preLaw Magazine - Fall 2008 - (Page 38) world? Well, unless you have some way to convincingly explain that love, or that passion for utopia…that’s correct. You should not attempt a “standard puffy” essay. What they’re looking for is some indication of what type of lawyer you will be and the type of person you are. While this might seem like a tall order — how can thousands upon thousands of essays be “unique?” In reality it’s a taller order for them than for you. After all, you need to write just one. So, writing an essay about a childhood experience with, say, a grandparent and the impact that that had on you, and the reasons that affected your thinking about what the law is and should be—that might be more effective than a puffy “I wanna’ save the world” (…which is easy to read as “I really wanna’ make a lot of money but I’ll pretend to want to save the world.”) Now, don’t everyone write about your grandparents. It should be something unique to you. Something that, while it might and should strike a chord in anyone who reads it, is intensely personal. No one other than the committee (and whoever you ask) will read it. As with the LSAT, this is something you should take gravely seriously, and it is something you should want to be proud of. It should be an essay that will knock your socks off when you find it in a box fifty years later. Whom to ask? As to asking others to read your essay, it’s common to ask parents, family or friends to read your drafts. This is a mistake. Even if they are exceptional writers, Personal statement for the [Excerpt from “Later-in-Life Lawyers: Tips for the Non-Traditional Law Student,” by Charles Cooper] Perhaps the most important questions to be answered in a personal statement for the nontraditional applicant are “Why law?” and “Why now?” The “nontrad” may have had a significant and successful career, unique life experiences, and years’ distance from higher education—not to mention a mortgage, job and family. They thus have a somewhat different burden to explain why they wish to leave this stable life behind to incur significant debt and endure significant hardship in pursuit of a J.D. later in life. Instead of being satisfied with the typical well-written essay of a 21-year-old applicant, the nontrad applicant must provide a solid, well-reasoned explanation as to why law, why now, and perhaps why law was not the applicant’s original career. You may already have the answer: why else would you be applying to law school? The personal statement should not address this important question negatively. For instance, you may be thinking of law school because you dislike your current job. That’s not personal statement material. Put a positive spin on it. For example, highlight how the legal aspects of your job are intriguing and how you feel drawn to solving these legal problems instead of helplessly looking on. While answering this question might seem difficult, you should look upon it as a great advantage. The typical traditional applicant might not have as well-defined a reason to choose law school, whereas the nontrad applicant often has a definite, The view from our mountains is infinite. Top-ranked programs at the intersection of politics, law, science, and ethics prepare you for a future of change. Juris Doctor Master of Laws in Environmental Law Master of Laws in American Legal Studies Master of Environmental Law and Policy for the community and the world www.vermontlaw.edu 38 preLaw http://www.vermontlaw.edu http://www.vermontlaw.edu
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