by Nicole Vilches, Assistant Dean for Admissions
Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology
Personal statements can be one of the most daunting aspects of the admissions process. How can you convey on paper all of the many attributes that make you unique? What exactly is the admissions committee looking for in your statement? Where should you begin?
The following guide is designed to provide you with a basic outline of what admissions committees are looking for in a personal statement and to provide you with the key points you should be aware of when composing your statement.
The Role of the Personal Statement in the Admissions Process
Personal statements play an important role in the admissions process. Since most schools are not able to interview each applicant individually, the personal statement represents your "interview opportunity" with the admissions committee. You should try to convey to the committee everything that you would tell them in a personal interview. Most schools use your personal statement to get a sense of who you are, what events have shaped your life, what is important to you, and to determine your goals and future plans. The personal statement is also used as a writing sample and should demonstrate your best writing skills. Admissions committees may also refer to your LSAT writing sample as a reference and use it to assess your writing skills under time constraints.
You should also keep in mind that personal statements are just one of the many factors that law schools consider when reviewing your application. Your undergraduate record, letters of recommendation and performance on the LSAT are also important factors. The weight given to each factor will vary at each school, but in general schools consider your application in its entirety and base their decision on the ensemble of factors presented in your application.
General Guidelines
Before beginning to compose your statement, you should check the applications for each school to which you plan to apply. While many schools do not specify a specific topic on which you must write, there are a few schools that do and you should make sure that your statement directly addresses the question asked on the application. If the school does not specify a specific topic for your statement, you are free to focus your statement in whichever way you think will most effectively convey your message to the admissions committee. You may also want to consider tailoring your statement to each school to which you apply, so that you may discuss the programs and aspects of that school that are of particular interest to you.
You should also check each school's application to determine if they have a length requirement. In general, you should keep your statement between two and three typewritten pages in length. You should select a font and line spacing that will make your statement easy for the committee to read. It is better for your statement to be slightly longer than to use 9pt font and .25 inch margins.
Because the personal statement is also used as a writing sample, you should pay particular attention to spelling and grammar. You should have at least one person with strong writing skills proofread your statement. You may also want to have several people read an initial draft of your statement and offer comments to help you further develop your ideas. Many schools have pre-law advisors who are available to assist you with the law school application process and offer guidance on composing your statement.
Content
If the law schools to which you are applying do not specify a topic for your personal statement, the content is entirely up to you. The majority of applicants discuss the events that have shaped their lives, the activities and accomplishments that demonstrate their potential success in law school, and their motivations and goals for pursuing a law degree. Some students also discuss obstacles that they have overcome during their lives. The most important consideration in composing your statement is to make sure that it adequately conveys to the admissions committee who you are and what makes you a strong candidate for law school. It is less important to compose a catchy, "unique" statement than to create a strong, persuasive one. You do not want to risk having your message get lost in the novel approach you have chosen. Most admissions committee members have read thousands of statements during their tenure, so it is very difficult to find a format that they have not seen before. The most effective statements are those that make the admissions committee feel like they really know the applicant by the time they are done reading.
Many applicants have discrepancies or weaknesses in their application, such as poor performance during their early undergraduate work, which they wish to discuss with the admissions committee. You may do so in your personal statement or you may write a supplementary statement specifically addressing the issue. Before submitting a supplementary statement, you should check with the law school to make sure that additional statements are acceptable. In general, it is best to fully describe any discrepancies or weaknesses in your application rather than leaving the admissions committee to speculate about the cause.
The personal statement is also a good place to address how you can contribute to the diversity of the entering class. Most law schools define diversity in broad terms. If there are unusual aspects to your background that you think would help to contribute to the diversity of the class, your personal statement is an excellent place to highlight them.
Seeking Guidance
Family and friends are good sources of inspiration for your personal statement and can be great proofreaders as well. Ask them for the adjectives that would best describe you. Bounce your ideas off of them and see if they think you are capturing the real you on paper. You should also consider meeting with your pre-law advisor. Pre-law advisors have a great deal of experience helping students with the law school application process and can be an invaluable resource. Finally, although it is fine to ask others for feedback on your personal statement, please keep in mind that the statement must be your own work.
Avoid Common Mistakes
1) Check for spelling and grammar mistakes, especially those mistakes that are missed by spell check. Be sure to read through your statement several times to catch common mistakes such as "to" and "too" and "your" and "you're." You should also have someone new give your statement a final read before you send it off. Once you have spent weeks writing and rewriting your statement, it becomes very difficult to catch mistakes. You tend to see what you expect to be there, rather than what is actually written.2) Look for incorrect school names in your statement. You've written the personal statement of the century and finish up with "and that's why I want to go to XYZ Law School." The only problem is that your statement is for "ABC Law School." Learn how to use a mail merge or make sure to carefully check each instance that you use a school's name in your statement.
3) Read your statement out loud. This is the best way to determine how well your writing flows. Often, you will discover awkward sentences and jumbled ideas when you read aloud.
4) Add your name and LSAC ID number to each page of your statement. The best statement in the world will not do you any good if the admissions staff is not able to match it up with your application.