ps idea...

[cascagrossa]

i think i finally have an idea of what i am going to write my ps about, so i just wanted to get some input as to whether or not it sounds good.  i think its a pretty unique topic, will make for an enjoyable read, and will still help convey some important messages to the adcoms.

i want to write about a 14 day trip i took to honduras as a volunteer with the shark reasearch institute.  i was part of a volunteer research team sent to study the population dynamics of whale sharks and to deploy satellite tags on any sharks we might encounter.  i was thinking this topic would give me a wide range of things to talk about; how the experience helped me grow as a person, how i learned about the environment etc., how i experienced a very different culture, and how it relates to my interest in going to law school studying environmental law.

one thing i will make sure it does not become is a preachy "i want to save the earth" crap-a-thon.

so, what do you guys think of this topic?

[lexylit]

i like the word crap-a-thon! i think you should work it in somehow 

[cascagrossa]

lol, ill try.

but what do you think of the topic?  yay or nay?  any specific things i should avoid writing about?

[lexylit]

absolutely a yay, now you just need to do a good job with it.

brainstorm your ass off. find a focal point. maybe youll get some awe-inspiring shark/lawyer metaphor out of it 

[foxnewssucks]

as long as it isn't the dreaded "study abroad" ps.  Blech. That is my opinion. 

[cascagrossa]

what kind of stuff would you consider "study abroad bleh?"

it wasnt a study abroad program and i think the trip itself was a pretty unique experience compared to going to school in another country.  the essay will not be about how "cool" the foreign culture was and how it changed my view of the world, and other bs like that if thats what you meant.

[lexylit]

right. it's all in how you do it. stick to the sharks and none of those "opened my eyes" and "broadened my horizons" and "learned a lot" cliches. or save-the-world enviro-law martyrdom.

[cascagrossa]

the only other ps idea ive come up with is writing about my training in brazilian jiujitsu and muay thai.  id write about how the training itself changed me and exposed me to new cultures(took me all the way to brazil), detail relationships with some influential people ive met through training, and show how mixed martial arts have led to my interest in the law(i have a few articles published in online magazines about sanctioning mixed martial arts).

[foxnewssucks]

No, I think that is yours is definitely different.  I am talking about the typical rich kid that spent a semester in France and thought it was the "coolest".  The Adcoms get a lot of these and they are some what cliche.  I think that even the Montauk book talks about it... or maybe another guide.

A friend of mine got into a great school last year and I was running some PS ideas by her and she basically told me that the topic is really not that essential.  Any topic can end up being a very good or very bad PS, depending on the writing skills and what is actually said in the statement...So don't sweat the topic. I think this is good advice.