In your law school admissions essays, there are countless ways to show your distinctive strengths and the difference you would make in your legal career.
However, too many applicants get stuck in well-worn ruts, writing law school personal statements that hit the same notes. Here are some examples of cliches that get on admissions officers’ nerves:
— Describing yourself as “not a typical applicant.”
— Lecturing admissions officers about the law.
— Boasting about your love of arguing.
— Emphasizing lawyers in your family.
— Talking about your childhood interest in law.
— Lionizing legal characters from popular culture.
Describing Yourself as “Not A Typical Applicant”
Applicants often compare themselves against some imagined ideal of a typical law school applicant. In reality, law schools welcome a diverse range of applicants from all walks of life.
If you have an unconventional background, focus on what you bring to the table. Don’t let your insecurities drive you to paint yourself as an unlikely lawyer.
Besides, the more you write about who you are not, the less room you have to talk about who you are.
[Read: Should Law School Hopefuls Write as Much as Allowed on Applications?]
Lecturing Admissions Officers About the Law
When I applied to law school, I reflected in one of my optional essays about the meaning of the law and its function in society.
I felt proud of my argument, but an astute friend pointed out my pretentions. You should come to law school eager to learn about law, not share your own preconceptions.
It’s fine to write about your own experience with the law or what it means to you. It’s fine to critique the legal system or write about your interest in exposing and challenging its shortfalls. But be careful about making lofty or categorical pronouncements about the law before you have taken a law school class.
[Read: How to Strike the Right Tone in Your Law School Application Essay]
Boasting About Your Love of Arguing
Law school classes often involve contentious debates, and many legal jobs are adversarial in nature. But law schools don’t just want a class of quarrelsome blowhards.
Legal work involves other skills like active listening, mediation, collaboration and conciliation. This is why many schools have essay prompts and interview questions about engaging with those with differing perspectives.
If you choose to write about your debate prowess, show that you can grasp others’ perspectives and respond constructively, even in a tense conflict.
Emphasizing Lawyers in Your Family
Coming from a family of lawyers can be a great asset for an aspiring lawyer, from career connections to advice on identifying a legal specialization.
It’s perfectly fine to mention taking inspiration or advice from relatives who are lawyers, but don’t let them overshadow your own story. Keep your application essays centered on you.
[Read: How to Start Writing a Law School Application Essay]
Talking About Your Childhood Interest in Law
Admissions officers want to see your commitment to law school, but they are more interested in the thought and effort you have invested in this path than in its earliest expression.
If there is a direct connection between your early experiences and your career goals, then by all means articulate it. For example, perhaps your struggles with schooling inspired your interest in education law, or an experience abroad interested you in international law.
However, you won’t impress admissions officers by emphasizing how long you have wanted to be a lawyer or how your parents teased you about acting like a lawyer when you were a kid.
Lionizing Legal Characters From Popular Culture
Legal practice is often glamorized in popular culture. If you expect your career as a lawyer to resemble that of Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird” or Elle Woods in “Legally Blonde,” you may end up disappointed when a law partner asks you to sort through boxes of discovery for a commercial contract dispute.
Law schools don’t want discontented students who burn out or drop out. Show you know what you’re getting into, and that you are up for the challenge.
If your early drafts of an application essay sound banal at points, don’t panic. Once you have a good argument in place that connects your background and goals, you can home in on the wording. Writing in your own voice requires authenticity, not necessarily a unique style.
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Avoid 6 Common Law School Application Cliches originally appeared on usnews.com
