and "regardess"- a semantic bastardization, if you will. DOWNY thought you would want to know.
HTH
Don't act like you didn't look it up yourself :P
Anyway, language was created to aid in communication, not to facilitate silly arguments about semantics. hoo karez if eye dunt tipe korrectlee? You still understand what the guy was trying to say :P
(http://img53.exs.cx/img53/5757/untitled668.th.jpg) (http://img53.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img53&image=untitled668.jpg)
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1. Actually I did not look it up, I learned it a couple years ago in an English class. Is DOWNY the linguist who discovered the incorrect merge betwene "irrespective" and "regardless"? No. I give full credit to school.
2. Silly arguments about semantics are awesome. I f-ing love them, irregardless of what you say.
3. I hate when people write "alot." "Alot" is incorrect; the correct term is "a lot." One time I had a girlfriend who would write it "alot," but out of sheer laziness I never pointed it out. Hopefully she still writes it incorrectly. [I just thought of this because of the talk re: semantics. Nobody wrote "alot" on this thread, as far as I know].
HTH
DOWNY
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Bad breakup?
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Naw, that was in high school. It was kid stuff.
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Don't act like you didn't look it up yourself :P
Anyway, language was created to aid in communication, not to facilitate silly arguments about semantics. hoo karez if eye dunt tipe korrectlee? You still understand what the guy was trying to say :P
The problem with your statement is that you assume that anything that gets the point across is worthy of usage. I could wave my arms around or draw pictures a la "Win, Lose or Draw", but that would not be as effective. adhering to general guidelines helps to ensure that meaning remains with the words, rather than losing this relationship. widespread usage of "irregardless" bastardizes the morpheme "ir-" and can cause it to lose its inherent meaning of "not".
playing with words to further facilitate communication (e.g. coining words) is an appropriate change to language; the eradication of any link to original meaning is not.
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Um, it was a joke referencing a thread from wo weeks ago. Do I use the ;) very often?
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oh, and how satisfied am I with my PS?
ask me in the spring.
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After reading addendum after addendum and optional essay after optional essay on this board about "maturing" after undergrad and why someone got a low gpa, I'm very very satisfied with my optional essay that covers that topic. As for my main PS, it's aight...kinda like my LSAT score, it's functional and gets the job done.
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The problem with your statement is that you assume that anything that gets the point across is worthy of usage. I could wave my arms around or draw pictures a la "Win, Lose or Draw", but that would not be as effective. adhering to general guidelines helps to ensure that meaning remains with the words, rather than losing this relationship. widespread usage of "irregardless" bastardizes the morpheme "ir-" and can cause it to lose its inherent meaning of "not".
playing with words to further facilitate communication (e.g. coining words) is an appropriate change to language; the eradication of any link to original meaning is not.
Your example is immaterial because it doesn't effectively get the point across.
"irregardless" gets the point across.
so doz dis, it getz dA point akross t0 da peeple hoo r reedin it
There is no miscommunication
If exactly what I mean is clear, and you start an argument simply for the sake of arguing semantics, then that is just silly..
Now your example of waving your arms doesn't really get the point across effectively, and I think that's why you chose it. But can you see why it doesn't apply here? Think back to understanding the "scope" of the argument, and "relevance" in general, during your LSAT prep.
Also, the second part of your argument which says that misuse of this prefix will cause it to lose it's meaning is what is called a Slippery Slope fallacy. Since you don't seem to understand what that is, I've provided an explanation below.
And about your implication that "irregardless" has no link to the original meaning ("the eradication of any link to original meaning is not"), what he meant by the word was clear. So obviously there was a link to the meaning because it was obvious what the guy meant.
The "slippery slope" fallacy infers extreme and dramatic consequences from a single cause, usually by skipping over details of how the mountain will grow from the molehill.
If we let this person shoplift without administering a severe punishment, the next thing you know, everyone will shoplift; stores will be forced to close down; there will be panic buying and total economic collapse.
Today, marijuana is outlawed. Tomorrow it will be alcohol and cigarettes; eventually, you and I will not be allowed legally to buy a cup of coffee without being arrested.
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OMG, you are FAT GIRL!!!! PLEASE put Kelly from Saved by the bell's pic back up!! OMG!!!!!
Now that people have sent in some/all of their apps and are either finished with, or nearly finished with, their PSs, I was just wondering....
I mean, I know ideally, we'd all work on it till it was 100 percent perfect but there are time constraints and the like that prohibit us from doing so. And then there are others who have excellent scores that are applying to mediocre schools and opt not to bother spending a ton of time on the PS. Whatever your situation, how do you feel about your PS now?
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Hocine, I'm just going to respond succinctly. People who matter sometimes care, and thus so do I.
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The last time something like this happened was when I accidentally puked on Baker Tower. I know I'm going to hell for that one.
downy went to dartmouth, downy went to dartmouth... hmm, or else he went to hanover high :D
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I'm sure there are Baker Towers all over the place...
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Downy went to Michigan. And there is a Baker Tower at Westmont in California too.
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so doz dis, it getz dA point akross t0 da peeple hoo r reedin it
There is no miscommunication
For your example, a miscommunication exists specifically because you are communicating through a written medium. True, if you were to speak that sentence, it would simply sound like a mispronunciation of commonly known words. To grossly misspell them, though, causes the reader to pause unnecessarily in order to process what you are trying to say. It is inefficient and incorrect. Consider for a moment how long it took you to come up with those incorrect spellings in the first place. However, and with regard to "irregardless," do not let common misuse belie what is correct.
I'm with totalbs and Downy here. Use "irregardless" on your PS and see how far it gets you if you insist that it can adequately express your point.