Personal Statement Problems.. HELP!

[Regal_Muse]

Okay guys, I've been working my tail off trying to figure out what I should write about in my personal statement. I have tons of things I can write about but I'm not trying to come off as some sob story (unless it gets me into Harvard  ) Anyway I have a list of possible topics.

Work with The Homeless- For the past six years, I've dedicated my time and efforts (15 hrs a week) to outreach with homeless teens on drugs.During the process, I learned a lot about myself and made some interesting connections with people I wouldn't otherwise have interacted with.

Heart Condition- Well Sophomore year my mother developed a hole in her heart because of some asthma medication she was taking (i know sucks, she's suing the company) Anyway she had two heart attacks and I had to take a semester off to take care of her (because some of the other idiots in my family suddenly had too much to do. My dad helped out a lot even though my parents are divorced) Anyway it was another time in my life where a lot of responsiblity was on my shoulders. While my dad was at work, I was responsible for my three younger siblings. So I felt like a temporary mom LOL. But by the grace of god my mom is going much better.

My trip to africa- I spent 3 months in Cairo Egypt. It wasn't school related. I just did it on my own. I learned a lot about a different culture and met some relatives I had no idea excited. It was am amazing trip of self discovery..and made me appreciate living in American (in spite of our current president but that is another topic LOL.)

So any ideas?

[nathanielmark]

where do you want to go to school.  you should have your pick except maybe yale or stanford, and i give you a very good shot at both of them too. you will get into harvard even with a subpar PS.  the homeless topic sounds most promising.  but none of these topics tell us that much about you as a person.  but i suppose they could, depending on how you write them.  you may want to try writing one with each and see which one works best.

Okay guys, I've been working my tail off trying to figure out what I should write about in my personal statement. I have tons of things I can write about but I'm not trying to come off as some sob story (unless it gets me into Harvard  ) Anyway I have a list of possible topics.

Work with The Homeless- For the past six years, I've dedicated my time and efforts (15 hrs a week) to outreach with homeless teens on drugs.During the process, I learned a lot about myself and made some interesting connections with people I wouldn't otherwise have interacted with.

Heart Condition- Well Sophomore year my mother developed a hole in her heart because of some asthma medication she was taking (i know sucks, she's suing the company) Anyway she had two heart attacks and I had to take a semester off to take care of her (because some of the other idiots in my family suddenly had too much to do. My dad helped out a lot even though my parents are divorced) Anyway it was another time in my life where a lot of responsiblity was on my shoulders. While my dad was at work, I was responsible for my three younger siblings. So I felt like a temporary mom LOL. But by the grace of god my mom is going much better.

My trip to africa- I spent 3 months in Cairo Egypt. It wasn't school related. I just did it on my own. I learned a lot about a different culture and met some relatives I had no idea excited. It was am amazing trip of self discovery..and made me appreciate living in American (in spite of our current president but that is another topic LOL.)

So any ideas?

[ruskiegirl]

My vote is for the heart disease or Cairo options, simply because they provide you with more opportunity to tell about yourself, rather than someone else, which you may be tempted to do in the "homeless" topic.

Also, the second and third topics are more unique to you and your experiences.  There are thousands of applicants each year that participate in community service projects and work with the homesless.  While this is an honorable undertaking, I think that there are simply too many applicants who may write about similar things.  I'm sure that you discovered how lucky you were to have a home and a family, and how unfortunate these people are, but unless you can take a very unique creative spin on this experience, I would advise you to go with something that will set you apart from other applicants.

[jacy85]

All of your topics, IMO, have good potential.  Keep in mind, however, that you're not only writing about you experiences, you need to incorporate  into those experiences what potentially makes you a good law student, a good lawyer, and, ideally, why you want to study the law in the first place.  If you can discuss any or all of these within these topics, then fantastic.  

For example, without turning into a sob story  (with your exception of Harvard!  ), the best thing you could say about taking care of your mom while she was ill (and it's great that she's going better!  What happened to her was horrid!) is that you dealt with a lot of responsibility and got a lot closer with your mom, but you can discuss your trip to africa and explain that you have more appreciation for the US legal system due to comparison with the Egyptian system, and can show how the differences in cultures changed you as a person and will make you a more perceptive lawyer for this, that, and the other reason, then I'd say the Egypt story would be more effective than taking care of your mom.

So in sum, I'd try Green's advice, and write a rough draft of each, and see which one will let you cover the most ground while giving and interesting and accurate picture of who you are.

[The ZAPINATOR]

edit

[swifty]

I would chose the homeless combined with the trip to Cairo.  In doing this, express your feelings about the homeless situation, show somethings you did, and why you did them, all the while keeping in your mind that you are trying to let the adcoms trying to get to know you better.  Additionally, using the same methodology, try comparing the homeless to the kids in Cairo.  I know it's not like Africa, (actually that's all I know about Cairo), but try to tie it in to your experience with the homeless in a nice cohesive manner.  You may beable to pull this off without mentioning why you went to Cairo, and let the ascom feel that you wanted to travel abroad to compare homeless children in the USA to other counrties.  And not to be redundant but it' so important, explain why you want to study law, and why especially at [insert school here]

I don't see much coming from your mom's heart problems.  Heart disease is the number one killer in the USA, so you can bet the adcoms get their share of those.  I know it was tough on you, but sometimes others just don't see it as compelling as you because only you know what it was like. 

[Ginatio]

just do what i did and write about how getting a law degree will help you buy a porsche in 5 years...

[NorthwoodV]

You'll get admitted with money to every school you apply.

[GA_Kristi]

I say write about your mom's condition.  You can talk about how it taught you responsibility and maturity, etc.  You'll be able to show the AdComm that you can handle law school.  You could also talk about how your mom's legal battle over her illness has inspired your interest in law school and talk about why you're interested in pursuing this.  It seems easily tied together to me, if you do it right.  You have strong numbers, so as long as you can make a coherent statement that expresses who you are, I think you'll do just fine.

Good luck!