Importance of Personal Statement

Of all the materials that comprise a law school application package the PERSONAL STATEMENT is the most important? The Most applicants that the Committee considered, regardless of their undergraduate major or GPA category, have roughly the same numbers. We were looking for real people, not mere numbers. I can tell you for a fact that some applicants with a straight 4.0 undergraduate GPA and a high LSAT score were denied admission because they wrote horrible personal statements. The Admissions Committee felt that these people did not take the application process seriously.

If applicants have dedicated the right amount of time and thought to their application, they will received more attention because committee had more time to review them. With regard to the personal statements, committee could tell who had put in the time and effort, and who had not. My advice is that it is better to turn in a strong personal statement later on in the process, rather than turning in a mediocre one earlier. Please take time to perfect your personal statement because the Admissions Committee will notice the level of attention that you have given your personal statement, no matter when you turn it in.

If I were a student who was going to turn in a statement early and had not revised or edited it considerably, I would take the extra time to make sure it is well developed and send it in closer to the application deadline. You waste the advantages of early submission if you turn in a bad personal statement. It's a trade off. Nevertheless, don't be too close to the deadline because if the school has rolling admissions most of the available spots would have been filled by then.
In the first half of the semester committees spend about six to eight minutes on each statement. In the second half of the semester, due to the increased volume of applications towards the deadline, committees only able to dedicate about three to five minutes per statement. So a COMPELLING introduction is the most important part of a law school personal statement. As committees begin reading, the introduction can put them in a positive or negative mindset for the rest of the essay. A strong introduction catches their attention, makes a good first impression, and compels them to read on carefully and with interest. A careful reading means the personal statement must not only start strong, but finish strong. Also, the more attention committees give an essay, the more likely they are going to see errors they might not see on a quick read; so thorough editing is essential. However, the more attention an applicant gets, the more the opportunity for a personal connection between the reader and the applicant. It gets that person CLOSER to being accepted than the other applicant who wrote a dull personal statement. Dull personal statements are a chore to read. Indeed, I know for a fact that dry, dull, and unmotivated personal statements actually WORK AGAINST applicants. The bad writing tells me that the applicant did not take the application process seriously. Let me emphasize that the application process includes making the effort to write an engaging personal statement, not just merely listing your stellar grades. While your good grades get you noticed, this notice may not be enough to gain you acceptance if the rest of your application package is deficient.

However, one committee member's recommendation was not enough, in and of itself. But one member's recommendation did carry some weight with the other Committee members.