While a personal statement is standard for most law school applications, many applications also include the option to submit supplemental responses.
Crafting a thoughtful response is an opportunity to build on aspects of yourself that you were unable to address directly in your personal statement and resume, or indirectly by selecting mentors to draft your letters of recommendation.
Including an optional essay will help the admissions committee assess your candidacy for admission. Moreover, many admissions teams award merit-based scholarships solely on the basis of your application. That means an optional essay can both increase your chances of acceptance and potential to receive funding.
Here are the three most common forms of supplemental responses.
1. Diversity statements: Law schools seek to cultivate a diverse student body. For some admissions committees, diversity is defined as membership in an underrepresented minority group, whether in terms of heritage, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status. Other admissions committees have a broader definition of diversity, which can include a unique experience that will contribute to the diversity on campus.
[Find out how to discuss diversity in law school applications.]
Make sure you review the language of the diversity statement prompt to ensure your response is appropriate.
I have read successful essays on a range of topics including having a sibling adopted from a foreign country, overcoming a rare illness, being raised by an alcoholic parent, growing up on an isolated farm, battling depression and surviving sexual assault.
The key in deciding whether to include a diversity statement in your application materials is whether you can write a compelling essay that complements, but does not overlap, with your personal statement.
For example, an applicant I advised wrote her personal statement about her interest in international human rights by discussing legal internships, volunteer experiences in Africa and coursework on race relations. Her diversity statement shed light on how her Ghanaian heritage and extracurricular involvement in culture clubs shaped her worldview. Discussing all this information in a single essay would have overcrowded her personal statement; her diversity statement shed new light on her as an applicant.
Whatever you write about, try not to simply reflect on the past, but how your unique experiences influence who you are today and will continue to shape you as a future law student.
2. Prompted responses: In addition to or in lieu of the diversity statement, some schools offer specific prompts for short responses. The most common type of prompt asks why you are applying to a specific law school. I encourage applicants to embed school specific research into the personal statement.
[Explore how to strengthen a law school essay with a thesis.]
However, if given the option to write a school specific essay, you can either forgo mentioning school specific research in the personal statement or refer to additional programming you did not have space to mention in the personal statement.
In additional to soliciting school-specific research, some schools offer more creative prompts.
Georgetown University Law Center has some of my favorite optional responses because applicants have the chance to write about a particular topic they might not have otherwise explored.
Do make sure to be responsive. Once I advised an applicant who tried to take a shortcut by submitting the diversity statement she had drafted for other programs to a specific prompt about how her ethical code aligned with the school’s mission.
The admissions committee found her application incomplete and asked her to submit a new response. Although she was ultimately accepted, she could have avoided this hiccup if she had taken the time to ensure her response was appropriate.
3. Addenda: Typically an addendum gives you the chance to explain an aspect of your application that may raise questions or concerns. If you have an unrepresentative GPA or multiple, wide-ranging LSAT scores, contextualizing these numbers will enable the admissions committee to more accurately evaluate your application.
[Learn when and how to write a law school addendum.]
Submitting an addendum accounting for a disciplinary issue, academic probation or criminal offense is not only recommended, but often required. Be objective and take responsibility for your actions, rather than cast blame on others.
There is one caveat, however: With optional essays, it is important to choose response topics that enhance your overall application.
Avoid repetition and triviality. Think of experiences that are truly meaningful and will help the admissions committee better understand who you are.
If you are unable to come up with a worthy experience, don’t submit an optional response. Better to let the rest of your application materials shine than force a response than will tarnish the impression you make.
Unsure whether to include a supplemental essay in your application materials? You can reach me at lawadmissionslowdown@usnews.com.
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3 Responses for Law School Optional Essays originally appeared on usnews.com
