This is a continuing series of blogs from our team of Admissions Consultants here at Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions, showcasing various facets of a candidate’s law school application. For the past few weeks, we’ve been focusing extensively on the personal statement. Click here for more information on Admissions Consulting from Kaplan, including our Personal Statement Review package.

If you’ve read the previous blog in this series, then you’re already aware of the key qualities of strong personal statements. As you go about incorporating these elements while you craft your own personal statement, you should also feel energized by the fact that admissions officers aren’t out to get you; they want to be on your side. It’s true!

Granted, they don’t yet know who you are. But many reviewers are secretly rooting for you, hoping that you’ve written a good statement, an interesting statement, a statement that will leave them saying, "Wow, what a unique and impressive applicant!" Unfortunately, as my colleague and fellow-blogger, Bill Corwin, has pointed out, in most cases they are sorely disappointed. Not only do most personal statements fail to meet the criteria of being "good," but they actually cross the line and into the realm of "bad" or even "ugly." Just how easy is it to craft an awful personal statement? Let me count the ways.

The nominees for this year’s worst of the worst personal statements are . . .

The Law-Breaker
Repeat after me: You have the right to remain seated while crafting an essay that follows the application guidelines. You do not have the right to violate these rules. Any personal statement that is found to be in a violation of these rules in the admissions court can be held against you. In short, if an application lists essay page limits, word limits, margin limits, font limits, or even character limits, follow these guidelines unless otherwise directed by an admissions officer at the schools in question. And, when in doubt about an application rule, make a 3-minute phone call to the admissions office to confirm the requirement. While there may be an admissions officer or two who are kind about overlooking a rule here or there, there are others – especially at the end of a long day after just having read dozens of awful essays – who will not be so forgiving. Also, don’t forget – you’re planning on becoming a lawyer, and it is expected that you will play by the rules. Don’t give reviewers an easy reason to downgrade your application.

The Writing Disaster
Typos, improper word usage, poor organization of paragraphs, and terrible punctuation. These are just a few of the key elements that make our next worst of the worst nominee one of the most well known bombs in admissions offices nationwide. This type of statement will sink the application even before the reviewer has finished reading it. Fortunately, for those who wish to avoid the writing disaster, there’s a simple solution. Proofread your statement and have a close friend or colleague with fresh eyes – one who hasn’t read lots of drafts – review it closely before submitting. The statement isn’t solely about content. The writing itself is important.

The Inappropriate Downer
Here’s an interesting personal statement intro for you: I have bad grades, I’m an awful test taker, and I have two convictions for drinking while driving – oh, and a summons for urinating in public, though not while I was actually driving the car. Had enough? Do you really think an admissions reviewer is going to approach your essay with a positive attitude after having read all that? Hmmm. Probably not.

Don’t get me wrong. It is possible and, in fact, advisable to explain these types of problems (if you have them). However, unless otherwise directed by the application rules, it is advised that you not do so in the personal statement, but rather in a concise addendum to the application. That doesn’t mean that you can never refer to a negative aspect of your background in the personal statement. For instance, a negative reference is simply going to be unavoidable when writing an essay about how you’ve grown or matured over the years. In this case though, the negativity should be kept to a minimum. For example, if you’ve overcome a life-threatening illness, it is absolutely fine to briefly discuss the obstacles and the bad times, but the focus should be much more on how you overcame than on how you were held back. Be upbeat. Be positive. Be inspiring. Don’t bring me down.

The No-Show
"I am Oz, the great and powerful." So said the Wizard of Oz in a deep booming voice meant to bolster his invincible aura in the face of any who might dare to even think about questioning his credentials or his power. I’m sure that most of you have seen the movie, but one thing that you may not know is that the Wizard ended up in Emerald City only after failing to get into any of the law schools to which he applied. One of the key mistakes that the Wizard made in the application process was his failure to show how he was great and powerful. Instead, he thought he could impress admissions officers simply by telling them he was in his personal statement. Take this lesson to heart.

One of the most important things that you will do in your personal statement is tell one or more concise stories that demonstrate critical aspects of who you really are and what makes you special. Simply telling readers that you are good, great or special will only get you so far – and in fact by simply telling without showing, you are likely to come across as arrogant, unfriendly, and just plain uncool.
Do you remember what happened to the Wizard of Oz at the end of the movie? Dorothy’s dog Toto went behind the curtain and exposed him for the fraud that he was. If admissions officers read an essay in which you say great things about yourself, but you don’t really provide stories that truly show this to be the case, they could very well conclude that there’s really nothing behind your curtain either – nothing but a hot air balloon that can’t even get Dorothy back to Kansas.

The Gimmick
I hope that you enjoyed my Wizard of Oz story. I shall now recite a poem.

My statement began with the story of me
A very young farmer with a poor family.
I worked and I worked and I turned things around
I built up my farm till I employed half the town.
I then mentored the homeless and sheltered them from the cold
I volunteered at the hospital and cared for the old
When the stock market crashed and the economy fell
I thought of the law as a way to make all well
With public interest my calling I submitted my file
Knowing that my application was better than others by a mile
But the competition was fierce and I lost by a nose
It turns out I’d have been admitted if I’d only written in prose.

Get the point? Don’t write a personal statement that relies on gimmickry. This includes framing your essay as a poem; a newspaper article written in the third person; a movie script; a stand-up comedy routine.

While the words of your statement should flow like poetry to one’s ears, you should not write an actual poem.

The Essay about your Mother
And now, in my grand finale on the worst of the worst personal statements, I would like to say a few words about your mother.

Actually, I’m not going to talk about your mother – nor should your mother be the focus of your personal statement. For that matter, neither should your father, brother, sister, cat, snake, or turtle. Now that doesn’t mean that you can’t include very brief references and examples in your statement about a person who has been the greatest inspiration in your life. That can be fine. Ultimately, however, the vast majority of the verbiage in your essay must be focused on you and your experiences – no matter how amazing the stories of those who inspired you may be.

Just imagine how sadly ironic it would be if you received word from admission officers that while they wouldn’t be admitting you to law school this year, they would like to see your mother’s application because she seems like she would be a stellar candidate. It’s not that admissions officers would ever actually send you such a request. Instead, they’d simply reject you – leaving your mom without any of the praise she deserved for the lead role in your essay and your life. If it’s any small consolation, your mother can be a supporting actor in the personal statement, but never ever the star.
This is your movie. This is your dream. It’s your turn to shine. Take it!

PS: Sorry mom, I made up the part about the Wizard getting rejected to law school. He was actually rejected because after completing the first version of his statement, which he sent to Harvard Law (where his grades and LSAT score simply weren’t up to par), he forgot to replace the Harvard name on the statements of the other schools to which he was applying. By the way, admissions officers don’t like that either. LOL.

This is a continuing series of blogs from our team of Admissions Consultants here at Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions, showcasing various facets of a candidate’s law school application. For the next four weeks, we’ll be focusing extensively on the personal statement. Click here for more information on Admissions Consulting from Kaplan, including our Personal Statement Review package.

What should you write about in your Personal Statement? Many admissions committees consider this the most important part of the law school application, so the pressure is on to pick an impressive topic. But what? Add to the mix that it can only be 2 ½ -3 pages, has to be well written and organized, may take the place of a face-to-face interview, needs to mention the school you are applying to, should show you to be uniquely qualified -but not be a replay of your Resume, and you’ve got fertile ground for writer’s block before you’ve even written your first word.

For over 15 years, I’ve been helping applicants with this question. Many had less than stellar numbers yet were accepted to great schools, most to the number one school of their choice, and I’m convinced it’s because of the impression they made with their essay. Here’s what I suggest to my clients:

1. Remember, it’s a "Personal" Statement. The reader genuinely wants to know about you, things they can’t see from your numbers or Resume. This can be tricky because we’re raised to be humble, not brag about ourselves.

2. Choose a topic/topics you can write about in very specific detail. By doing this, your own unique voice will shine through, your passion and enthusiasm will be "shown" and not "told", a theme will intrinsically emerge.

3. Emphasize your reactions/the impact the topic you are writing about made on you, rather than detailed descriptions of the event(s). Admissions committees are turned off by an essay that is simply your Resume minus the bullet marks.

4. Even the most fascinating topic is lost in sloppy organization and writing. Take the time to go through several drafts and make it flow logically and succinctly.

Here’s what I mean. A former client was struggling with her Personal Statement. She’d written about relevant undergrad academic experiences, but the essay fell flat. She wrote about her recent internship for a Senator in Washington, DC, but didn’t like it. I asked her what had made the biggest impression on her, what could she write about in the most detail. Her reply, "Well, I was in Future Farmers of America when I was in high school."

And so she wrote about keeping records as she raised and birthed pigs, how she showed the pigs at fairs, chaired committees, represented her chapter of FFA in large conventions. Her essay revealed law related skills such as, attention to detail, leadership, public speaking, responsibility, all while revolving around the theme of being a hard worker.

Not only was she accepted to several schools including her first choice, but one acceptance letter said, "We’d love to have you join our student body, but we don’t have any pigs here."

Now, that’s the unique impression you want your Personal Statement topic to make.

This is a continuing series of blogs from our team of Admissions Consultants here at Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions, showcasing various facets of a candidate’s law school application. For the next five weeks, we’ll be focusing extensively on the personal statement. Click here for more information on Admissions Consulting from Kaplan, including our Personal Statement Review package.

The personal statement is your chance to show the law school why you are the best applicant for them. You want to shine – in the stories you tell, in your reasons for wanting to go to law school, and in your writing skills. The reality is that if you have a straight-A grade point average and a perfect LSAT score, you don’t have to spend a lot of time worrying about your personal statement. On the other hand, if you know you’re in the borderline area, that’s where the personal statement becomes very, very important.

Most law schools are looking for an open-ended statement in which you can talk about any topic which you think will help the reader understand who you are and what you will bring to their law school. Some schools, however, have precise questions that they want you to address and it is important that you fully address them.

Concentrate on your opening paragraph - it is here that you grab the reader’s attention or lose it. This paragraph becomes the framework for the rest of the statement. Start with a story that shows unique characteristics that you possess or events that had a major impact on you. The middle part of the essay should be on how that story affected you, changed you, or inspired you. All of this will ideally lead to why you want to study law.

Keep in mind that although the law schools want to know why you want to go to law school, they do not expect you to have your law career planned out. The large majority of law school applicants are not clear as to what type of law they want to practice and will only figure it out after being in law school a couple of years. Do not force this part of the essay if you fall within that category. Instead, talk about a few different ways that you could see yourself in the law profession or write in a more general tone about the aspects of law that appeal to you.

TOP 12 RULES OF THE PERSONAL STATEMENT

1. DO strive for depth rather than breadth; narrow your focus to one or two themes, ideas, or experiences.

2. DO write well and correctly; proofread your essay and be meticulous. Adhere to stated word limits.

3. DON’T submit an expository resume; avoid merely repeating information that you’ve provided elsewhere in your application.

4. DO provide the reader with insight into what drives you–what makes you "tick."

5. DO be yourself rather than pretending to be the ideal applicant.

6. DON’T complain or whine about "the system" or about your circumstances in life.

7. DO get creative and imaginative, particularly in your opening remarks.

8. DO address the particular school’s unique features that attract you.

9. DON’T get on a soapbox and preach to the reader; while expressing your values and opinions are fine, avoid coming across as fanatical or extreme.

10. DO focus on the affirmative in the personal statement itself; consider using an addendum to explain deficiencies or blemishes.

11. DO evaluate your experiences rather than merely recounting them.

12. DON’T use a gimmicky style or format.

Follow these simple rules and your personal statement will shine.

This is the second in a continuing series of blogs from our team of Admissions Consultants here at Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions, showcasing various facets of a candidate’s law school application. Click here for more information on Admissions Consulting from Kaplan.

"Nailing Your Letters of Recommendation"

In recent weeks, there’s been a whole lot of hoopla over the incorporation of LSAC’s new "evaluation" service. But make no mistake about it: letters of recommendation (LOR’s) are, generally speaking, still the most important third-party references in the law school application process. How – you might ask – should you go about choosing your recommenders?

Call me a worrier, but based on nearly two decades of experience in writing such letters, as well as advising applicants on whom to select, the first thing that I strongly advise is that you create an initial list that contains at least one more recommender than you need. Every year, I hear from applicants who are either surprised when a potential letter writer says "no" to their request or are simply unable to track down or get a response from a chosen recommender. Quite frankly, you never know when you’re going to need a back-up.

Second, it is absolutely critical that you mainly consider individuals who have seen you in action – firsthand. Please don’t do what a student of mine once did and get your letter from one of the world’s leading businessmen – a household name – who had worked closely with his father for twenty years. Trust me. Having read a lot of these recommendations before, I can tell you that "I’ve seen Johnny at the company picnics for the past 10 years, and he’s a smart boy" just doesn’t work. In fact, if the quality of such a letter turns out to be not very good, your LOR strategy could actually backfire as it can indicate a serious case of bad judgment on your part.

My second point relates to the third: Consider individuals who are likely to not only write favorable letters, but strong, detailed letters of support, which include specific examples of your actions that they have seen firsthand. Admissions reviewers expect to read good letters – after all, you, the applicants, are personally choosing your letter writers. So, one would hope that they’re at least supportive. However, if you really want your application to shine, a strong, detailed letter, filled with examples that provide evidence of your strengths is crucial.

Fourth and finally, as you develop your list of recommenders, consider the context in which each potential letter writer has interacted with you. Most applicants who are currently attending a university or who have recently graduated should typically tilt their group of recommenders toward faculty members who have taught them. On the other hand, it is perfectly acceptable for applicants who have been out of school for a few years to weight their mix toward professional recommenders.

Despite these general guidelines, there is "not"— absolutely not – a one size fits all formula for creating your list of recommenders. And please don’t feel that you’ve got to choose recommenders who have all seen you in the same context. I’m especially talking to you, college students and recent graduates! Rather than submit four great letters from faculty, wouldn’t it be even better if you had at least one great letter in the mix from someone – such as, a community service organizer or an internship supervisor – who has seen you in action outside of academia?

By following the above pointers, you should find yourself with a clear path toward choosing the first recommenders for your Law School LOR list. But, wait a minute. Just because you’ve started to create a list – or in fact even if you’ve already created a list – it doesn’t mean that your job of thinking about LOR’s is over. You’ve still got important work to do!

Applicants usually don’t realize this, but the fact is that they can play an active role in the letter of recommendation process. Here are several specific steps that you can take to increase the likelihood of receiving stronger letters:

• Provide your recommenders with ample time – at least four weeks – to write their letters.
• Do not simply ask your supporters to write you "a letter of recommendation," but instead, ask if each will write you a "strong, detailed letter of recommendation." If a recommender asks, "What do you mean by strong?" it might be a good idea to look for a substitute.
• Make the process less burdensome for your recommenders by providing them with information about you that will make it easier for them to craft your letters. More specifically, be sure to present each supporter with:
• A cover letter that briefly explains why you are applying to law school and provides a heartfelt "thank you."
        ♦ Reminders of courses you’ve taken with them, grades, and even old course papers
           (with evaluations, if possible) for targeted faculty recommenders, and workplace
           evaluations for professional recommenders
        ♦ A copy of your resume
        ♦ University transcripts (if they are pertinent and show evidence of your academic abilities)
        ♦ The date by which each letter needs to be submitted (i.e., not a school’s actual deadline date,
           but ideally a date prior to the day that you will submit your application)

While the content within your LOR’s is ultimately in the hands of your letter writers, the process must be managed by you. Again, letters of recommendation are still an important part of the Law School Admissions decision. So, don’t just ask someone for a letter. Think this process through carefully, lay out a plan, and prepare your recommenders for action.

Law school admission deans place a lot of emphasis on "numbers", and, because law schools typically do not conduct interviews, the personal statement serves as the applicant’s "interview".   Considering how competitive these factors make the admission process, it’s critical that each applicant think strategically about what schools to apply to.  A common mistake occurs when an applicant builds the school list just by consulting school ranking lists, such as those found on-line or in magazines.  So much advertising ad publicity is given to rankings and marketing, it’s often difficult to separate fact from the PR sound bites. Even if you think you’ve identified the real story about a particular school - meaning you’ve dug around and gotten its bar passage and job placement rate at nine months post-graduation, these things aren’t the whole story.  Too often, law school applicants set their sights too narrowly when building their schools list.

Be flexible:
The more specific you are about where you’re willing to attend law school, the more you will limit your options. Often great applicants will limit themselves to a single metropolitan area when choosing a law school.  Some applicants get hung up on a specific geographic location- say they only want to be in New York City, or Boston, or DC, or California. While it’s certainly reasonable to keep geography in mind when thinking about where you eventually want to set up practice, you should still think broadly enough to give yourself real chances of securing an admission offer. There are many very fine law schools throughout the US. Take the time to investigate a range of great schools.

Know yourself:  what kind of law school setting is important to you?
As you’re already finding, the law school application process is highly competitive.  In turn, law students, in general, can be seen as also highly competitive. That said, there are varying degrees of competitiveness in law school. Some schools will place more emphasis on competition; indeed, in some schools, competition is nurtured mainly by the law students themselves, even though the administration might prefer the setting to be more congenial.  If you know you prefer a more collaborative, team-based environment, then look for a law school that has more of that "feel". Talk to admissions people; talk to faculty. But most important of all, reach out to current students and recent alumni to get their feedback about what kind of learning environment a school offers.  Maybe you thrive on competition; if so, you want to be sure this is valued at the school.  Know yourself and what you want, and get to know as much as you can about the schools you’re considering.

Find and use available resources:
The American Bar Association has a great resource available through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) web site. There, you can access school-specific information, including details about GPA and admission test scores for recently admitted classes at ABA-approved law schools. Check this out at http://officialguide.lsac.org/ One of the really cool features on this site is a link where you can enter your GPA and LSAT score and do a search to see how your numbers compare to those of recently admitted students at specific schools.  You can compare your numbers to the median, 25th and 75th percentiles of a recent entering class. This search feature will help you build your schools list. You can also access information about each school, to learn more about its educational mission and philosophy, and application and financial aid deadlines, etc. So plug in your numbers and get started on building a list of schools where it your numbers will give you a pretty good competitive edge.

Connect with your Prelaw Advisor at your institution:
Your advisor at your undergraduate institution probably has a copy of the Law School Book of Lists, which is made available to prelaw advisors through their professional advisor organization.  This book provides lots of helpful information to advisors (and which they can share with their applicants) about specific academic and clinical programs at law schools. So, for example, if you have an interest in communications law, or maybe intellectual property law, this book will help you find law schools that have dedicated programs of study in these areas. Additionally, it has information about different student groups and other resources.

The bottom line:
Okay…you’ve done your homework, explored law school web sites, talked to admissions people, networked with current students and alumni, and you think you’ve got a pretty good idea of what the schools are like.  It’s time to put this all together. Use the LSAC UGPA calculator to start building your lists. What’s your dream school? What are some schools where your numbers make admission a pretty "safe bet"? Finally, what’s your "bottom line" school – i.e. one that will provide you a good, solid law school experience?  That is, if the only admission offer you end up getting I from your "bottom line" school, would you accept it?  Remember, as much as this application process is about you, it’s also about the competition.  Especially in a recession, when the job market is particularly tight, more college graduates will apply to professional and graduate school.  Think holistically and creatively as you work on building your law school list. In the end, you should have a list that includes one or two "dream", or "reach", schools; some "safety" schools; and a couple or few "real safety" schools.

Next week:

How am I going to pay for law school?