Personal Statement - Why Law?

[Timmy23]

For the PS, how important (in terms of how much space you'd devote) is the question of "why law school"? My PS is structured around a personal narrative (cultural/religious diversity) and includes how it would help me succeed as a lawyer, as well as a bit about why I'd like to attend each school I'm applying to. 

How much space should I be allocating to explaining why I'd like to go to law school? I feel as though I've seen a lot of personal statements (or people talking about theirs) in which it wasn't even mentioned.... any advice is appreciated!

[Phaedrus]

Take what I say with a grain of salt as I am not on, nor have I ever been on an LSAC. IMO, however, I think dedicating more than a few sentences is a waste of limited space. Personal statements should indeed weave a narrative that explains how law and your expected use of the degree will further your journey (which may or may not include some sort of social mission). From my experience, it's sufficient to loosely explain why you're applying to a specific school. The truth of the matter is that most applicants are rapid firing packages to at least 3-5 institutions so, sure, UofT might be someone's #1 pick, but you're going to say every school is your top choice for the sake of getting in. Everyone's playing this game and everyone knows it. 

When I was applying to law schools, I used maybe three sentences to explain why the specific  school was of interest to me. It read something like this: For my strong belief in developing a sense of community and accommodating diversity, I believe that I would be an excellent fit for the [insert University]. Having lived in [region] for [length of time] I have observed the devotion that [insert university] has to providing superior education and developing inclusiveness and spirit across [wider geographic region] and Canada. I anticipate that my involvement at [university] will be another defining experience that will unquestionably prepare me to be an active member of my geographic, moral, and legal community. 

You'll have a different approach, and a different reason for applying to your school. The point of the above is to demonstrate precisely how throw-away the exercise is; reference notable alumni, mention some initiative the school supports, and ham up the fact that you want to join the their esteemed ranks. Seriously, don't over think it. 

[RIP-Joel]

1 hour ago, Phaedrus said:

Take what I say with a grain of salt as I am not on, nor have I ever been on an LSAC. IMO, however, I think dedicating more than a few sentences is a waste of limited space. Personal statements should indeed weave a narrative that explains how law and your expected use of the degree will further your journey (which may or may not include some sort of social mission). From my experience, it's sufficient to loosely explain why you're applying to a specific school. The truth of the matter is that most applicants are rapid firing packages to at least 3-5 institutions so, sure, UofT might be someone's #1 pick, but you're going to say every school is your top choice for the sake of getting in. Everyone's playing this game and everyone knows it. 

When I was applying to law schools, I used maybe three sentences to explain why the specific  school was of interest to me. It read something like this: For my strong belief in developing a sense of community and accommodating diversity, I believe that I would be an excellent fit for the [insert University]. Having lived in [region] for [length of time] I have observed the devotion that [insert university] has to providing superior education and developing inclusiveness and spirit across [wider geographic region] and Canada. I anticipate that my involvement at [university] will be another defining experience that will unquestionably prepare me to be an active member of my geographic, moral, and legal community. 

You'll have a different approach, and a different reason for applying to your school. The point of the above is to demonstrate precisely how throw-away the exercise is; reference notable alumni, mention some initiative the school supports, and ham up the fact that you want to join the their esteemed ranks. Seriously, don't over think it. 

I think the OP was asking about "why law school" in general. not "Why this specific law school". I think OP was asking about how much space should be dedicated to talking about why they want to practice law and why they want to attend law school (possibly because of a certain experience). 

[BlockedQuebecois]

2 hours ago, Phaedrus said:

LSAC

This is pedantic, but you’ve done it twice and it’s mildly annoying me, so I’m going to be pedantic. 

LSAC isn’t a generic abbreviation for a law school’s admission committee. LSAC stands for the Law School Admission Committee, which is a non-profit whose members are most Canadian, American and Australian law schools. LSAC is the organization that designs and administers the LSAT. 

When referring to an individual school’s admissions committee, most people abbreviate it as AdCom or AdComm. 

[Phaedrus]

11 hours ago, MA1199 said:

I think the OP was asking about "why law school" in general. not "Why this specific law school". I think OP was asking about how much space should be dedicated to talking about why they want to practice law and why they want to attend law school (possibly because of a certain experience). 

If it's in the general sense, then the question itself is problematic. Personal statements are, in and of themselves, about "why I want to go to law school: how I came to this decision and where law school will take me." The question then to me seems to be about how much a person wants to plainly say, "I want to go to law school because ...".  In this case, I'd borrow from my last post and again say that less is better and that those kind of sentences/statements can come across rigid, forced, or boring. No one expects the next Truman Capote, but the statement shouldn't read like a fillable spreadsheet or laundry list of reasons you chose to go to law school. 

Ideally, a person will demonstrate how their past education and experiences are connected to their present values, goals and desires, and will discuss why law school is the next stepping stone. Again, however, that connecting statement (why law school) will probably boil down to a throw-away statement about tradition, training or prestige, because that's what it's going to be for everyone applying. The value is in how a person's sold themselves, displayed confident ambition, and appreciates where school fits into the narrative, and it sounds like OP is probably doing this already. 

11 hours ago, BlockedQuebecois said:

LSAC stands for the Law School Admission Committee, which is a non-profit whose members are most Canadian, American and Australian law schools. LSAC is the organization that designs and administers the LSAT. 

You're right, and I appreciate the correction. 

[QueensDenning]

The single best piece of advice I got when writing my personal statement (and I think it holds for cover letters as well) is that the Adcoms (and in the future, employers) are looking to see what you can do for THEM, not the other way around. For a personal statement, that means communicating how your past experiences/interests/etc. will enable you to thrive in lawschool (generally, measured in terms of grades). In three years, will the school be able to brag about placing you on Bay Street, as a clerk, or with a prominent firm in whatever field of law? Because that’s what they’re trying to find out. Not sure how cultural/religious diversity fits in to that, but maybe you can make it work. 

[Rashabon]

Strong disagree, and I think it's in fact the exact opposite. Cover letters tend to focus on both sides, but the important part is what the person looking to be employed wants to get out of it. As a lawyer, I know what a student brings to the table - absolutely nothing. They are a lump of clay, useless until molded into a lawyer that can contribute. What can a law student credibly say they'll bring to a firm? It's always boiler plate bullshit.

I think likewise for personal statements. Schools admit hundreds of students. They are looking for what you can bring to the class they are admitting, but selling them on what "you can do for the school" is absurd. You can't do fuck all for a law school.

[CleanHands]

Schools have a good sense of the proportion of their class they place in various desirable roles, and given how much class rank/grades on a curve plays a role in such placements and how there aren't enough such jobs for everyone, there are bound to be winners and losers in that respect in every class of students admitted. Admissions committees aren't under any illusion that they need to vet every application with a mind to whether they are a potential future SCC clerk. If anything that approach is going to make an applicant look like an asshole and be counter-productive since the personal statement is a way to add a human touch to one's profile and make a person reading it want to admit you if your stats put you in the bubble.

[Thrive92]

I'll echo what others have posted above in saying that you really should not create your PS based on the belief that they are looking for what you as a student can bring to the table for the school. This may make you seem disingenuous which is a big no - no in a personal statement.

 

[QueensDenning]

54 minutes ago, Rashabon said:

Strong disagree, and I think it's in fact the exact opposite. Cover letters tend to focus on both sides, but the important part is what the person looking to be employed wants to get out of it. As a lawyer, I know what a student brings to the table - absolutely nothing. They are a lump of clay, useless until molded into a lawyer that can contribute. What can a law student credibly say they'll bring to a firm? It's always boiler plate bullshit.

I think likewise for personal statements. Schools admit hundreds of students. They are looking for what you can bring to the class they are admitting, but selling them on what "you can do for the school" is absurd. You can't do fuck all for a law school.

I don’t think I expressed my ideas well in my last post. When I say “what you can do for the school,” I mean that in the broadest of terms - basically can you show that you have potential. Your sentence about what you can bring to the class is a better way of putting it. If a class is filled with smart, interesting people that have varied experiences, it makes the law school experience more enjoyable and rewarding for everyone, which in turn directly helps the school as students become lawyers and speak highly of the school, donate etc. Same think goes for employers - I was referring to what you can do for them in terms of what you have the potential to do. 

[ZineZ]

I'm going to go ahead and disagree with some of what has been said in this post. For context, I sat on an admissions committee and reviewed a number of files while I was at law school. Not a massive number, but I did get some sense of what's looked at in the Osgoode context.

When my team reviewed admissions files, we'd look for a few different things - including the question of  "How would this person contribute to the law school?"  This generally centred on our goal of ensuring that we had a diverse/excellent student body. While we didn't really care about whether the person would somehow lead to greater donations/prestige for the law school after they finished (it's arguably impossible to figure out who will succeed/who will fail based on an application), the question of "would this person enrich our law school and their fellow students' experiences" was something we'd consider.

There is a way of framing this in an application, but please do be careful if you put it in (don't be full of yourself). If you see yourself participating in student government/being involved with committees/being involved with initiatives that benefit the local community , that could be great to put in there. It both shows an interest and a commitment to the school itself. Not enough that we'd have made a decision solely on that front, but if there were multiple competitive applications - it could make a difference. 

[abogada]

5 hours ago, Rashabon said:

I think likewise for personal statements. Schools admit hundreds of students. They are looking for what you can bring to the class they are admitting, but selling them on what "you can do for the school" is absurd. You can't do fuck all for a law school.

I think the only time my law school cared what I could do for the school is after I graduated and they started calling and asking me to donate money.