Personal Statement Specific Prompts Question

[dneuman]

Hi. Hopefully Dave can answer this question, since he's got some good background on my Personal Statement (and other things) already, but whoever can help me out is great as well .

Basically I was wondering if I could get some more information regarding Personal Statement prompts. I bought the Personal Statement review package and Jeff has taken a look at the first draft. It has been very helpful (and illuminating) because I was caught off guard by the possibility that I might have to write two (or even three) different Personal statements. This came up since he informed me that most of the schools I'm applying to (BU, BC, FIU) all make the mention of wanting to know, basically, why I want to study law. This seems in direct contrast to most of the PS writing advice I've researched so far (as well as the 1-hour lecture from Powerscore). Obviously the prompt is the cause of this change, so I'm just wondering if anybody can share some thoughts about this sort of "different ballgame" that I find myself in now. Maybe there is a blog/article that can expand on this issue? Just because I'm feeling a bit disenchanted since I thought I had a pretty good grasp of the Personal Statement.

Thanks!

Daniel

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for the question. You are still in great shape and so you shouldn't worry. The basic concept here isn't contradictory. In admissions, there is no perfect "one size fits all" essay, so the best approach is typically to create a genuinely compelling story, and use that as your base essay. Now, as schools toss in various requests, you can modify or add to that base essay. In many cases, that requires relatively simple changes (changing the name of the school, or emphasizing different parts of your story). In other cases it requires more work. That's just part of the game, and that doesn't devalue the work you've done or compromise the inherent utility of the work you've done.

In that seminar, I'm pretty sure I mentioned that if you get asked a specific question by the school in the essay prompt then you should address it, so the basic idea here isn't new. I think what's concerning you is that you're thinking yuo have to toss out all your prior work. That is definitely not the case!

For example, you mention BU. Their prompt reads as follows: "Your personal statement should discuss the significant personal, social, or academic experiences that have contributed to your decision to study law." This allows for a huge variation in what you talk about and why you talk about it. There are a ton of ways to tell a great story about yourself that meet the requirement above and at the same time aren't so law-centric that it's in every sentence or even the majority of sentences. An interesting and compelling story always wins in the admissions process! BU actually posts some essays they like (at http://www.bu.edu/law/prospective/jd/essays/) and you might notice that most of them have really good story elements that at first glance don't relate to law. So, knowing what I know about your situation, I still say you are looking good.

Last, you mention doing a lot of work on researching the personal statement, and that the advice you've received (from us and others) is pretty consistent about how to put together a good essay. That should tell you something, namely that all of us aren't wrong Focus on the story first. when you see specific questions, think about how you can address that, and whether or not it already is addressed. These prompts are typically very broad on purpose. Focus on telling them who you are,ad n if they want you to address something specific, work it into what you already have.

Please let me know if this helps. Thanks!

[dneuman]

Thanks so much! As always, you've answered my question well .

I'll send my essay back to review with Jeff once more. Unfortunately, I feel like I may have gotten lost a bit trying to place "law focused" references all over my essay, but hopefully it's still in good shape. Also may have tried to accomplish a "one size fits all" kind of essay, but we'll see!

Thanks again for your responses, they've helped me tremendously!

Daniel