“A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.”
-Timothy Ferriss

Although letters of recommendation are a mandatory part of almost all applications, many students do not think about them until the last minute. This is a terrible idea because 1) they will not have enough time to personally connect with their recommenders, and 2) their recommender will be rushed to complete the letter in a limited amount of time, which further decreases the personal value of the letter.

Leaving letters of recommendation to the last minute is also troubling because it is the only part of your application over which you do not have full control. Imagine the amount of paperwork, email, and other information that your recommender receives on a daily basis. If you do not give the recommender sufficient time to complete the letter, then it could end up delaying your entire application.

To avoid the aforementioned problems, we have outlined a fail-proof step-by-step method for securing letters of recommendation.

Please note that each person’s situation may differ. For example, one reader may need a letter of recommendation from an unfamiliar professor, while another reader may be able to simply call his current boss and say, “Hey Bill, you old bastard, I need a letter of recommendation by next week.” The steps below represent the ideal approach to getting a letter of recommendation. Feel free to tailor them to your individual situation.

Step One: Research

You first need to research each school’s requirements to determine the following:

• How many letters you need
• What types of letters you need (academic or professional)
• How the letters will be submitted to the schools

It would be ideal to organize this information in a chart or Excel file for future reference.

Step Two: Choose Wisely

After determining how many and what type of letters you need, you need to brainstorm to see who would be the best recommenders. The goal here is “personal value.”

“Personal value” refers to the extent that the letter of recommendation contains the recommender’s personal experiences with you and his or her thoughts about why you will succeed in your particular field.

For example, a letter from your favorite professor for whom you did extensive research is much more valuable than a letter from a Congressman whom you briefly met once or twice. The letter from the professor would probably say something along the lines of how dedicated you are or how you are a great leader and problem solver. The letter would include specific examples of your achievements. In great contrast, what personal things could the random Congressman say about you?

Many students fall into the trap of thinking that the recommender needs to be from a relevant discipline. If you are applying to law school, you do not necessarily need a letter from a professor who teaches a class about constitutional law. Again, the goal is a letter filled with personal value about relevant skills. Law school requires students who have top-notch writing and researching skills. In this regard, it would be perfectly acceptable to obtain a letter from a history or English professor to highlight your application of those skills.

In other words, do not pass up a great, personal letter because of a misplaced assumption that it has to be from someone in that specific field.

Step Three: Touch Base Early

After determining who your recommenders will be, the next step is to briefly meet with them to let them know that you will seek a letter of recommendation. This needs to be done as early as possible.

“Early” is relative to your application deadlines, goals, and personal situation. If you are just starting your fall semester of college and want to submit your applications before Thanksgiving, then you need to approach the recommender during the first week of classes.

Although you can schedule the meeting by phone or email, it absolutely must be in person. This is because the goal of the meeting is two-fold.

First, it lets the recommender know who you are. You will go from a random student or employee to a recognizable face with a name.

Second, you will begin to develop a rapport with the recommender. People in power rarely have a problem with helping the people they like. At the meeting, in addition to putting the recommender on notice that you will need a letter of recommendation, you should strive to have a regular, friendly conversation with him or her. Talk about class, work, football, or anything else that you feel is appropriate. This transforms you from a mere “leech” to a likeable individual.

While at the meeting, do not say, “Hey, I will need you to write me a letter of recommendation.” Be more embellished. For example, say, “Professor, I am really glad that I’m enrolled in your class because I am highly interested in [subject matter]. I hope to work hard, prove myself, and earn a letter of recommendation from you.” Yes, it sounds cheesy, but the recommender will love it.

Note: If you already have a good relationship with the recommender, then combine Steps Three through Five.

Step Four: Impress

Touching base with the recommender gives you his or her attention and has taken you from a random individual to a name with a face. Now is your opportunity to show him or her how great you are.

If the recommender is a professor, then work hard in his or her class, ask intelligent questions about the reading, and attend several office hours. If your recommender is a boss, then work hard and complete projects in a timely manner. Go the “extra mile” by assuming additional responsibilities to help the company.

If you already have a substantial amount of activity from which the recommender can evaluate you, then all you have to do is remind the recommender of your achievements. For example: “Professor, I took your class last semester and earned a high grade. As you may remember, I wrote a final paper on the French Revolution.” Another example: “Mr. Johnson, I completed an unpaid internship with your company over the summer. I was responsible for updating the web site and teaching your staff about social media.”

Step Five: Reconnect

After proving that you are a worthy hard worker, schedule another meeting with your recommender.

Prior to the meeting, obtain a bright-yellow binder with your name on the cover and sides. Fill it with any information that can help the recommender write the letter, such as your resume, unofficial school transcript, information about the school to which you will apply, and a short sample letter highlighting the achievements and characteristics that you would like the recommender to emphasize.

The reason for the bright-yellow binder is simple. It will catch the recommender’s attention on a daily basis whenever she sees it on her desk. It will be a constant reminder that she has to write your letter of recommendation.

The binder should also include anything that the recommender will need to physically deliver the letter to its destination. This includes an addressed envelope with adequate postage. It may also include other items; for example, law school applicants have to provide each recommender with a pre-printed waiver form, which states that they waive the right to see the letter before submission.

At this meeting, inform the recommender of the deadline by which you will need the letter submitted. If you have completed all of our steps, then three weeks should be ample time for the recommender to write a great letter about you.

Also be sure to account for post office delays and administrative processing delays. For these reasons, the recommender should submit the letter at least two weeks before you submit your actual application.

Step Six: Follow up

At this stage, you have done everything that you need to do. Contact the recommender once per week via telephone as a polite reminder that you need the letter completed. You should also monitor the letter on the back end by contacting schools or processing services, such as LSDAS, to confirm that they received each letter of recommendation.

Conclusion

Although this process may seem like a lot of work, it really only involves the basic elements of networking. Touching base, establishing a personal relationship, giving the recommender value by participating in class or excelling at work, and then cashing in your networking investment in the form of a letter of recommendation.

If you have done things correctly, then the result will not only be a fantastic letter of recommendation but a professional relationship with a distinguished mentor. Although the letter is what you need in the short term, we suspect that the professional relationship will turn out to be much more useful in the long run.

Join the Crowd

You’re reading this article because you have absolutely no idea what to write your law school personal statement about. Take a deep breath and relax—you are not alone.

For example, take a look at the following tweets about law school personal statements:

• “This Personal Statement for Law School apps is killing me.”
• “Writing my law school personal statement for the third time.”
• “My personal statement is [expletive]. I don’t have any work experience in law firms . . . like other people.”
• “Personal statement for law school is harder than I thought.”
• “This personal statement might be the death of me… I hate law school already.”
• “This law school personal statement will be the death of me. Hands down the most ambiguous two pages I’ve ever written.”

As you can see, for many applicants, the hardest part about applying to law school is coming up with a personal statement topic. It’s hard to write about yourself—we get it.

But if we asked you to tell us what makes your best friend unique and interesting, you would be able to respond without hesitation.

• “He traveled the world for six months and loves learning about new cultures.”
• “She volunteers all of her spare time at the local homeless shelter.”
• “He is hilarious and can always cheer me up when I’m feeling sad.”

So what’s the problem with writing about yourself?

Why You Are Having Difficulty

Applicants who have a hard time coming up with a personal statement idea generally fall into two categories:

In the first category are the people who have spent their whole lives doing things that improve their resume. Jobs, research assistant positions, clubs, fraternities/sororities, volunteer activities, study abroad trips, etc. You name it, they have done it. These applicants face the “paradox of choice.” Because they have so many great experiences to choose from, they are overwhelmed and do not know where to begin.

In the second category are the people who have few experiences. Quality instead of quantity. A person in this category may be a student who put him or herself through college while working a full-time job in a service position, such as a waiter or bartender. Maybe someone in this category graduated from college several years ago and has since been working in a full-time position to earn a living. These applicants are full of self-doubt because they believe that their experiences are not impressive enough for law school.

Applicants in both categories also face another problem. They think that they must conform themselves to what other applicants are doing. They don’t want to choose the wrong topic. But when it comes to personal statements, there is no right or wrong answer. There is only good execution and poor execution. It is better to choose a sincere and genuine topic than a random topic chosen only because you think that you should write about it.

Legal Experience

The good news is that working in a legal profession is not a prerequisite to attending law school. That’s right—you don’t need to have worked in any legal capacity to get into law school.

Most law school admission committee members know that most applicants have no legal experience. In fact, many law school graduates do not even have legal experience. Get this out of your head right now. Eliminate your self-doubt.

The Goals of the Personal Statement

Although we could write pages about the goals of the personal statement, this article is about choosing a personal statement topic. Therefore, we will limit our advice to two short tips:

Your first goal, if possible, is to be as unique as you can. Make yourself standout from the thousands of applicants.

Your second goal should be to tell a good story that makes the reader like, respect, or admire you. You do this by only writing about one or two interesting experiences. You do not do this by simply retyping your entire resume.

For more personal statement tips, read: How to Write a Great Personal Statement.

Law School Personal Statement Ideas

Gradvocates has compiled a list of personal statement ideas. Please note that some topics won’t be applicable to you. For example, if you have absolutely zero interest in public-interest law, then do not write about how you want to get a law degree to help make the world a better place.

Spark and solidification: This topic involves writing about what sparked your interest in becoming a lawyer. Explain the steps that you took to explore that interest. Put particular emphasis on the event that solidified your desire to attend law school.

Desirable Qualities: This topic involves writing about one or two of your best qualities and then providing examples of these qualities through one or two experiences. For example, if you assert that you are “hardworking,” then you could write about how you worked and went to school full time during college. If your quality is “a desire to serve your community,” then you can write about specific things that you accomplished that show that quality. The quality you talk about should have some sort of connection to the practice of law. For example: hardworking, perseverance, serving your community, or leadership.

Overcoming Difficulty: This topic involves writing about difficulties that you have overcome in your life. If you choose this topic, you must make it clear that the experience fostered specific qualities in you that make you a good fit for law school.

First-hand injustice: This topic involves writing about an injustice that you witnessed or experienced and how it made you want to become a lawyer, so you can help change the status quo. Be careful, as this topic can come across as extremely cliché. If you choose this topic, then it is not sufficient to just explain the injustice and how you want to advocate for those affected by it. Make it clear why specifically becoming a lawyer, as opposed to a counselor or volunteer, is necessary to help out. You must also realize that this is a personal statement, and so you cannot just write an essay on a social problem. Be sure to include your own thoughts and feelings.

Change of Careers: This topic is for older applicants who have been working in a different career for several years before realizing that they want to attend law school. Write about what your previous career involved and what exactly made you want to pursue law instead. For example, applicants in this category may be scientists who want to practice intellectual-property law, or a teacher who wants to work to reform the education system (this latter example overlaps with “First-hand injustice” discussed above). Another real example involves a firefighter who decided to obtain a law degree after successfully representing himself in a multi-million dollar lawsuit again his municipality for employment discrimination.

If You Will Apply Next Cycle…

If you will not apply to law school for another cycle, please be sure to read: Engineering Your Personal Statement Topic: Do Something Worth Writing. That article explains that if you absolutely do not have anything to write about, you can actually use the time from now until you apply to law school to choose impressive experiences that you will write your personal statement around. You can essentially come up with a great personal statement idea and make it happen, so you don’t find yourself in this situation when you are ready to apply.

We hope that his article has served as a great starting point for writing your law school personal statement. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help you in any way.

For the last several months, law school applicants have strenuously studied for the LSAT. Countless hours have gone into learning the specific tips and tricks that will guarantee them an impressive score.

Many have focused so much effort on the LSAT, that they will forget to scrutinize their law school applications for errors.

The Gradvocates Editing Team has compiled a checklist to assist you in this undertaking and to help you avoid becoming an application “horror story” that we too often read about online.

Have You Meticulously Reviewed Your Personal Statement?

According to the University of Chicago Law School, “Your personal statement is also a writing sample, so make sure that it is flawless and eloquent . . . It goes without saying that typos in personal statements are very bad.”

This is why it is crucial to proofread and edit your personal statement. We find that errors are more noticeable on paper than on the computer screen, and so we recommend printing two or three copies of your personal statement—one for yourself to read and the others for trusted family members or friends to review. Check not only for spelling and grammatical errors but also for coherency and purpose. Every word that you say should bring meaning to the reader and bring him or her one step closer to understanding the point of what you are trying to convey. Stray sentences can distract the reader and even inject doubt about your candidacy.

In addition, you should double check page limits for each law school to which you apply. Most schools require a personal statement that is no longer than two pages and some even limit your personal statement to 500 words. Some schools allow more or require less. Know the requirements for each law school and edit your personal statement accordingly. We recommend organizing this information into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to ensure compliance. Failing to follow the school’s application rules, although not always a cause for rejection, will certainly not impress the admission committee. The benefit of a few extra words is not worth the risk.

You should also be aware that your personal statement should not be a mere regurgitation of your resume. If it is, then we recommend that you dedicate the next few days to narrowing your personal statement by developing an overall theme that is demonstrated by only one or two items on your resume. Also make sure that your personal statement does not explain why your LSAT score or GPA is low—this is much more appropriate in an a separate addendum. Click here for law school addendum tips.

Finally, many students tailor personal statements to each school that they apply. This is a practice that we usually recommend; however, you should always double check that you are sending the right version to the right school. Sending a Columbia Law personal statement to Georgetown Law by accident is not a good thing. At best, such an error may be corrected with a letter to the law school explaining your mistake and asking that they accept a replacement personal statement. At worst, it could result in an automatic rejection. Double check every personal statement that you attach and avoid being put in this situation completely.

If you need inexpensive assistance with your personal statement, visit our Law School Personal Statement Editing service. In addition to correcting grammar and spelling issues, we evaluate the content of your personal statement, providing you with objective analysis on how the members of law school admission committees might react to what you have written.

You may also want to consider the following articles: How to Write a Great Personal Statement and Common Personal Statement Errors

Have You Checked to Make Sure All Requested Letters of Recommendation Have Been Received By LSDAS?

Because letters of recommendation are not a mandatory aspect of the LSDAS, their system will allow you to submit your applications without any letters of recommendation at all. This is why it is important to double check that LSAC received every letter of recommendation that you are expecting.

If all of your letters are not marked as “received” on LSDAS, you should first contact your recommender to make sure he or she has sent your letter of recommendation. If your recommender has, you should contact LSAC directly to see why they have not yet processed it. If LSAC needs you to resubmit your letter of recommendation, ask them if you can have your recommender fax it to them in order to expedite the process.

Have You Reviewed Your LSDAS Academic Summary Report for Accuracy?

Make sure that the registrar of every undergraduate institution that you attended has sent your transcript to LSDAS. Once they do so, it is important to view the digital version of your LSDAS Academic Summary Report to make sure there are no errors.

Have You Purchased LSDAS Reports for Each Law School You Will Apply To?

You must purchase an LSDAS report for each law school that you are applying to, even if your application fee was waived at that school. Your applications will not be transmitted until you do so.

Finally, Do Not Stress About Submitting Your Application in December (if you need to)

Although it is ideal for law students to apply by Thanksgiving because of the concept of “rolling admission,” many students have a misunderstanding of what exactly rolling admission means. These students think that law school admission committee members are waiting around to immediately review applications once they are submitted, giving them the thumbs up or the thumbs down much like Commodus in the movie Gladiator.

In reality, most admission committees review applications in batches as opposed to a one-to-one basis. Although applicants who applied in October or November may already know whether they have been accepted, there are still plenty of spots open that have been reserved for the December batch of applicants. Be confident in your application and do not stress about applying a little late.

Nonetheless, after receiving your LSAT score, you should plan to have all your applications submitted as soon as possible.

We wish you luck with the rest of your applications! Please let us know if we can help you in any way.

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”
-Benjamin Franklin

Saturday Morning Crisis: “What Should I Write My Personal Statement About?”

My phone rings suspiciously early on a Saturday morning.  After reeling in my Blackberry by its power cord, I finally find the courage to confront the blinding light of the phone’s screen.  Caller I.D. reveals that it is my cousin.  As a junior in college, he is in the process of studying for the LSAT so that he can apply to law school next fall.  I have a feeling that I know exactly why he is calling.

“Mike, I know it’s early, but can I ask you a question?”

“Is it about the LSAT or applying to law school?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

He proceeded to ask me what he should write his law school personal statement about.  He explained that he believed that his work experience wasn’t impressive enough, especially because he had never worked in any legal capacity.  All he had was a strong interest in criminal law, one year of mock trial experience, and a handful of undergraduate “pre-law” courses.

I tried to help him brainstorm ideas; however, he was convinced that he didn’t have enough to write about.  But with over nine months left before he had to submit his law school applications, I knew exactly what advice I should give him.

You’re the Hero of the Story! Choose From 40 Possible Endings.

Many clients tell us that they have nothing interesting to write about.  This is usually not true, and we have had great success with helping applicants realize how they can use their existing experience to write an excellent personal statement.  This is the “write something worth reading” part of Benjamin Franklin’s quote above.

But what if you really feel that you have absolutely nothing interesting or relevant to write about?  This is where the “do something worth writing” part of the quote comes in.

You may remember choose-your-own-adventure books from your childhood.  The idea behind these books was that you were the hero of the story.  While reading, you could, in a sense, write the rest of the story.  You were in control of your own fate as the story progressed.

This concept of controlling your own fate applies equally to writing your personal statement.  Your personal statement is not limited to your past experience.  In fact, it can be whatever you want it to be.  If you have a few months before you have to submit your applications, then you can “choose your own adventure” by using this time to gain additional experience that you can write about in your personal statement.

Finding Something Worth Writing About

Step One: Develop a Theme

You have decided to seek additional experience to write about in your personal statement.  Before you can do this, it is critical that you develop a theme that connects your future experience to your desire to gain admission to college, graduate school, or law school.

For example, after brainstorming with my cousin, we were able to come up with an excellent theme that connected his past experience, his future experience, and his desire to attend law school.

Here is the outline of his personal statement:

• Our uncle is a police officer, which piqued his interest in criminal justice.
• For this reason, he pursued a criminal justice major in college with the intention to ultimately become a police officer.
• While taking criminal law classes at college, he became extremely interested in the legal side of criminal justice.
• He joined his school’s mock trial team, which he had a natural talent for.
• Future Experience: he will obtain an internship with his county’s prosecutor’s office or a local criminal defense attorney, which will tie all of his past experience together and undoubtedly explain why he wants to attend law school.

Here are other examples of themes and their corresponding future experience:

• Want to write about why you want to pursue public interest law?  Spend one day per week for the next six months volunteering at a free legal clinic.  Share a story about one particular client’s legal problems, how the clinic improved his life, and how this solidified your desire to help others.
• Want to write about why you want to go to business school?  Start a simple business and then write about how that experience gave you unique insight into the challenges and rewards of being an entrepreneur.
• Want to write about why you want to study journalism in college?  Volunteer to write for your local independent newspaper.

Step Two: Realize that Your Theme Isn’t Binding

Although my cousin is currently passionate about studying criminal law, he asked me what would happen if he later changed his mind about his preferred area of law.

The secret is that, as long as your experiences are legitimate, no one will ever hold you to what you write in your personal statement.  If you change your mind about your career, major, or area of specialty, no one will ever say, “Wait a minute, he wrote about being interested in criminal law, but now he is interested in employment law?  Rescind his law school admission!”

You have the right to change your mind.  Pick a good, plausible theme that makes sense, even if you have doubts that it will be your ultimate passion.

Step Three: Get the Experience

Experiences must, of course, be legitimate and listed on your resume.  So how do you go about getting the internship, job, or volunteer position that you need to complete your personal statement?  You can start by mailing out physical mailings with a cover letter, resume, and a list of references.

There are two things true about most professionals:  1) they love to mentor those who are interested in their career, and 2) they love free help.

After mailing these items out, it is imperative that you follow up with a phone call asking if they received your resume.  If there are no paid positions available, state your desire to volunteer one day per week to gain experience.

You should also use your network to try to find your desired position.  Are you still in college?  Contact your school’s career counseling center.  Are you in any professional clubs?  See if any members know of anyone whom you can work for.  Did you do well in any relevant courses?  Ask that professor if he or she can help you out.

Capitalize on Other Benefits

In addition to providing you with something to write about in your personal statement, gaining more experience can benefit you in other ways.  You can list the experience on your resume, and you can also get a letter of recommendation from the person who supervised or hired you.

More importantly, you will have made professional contacts in the field that you may ultimately work in.  These people can serve as mentors as you pursue your degree.  They may also be able to help you secure summer or post-graduation employment.

Hopefully this article has provided you with a plan of attack if you have absolutely no clue what to write about.  Remember that there is still time and that your personal statement can be whatever you want it to be.  And if you need help along the way, Gradvocates is here to help.

The Gradvocates Editing Team was surprised to find that over 75% of the personal statements that we have edited had at least one of following errors in it. Accordingly, we decided to write a blog post to inform the rest of you of what to avoid.

Please note that all of the “incorrect” words or phrases below are not actually incorrect in everyday use. Most dictionaries will even tell you that it is acceptable to use them in the way that we are telling you not to use them.

So you might ask, “Why even read this article then?” Two important reasons:

1) Although they might be correct in everyday use, they are incorrect in academic writing. As you probably know, your personal statement should be as formal as possible.

2) The audience for your personal statement is composed of, in part, highly educated professors who spend a significant amount of their time writing scholarly pieces. They will easily spot grammatical errors, which may negatively affect how your personal statement is received.

“Although” versus “While”

• Incorrect: While you may be right on the first issue, you are wrong on the second issue.
• Correct: Although you may be right on the first issue, you are wrong on the second issue.
• Proper usage of “while”: While he was on the phone, he missed an important phone call.

If you couldn’t tell from the examples, “while” is a temporal word, meaning that it relates to a length of time. Specifically, it should be used to describe concurrent events—things that are happening at the same time.

In this context, “although” is for giving concessions, and it is the word that you should use.

“Because” versus “Since”

• Incorrect: Since he needed money, he asked the bank for a loan.
• Correct: Because he needed money, he asked the bank for a loan.
• Proper usage of “since”: He hasn’t gone to the library since last week.

As demonstrated by the examples, “since” is a temporal word used to indicate the passage of time.

“Because” is used to introduce a reason why something is a certain way or why something happened. In this context, it should be used instead of “since.”

Bonus: the phrase “due to” should generally be avoided when “because” can be used.

“To” versus “In Order To”

• Incorrect: He reviewed the course book in order to determine what classes he had to take.
• Correct: He reviewed the course book to determine what classes he had to take.
• Proper usage of “in order”: They were lined up in order from shortest to tallest.

The words “in order” are redundant. Simply omitting them gets you a concise and formally correct sentence. As we have indicated in the above example, “in order” should generally be used for sequential or grouping purposes

Hopefully this article has shed some light on these common writing mistakes. Avoid them! Although they are not incorrect, they can undermine your credibility as a writer.

In the United States, résumé usually refers to a summary document of one’s professional and academic experiences and skills relevant to the type of employment an applicant is seeking.  This employment can be in either the private or public sector but is usually for non-academic positions.  For entry-level positions, the résumé in most cases should be no longer than one page.  A résumé is tailored to each specific position being applied to, leaving out non-relevant experiences and limiting the scope of the document to relevant professional and academic work completed in the past ten years.

In the United States, curriculum vitae (CV) may refer to a document that lists not only all professional and academic experiences but also all published articles, periodicals, reviews, journals, presentations, publications, honors, awards, affiliations, patents, and research experience going back further than the past ten years.  This document is mainly used when applying for accredited, academic, research, scientific and other educational and licensed authoritative positions as well as when applying for grants, assistantships, and fellowships.  The length of this document is usually much longer (three pages or more) as it is a much more all-inclusive document of your academic and research achievements as well as your experience and skills.

In other parts of the world, résumé and curriculum vitae (CV) are used interchangeably.  In other countries when asking for a curriculum vitae (CV), an employer may want you to include your marital status, gender, ethnicity, nationality, date of birth, sexual orientation, religious background, and other information that is considered private, inappropriate to ask for, and against the law in the United States due to anti-discrimination statutes.

Even in the United States, the terms résumé and curriculum vitae (CV) are starting to become more synonymous than in the past, so it is good to check with the employer or institution you are applying to what the specific requirements are for the document in question.  For example, many law schools will not ask for a résumé and some may even tell you not to send one; however, unless specifically asked not to send a résumé, sending a law school résumé is a good idea.  In general, law school résumés should be no longer than one page in length and should mirror the entry-level position résumé format while including as much experience that can be directly related to law school as possible.  Other graduate and post-graduate programs may require the longer, more in-depth curriculum vitae (CV) structure.  The point is different types of educational institutions and organizations will have different parameters regarding what credentials need to be on your résumé or curriculum vitae (CV), so be sure to verify what type of content will be expected with the specific program for which you are applying whether either term is used.  With some research, you may find that even though their website calls for a curriculum vitae (CV), they may only really want a one-page résumé or vice versa.

Make a Good First Impression by Hooking the Reader’s Attention

You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
—Source Unknown

Members of admission committees are charged with the responsibility of reading thousands of personal statements. This is both a daunting and boring task. You can, however, use this to your advantage by hooking the reader’s attention with an extremely interesting and well-written introduction. After reading dozens of mediocre personal statements, your exciting introduction will be a refreshing treat and will induce the reader to read the rest of your personal statement with enthusiasm.

Do Not Start or End with a Quote or Cliché

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.
—Judy Garland

We are aware that we started this section with a quote; however, we are not writing a personal statement. Admission committee members do not want to hear wise words of wisdom from some author, politician, or celebrity, and using such a quote does nothing to tell the reader about you. This is a personal statement; as such, it is critical that you write your own story in your own words. Furthermore, many schools impose word limits of 500 words or two pages. Do not waste valuable words with a quote that says nothing about you and that will only make the reader roll their eyes.

Be as Interesting and Unique as Possible

It’s pretty damn hard to bring your uniqueness into actual being if you’re always doing the same things as a lot of other people.
—Brendan Francis

This point is best demonstrated by two examples:

A friend asked us to read her personal statement, which was about how a role model inspired her to attend graduate school to pursue international relations. After reading her personal statement, we were perplexed at her topic choice. We asked her why she would write such a dull essay, which wasn’t even really about her, when she has spent much of her life living abroad in Europe and South America. She rewrote her essay, detailing her exciting experiences abroad and integrated them with her desire to study international relations.

Another example involves a client of ours when we were still operating under SimuGator Editing. She wrote a law school personal statement that rehashed her resume and only briefly mentioned that she had worked as a secretary at a law firm. Upon further inquiry, it turned out that she had worked at the law firm for two years where she gained invaluable experience in communicating with clients, handling discovery issues, and researching case law for motions. After advising her that she should write her personal statement about her job at the law firm, the experience that she gained, and why it compelled her to attend law school, our client took our advice and ended up with an impressive personal statement.

Don’t Ignore Word Limits or Write Too Much

The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.
—Thomas Jefferson

At most schools, word limits are not a suggestion. In addition to showing that you can follow basic rules, obeying the word limit will show that you can write succinctly and effectively. Ignoring word limits needlessly puts your application at risk.

Along the same lines, if your essay’s limit is two pages, then you should not change font size, spacing, or margins to bring your essay into compliance. Such manipulations are incredibly obvious and should be avoided.

Essays can be edited down to comply with the word requirement. It just takes a little creativity and an acceptance that every word you write is not golden.

Don’t Write Your Autobiography; Do Summarize Its Most Interesting Chapter

An autobiography is a book a person writes about his own life, and it is usually full of all sorts of boring details.
—Roald Dahl

One of the top personal statement problems occurs when applicants rewrite their resumes or try to summarize every one of their life experiences. Doing this is like trying to squeeze your entire autobiography into a short essay. We are sure that admission committee members would love to read your autobiography after you graduate from their school and become highly successful; however, now is not the time for that.

Trying to account for every life experience in a temporal manner is highly ineffective. Admission committee members already have your resume and transcript, which they have most likely looked at before turning to your personal statement. Instead of summarizing what they already know, take the opportunity to impress them with a story that is interesting and exciting to read, and then relate it back to why you would be a great student or good fit for the school that you are applying to.

So you have to write your personal statement, but about what exactly?

“I’m great. The End.” ­­­­If it were only that easy, you wouldn’t be reading this.  First things first:

Breaking Writer’s Block

(Photo Source: skidrd)

We all have it. It happens.  Usually, the time we set aside to finish a task like writing a personal statement or essay isn’t the same time that our creative juices are flowing.  Duly noted, now what? I go into more detail about writer’s block in How to Overcome Writer’s Block; however, now, the most important thing to do is to think about your process for writing.  It is much easier to come up with ideas once you have the groundwork laid out for the structure of your personal statement.

Personal Statement Structures (Examples)

Short Narrative (Single Experience):

Now, I’m not saying you need an outline. It is always helpful, but that isn’t what I mean by structure.  What I mean by structure is the angle at which you approach your writing.  For instance, you can write in a narrative style about a particular situation that demonstrates your best personal and professional qualities.  Maybe a company or firm you worked for, a volunteer organization or a business you started might provide a single set of succinct events that contain all the attributes you want to relay to the readers of your personal statement.

Personal Statements are short, so this approach of using a single set of interconnected events which create a concise narrative really takes full advantage of the limited space provided if done properly.  This method will allow you to give interesting details about a certain experience you would otherwise not be able to tell.  It is also an exceptional method for capturing a reader’s attention because inherently everyone enjoys a good story (key word being “good” in that previous sentence.)  A dull story will not help you.

Brief Experience-Building Chronological Timeline (Multiple Experiences):

Sometimes, you just do not have an experience that lends itself to being made into a short daytime Made-for-TV movie like the previous example, meaning it will not translate well into a narrative about a single situation.  In this case if you want to include multiple experiences in your personal statement, you should try the chronological experience-building timeline approach.  Using this method, you will show the reader what led you to the path you are on now, demonstrating reasons for your intentions along the way.  This timeline will not only include what you have done in the past and what you are doing now but also what you plan to do in the future with your degree while you are in school as well as after you graduate.

You will want to start with the first experience that logically began the path you are on now.  You do not want to start with: “Well, I was born, and then I went to grade school, junior high, high school, had my first job, blah, blah, blah…”  This is not interesting and is too much information.  Your personal statement must be short and to the point.

You also do not want to restate your resume; although, using this method, it might be tempting to do so.  Nevertheless, remind yourself that not everything on your curriculum vitae is relevant to the program you are applying to now.  Nor does it really make clear exactly what you got out of those experiences.  Using a brief experience-building timeline will not only show why you initially were interested in each step and what you got out of it but also how it led to the next logical step (aka your next experience on your chronological timeline).

So you might be asking: “Does this mean I need to include every job or experience that might have happened during that period of time?”  The answer is clearly no.  Realistically, for this type of personal statement, you want between two and four worthwhile experiences that transition into each other in a believable manner and all lead to where you are now in your decision to apply.

An example of this could be as follows in your brainstorming outline:

Experiences to use in personal statement about pursuing a law degree to practice intellectual property law in the maritime industry:

1. Life Guarding – became interested in people’s safety swimming in the ocean at a young age because I knew someone that almost drowned (or my brother was a life guard, etc.)
2. Volunteer Coast Guard – wanted to learn more about seafaring vessels while saving lives and doing my part as a volunteer.
3. Sailing Club – as an undergraduate engineering student I became interested in the design of ships and their propulsion technology.
4. Law Firm – as a legal assistant I worked for attorneys specializing in nautical technology patents, sparking my interest in law, and leading me down the path to becoming a lawyer to pursue intellectual property litigation in the maritime industry.

This example clearly shows the logical steps in the candidate’s path towards going to law school as well as what he wants to pursue during law school and on into his professional career afterward.  Your experiences might not be as clear cut, but many scenarios can work using this method.  The key is that the experiences mentioned build upon each other and lead the reader to believe not only will you be interested in the program for which you are applying but also that you have some experience in related fields.

Theme-Based Personal Statement (Multiple Experiences):

This type of personal statement is self-explanatory.  It can make use of personal as well as professional experiences.  They just all need to be wrapped together under one theme.  There are many themes to choose from such as: personal perseverance over hardships (e.g. financial, family/friend illness or death, prejudice, handicap, etc.), focus of interest (e.g. particular hobby, volunteer work, industry, craft, idea, etc. that can be related to the program or field to which you are applying in a meaningful way), innovative thinking (i.e. how attending the program you are applying for will help you achieve creating an innovative process, device, business, etc.), and many others.

Themes do not have to have any chronological order to their events; however, you may want to organize your ideas chronologically if that makes the most sense.  If not, you should order your experiences in a way that best supports your main theme.

These are just a few methods for structuring a personal statement.  They are not totally exclusive to each other, and they are not an exhaustive list.  They do and can overlap if the writer wishes so; however, they are a starting point for thinking about ideas to use to build your personal statement.  It is kind of like creating a sketch of a painting with a pencil and then filling it in by painting over it, using the lines as a guide to get you started.

Writing isn’t easy many of the times we sit down to write.  Overcoming writer’s block at the time that we have it can seem near impossible.

Here are a few tips to help you conquer your creative woes:

Find the locations where you feel the most creative

Stuck in your house with annoying children, siblings, parents, grandparents, roommates, soon-to-be ex-significant other, etc.?  This may be a massive part of why your thoughts are feeling like concrete slabs strapped to your feet at the bottom of a lake.  Untie your feet and float to the surface for some fresh air in a new environment where your mind can be clear from distractions.

If you have kids, try to do your writing when they are asleep or at school or have someone look after them while you seek refuge in a place that will help you be more creative.  For anyone else, tell them that you are heading to the library to do some research even if you are heading someplace else to find your muse.

The key is to get away from the people and places that clog up your mind with distracting emotions and thoughts whether positive or negative.  You have to get what you are writing done, so they should be able to understand that you need room to think.  Whether it be in the library, a coffee shop, a computer lab, or even a different room in your home, having peace and quiet is vital to creativity.  You may even find switching up the locations where you work can help you be more creative.  Try to find what works best for you and stick with it.  Try a few different places to do your writing, but once you burst through the writer’s block wall, stay in that place until your creative juices stop flowing once again and then move on to the next spot.

Find the times of day you feel most creative and write down ideas

You may not want to write your entire essay while you are in the shower in the morning, but if that is where you think of all your great ideas, you may want to keep a pen and paper on the sink counter.  You may not even be conscious of these times.  If this is the case, try to go through your normal routine one day and make note of all the times you are feeling particularly creative.  The next day you should bring some method of recording your thoughts and ideas during these time periods.  Having a notepad, PDA, smartphone, voice recorder, or laptop readily available during these times can make a huge difference.

With all the ideas you have recorded during these creative peaks of your day, you can now begin the brainstorming and writing process without having to start from scratch. (Note: some examples of these creative peaks are right before bed, right when you wake up and certain idle times during the day like commuting when you aren’t doing analytical or conscious decision-making.)

Ask someone who knows you for help with ideas

This may seem obvious, but it is often overlooked.  You may not remember times or events that would make good writing material, but a friend, family member, or coworker might.  Don’t be shy about it.  If writing this essay is important enough to you, you should ask for help at least with ideas.  Thinking of a few ideas does not take much effort on another person’s part, and if they can’t or won’t, try someone else that is familiar with you and your experiences.  You may also want to consult someone that has written the same essay or personal statement for a similar program.

Take a break

If you are tired, burnt out, or just not being productive, taking a break and coming back later can help the writing process.  Not everyone can get their writing done in one sitting, and many times it is preferable to stop work and come back at a time when you can review what you have written with a fresh perspective.  You will be biased towards what you have just written.  Taking a break can help you revise your essay or come up with new ideas to expand upon it.  It will also give your mind time to subconsciously mull over the ideas of your essay.  The term “sleep on that thought” was created for just this reason.

Eat something healthy

There are supplements like Ginkgo Biloba, Siberian Ginseng (also known as Eleuthero Root), Ginger, Fish Oil, Gotu Kola, and Ashwagandha Root that can help with brain function; however, just eating some fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole grains can really help you in the right direction.  Eat a banana, blueberries, or an apple.  The potassium and magnesium in the banana along with the B vitamins in the blue berries and the quercetin in the apple all help with brain function, energy, and alertness.  Eat some salad with various colored vegetables, and eat a piece of whole grain bread.  Ditch the fast food and soda.  Caffeine may keep you awake and the food may taste good late at night, but the crash from the caffeine and your hypoglycemic reaction to sugary soda and starchy take-out will leave you feeling even more tired than before.

It is difficult to think when you are hungry and even more difficult when you feel like you are about to fall asleep.  That’s why eating right while you are writing can make a real difference in the way your body and mind function.  Keep this in mind for those times where a late night snack at a fast food joint may seem both delicious and necessary to keep your writing process chugging along.

Update: Gradvocates is pleased to offer Law School Addendum Editing

An addendum is a useful addition to an application when used in the correct circumstances. This short document of one to three paragraphs should only be used to explain legitimate reasons for weaknesses in your application. An addendum is optional but should be clearly titled ADDENDUM if used. This will prevent any confusion between your addendum and your personal statement or essay by the reader of your application. Remember, an addendum is only necessary to explain any weaknesses in your application for which you have a legitimate reason.

The following are examples of weaknesses that would be appropriately addressed in an addendum by a satisfactory reason (See second list below):

1. Low standardized test score that under normal circumstances would be significantly higher
2. An undergraduate GPA that does not accurately represent your true academic abilities
3. An unusually low letter grade in a certain class
4. A withdrawal or extended absence from school
5. An extended period of unemployment (if far-removed from undergraduate or graduate school)
6. Any sort of criminal record

This is not an exhaustive list of weaknesses for which you might want to write an addendum. The key is to pinpoint the glaring holes in your application that if left unexplained would raise significant doubt in an admissions council member as to your worthiness as an applicant. If you are trying to explain away minuscule weaknesses in your application with an addendum, this may backfire. Admissions council members may have thousands of applications to sift through. Not only does this make application readers focus on weaknesses they otherwise may have glossed over, but it also aggravates them for having wasted their time reading an additional unwarranted addendum. Only provide as much information as necessary. Too much information will not make admission board members happy and will most likely be seen as a negative aspect of your application.

You may be wondering: What are some legitimate reasons for having gaps or weaknesses in your application?

The following are some examples of legitimate reasons to write an addendum:

1. Death or extended severe illness to a family member or relative
2. Severe personal illness or injury over an extended period of time or that required hospitalization
3. Documented physical, mental, or social disability or disorder
4. Financial hardship
5. Military service (combat deployment, reserve call-up, etc.)
6. Vehicular accident
7. Extenuating circumstances regarding standardized tests (e.g. – a history of bad performance on standardized tests that do not act as good indicators of academic success)

These are not a comprehensive set of justifiable reasons for glaring weaknesses on your application. The main point is to recognize what an admissions council member would regard as a permissible reason for a weakness. Also, try to remember that the context of your reason and weakness have to match. Stating that you missed classes for an extended period of time because a relative died might work if you missed all your classes during that period; however, if you just missed one of your classes but was able to attend all others, this may not seem as legitimate a reason as it should be. Also, trying to explain away glaring weaknesses with reasons that seem illegitimate may hurt you even more than if left unexplained, so do not write an addendum unless you have a good reason (in the eyes of an admissions board member) to explain a significant weakness.

Military service (combat deployment, reserve call-up, etc.)