Patterns I've seen

[redemption]

I could do that for you, if you like: nice post.

(sabotaging)

[magnumalv]

You're kidding, right? It must have been a very early draft. Yours was the only one that I would read again for pleasure

Nope, it was the same one you saw. It's been polished more since you read it... and for some schools, it was mashed together with the PS to form an uber statement. 

maggs

[Nellbelle]

Just wanted to jump in here and give praise for Burhops. She really helped me with my PS. She has some great suggestions and helped with editing and I am still amazed at the effort I received from a (initially) complete stranger. I know myself, my PS resembled at least one of these scenarios, but she really helped me turn it around.

Thanks Dani

[wowand135]

so while we're talking about the PS beginning... how would you generally structure a PS that is not "tell us something about you" and rather "tell us why you want to go to law school, would make a good lawyer, etc." about half of my applications give the second prompt.

[Burhop]

Along this same line, I've heard that running through all life accomplishments is a no-no; that just reads like an extended resume.

Aaah, the extended resume - that should have been number 2 on the list.  The Admissions Director mentioned this one as being a definite way to make the statement IMpersonal.  This is a great thread Dani! 

Well, thanks!

Now, if I could only get into law school based on LSD threads...should I send an addendum to this effect, you think? ;-)

best,

dani

[Burhop]

By the way, I can understand why people lash out when their essays are criticized. You've spent 7 long and painful hours in the delivery room giving birth to your beautiful baby and when some one tells you it's absolutely hideous you'd probably get a bit cranky. 

Yeah, I understand that. But, hopefully, when people ask for feedback they are expecting honesty. Presumably they've spent 7 hours in the delivery room in order to have a healthy child. If the baby is sick and needs surgery, it's a bit counter-productive to yell at the obstetritian who tells you so. Ok - I think I might have stretched that metaphor a bit far....

I hope the adcomms feel the way that you do about my PS 

redemption, gadfly--your PS worries are non-existent! I've seen both, and you both come across as engaged and engaging.

I, of course, probably came across like a whack-job in everything I wrote. I shoulda just sent the Puma 250 in the stead of.....everything. O, alas, 20/20 hindsight!

dani

[Burhop]

Just wanted to jump in here and give praise for Burhops. She really helped me with my PS. She has some great suggestions and helped with editing and I am still amazed at the effort I received from a (initially) complete stranger. I know myself, my PS resembled at least one of these scenarios, but she really helped me turn it around.

Thanks Dani

Whoa!!! *major blush*

[SCgrad]

You know how you get so many E-mails from schools saying why they are the best choice for you and why you should apply.  How much of any of them can you recall?  Writing about why a school should accept you comes off the same but in reverse.  If the school has a good reputation and so on, it doesn't matter, you might apply anyway, if you get a generic E-mail from a school you have never heard of, you will only be interested if they say something about the dinosaurs that roam the law school library. 

Point being; to get any advantage out of your PS, you can't be generic.  Write something that makes the reader think you are a better candidate than what your application otherwise shows.  The number one rule that has been touched on but not explicitly stated in this thread is your PS must be positive.  If you write a well-crafted essay about absolutely horrible things that have happened to you, what does that accomplish, does the reader have any better idea of your positive attributes?  I think you almost have to write your PS like a used car advertisement, just with English above the 1st grade level.

[Burhop]

You know how you get so many E-mails from schools saying why they are the best choice for you and why you should apply.  How much of any of them can you recall?  Writing about why a school should accept you comes off the same but in reverse.  If the school has a good reputation and so on, it doesn't matter, you might apply anyway, if you get a generic E-mail from a school you have never heard of, you will only be interested if they say something about the dinosaurs that roam the law school library. 

Point being; to get any advantage out of your PS, you can't be generic.  Write something that makes the reader think you are a better candidate than what your application otherwise shows.  The number one rule that has been touched on but not explicitly stated in this thread is your PS must be positive.  If you write a well-crafted essay about absolutely horrible things that have happened to you, what does that accomplish, does the reader have any better idea of your positive attributes?  I think you almost have to write your PS like a used car advertisement, just with English above the 1st grade level.

The spin I usually give it is "your PS is like a good love letter--you gotta make the school *want* your ass."

[SCgrad]

that is a better way of putting it, I will say.