Personal Statement Question

Question:

Hello,

I got your email through your blogspot. Thank you for being so helpful! I have a few questions about transferring:

(1) Do you apply through LSAC? I see that many schools have transfer applications available on their website, too. Do you think they would prefer to receive a paper copy? How did you apply?

(2) If you did not apply through LSAC, did you give your recommender(s) a form from each of the schools? How early did you ask?

(3) Would you please send me an example of a good personal statement?

I actually like the school that I'm attending now (Syracuse), but I have a legitimate reason for having to transfer. I've explored other options for relocating, but Syracuse is unwilling to let me be a Visiting Student at another school. I would appreciate your help.

My Answer:

(1) I did apply through LSAC to every school but one. Some schools have a special lsac form for applying to transfer. This is usually found by going to their transfer page and clicking on the link provided. For most schools, you can go to their regular application and click the transfer box contained within the application. I did send a paper application to one school, but I really think that most schools prefer electronic apps.

(2) Even if you do not apply through LSAC, the law schools will still request your report through the lsac service. This report should contain your letters if you have uploaded them properly. Some schools want the letters sent directly to them. If you ever have a question call the admissions office. I usually called them and wouldn’t say my name. I really don’t think it has any bearing if you do drive them nuts though, but I wouldn’t reveal my name at first just to be on the safe side. Good luck.

More on Constructing Your Transfer Personal Statement

A beautiful personal statement will probably not get you into your transfer school unless you have the grades to back it up, but it might leave an impression on an admissions officer. The first thing you have against you as a transfer is that you already seem indecisive. You write this confident, strong personal statement, but if you are so confident why are you transferring in the first place? You have to provide an answer to this question in your personal statement and it needs to be very specific.

Your transfer personal statement needs to be very specific and targeted at the law school that you want to transfer to. They know that you want to go to law school. Now the question is, why do you want to go to a different law school? Of course (at least most of the time) you just want to go to a “better” school. They know that and you know that. I would strongly advise you against saying that.

Whether or not you believe or feel it, we are all supposed to pretend that we are in law school to change the world and make it a better place. Law schools love public interest and they love putting in their brochures that their law school had an effect on some change in the community or the country. You will find something about this in every law school’s mission statement. A good way to turn an admission’s officer off of your application is to tell them that you want to come to that school because, in turn, you want to make more money down the road.

If you don’t have a specific reason for going to that school other than going to a better school, make one up. Find a program that they specialize in and say that you have dedicated your life to being the best you can in that specific program. Should you lie? No, but you are training to be a lawyer, you’ll figure out a way to make it work. Finally, another way to help your essay is to look at the law school’s mission statement. As I said before, many of them will contain the same elements, but you will often find what the school deems to be important contained within that statement. Try to incorporate some of the words and ideas they use within your own statement.

If you are really having trouble getting started, I don’t mind sending mine over for you to get an idea of where to start. I’m not guaranteeing it to be perfect or even the right way to approach it, but it incorporates the ideas that I have expressed above. Shoot an email to lawschooldrivel@gmail.com if you would like to see it. There's also some books that can provide great templates to use. One of my favorites is Great Personal Statements for Law School. If I can figure out how to do it, I might put a download link to mine on the site. It goes without saying, but remember to be very specific in your statement. The last thing you want to do is sound like everyone else. Good luck.

Transfer Personal Statement

See Original Question in Post Below
I'm going to do a lengthy post about personal statements, but I'll throw out a little information here. Personal statements are one of those things that you can never really tell how much it weighed in, but I can tell you what I focused on in my own. I'm a believer that a personal statement (like a cover letter) needs to be very specific and fact saturated. You don't want to use fluffy, ambiguous promises like "I know I can do well at a better school" or "I am very passionate about the law." I really think that ever transfer personal statement should have something that says, "Although I had a great experience at my first school school, I know that it is time for a change because......." This is very common knowledge, but do not EVER say anything negative about your current school in your personal statement.

If you are transferring, law schools know that you want to be a lawyer. Don't tell them that you've dreamed about being a lawyer ever since you were three years old. I think you have two ways to go with a personal statement. The first and probably the most effective (from what I've read) is based on need. This is probably not going to get you a big jump in status but it might help if you want to transfer laterally. I wouldn't suggest making it up either because you don't want that hanging over your head once bar admissions come around. By need, I mean you have a sick family member, need to be closer to a spouse, or you have a business you are running and need to be closer. I wouldn't search for these things, but I would definitely include it if you think reasonable. Personally, I would never mention anything about saving money but going back to an in state school or anything like that.

The second way to go is to pick a specialty. My personal statement focused on intellectual property, and many of the schools I applied to were known for that program. I am interested in intellectual property but it's not my life's passion. But is sounds better than saying, "I'm anxious to find out what kind of law I want to practice." An employer wants someone who knows what he or she wants and I believe that law schools are the same way. Pick something and stick to it and emphasize why that school will help you get there. Also, indicating a need to be in the area with this should help out. But don't simply put, I want to work in NYC. Learn how to make things sound better than your (and mine) instinctive desire to make lots of money, go to the best school, and work in the best market. Disguise your desire to by in NYC by saying something like, "New York City has a thriving job market, and I feel a need to attend law school in the area to give myself the best possible chance to succeed in civil litigation."

As far as your classmates, learn to embrace them. Like it or not, you're going to be working for them and against them in some form or another. I learned quickly in law school that even the annoying kid that asks all the questions serves a purpose. They all have outlines, football tickets, insider tips from professors, and many other assets to you. You may want to be separated from your classmates but don't let them know it. You never know when you might need something.

Transferring...what to do what to say.

Emailed Question
I am currently enrolled at Cooley Law School. I finished very close to the top of my class after the first term. (3.67, prob top 4%) I am looking to transfer to a school closer to my girlfriend and family in NY and Western CT.

Cooley is infamous for making this process impossible. The professors keep you at arms length which makes recommendations very difficult. Do you have any suggestions or insight which could help me make this process a little easier?

I am also very concerned on what I will in write my personal statement. Sure, I want to be back near my family but the real reason is that I don’t want to graduate from this school. It sounds terrible, but I feel I work too hard and I’m too good to be associated with my classmates.


My Answer:
I want to put a disclaimer out there that I am making no guarantee that anything that worked for me will also work for you. I am just a second year law student trying to help out and if you disagree with something, then DO NOT take my advice. Since this is a law school site, feel free to post your angry rebuttal. Before I try my best to tackle this question, let me give you a little background about my transfer experience. I was enrolled at a tier 4 school down in Florida. There is nothing wrong with being at a tier 4 school and wanting to graduate from that school. I was never a "big firm" guy, and I am not a believer in the "don't go to law school unless you're in the top 30 philosophy." Don't ever regret staying at your current school especially if you've done well at that school.

I'm going to do my best to be very honest and real on this blog, and that probably won't always involve saying the proper things. I knew that I wanted out of my school. I loved the city, the people, and even the school but I knew wanted to move to a more prestigious school. I targeted seven schools ranging from top 20 down to tier three. I got into four out of the seven schools I applied to, and the information that I'm going to share is based on what worked for me. I got into two out of the thirteen schools I applied to before entering law school.

Concerning letters of recommendation, many law schools will make it hard on you to get them. I can only say from experience about my previous school, but I really don't think this is embedded in the school policy. Law professors are extremely busy people, and writing a transfer student a letter of recommendation is not on the top of their priority list. To make sure that you get yours on time and get the letter you want you have to develop an action plan. Develop relationships with the professors before you ever ask them for a letter. Something I employed in my first semester was to ask questions that I really didn't need to know the answers to. You can usually tell what a professor is interested in by listening in class. Bring this up, and remember that people love to talk about themselves. Ask them about an achievement or a research paper you are working on. If you can establish a relationship, they are going to care about helping you as a person and you won't just be another letter they have to write.

Next, remember these professors (no matter what school they teach at) have very distinguished backgrounds. They know about law school rankings and chances are if you are at a lower tiered law school and doing well they are going to understand why you want out. After the relationship has developed, approach them with your lsac submission form and a list of the schools to which you are applying (if they want the letters sent directly to them). Always ask more professors for letters than you need. If you need two ask four professors. This will ensure that if there is one you can't control, you have three other to back it up. As a side note, I really wouldn't recommend getting letters for transferring from anyone other than professors or law school faculty. I could be completely wrong, but I really don't think that law schools care anymore about what judge your dad knows or anything else. The power game used to work but there are just too many damn people that want to go to law school anymore.

Finally, as far as technical matters go, once you get letters into lsac make sure that you disable the letters you originally used for applying the first time around. The only letters you want them to get are your transfer letters. Also some schools (I know UCLA is one) that want you to use LSAT to submit reports but want the letters sent directly to them. I talked to the people at lsac and they told me that there is no way to disable letters from going to one school. So if a school like UCLA wants letters sent directly to them but also want your report from lsac, they are going to get letters through lsac as well.