Although detailing hardship is an effective way to begin writing an effective law school personal statement, your personal statement should also demonstrate why law school is right for you.
Avoid flowery or overly colloquial language that could displease admissions committees. Instead, craft your experience so it is engaging for readers.
1. You’re passionate about the law
As part of your personal statement, it’s a powerful way to showcase your enthusiasm. Doing so shows that you are determined and will do anything it takes to meet your career goals.
This student uses “show don’t tell” to demonstrate their passion. They describe a specific event that inspired their interest in law before linking that moment back to their ultimate goal of helping others.
2. You’re a hard worker
Law school personal statements provide applicants an excellent opportunity to address emotionally taxing experiences. Although it’s best to avoid sensationalism, don’t shy away from telling readers about your struggles and how they were overcome.
This writer successfully incorporates these challenges into their essay’s overall theme by employing vivid descriptions that draw readers in and create a sense of immediacy in their story.
3. You’re a team player
Writing a law school personal statement can be daunting for applicants, with difficulty in knowing what information to include and how best to structure it.
This law school applicant does a fantastic job highlighting their achievements without sounding arrogant or boastful. They make clear how their passion for helping others was the primary motivating factor for choosing law school as their path.
4. You’re a leader
Writing an effective law school personal statement may seem daunting at first, but with careful planning and revision, you can craft an eye-catching narrative that clearly articulates why law school is the right path for you.
This student does an outstanding job describing her community-based experiences as preparation for law school. She shows how she successfully managed challenges within group environments while using them to inspire positive change.
5. You’re a good listener
Law schools require applicants to write personal statements as an alternative to an interview, in order for admissions committee members to understand what makes you unique. These essays also allow law schools to evaluate applicants more efficiently.
This student skillfully wove in their cultural diversity into an engaging narrative. Additionally, they avoided discussing hardships negatively by emphasizing how they have taught them adaptability and flexibility.
6. You’re a good communicator
This writer successfully conveys how their background, culture and identity impacted their decision to pursue law. They openly discussed the numerous obstacles they had to face that ultimately helped them grow without recourse to navel-gazing or victimization.
They should avoid discussing academic inconsistencies (which should be handled in an addendum), and end their personal statement by emphasizing their desire to help others.
7. You’re a problem solver
Your personal statement offers law schools an opportunity to get to know you beyond the numbers on your transcript and resume. Make use of it by showing how perfectly aligned are goals and focus are between yourself and a specific law school.
This writer makes effective use of a “montage” structure to describe various parts of their life, using their career focus as a thread that connects all these individual stories together. Furthermore, they avoid cliches and hyperbole by providing specific examples of their achievements.
8. You’re a critical thinker
Displaying critical thinking can help set you apart from other applicants for law school applications. Be wary, however, when writing about academic inconsistencies unless they directly relate to your law school application.
This applicant does an exceptional job of discussing her life experiences and their impact on shaping her worldview, motivations and motivations for attending law school. Furthermore, she details her accomplishments without appearing self-important or boastful.
9. You’re a creative thinker
Personal statements give you an opportunity to highlight unique traits not covered by other aspects of your application. Creative storytelling techniques can help tell your story effectively in such a way as to appeal to admission committees.
This writer does a fantastic job at talking about their achievements without sounding boastful or boastful, as well as including early experiences of volunteering and activism into their essay.
10. You’re a good listener
Law school requires you to be an excellent listener, often being expected to consider different viewpoints and listen attentively. This student did an outstanding job demonstrating this trait by “showing not telling” in her personal statement.
Beth centers her essay around pushing boundaries and being drawn to innovation, and links these concepts back to why she wants to become a patent attorney.