The Ultimate Guide To Law School Application
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-Determine a Theme- Glaring Mistake #4: Being All Over the Place
A great application will tell a great story about you. Stories have themes - a central message that the audience will walk away with.
Unfortunately, most prelaw students are directionless in their application. The personal statement is just another "word barf version" of their resumes. There's no conviction behind their writing. There's no focused theme. Writing a good law school application requires a decent bit of soul-searching. You need to know yourself to derive a theme about yourself and eventually write about it for law schools to read and go gaga over you. |
If you are a "recent college grad" with "mediocre grades and average test scores" who was on a couple different clubs (but didn't run any of them), and is "somewhat interested in IP or international law" yet has never actually done anything to substantiate interest in any of those fields, then, unless you are capable of producing a "kick-ass, awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, tear-jerking, mind-blowing, ground-breaking" piece of writing, you have ZERO percent chance of getting into a top 14 law school.
"Zero Percent Chance of Getting In" |
If you're like most students, then you may feel as though there isn't anything special enough about you to rally people's attention. You lived a normal life; you had an uneventful college career; and you never embarked on a ground breaking and/or life altering journey. You might find it difficult to squeeze out a theme because you feel there's nothing interesting about you.
But don't worry. Most people are in this boat.
Law school admission essays are called Personal Statements for a reason. Yes, it'd be impressive if you were the founder of some non-profit that made headlines and brought justice to millions around the globe. But frankly, it's totally unnecessary to try and be someone you're not. You want to write about something personal about yourself. This can be about your inner thoughts and philosophy on life. It can be about what you hope to eventually do with your law degree. It can also be about your recent experience from work. The possibilities are endless and completely yours to choose.
But the point remains - that you need to choose ONE personal theme to write about.
This isn't optional.
If you can't even fill this blank, your chances at admission into a top tier law school are virtually non-existent:
But don't worry. Most people are in this boat.
Law school admission essays are called Personal Statements for a reason. Yes, it'd be impressive if you were the founder of some non-profit that made headlines and brought justice to millions around the globe. But frankly, it's totally unnecessary to try and be someone you're not. You want to write about something personal about yourself. This can be about your inner thoughts and philosophy on life. It can be about what you hope to eventually do with your law degree. It can also be about your recent experience from work. The possibilities are endless and completely yours to choose.
But the point remains - that you need to choose ONE personal theme to write about.
This isn't optional.
If you can't even fill this blank, your chances at admission into a top tier law school are virtually non-existent:
I belong in your law school because I am ____________________ |
A sincere and honest response will do. What are you? An individual passionate about justice? A former I-Banker that's more intrigued with the legal side of work? An idealist who wants to change the political arena for the better?
Here’s the other issue:
Even if you have a well-intentioned theme, you are going to fail unless you can back it up with evidence and prove with EVERY facet of your application. This is where “crafting a story” comes into play.
Extracurriculars. Essay and supplementary essays. LSAT score(s). Awards won. Recommendations. Advocate recommendations. Grades. Work experience. The list goes on.
You can’t just, for example, state that you are passionate about global justice – you need to show that you are. You do that by writing about your time spent abroad; speaking on your experience volunteering for global NGOs and working on projects that tackle global issues; and/or demonstrating commitment to international issues through academic journals or through work experience (or internships) at global bodies, like the UN.
A lot of people hope that their applications are simply “good enough” because they have “a lot of diverse things going for them” – but that won’t do. You don’t need “a lot of things going for you” – you need ONE theme.
This is what separates winning applications from losing ones.
By this point, you should realize that there’s a significant amount of work to be done if you want to craft a strong application that appeals to law schools.
Here’s the other issue:
Even if you have a well-intentioned theme, you are going to fail unless you can back it up with evidence and prove with EVERY facet of your application. This is where “crafting a story” comes into play.
Extracurriculars. Essay and supplementary essays. LSAT score(s). Awards won. Recommendations. Advocate recommendations. Grades. Work experience. The list goes on.
You can’t just, for example, state that you are passionate about global justice – you need to show that you are. You do that by writing about your time spent abroad; speaking on your experience volunteering for global NGOs and working on projects that tackle global issues; and/or demonstrating commitment to international issues through academic journals or through work experience (or internships) at global bodies, like the UN.
A lot of people hope that their applications are simply “good enough” because they have “a lot of diverse things going for them” – but that won’t do. You don’t need “a lot of things going for you” – you need ONE theme.
This is what separates winning applications from losing ones.
By this point, you should realize that there’s a significant amount of work to be done if you want to craft a strong application that appeals to law schools.
Start Early
You can't pick schools just because they're "good" - they have to want your type of student.
But even if you prove that you're a good fit for the school, it doesn't mean the the school will accept you, for one very important reason:
Schools won’t let you in if they don’t think you’re going to attend.
Which brings us to the next (and perhaps the most common) application mistake:
Schools won’t let you in if they don’t think you’re going to attend.
Which brings us to the next (and perhaps the most common) application mistake:
Not Proving Interest in the Schools to Which You Apply