How (not) to Write Your Personal Statement

Advice on how to write your personal statement is unlimited and you probably know most of it by heart: be specific, be personal, be unique, edit, rewrite, edit, rewrite, have someone else edit, and then edit and rewrite again. As true as the advice may be, it is not very specific. Specific advice about what to do can be difficult when the essay is supposed to be your special snowflake, so let's stop and look at the other side of the coin. Below are a few themes you will likely want to avoid in your personal statement.

Quotes:
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood..." - Robert Frost
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi
"Nothing will work unless you do." - Maya Angelou
Ect. ect. ect.
There are a lot of inspirational quotes that you can put in your personal statement, however, none of them say anything unique about you. The Admissions Committee wants to know how you will be a good fit at their school, not about your ability to find obscure William Blake quotes from your Poetry 201 class. Quoting another person only says something unique about the quoted and takes the focus off the substance of your essay. Spare the Committee their time and leave the quotes for your Facebook status updates.

Resume Regurgitation:
A resume is an outline of your experiences and successes. A personal statement is a persuasive essay which shows your ability to add a diverse viewpoint to the classroom and strengthen the learning environment. The two are not the same. The Admissions Committee is looking for something much deeper than a superficial regurgitation of your history. They want something that shows your passion, motivation, and drive. Something that only you can add to the learning experience to not only propel you on the path to success but also challenge your classmates to broaden their horizons. A long-form outline of your life story does nothing to help the Committee make a decision on your application.

The Superhero:
Everyone has a superhero - someone who inspired them to be the person they are today. It is wonderful that they helped you get as far as you have gone, however, at some point you have to do it for yourself. The personal statement is where you need to pick up the torch and leave the accomplishments of others behind and talk about your own accomplishes and challenges. As inspiring as the story of your (grand)parents immigrating to a new land/ building a business/ raising 18 children/ fighting a war may be, that story does not tell the Admissions Committee anything about you. It only tells them that they should accept your superhero. 

The Sob Story:
This sounds cold but everyone has bad things happen to them. Admissions Committees read about unfortunate circumstances all the time and it can get downright depressing.  Committees are not looking for unfortunate sad-sacks to feel bad for; committees are looking for the inspiration that changes a bad situation into an opportunity for growth. Everyone likes a comeback story (otherwise Hollywood wouldn't make any money). If you write about a difficult situation focus on the turn around and how it transformed you into the wonderful person you are today - not just the circumstances which you had to overcome. Admissions Comittees are looking for someone who overcomes challenges, not someone who wallows in them.

The Plagiarized Personal Statement:
Do not, I repeat, do not plagiarize your personal statement. You will get caught and brought before the LSAC Misconduct and Irregularities Subcommittee and your application to every law school will have a black spot on it for the rest of your life. If (by the grace of a very forgiving Admissions Committee) you do get into law school with a plagiarized essay, you will still have to explain it to your Board of Bar Examiners to get your license to practice law. It may sound dramatic but it cannot be overstated. If your personal statement sounds like any of the example personal statements on a blog or from a book you should throw yours away and start over again. There is too much to risk when a committee member can just plug a sentence from your statement into Google and find the example essay you pulled it from. Law school and the legal practice is heavily ethics based and having a plagiarized personal statement is the wrong way to get started in your new career.

Applying to Law School After the June LSAT

Have you decided that you want to attend law school this fall but you are just now taking the June LSAT? Although your options will be limited, not all hope is lost. Below are a few tips on what you will need to do to get the ball rolling in time for orientation.

Immediately:
These three items typically take the longest to complete on your application, therefore, you should start as early as possible to complete them.

1. Request all transcripts from you undergraduate school(s) to be sent to LSAC to be processed for your Credential Assembly Service Report
2. Choose Recommenders and ask them to submit their letters of recommendation to LSAC to be processed for your Credential Assembly Service Report

After the LSAT:

1. Complete your personal statement
2. Complete your resume
3. Gather up any documents needed for addendums (legal records, financial records, ect...) and have them on hand if the Admissions Committee requests a clarification or more information on your record.
4. Submit your application*

*A little known tip on getting a jump on the admissions process is that in many cases you can submit your application before your LSAT scores are received from LSAC, however, your application will likely not go to the Admissions Committee until after your scores are received and your application is complete. The advantage to submitting early is that the school has all the required documents except for the LSAT and after they receive your score and complete your file they can immediately send it onto the Admissions Committee.

As an aside, do not move across the country for a law school until you receive an admission offer from the school. As common sense as that sounds, it happens all the time with students who are applying at the end of the year in hopes that they will be admitted and will already have an apartment set up.

Below is a list of schools that may have application deadlines after the June LSAT. You should contact the school directly to get more information about applying.

• Appalachian School of Law
• Arizona Summit Law School
• Atlanta's John Marshall Law School
• Ave Maria School of Law
• Brooklyn Law School
• Charlotte School of Law
• Drexel University
• Elon University
• Faulkner University (Jones)
• Florida A&M University
• Florida Coastal School of Law
• Hamline University
• Indiana University--Indianapolis (McKinney)
• Liberty University
• Loyola University New Orleans
• Mississippi College
• New York Law School
• Northern Kentucky University (Chase)
• Ohio Northern University (Pettit)
• Oklahoma City University
• Pace University
• Regent University
• Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey--Camden
• Savannah Law School
• Seattle University
• Texas Southern University (Marshall)
• Thomas M. Cooley Law School
• Touro College (Fuchsberg)
• Tulane University
• University of Alabama
• University of Baltimore
• University of Connecticut
• University of Houston
• University of La Verne
• University of Miami
• University of North Dakota
• University of San Diego
• University of St. Thomas
• University of Toledo
• University of Tulsa
• Valparaiso University
• Wake Forest University
• Washington University in St. Louis
• Western State College of Law at Argosy University
• Whittier College
• William Mitchell College of Law

Top Law Schools Where Accepted Students Enroll

Applicants to law school are shrinking; however, there are some interesting trends among those who do apply and are accepted to law school.

One of the trends to look at is the likelihood of enrolling at an institution. Nationally, the yield rate (acceptance to matriculate) for law schools averages 23%.  Logically, one would think that the highest ranked schools have the highest yield rates among accepted students, however, from the chart below, you can see that is not always the case.

Of course Yale, Harvard, and Stanford are ranked in the top 10 for yield and also take the top three spots on the USNWR rankings. But then there are schools outside of the USNWR top 10 and top 20 schools like Savannah Law School whose accepted students desire to attend the institution at higher rates than Columbia, Chicago, NYU, Penn, Virginia, Berkeley, Duke, and Michigan (the rest of the USNWR top 10 schools).

See how accepted students favored your school in the chart below.

School	Acceptances	Matriculates	Yield Rate
Yale University	247	199	81%
Arkansas, Little Rock, University of	204	139	68%
Harvard University	858	568	66%
Brigham Young University	217	139	64%
Belmont University	176	82	47%
New Mexico, University of	258	119	46%
Southern University	487	224	46%
Stanford University	392	179	46%
Missouri-Kansas City, University of	383	172	45%
North Dakota, University of	189	83	44%
Indiana University - Indianapolis	533	227	43%
North Carolina Central University	597	251	42%
Nevada - Las Vegas, University of	269	113	42%
Missouri, University of	290	118	41%
Rutgers University-Camden	352	140	40%
Liberty University	172	68	40%
Montana, University of	210	83	40%
Memphis, University of	283	111	39%
Nebraska, University of	326	127	39%
Nova Southeastern University	788	305	39%
Tennessee, University of	413	158	38%
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale	354	133	38%
William Mitchell College of Law	631	236	37%
Oklahoma, University of	384	143	37%
Louisiana State University	484	178	37%
Savannah Law School	135	49	36%
Florida, University of	863	314	36%
Thomas M. Cooley Law School	1,600	582	36%
Wayne State University	387	139	36%
Hawaii, University of	184	66	36%
North Carolina, University of	664	237	36%
Oklahoma City University	455	162	36%
South Texas College of Law	1,189	402	34%
Howard University	447	151	34%
St. Mary's University	922	311	34%
Baltimore, University of	855	287	34%
Arkansas, Fayetteville, University of	336	112	33%
California-Irvine, University of	378	126	33%
Cleveland State University	407	135	33%
Buffalo-Suny, University of	597	198	33%
Utah, University of	323	107	33%
Detroit Mercy, University of	550	182	33%
Georgia State University	549	181	33%
Atlanta's John Marshall Law Shool	720	235	33%
Washburn University	361	117	32%
Ohio Northern University	244	79	32%
Alabama, University of	454	145	32%
Widener University-Delaware	758	239	32%
St. Thomas University (Florida)	832	261	31%
South Dakota, University of	220	69	31%
Northern Kentucky University	479	150	31%
Virginia, University of	1,071	330	31%
West Virginia University	383	118	31%
Southern Methodist University	692	212	31%
Idaho, University of	363	111	31%
Samford University	567	173	31%
Denver, University of	964	290	30%
Florida A&M University	489	147	30%
Duquesne University	460	138	30%
Regent University	361	106	29%
Mississippi College	542	159	29%
Mercer University	639	186	29%
Mississippi, University of	402	117	29%
Texas Tech University	736	214	29%
Stetson University	919	267	29%
District of Columbia	342	99	29%
Columbia University	1,236	352	28%
Southwestern Law School	1,291	367	28%
Wisconsin, University of	655	186	28%
Florida International University	558	158	28%
Texas Southern University	696	196	28%
Capital University	563	158	28%
Georgia, University of	711	199	28%
Texas A&M University	874	244	28%
Faulkner University	377	104	28%
Pennsylvania, University of	912	251	28%
Kentucky, University of	547	149	27%
Touro College	755	205	27%
California-Berkeley, University of	1,050	284	27%
Arizona Summit Law School	1,152	310	27%
South Carolina, University of	774	206	27%
Loyola University-New Orleans	904	240	27%
Rutgers University-Newark	730	193	26%
Louisville, University of	491	129	26%
Wyoming, University of	271	71	26%
Campbell University	480	125	26%
Ohio State University	687	178	26%
Albany Law School of Union University	712	182	26%
Houston, University of	838	213	25%
Texas At Austin, University of	1,267	319	25%
Akron, University of	587	147	25%
Willamette University	492	123	25%
Drake University	467	115	25%
Thomas Jefferson School of Law	1,312	323	25%
Widener University-Harrisburg	302	74	25%
Toledo, University of	441	108	24%
Suffolk University	1,838	450	24%
Creighton University	566	138	24%
Minnesota, University of	907	221	24%
New York University	1,800	437	24%
Saint Louis University	601	145	24%
Northern Illinois University	420	101	24%
Maine, University of	358	86	24%
Michigan, University of	1,318	315	24%
Pittsburgh, University of	738	174	24%
Whittier Law School	939	221	24%
Chicago, University of	836	196	23%
Massachusetts Dartmouth, University of	334	78	23%
Cardozo School of Law	1,448	336	23%
Georgetown University	2,353	544	23%
City University of New York	454	104	23%
John Marshall Law School	1,785	404	23%
Iowa, University of	412	93	23%
Elon University	475	107	23%
St. Thomas, University Of (Minnesota)	513	114	22%
Brooklyn Law School	1,658	368	22%
Notre Dame, University of	734	162	22%
Northwestern University	1,039	229	22%
Duke University	954	209	22%
Seattle University	1,041	228	22%
Kansas, University of	486	106	22%
Valparaiso University	967	208	22%
New Hampshire University of	358	77	22%
Barry University	1,319	283	21%
Charlotte School of Law	2,446	522	21%
Indiana University - Bloomington	975	205	21%
California Western School of Law	1,239	260	21%
Arizona, University of	501	105	21%
Colorado, University of	882	184	21%
California-Hastings, University of	1,597	333	21%
Washington, University of	686	143	21%
Loyola Marymount University-Los Angeles	1,722	358	21%
Connecticut, University of	727	151	21%
Fordham University	1,917	398	21%
Tulane University	1,044	216	21%
Pace University	1,003	207	21%
Arizona State University	624	128	21%
Ave Maria School of Law	575	117	20%
Michigan State University	1,327	270	20%
Hamline University	433	88	20%
Vermont Law School	636	129	20%
Western New England University	594	120	20%
Florida State University	848	170	20%
Marquette University	1,044	209	20%
Villanova University	810	162	20%
Gonzaga University	548	108	20%
Western State College of Law	610	120	20%
Chicago-Kent College of Law-Iit	1,456	286	20%
Temple University	1,151	225	20%
George Mason University	765	149	19%
Richmond, University of	699	133	19%
Florida Coastal School of Law	2,319	441	19%
Drexel University	762	143	19%
California-Los Angeles, University of	1,566	293	19%
Emory University	1,241	231	19%
Tulsa, University of	450	83	18%
Chapman University	856	157	18%
Charleston School of Law	987	181	18%
Washington University	1,032	189	18%
Syracuse University	1,069	194	18%
St. John'S University	1,416	253	18%
Miami, University of	1,727	308	18%
George Washington University	2,718	481	18%
Illinois, University of	964	170	18%
Oregon, University of	683	120	18%
Seton Hall University	942	165	18%
American University	2,713	473	17%
Pepperdine University	1,162	201	17%
Case Western Reserve University	585	100	17%
Maryland, University of	1,214	206	17%
San Diego, University of	1,439	241	17%
Santa Clara University	1,478	246	17%
Cincinnati, University of	615	100	16%
New York Law School	1,985	322	16%
Boston College	1,480	236	16%
Cornell University	1,226	193	16%
Lewis And Clark College	1,099	172	16%
Catholic University of America	1,035	161	16%
Vanderbilt University	1,122	174	16%
McGeorge School of Law	1,019	157	15%
Wake Forest University	1,179	179	15%
Golden Gate University	992	150	15%
Roger Williams University	735	111	15%
Quinnipiac University	566	84	15%
Baylor University	1,132	163	14%
Depaul University	1,968	276	14%
Dayton, University of	715	100	14%
Boston University	1,582	220	14%
Southern California, University of	1,269	175	14%
Appalachian School of Law	408	56	14%
Northeastern University	1,358	185	14%
New England Law | Boston	1,758	238	14%
La Verne, University of	371	50	13%
Penn State University	1,000	132	13%
William And Mary Law School	1,727	226	13%
Hofstra University	1,641	213	13%
Loyola University-Chicago	1,703	213	13%
Washington And Lee University	918	111	12%
San Francisco, University of	1,364	159	12%
California-Davis, University of	1,267	142	11%