Cartoon PS.

[LSATGuru]

There is a chasm between what institutions/people hold as their official rules and what they actually do.

do you have any evidence of this?  I was told by both GMU and GWU that they do not discuss specific portions of applications with other schools.

Another thing is that the Admissions Council people from top schools (and from the same region) talk, so if you send in something ludicrous but nonetheless "original" and they mention it to each other, then their already poor opinion will further sink.

Drawing Pikachu is not serious?    Damn LS, no fun at all...

[nathanielmark]

once again, you make these statements based upon what evidence, exactly?

There is a chasm between what institutions/people hold as their official rules and what they actually do.

do you have any evidence of this?  I was told by both GMU and GWU that they do not discuss specific portions of applications with other schools.

Another thing is that the Admissions Council people from top schools (and from the same region) talk, so if you send in something ludicrous but nonetheless "original" and they mention it to each other, then their already poor opinion will further sink.

Drawing Pikachu is not serious?    Damn LS, no fun at all...

[Ginatio]

speaking from personal experience, I had a telephone interview with the dean at cornell, and he asked me what other schools i was applying to. when i listed off the numerous other schools, he said something to the effect of "oh yea, i know most of the admissions people at those schools".

so you can imagine adcoms keeping in touch with each other informally via email/telephone/conferences/etc. and making passing references to certain applicants... certainly those applicants with unusual personal statements or qualities about their file.

once again, you make these statements based upon what evidence, exactly?

There is a chasm between what institutions/people hold as their official rules and what they actually do.

do you have any evidence of this?  I was told by both GMU and GWU that they do not discuss specific portions of applications with other schools.

Another thing is that the Admissions Council people from top schools (and from the same region) talk, so if you send in something ludicrous but nonetheless "original" and they mention it to each other, then their already poor opinion will further sink.

Drawing Pikachu is not serious?    Damn LS, no fun at all...

[Kwertee]

speaking from personal experience, I had a telephone interview with the dean at cornell, and he asked me what other schools i was applying to. when i listed off the numerous other schools, he said something to the effect of "oh yea, i know most of the admissions people at those schools".

so you can imagine adcoms keeping in touch with each other informally via email/telephone/conferences/etc. and making passing references to certain applicants... certainly those applicants with unusual personal statements or qualities about their file.

Yeah, based off of nothing but my own opinion, I'd bet that they do talk about certain outstandingly good or bad apps.  I mean, it is what they do for a living, and it is not like we are talking about government secrets here.  They may also show enough restraint to wait until the next year of apps before they start the gossip.

[Ginatio]

yep. agreed.

speaking from personal experience, I had a telephone interview with the dean at cornell, and he asked me what other schools i was applying to. when i listed off the numerous other schools, he said something to the effect of "oh yea, i know most of the admissions people at those schools".

so you can imagine adcoms keeping in touch with each other informally via email/telephone/conferences/etc. and making passing references to certain applicants... certainly those applicants with unusual personal statements or qualities about their file.

Yeah, based off of nothing but my own opinion, I'd bet that they do talk about certain outstandingly good or bad apps.  I mean, it is what they do for a living, and it is not like we are talking about government secrets here.  They may also show enough restraint to wait until the next year of apps before they start the gossip.

[nathanielmark]

hmmm..  i am thinking now i will not be applying to GW

[LSATGuru]

My statements stem from reading an actual interview with the Dean of Admissions of University of Pennsylvania in Law School Confidential. She specifically mentions a stupid gimmick a student pulled in her application and how she and another Dean of Admissions were discussing applicants and realized the same person pulled the same thing at both schools.

They talk.

hmmm..  i am thinking now i will not be applying to GW

[Moogle]

A cartoon?  You have got to be shitting me.  You might as well just not send in an application at all.

Just my opinion, though.

Some HS students send in a cartoon PS for their undergrad applications.  There's a book with a collection of cartoon personal statments from students who got accepted at HYS, I can't remember the name though...  You can find it at any large retail book store.

[jacy85]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but your undergraduate education is an entirely different species of beast than your legal education.  IMO, and what seems to be the general consensus among adcoms who do interviews, is that cute and clever cartoon personal statements coming from a 17 year old, straight-out-of-high-school may work.  However, such a thing coming from someone who's in their 20s, or older, with 4 years of higher education, often quite a bit of work experience, and generally a little older and wiser than your average 17 yr old is seen as applying for something as intellectual and serious as a legal education, well, that's just immature and not all that creative.

[michelle]

i don't think a cartoon ps is such a bad idea, in all cases. It should certainly be accompanied by a written statement to show that you can write well, but it could also add something extra that would set you apart from other applicants. It is more risky, obviously, than writting the standard PS, but if one of the schools you are applying to is a big reach, it might be worth taking that risk.... I would not dismiss the idea so quickly.