Want A Powerful Personal Statement? Read This.

The personal statement is a critical component of your law school application.

Outside of your test scores and resume, a strong personal statement can help admissions officers understand why you want to attend law school and why specifically you’re applying to a certain school, according to Shemmassian Academic Consulting.

But what exactly makes for a strong personal statement? The experts at Stratus Admissions discussed three key elements that applicants can utilize to craft a powerful law school personal statement.

IDENTIFY YOUR PASSION 

Identifying your passions is the first step to your personal statement.

“Identifying that passion, allows you to you tell your individual story and show that you possess internal drive,” according to Stratus Admissions. “Telling the story well in your personal statement is what helps get you into law school.”

DISCUSS CHALLENGES YOU OVERCAME

It’s important to also highlight the challenges you’ve overcome on your journey to law school.

“Not having the money, raw talent or parental support are traditional examples,” according to Stratus Admissions. “Indeed, demonstrating a will and ability to overcome obstacles – whether you call it tenacity, grit, or perseverance – is fundamental to being a good law student and, ultimately, a good lawyer.”

When discussing the challenges and struggles you’ve overcome, it can be helpful to get personal about your story.

“It may be hard to think about or discuss, but if you can, many times these deep life struggles can form a solid basis for your personal statement and their significance to your life will come through to the reader as complete sincerity,” according to Stratus Admissions.

HIGHLIGHT YOUR STRENGTH

In discussing your challenges, it’s important to also highlight your area of strength.

“If your success has been externally validated through awards and rankings, that is even better,” according to Stratus Admissions. “If the subject-matter of your passion doesn’t lend itself to external validation, success can be defined in other ways such as number of people you helped, the exhilaration you felt (or your family felt) when you succeeded, the impact you had on an individual life, or even the profound way in which the experience fundamentally changed the way you navigate through life.”

Sources: Stratus Admissions Consulting, Shemmassian Academic Consulting