What do they look for in a Personal Statement

[Jeff_da_bomb77]

Hey all

I've been having alot of difficulty writing my personal statement. All submissions are like attach a personal statement but they dont tell you whats supposed to be in it. I've been looking and asking around but no one seems to tell me what exactly law schools look for in a person statement so i`m not sure what I should be writing about. Any comments about what a personal statement is or what I should be writing about would help a ton, thanks!

[mccarthy]

I cannot tell you what to write about, but I can say that a personal statement is just that-a statement of person. Who are you and why should I accept you to my school? People reading your PS need to come away from it with a sense of the person who wrote it and  a sense that it was written well. You can write about hardships overcome, a particular event in your life that helped you decide on law school, something that you did that displays your intellect/ moral character. The main thing is not simply to write about one of these concepts but to show how it shaped, drove, guided, inspired you. Perhaps someone else could explain it better, but I think that's just about it. Good luck.

[writetrackad]

Jeff,

The personal statement is the most vital part of your application, in addition to your GPA and LSAT score.  Therefore, be sure to draft the best personal statement possible.  A personal statement is your opportunity to convey a compelling and provoking illustraton of who you are as a candidate, and individual, which links your salient life experiences to your drive to become a lawyer.  Be sure to be original, tell a cogent and compelling story, and avoid regurgitating your resume in your statement.  Your personal statement is your law school admission interview on paper, if you will, so ask yourself: what would you like the law school to know about you, that is not already articulated in other component of the application?

*Moderator Comment* You can link to your business in your signature, but you may not directly advertise in your post. *

Kal

[nealric]

They are mostly there to see if you are a reasonably good writer and if you have some extraordinary factors the committee should be aware of. For most people who have no such extraordinary factors, it's just  a test of writing abilities, so don't dwell too much about the specific content.