Addendum Topic

[daj857]

The two addendums I wanted to add were:
1.  Why I would like to go to school and also why I want to go part-time
2.  A little explanation for my low GPA one semester. 

My personal statement really focuses on my strengths and how I believe I can contribute to the schools I have applied to.  I don't really go into any in depth discussion of *why* I want to go, mainly because any altruistic reasons I have would be viewed as naive and other reasons such as financial would be viewed as selfish

 I felt an addendum would be more suitable not only because I don't want to take away from my personal statement, but also because I just can't articulate my reasons in a way that integrates well with my personal statement.  Is this something I should definitely work on, and make sure its included in my personal statement? 

The part-time is really becasue I am an international and due to the complicated nature of the visa process, my best option is to continue my career while attending law school at night.  I work for a law firm right now, so they are connected.

Any and all help would be appreciated. 
 

[jacy85]

I wouldn't bother with "why I want to go to law school."  It seems like you're looking for a cheap way to include a second PS in this instance.  And I'm not sure about the part time thing.  I don't think it needs an explaination, espcially since you have a career.  I think it's assumed that if you're applying PT, and owrking, that you will continue to work through ls.

As for the low gpa, if it's significantly lower than all your other semesters, or you have a legit reason (my dad was diagnosed with cancer, I was ill, etc) then I think that's definitely a good addenda to include.  But if it's like a tenth a point lower than what your "normal" is, I'd be tempted to say that an addenda in that case would be frivilous.

[daj857]

Excellent! Thanks your input!

My basic question was whether I can write a personal statement that does not mention specifically *why* I want ot go to law school.  It discusses how I feel I can contribute to law school.

Thanks again for your thoughts!

[russiankitty]

I don't think you need to say why you want to go to law school in your personal statement. I don't think I'm going to. I actually don't really think they read PSs at all... maybe the first paragraph to see that you're an OK writer. So I wouldn't bother. A lot of people write why they'll make a perfect lawyer etc, so it won't set you apart from them. Just my two cents...

[jacy85]

I didn't write why I wanted to be a lawyer.  I included something that started me down the path, but didn't get much more into it than that, as it was part of my larger topic.

[murpheys_law]

From what I understand, admissions don't really care why you want to be a lawyer or in what area your interested.  They want someone who is interesting and who will make a good addition to their class.

On the other hand, I spoke with an admissions consultant who said I needed to include why I wanted to go to law school.  She said because of my age (26) and past career (dancer), they need to understand "why now."

I think it has everything to do with your application and previous experiences.

[rushmore]

What about all the prompts that specifically ask you to explain what motivates you to want to study the law?

[Trel]

I initially wasn't addressing why law school when I started out, but so many prompts do ask it that I think if they do, you have to answer the question.  In my case I wrote about what academic interests motivated me to look at law school, and why I've chosen law school over working for the standard bank/mutual fund stuff since I will be graduating with a BS in finance and a BA in poli sci.