A winning personal statement can definitely help you distinguish yourself from a crowd of candidates.

Most personal statements include a useful description of the applicant’s background. However, to be outstanding, your personal statement must show evidence of special effort and determination.

Highlighting your academic performance in university or college is one way to demonstrate your strengths. Another way is to emphasize some of the challenges you have overcome in life. In particular, you should describe those accomplishments that best illustrate your ability to follow through on long-term commitments. This will help convince the committee that you have what it takes to succeed in the school’s law program and beyond. You might be reluctant to describe your accomplishments, but remember that your goal is to “sell yourself” to the school.

Finding the ideal mix of academic, work, and life experiences for your personal statement may require some real soul-searching. Organizing the information necessary for your statement can also be a challenge. This section will help you create a persuasive statement that will highlight your strongest points.

Writing a “Self-Account”

You should begin by writing a “self-account” of your experiences. This self-account should include anything from your background that might improve your chances of being admitted to law school.

For most people, the best place to start is with their schoolwork. Now, it may be that you were not even thinking of law when you selected your undergraduate courses, or perhaps you specifically chose courses that would boost your prospects of getting into law school. It doesn’t really matter. Your main concern at this point is to demonstrate how your academic experience will help you succeed in a law program. Be sure to describe any special academic projects for which you went beyond the normal expectations of the instructor.

Next, take account of your involvement in extra-curricular activities. List any organizations and societies such as student government, special academic projects, community involvement, athletics, volunteer work, and tutoring – all of these will add depth to your application. You should also mention important people in your life who have helped guide your achievements.

Your self-account needn’t be organized in any particular order, since it will only be used to help guide the process of writing your personal statement. Simply “brainstorm” your ideas and write down any useful information in point form. Be sure to think about the following points where:

• · Academic background and accomplishments
• · Involvement in organizations and in the community
• · People who have played important roles in your accomplishments
• · Successful long-term commitments
• · Any related professional experience
• · Difficulties that you have overcome successfully

Next, review the points you wrote down and eliminate the ones that seem less relevant. This can be tricky at first, but as you go through your list, you will gain a wider view of everything you have accomplished. This will make the elimination process easier.

You should then select the major points from your college or university experience to highlight in the statement-there may be two or three points, but you can choose more. Then choose at three major points that are not strictly academic or career-oriented. Finally, double-check all of your points for accuracy.

The process of drawing up your “brainstorming” list will probably suggest useful ways of organizing the information in your personal statement. You should now be ready to begin writing your personal statement.

Elements of the Personal Statement

At many law schools, admissions committees have replaced personal interviews with the personal statement. Consequently, this document gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your writing ability, in addition to highlighting your accomplishments.
Given the significance of the personal statement, it very important that it be relevant, persuasive, and well-written.
Be Relevant

Applicants are often asked to address specific questions in their personal statement. Some law schools simply ask for a list of your accomplishments and qualifications, beginning with the most recent academic year. Other schools focus their questions on your career goals and motives for wanting to practice law.

Since each law school may ask you to respond to a different set of questions, don’t assume that you can write one generic personal statement for all of your applications. For each application, read the questions carefully and ensure that you answer each one directly while providing all the necessary details.

When reading calendars and faculty guides, look for areas in which each school specializes. Then, select points from your “self-account” that seem most relevant to that school. For example, if a certain school mentions its longstanding commitment to public service, it would be useful to highlight any volunteer work you might have in your personal statement.

Likewise, you should mention your interest in a particular area of law with reference to the school’s involvement in the same field. Also mention your interest in special programs that are available at the school, such as legal clinics or law reviews.

If you are applying in a “non-standard” category, such as a mature student, a minority status student, or a student with a physical disability, you can explain your situation here, and perhaps mention how the school’s facilities are suited to your needs. Discussion of these issues, however, is a matter of choice, and you should not feel obliged to mention them.
In addition to outlining your personal background and academic credentials, it is important to demonstrate your genuine desire to attend law school.

You should show that you have thought carefully about the decision to apply, and you should outline some of the goals you have for your legal career. The aim is to individualize your statement as much as possible without straying off topic.

In order to individualize your statement further, it would be useful to describe your experiences in a narrative or story form. This way, your statement won’t sound like a dull catalog of accomplishments.

The personal statement also provides you with an opportunity to explain any extenuating circumstances that may have lowered your GPA. These reasons might include family distress, health problems, or personal crises.
Proofread Carefully

Once you have written your personal statement, you should ensure that its length, grammar, and sentence structure are correct. This means that you should:

• · Carefully check for grammatical and spelling errors.
• · Examine your word usage. It is best to use an uncomplicated style and avoid unfamiliar words. You will not make a better impression by loading your personal statement with long words and jargon.
• · If you are asked to write an essay, review the connections and transitions from one paragraph to the next.
• · Ask someone with good writing skills to proofread your document. If possible, have more than one person do this.
• · Pay attention to space or word limitations on standard statement forms, and avoid cramming your text with small font sizes.
• · When you are done, remember to keep a copy of each of your personal statements in case you need to refer to them later.