Oh the Personal Statement (PS)-- your chance to explain your story and redeem yourself.
I am obviously not an admissions expert but I am just going to explain what worked for me:
"A good personal statement adds to your application. It tips the scales in your favor. if someone with your numbers have the chance to get into a school, but not everyone with your numbers gets in, its usually because of the personal statement"
Ann Levine - The Law School Admission Game
I would definitely recommend picking up this book and giving the section on the Personal Statement a quick read. I used much of the recommendations she listed and found that it gave me advice I would not have thought of otherwise, such as avoiding certain words, tones and common mistakes.
When writing my personal statement I also went to TopLawSchools and utilized some of their advise on personal statements. I found that going through their sample personal statements was a great idea, as it helped to show me what would make things easier in setting myself apart.
My PS was focused on my life, the struggles I have experienced, the hard work I have done and my reasons for applying to law school. Almost all Personal Statements appeal to social justice; people trying to become lawyers to save the world. I believe it is important to establish your goals especially if those are your goals, but I also believe it is even more important to set yourself apart from the crowd (by the way here's a little tip: you would not use "i believe" in your personal statement according to Ann Levine). To that end, I mentioned social justice, but tried to stay away from being the typical person seeking to enhance the world through legal education.
Another important aspect I wanted to get across in my Personal Statement was my writing skill. Hence, I tried to keep it simply but ensure that I am using words appropriate for the context. Proof-reading and editing was essential.
* Just a word of note on proof-reading: there are two school of thought; one that believes it is better to get others to read your essays and the other that believes that other people are not admissions counselors and hence, do not know what to look for. I only had one other person, my girlfriend at the time, read my essay. I did not look towards others reading and editing my Personal Statement. This is just a personal bias and you might find it better to have as much people as possible read over and re-edit your essay.
I also wanted to show that I am an interesting person who should be admitted. For this, the beginning of one's PS is integral, you have to grab the reader and give them reasons why they should keep reading on, why its going to be worth their time. Here's a sample opening from Top-Law-Schools:
Eighteen months ago, I was sitting at my computer, wedged between a dripping coffee maker to my left and the company’s CFO five feet to my right. Every keystroke shook the flimsy foldout card table that served as my desk, on loan to the company from another employee’s garage. We were packed in the largest of three rooms in a 2,500 square foot space baking in the heat generated by ten co-workers in close quarters, fifteen running computers, and an abnormally warm summer. On the glass doorway was etched the ghostly lettering of the former company occupying the space, serving as a grim reminder of the ever-present possibility of failure.
When I read this I was taken to another world. I wanted to learn more about this person and I wanted to know why law is the place for him. This personal statement was very inspirational for me, and I decided to use and introduction that would grab people on the same level. Although my intro is completely different (dealing with being a minority and the struggles entailed within) the overall intention is the same, to take the reader on a journey.
Everyone knows what to do with the body, essentially you want to keep your readers engaged and mention all your achievements and what makes you such an excellent choice for legal education. The conclusion is more important, you have to finish really strong, you want to leave a good taste in the readers mouth. Something I have noticed is that most people mention the school they are applying to near the end. Essentially, what makes you the perfect fit for this school in particular. It think this is a great strategy because it lets the admissions committee know that you are interested in their school and you have done some research. Now you are not simply mentioning the school by name. Instead, you are also mentioning specific characteristics about the school that makes it unique and the right fit. For eg. for Osgoode I focused on the diversity of students, the opportunities the law school presents and the school's purported focus on social justice.
This is what worked for me, its a simple process and it speaks to being direct and showing the reader why they should be interested in you. Do not take the PS lightly, even if you have great scores it can get you off of the acceptance table. It is important to dedicate a significant amount of time to it, and not leave it to the last minute. I believe that the personal statement is a great way to set yourself off, and give you that extra "bump" to get accepted. In a place like Ontario with so few schools, it is important to get any bumps necessary.
Here is the link with some good PS tips that I used heavily while drafting my PS.
http://www.top-law-schools.com/personal-statements.html
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Letters of Recommendation (LOR)
Ahh the Letter of Recommendation. Some personality types do not like that task of hunting down someone to do things for you. Well I think if said person is interested in law, getting people to write positive things about you is absolutely essential. I mean we you are going to need recommendation letters in law school also.
Securing Recommendation Letters is very important, if there is anyone reading this in 2nd year or below, you my friend, are in an excellent position. You need to start working on your recommendation letter as soon as possible. The more your professors know you, the better and more likely it is that they would assist you. I was also able to get a very important letter of recommendation from someone in the community. In total I had three very solid ones, from people who knew me quite well. I waited until fourth year to ask for the recommendation letters. You can either get to know the person from early and essentially take a bunch of courses (and do well) with that professor. In this case the professor would have nothing but good things to say about you, as they would see that you are hardworking and dedicated.
Alternatively, which I did, you can simply give your professors a sample essay of your choice, showing them how well you write, along with your curriculum vitae and other essential information, so they have some idea of your goals. I think doing it this way gives the the opportunity to learn about you in cases where you did not buiuld up that relaionship from the get-go.
My LORs
Professor 1:
I knew this professor for a few months before asking her for the LOR. I took exactly one class with her (my fourth year seminar). At the beginning of the year she mentioned that if anyone was interested in letters of recommendations, she would be happy to oblige. I got an A+ in her class, so that was enough to ensure that she would be happy with my writing and capabilities as a student.
Professor 2:
I had 2 classes with this professor (2nd and 3rd years). I got A's in both classes, and I was very active (in terms of participating) in her class. Securing this LOR required more work on my part. I had to spend quite a few hours in her office, building rapport and getting to know her. I was someone worried as this professor is not a full-time prof at Mcmaster. However, I was genuinely interested in the conversations we shared, and I believe this showed. I think because of the relationship we had this was an excellent Letter of Recommendation.
Community Leader:
I secured my final LOR from the Pastor of the church I go to. He has a PhD and has known me for over 9 years. I knew that he would write me my best LOR and I think this played a pivotal role in getting me accepted at Osgoode Hall. This was the perfect opportunity to attest to my commitment to the community and my passion for those around me (which was essentially the thesis of my Personal Statement). Getting LOR from those in the community that know you is not difficult because they have known you for so long and they can attest to your dedication and commitment quite easily. I think people undervalue the importance of this type of LOR, thinking that only Professors matter. However, it is clear that it serves to seperate you from the pack.
I would definitely say that getting great LORs is important, and that people should not waste time on it. Many things happen that you do not expect (professors leave or take sabbaticals on they year you need them for example). This is one of the aspects of the application that many overlook. I encourage you to start thinking about it from an early stage.
Securing Recommendation Letters is very important, if there is anyone reading this in 2nd year or below, you my friend, are in an excellent position. You need to start working on your recommendation letter as soon as possible. The more your professors know you, the better and more likely it is that they would assist you. I was also able to get a very important letter of recommendation from someone in the community. In total I had three very solid ones, from people who knew me quite well. I waited until fourth year to ask for the recommendation letters. You can either get to know the person from early and essentially take a bunch of courses (and do well) with that professor. In this case the professor would have nothing but good things to say about you, as they would see that you are hardworking and dedicated.
Alternatively, which I did, you can simply give your professors a sample essay of your choice, showing them how well you write, along with your curriculum vitae and other essential information, so they have some idea of your goals. I think doing it this way gives the the opportunity to learn about you in cases where you did not buiuld up that relaionship from the get-go.
My LORs
Professor 1:
I knew this professor for a few months before asking her for the LOR. I took exactly one class with her (my fourth year seminar). At the beginning of the year she mentioned that if anyone was interested in letters of recommendations, she would be happy to oblige. I got an A+ in her class, so that was enough to ensure that she would be happy with my writing and capabilities as a student.
Professor 2:
I had 2 classes with this professor (2nd and 3rd years). I got A's in both classes, and I was very active (in terms of participating) in her class. Securing this LOR required more work on my part. I had to spend quite a few hours in her office, building rapport and getting to know her. I was someone worried as this professor is not a full-time prof at Mcmaster. However, I was genuinely interested in the conversations we shared, and I believe this showed. I think because of the relationship we had this was an excellent Letter of Recommendation.
Community Leader:
I secured my final LOR from the Pastor of the church I go to. He has a PhD and has known me for over 9 years. I knew that he would write me my best LOR and I think this played a pivotal role in getting me accepted at Osgoode Hall. This was the perfect opportunity to attest to my commitment to the community and my passion for those around me (which was essentially the thesis of my Personal Statement). Getting LOR from those in the community that know you is not difficult because they have known you for so long and they can attest to your dedication and commitment quite easily. I think people undervalue the importance of this type of LOR, thinking that only Professors matter. However, it is clear that it serves to seperate you from the pack.
I would definitely say that getting great LORs is important, and that people should not waste time on it. Many things happen that you do not expect (professors leave or take sabbaticals on they year you need them for example). This is one of the aspects of the application that many overlook. I encourage you to start thinking about it from an early stage.
My Applications
The application process was quite difficult as I mentioned in the introduction.
I applied to the following schools:
Ontario:
1. Osgoode Hall - Accepted
2. Windsor Law School - Accepted
3. University of Toronto - Rejected
Others:
4. Howard Law school
5. University of Illinois
6. Cornell Law
7. Manitoba
I had an LSAT score of 160 so I knew that I had some chance to get into some of the schools. I think what really put me over the edge was my extracurricular activities, personal statement and community involvement. I will break this down into the different places in Ontario I applied and how the application process went.
Ontario
Windsor Law School - I applied to Windsor through OLSAS (Ontario law School Application Service). This was convenient that you could apply to more than one school through the same system. Windsor's system is very community based, so I knew I had a fair shot at acceptance. They do not rely strictly on ones LSAT and GPA's. They have six components:
While applying I realized that this format bodes well for me. However, it made it quite difficult to apply. You have to know what you are going to say before hand to these questions. There are questions for each category that are designed to test your capability and whether or not you fall in line with each of their considerations
University of Toronto (UofT) - I applied to UofT just because. I knew I would not get in as they are purely numbers based. Although UofT has a section for the personal statement, I strongly believe, they place absolutely no emphasis on it. Possibly they only use it for cases where there are two students close to each other, as I was informed by one of the reps. This is a good school though, but I dont think I would have went to UofT had I been accepted. I would however recommend that almost everyone apply to UofT anyway, because you never know - you might be accepted, and it sets you up for some good future prospects. That being said you have as good a chance (in Ontario) to get into UofT as any of the other schools based on the numbers(about 8%).
Osgoode Hall - This is a long and complicated application, there are so many questions to answer, and they are each significant. Osgoode uses a relatively new holistic system, and their questions are geared towards this. It is clear that they are attempting to diversify legal education as there is a significant stress on ones diversity and background.
I applied to the following schools:
Ontario:
1. Osgoode Hall - Accepted
2. Windsor Law School - Accepted
3. University of Toronto - Rejected
Others:
4. Howard Law school
5. University of Illinois
6. Cornell Law
7. Manitoba
I had an LSAT score of 160 so I knew that I had some chance to get into some of the schools. I think what really put me over the edge was my extracurricular activities, personal statement and community involvement. I will break this down into the different places in Ontario I applied and how the application process went.
Ontario
Windsor Law School - I applied to Windsor through OLSAS (Ontario law School Application Service). This was convenient that you could apply to more than one school through the same system. Windsor's system is very community based, so I knew I had a fair shot at acceptance. They do not rely strictly on ones LSAT and GPA's. They have six components:
- University Program
- Work Experience
- Community Involvement
- Personal Accomplishments
- Career Objectives
- Personal Considerations
- Law School Admission Test Scores
While applying I realized that this format bodes well for me. However, it made it quite difficult to apply. You have to know what you are going to say before hand to these questions. There are questions for each category that are designed to test your capability and whether or not you fall in line with each of their considerations
University of Toronto (UofT) - I applied to UofT just because. I knew I would not get in as they are purely numbers based. Although UofT has a section for the personal statement, I strongly believe, they place absolutely no emphasis on it. Possibly they only use it for cases where there are two students close to each other, as I was informed by one of the reps. This is a good school though, but I dont think I would have went to UofT had I been accepted. I would however recommend that almost everyone apply to UofT anyway, because you never know - you might be accepted, and it sets you up for some good future prospects. That being said you have as good a chance (in Ontario) to get into UofT as any of the other schools based on the numbers(about 8%).
Osgoode Hall - This is a long and complicated application, there are so many questions to answer, and they are each significant. Osgoode uses a relatively new holistic system, and their questions are geared towards this. It is clear that they are attempting to diversify legal education as there is a significant stress on ones diversity and background.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Introduction to Life at Osgoode
I intend to use the blog for two purposes: A guide for applicants and an explanation of the life at Osgoode Hall Law School. However, this is just an introductory post. I definitely feel proud to be part of this institution, and I believe that it is incumbent upon me to pass some advice unto others who are interested in law school, and specifically law school in Ontario. Law school, like most other professional schools is becoming quite competitive. Especially given the current economic recession that many speak of, there has been record numbers of applicants the past few years. There were over 15,000 application for just over 1306 spots this year in Ontario, and there were about 3,100 applications for 290 spots at Osgoode. So it definitely feels good to be one of the 10% of applicants that actually get in. The application process was quite arduous, and I plan to go into detail and explain it more for those who are interested in knowing what I did.
I also just feel like there is so much information out there for people interested in American school, unfortunately there is not much available for us Canadians. I will try my best to blog as much as possible, and keep the one or two people actually seeing this up to date with the goings on at Osgoode hall. Hope you enjoy your stay here.
I also just feel like there is so much information out there for people interested in American school, unfortunately there is not much available for us Canadians. I will try my best to blog as much as possible, and keep the one or two people actually seeing this up to date with the goings on at Osgoode hall. Hope you enjoy your stay here.
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