…and was denied. NYU - Applied to RTK, but used my personal statement as my RTK essay. UPenn - Wrote Core Values Essay. Applied for Toll PI Scholarship and was denied. UVA - Nothing extra. Really considered writing a Why Virginia, but ultimately didn’t. Duke - Nothing extra. UMich - Wrote optional essay on meeting a…
Applicant wisdom
Advice applicants left on their LSD.Law profiles, searchable by topic, school, and stats.
34 entries matching "personal statement"
Admitted to University of Pennsylvania…Wrote books essay; one of “up to 500” invited to do video statement for Knight Hennessy but not selected as finalist (such a tease) Harvard interview: The most one-sided of all my interviews. I immediately felt good about it (told some friends I probably had a 9/10 performance), but then I fell into a downward…
Your personal statement is your gold. Also, I highly recommend doing social work or something adjacent to it prior to law school. You learn a ton about how the law interacts with vulnerable people at systemic and individual levels, and it makes for a great narrative. I think that’s what gave me the edge in…
your lived experiences matter. spend a long time contemplating about why law before you even start writing your personal statement. seek mentorship and pre-law pipelines. prepare for a least a year. meet with current students at the law schools and ask for advice.
…a formal “Why X,” you should be subtly tailoring your personal statement and other supplements to reflect the school’s culture, values, and resources. The goal is to give the reader an “aha” moment where it becomes obvious that you fit naturally into their community. Penn’s materials emphasize interdisciplinarity…
…to be able to write an artistic or intimate memoir as a personal statement if you don’t want to–especially if that’s not your style. Write with honesty and show schools how you got to where you are today, what your goals/values are, and why you’ll be a great lawyer. Good luck!
…the essays. Try out first drafts of different potential personal statement topics before you lock in on one. You want to find the topic you can not only write about in a compelling way, but that will showcase what you have to offer. And if you think waiting another year to apply will make a material difference in…
…Wrote Why Berkeley, Why Cornell Wrote Challenge/Adversity Statement at Penn, Columbia, Yale, Michigan Wrote library books essay at Stanford Only wrote one of the Duke prompts No optionals at Harvard, Chicago, NYU, UVA, UCLA, UGA, WashU, Bama I was invited to apply for the Dean’s Scholarship at Penn. I initially was…
…the LSAT at least once. Mentioned very briefly why NYU in personal statement. Wrote a pretty bad why duke and chicago, mediocre Cornell. Tried to be unique in my Stanford essays by trying to be funny. Feel I had great optionals for Mich, Berk, & Unique top 10 for Georgetown. Poured my heart out in my Why UVA Feel…
…softs that helped me write what I believe was a compelling personal statement. With a glut of 170+ scores this cycle and my below-median GPA, I think those factors got me over the line. My only other result before withdrawing was a priority waitlist at GULC, so there is not much more to share.
…applications I wrote most optional essays and felt that my personal statement was fairly impactful. I had three letters of recommendations from professors and supervisors who I know quite well. My undergad was a large public flagship university in the Great Plains and I had four majors (not the most challenging…
Bother every single one of your friends and your family members incessantly to read and re-read your personal statements and essays.
…would recommend choosing your schools, then tackling your personal statement, then working on other required and optional essays.- Do the optional essays if you can. I know lots of people talk about yield protection and getting waitlisted at “worse” schools than they think they deserve (although I think this mindset…
…this cycle, it was waiting so long to get started on my statements. I didn’t realize how much work it was going to be… I kept hearing that it’s okay to apply in Dec/Jan (and it is), but for me- personally, I regret this decision. I managed to apply to most schools by Dec/Jan but my decisions came later than others.…
…one of the unfortunate souls who took all of my LSATs in-person at the Brooklyn testing center (IYKYK) so I didn’t exactly have an optimal testing environment in August 2025 lol. Timing: For the 2026 cycle, I set a goal to have every single application done by Thanksgiving. I wouldn’t be opposed to applying to…
…fellowship, legal work experience, salient diversity statement I wrote Why Xs for UVA, Michigan, Duke, Northwestern, Cornell, and Berkeley. Resources I swear by: 7Sage (both the LSAT materials and the $10 admissions course), PowerScore Podcast, Spivey Podcast/blog. Reddit is great for before you apply. But please…
Your study break just got better: follow @lawschooldata on Follow @lawschooldata on TikTok & Instagram