PERSONAL STATEMENT

The Application Form

The Online Application - Ontario Law Schools

The application form for Ontario law schools is now online. You are not required to complete it at one sitting. Take your time. Make sure that you tell the schools exactly what you want them to know, in the language that you consider appropriate.

The Written Application Form

When you receive the application form it is important to make a copy of it. You should then practice filling it out. Ensure that you are communicating exactly what you want the law schools to know. The application form must be filled out as neatly as possible. If the form asks for a list of interests, extra-curricular activities and jobs, describe the activity. If you won an award don't just list the award. You must describe what it involved - what was required to win it, etc.

Law Schools are clear that the onus is on you to tell them what you want them to know.
Make sure that you do.

Transcript Of Grades

The onus is on you to ensure that an official transcript of your grades is received by the law schools in the required manner. Follow up on your request and make sure that it has actually been done!

Although you can't do anything about the actual numbers on the transcript, you may be able to do something about the interpretation.

It may be appropriate to argue your case based on your "rank in class". For example a B+ will look a lot better if it is clear that this was the top grade in a class of a lot of students. This might be a helpful thing to include in a letter of reference.

LSAT Scores

Some schools consider the highest LSAT score and some take the average of multiple LSAT scores. (This is important information and should be determined very early.) Hence, you must take steps to ensure that your first score is the best that it can be. Don't just try the LSAT with the attitude that "I'll just see how I will do." Remember also, that you have the opportunity to cancel your score. There is nothing wrong with taking advantage of it!

If you think it is advisable to take the LSAT a second (or third) time, you must take steps to ensure that you are better prepared and that you will improve! Otherwise, your second will simply reinforce the first score.

If your subsequent attempt at the LSAT results in a significant improvement, you should then ask the schools to disregard the first score and work only with the second score. I have known students who have been successful in this request.

Finally, please do the test in June or October. The December and February administrations should be used for possible rewrites. But, even these dates are late for rewrites. Applicants to Ontario law schools for the 1996-97 academic year will be required to file their application by November 1st.

Ideally you should:

1. Do the LSAT in June when conflicts with academic commitments are at a minimum; and
2. You can use the October test for a rewrite. This will ensure that conflicts with academic commitments are at a minimum and that you will still have time to have your file complete early!

The LSAT Writing Sample

This is a purely "damage control" issue. A copy of your writing sample is received by each law school which receives a copy of your LSAT score. There is no grade or score assigned to it.

Many schools claim that they don't use the Writing Sample as part of the process. Others say they do - but there is no school that is clear on how they use it. I have recently been advised that some schools will compare the LSAT writing sample to the applicant's personal statement. This operates as a check to ensure that the applicant actually wrote the personal statement!

Your goal is to ensure that there is nothing about your Writing Sample that will impair your chances of being accepted to law school. See my Mastering The LSAT book to learn a simple way of "knocking this off."

Pre-Law: What Is It?

Many undergraduate students see their undergraduate years as being "prelaw". They see undergraduate school as a kind of "holding period" in which they are waiting to enter law school.
This has a number of negative consequences.

First, students select courses based on what they think will help them gain admission to law school.
They do not select courses because they are interested in the subject.

Second, students who are not interested in the subject will find it difficult to study for and learn the subject matter. Attaining a good grade will be difficult.

Third, students who are not interested in the subject will always find that they are at a competitive disadvantage relative to students who are interested in the subject. Grading is relative.

Fourth students who see the course as part of their "prelaw" period have decided before the course that the course has no benefit. They will not be open to discovering a new experience or new interest. I once saw a bumper sticker that read:

When my ship came in, I was at the airport!

Be enthusiastic about exploring and developing new interests!

Now, how to select your courses. There is no specific "prelaw" curriculum. Law schools are filled with students from every conceivable background. The only good reason for selecting a course is that you like the subject matter, the professor, or you are curious to learn more about it. Why?

First, have you ever done badly on something that interested you?

Second, a good professor can make almost anything seem interesting and stimulating. Have you ever noticed that if you are interested good grades come easily?

View your undergraduate years as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore many interests. By selecting your courses for the right reasons you will be happier, be more fulfilled, get better grades, and improve your chances of getting into law school!

Many applicants accepted to law don't even go! Why? They have developed other interests along the way.

Effective Letters Of Reference
- How To Get Them

Many law schools require at least one letter of reference.

In my years of counseling students I have seen students ruined by bad letters and helped enormously by good letters. So, here are some suggestions for how to approach the problem. There are two kinds of letters. The first is an academic reference. The second is a non-academic reference. An academic reference is a comment on your ability to do academic work. Therefore, it should be written by someone who has knowledge of your academic work. A non-academic reference is a comment on your capacity as a worker, volunteer, or anything else.

Begin by determining what kind of letter is required. Most schools will require that at least one of the references be academic. At some schools and in some specific application categories other kinds of references may be relevant. Examples may include letters from employers, clergymen, etc. When addressing this issue, determine what are the admissions criteria for the program that you wish to enter. For example, is work experience taken into account? What about extracurricular activities? The kinds of references that are relevant for mature students may be different from the references that are relevant for "regular" applicants.

Prospective referees must first be qualified and then educated.

First, the qualification issue. Never simply ask someone to write you a reference. They may write a negative or otherwise unhelpful one. The appropriate qualification question is:

"Do you feel that you could and would you be willing to write me a positive letter of reference?"

If the person says anything other than "yes" - find someone else.
If the person says yes, then move on to the education issue.

Now, the education issue. Don't assume that the referee knows anything about law admissions and/or how the letter is to be used. Hence, it is your job to meet with the professor and explain the admission requirements and what sorts of things would make the letter of reference relevant. This will ensure that the letter is focused and useful to the committee that is deciding on the fate of your application.
Please note that letters should be sent from the recommender to the school! They must not come or be perceived to come from the applicant!

One final comment. Many students are concerned that they don't know a professor well enough to ask for a letter of reference. First, why not meet one? They don't bite. Second, many of you know your teaching assistants reasonably well. Teaching assistants can be sources of very credible and helpful letters of reference.

Personal Statements

Personal statements are now required by most Canadian and U.S. law schools. The applicant file is the "interview" for a seat in that law school. If required, the personal statement is the most important part of that interview. From the perspective of the applicant the personal statement is the most controllable part of the interview and affords the greatest opportunity for "direct applicant input."

Since personal statements are the most controllable part of the application file there is no excuse for typos and grammatical errors. The final result should be polished and visually pleasing. Writing a personal statement should be approached in the same way as you would approach a serious essay. This means that you should do a number of drafts. Give it to a friend to see if it conveys the right images. Remember the application file in general, and the personal statement in particular are concerned with "image creation."

In general you should not use exactly the same personal statement for each school. There are two reasons for this:

1. Different schools may ask you to write on different questions; and

2. Different schools have different objectives in admitting their first year classes. In the same way that you would not send the same resume to different employers, you should not send exactly the same personal statement to each school.

Here are some general guidlines for how to construct personal statements.

1. The personal statement is about you. Make it personal. Write about you. Don't write about yourself in an abstract way.
   
   
2. Work on your opening sentence. Make it interesting.
   
   
3. Try to develop one general theme.
   
   
4. Try to determine how the school uses the personal statement. What role does the personal statement play in the complete process? For example, to what extent is it appropriate to talk about your grades and LSAT scores.
   
   
5. Don't repeat things that are in your transcript.
   
   
6. Don't dwell on negatives.
   
   
7. If you are talking about a period when you had academic problems - make it clear that whatever caused the problems has gone away.
   
   
8. Never claim that you have certain qualities. Use examples that would allow the reader to infer that you have the quality. For example, all schools want motivated students. You can't say: please accept me because I am motivated. Describe some fact about yourself that will allow the reader to infer that you are motivated.
   
   
9. Don't describe your jobs and activities by the title of the job or activity only! Describe what the job or activity actually involved.
   
   
10. Question: what makes a personal statement good?
    Answer: if at the end of the personal statement the reader thinks that he/she wants to meet the applicant.