We often respond to questions from readers on the admissions process for graduate and professional schools. Here is a question we recently responded to: 

Q: What is the best way for a candidate to make a good impression with her personal statement?

A: The best way to make a good impression in a personal statement is, ironically, not to think too much about making a good impression. Instead, focus on telling a compelling story about who you are, what you value, and the things that are important to you.

The key is to tell a story. People are naturally drawn to stories. Admissions officers are no different in this regard. An applicant who can tell a compelling narrative about her experiences, particularly when written with a clear sense of purpose, has a powerful advantage over other applicants because she is making herself memorable.

Why is that important?

When all the applications are read and the admissions officers are sitting around a table debating which applicants to offer admission to, how do you think they refer to specific applicants? They can’t possibly remember all their names. Instead, they refer to them in terms of what was memorable about them.

That is why an applicant who is referred to as “the girl who took 9 upper-division classes, won the piano competition, and volunteered 15 hours a week at the hospital” is certainly a wonderful human being and a compelling student — but not necessarily the most memorable. Her profile isn’t rooted in a story, a journey, and doesn’t convey a clear sense of purpose.

On the other hand, an applicant who is remembered as “the girl whose dad showed her how to broadcast a radio transmitter to connect with other radio enthusiasts across the country, which inspired a sense of wonder to learn engineering and excel in math, ultimately leading to building a robot prototype with her professor that won a major NSF grant,” and how that experience taught her how to cut against gender stereotypes, is not only telling a story, but developing that story around a narrative theme — one that shows a clear purpose about who she is and what her goals are in the world.

Use your essay to tell a personal story about what you have experienced and why it is important to you. That is how you show an admissions committee who you are. And that is the only thing they are trying to understand. So don’t focus on “making a good impression.” Instead, show them who you are and what you care about, write about these things genuinely and sincerely, and you will make a good impression without even trying to.

Be sure to check out our law school admissions guide “How to get into Harvard Law School (whether you have the highest scores or not)” for in-depth tips on writing your personal statement and strategies for winning admission to elite law schools!

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We often respond to questions from readers on the admissions process for graduate and professional schools. Here is a question we recently responded to: 

Q: What is the biggest mistake an applicant can make on her personal statement?

A: The biggest mistake you can make on a personal statement is to write without a clear sense of purpose.

Often I see applicants who write about high grades they achieved, activities they participated in, or career aspirations they have, but they don’t organize these points around a clear purpose. Law schools want to see thoughtful candidates who carry a sense of purpose in what they are doing — in why they chose certain classes, why they volunteered for specific extracurriculars, why they even wanted to attend college.

This is important because admissions officers reading your application, particularly at elite universities, are evaluating whether to bet on you by admitting you to their entering class. The bet they are making is not only whether you can handle that school’s academic work and successfully graduate, but whether you are likely to excel there, and in turn whether you have strong potential for becoming a leader in your future career field and an ambassador for the school. Students who carry a clear sense of purpose quite simply have a better chance of achieving those things compared to students who don’t.

How do you show a clear sense of purpose?

Showing a clear sense of purpose in your essay involves at least two things. First, it involves showing that you have proactively taken advantage of the academic and extracurricular opportunities available to you. Rather than simply doing what was assigned to you or following a well-trodden path, you instead sought out new opportunities, proactively pursued and excelled in them, even created opportunities that didn’t previously exist.

Second, it involves organizing your story around a theme — not simply bullet-point listing all the wonderful things you have done, but showing how one thing you did links thematically to another thing you did, which in turn links to other things. And, consequently, when you “zoom out” and look at the broader arc of your academic and extracurricular choices, you can see a pattern around those choices that supports a theme about who you are, how you make decisions, and your sense of purpose in the world.

Interpreting those thematic links requires meaningful self-reflection on the “why” behind your choices. Why did you choose this extracurricular activity? Why did you enroll in this class rather than that one? Why did you decide to volunteer for this organization instead of that one? Why did you — or didn’t you — pursue a leadership role for a particular activity?

What an admissions officer is trying to understand with these questions is how you make the decisions that are important to you, what you learned from your experiences, and how they changed you. Students who are in the habit of reflecting in this way are demonstrating an intrinsic self-motivation and ability to experience challenges and grow from them. They are showing that they know how to teach themselves how to learn — and grow. They are able to show this because they have a clear sense of purpose.

And that is exactly the kind of applicant the best universities want to attract.

Be sure to check out our law school admissions guide “How to get into Harvard Law School (whether you have the highest scores or not)” for in-depth tips on writing your personal statement and strategies for winning admission to elite law schools!

The post What is the biggest mistake an applicant can make on her personal statement? appeared first on Harvard Law Admissions - Deconstructing and Conquering the Harvard Law Admissions Application.

I often respond to questions from readers on the law school admissions process. Here is a question I recently responded to: 

Q: How important are my grades and LSAT score for admission to top law schools? How much do elite law schools look “beyond the scores” and focus on leadership qualities?

A: Even though your scores don’t mean everything, still try to shoot for as strong of a GPA and LSAT as possible. These things won’t determine whether you get admitted, but they will send a clear message to the admissions committee about your likely ability to handle the course load and excel in it. Your leadership qualities are supremely important, but your ability to handle the substantial course work required by top law schools is a threshold consideration for your application. The best indication an admissions reviewer will have to evaluate your ability in this regard is your academic performance. And while you don’t need top scores to gain admission to top law schools, you do have to show a baseline level of academic performance to address any concerns about your ability to handle the course load. Remember: your scores won’t be deal-makers, but they can potentially be deal-breakers, so if you still have a year or more before applying to law school, be sure to keep your grades and LSAT a top priority.

Be sure to check out our law school admissions guide “How to get into Harvard Law School (whether you have the highest scores or not)” for in-depth tips and strategies on admission to elite law schools!

The post How important are my grades and LSAT score for admission to top law schools? appeared first on Harvard Law Admissions - Deconstructing and Conquering the Harvard Law Admissions Application.

I often respond to questions from readers on the law school admissions process. Here is a question I recently responded to: 

Q: What do top law schools look for in applicants?

A: The best law schools are really looking for leadership. They are asking themselves the question, “Will this person become a future leader in their field, whether that field is law or not?” Give them a reason to say ‘yes’ to that question. Show them how your academic and career path has already begun to demonstrate this kind of leadership. If you can focus on framing your candidacy in this way, you’ll find it much easier to write your application compellingly — and with greater success in winning acceptances as a result.

Be sure to check out our law school admissions guide “How to get into Harvard Law School (whether you have the highest scores or not)” for in-depth tips and strategies on admission to elite law schools!

The post What do top law schools look for in applicants? appeared first on Harvard Law Admissions - Deconstructing and Conquering the Harvard Law Admissions Application.

I often respond to questions from readers on the law school admissions process. Here is a question I recently responded to: 

Q: What are the 3 most important things to consider when applying to law school?

A: As a Harvard Law School graduate who also worked for 5 years as a law school admissions counselor for Kaplan and Harvard College before and during law school, the 3 most important things in my view that you should consider when applying to law school are:

1. Whether it makes sense to go in the first place. Answering this question requires introspection about what your long-term goals are — if you have clearly defined goals, do you really need to be a licensed attorney to achieve those goals? The reason for asking this question is simple. Outside of law itself, few professions in the world require a law degree to enter into (or succeed at) them; even if you have a JD, success isn’t guaranteed. But 3 years of your life in law school plus $150K in tuition and expenses are real costs you will incur by attending law school.

2. Assuming it makes sense for you to go — perhaps, you want to enter politics and law school will provide a great spring board, or you want to teach law — then the most important concern is the law school’s reputation. Go to the best law school you can get into, because the legal profession — from private practice to academia to government — is incredibly credential-conscious. You can undoubtedly get great opportunities as a graduate of a “non-national” law school, but it is tremendously easier to get your foot in the door having gone to an elite law school. Over time, of course, as your track record and professional reputation develop, your pedigree becomes ever less important and your professional accomplishments will increasingly speak for themselves.

3. Related to law school reputation, the network you would build at a particular law school is the third factor I would consider. Much of your success in your career, particularly later in life, can be hugely shaped and uplifted by a strong personal network of connections from your law school class. In my view, going to a law school that attracts strong networks, and making a real effort to build and develop relationships with your classmates (and keeping in touch with people after graduation), is the single biggest thing you can do in law school to open up interesting potential opportunities in your career down the road.

Be sure to check out our law school admissions guide “How to get into Harvard Law School (whether you have the highest scores or not)” for in-depth tips and strategies on admission to elite law schools!

The post What are the 3 most important things to consider when applying to law school? appeared first on Harvard Law Admissions - Deconstructing and Conquering the Harvard Law Admissions Application.

I often respond to questions from readers on the law school admissions process. Here is a question I recently responded to: 

Q: What is the most valuable thing you learn at Harvard Law School?

A: The most useful skill you obtain with a Harvard legal education is rock-solid critical thinking and reasoning skills. Harvard is great at teaching you how to sustain tremendous fact absorption and engage in complex, linear, logical analysis. It teaches you how to parse ambiguities, clarify difficult concepts, and communicate very complex ideas in simple sentences. It teaches you how to distinguish facts and how to frame compelling arguments. These are all important skills that will serve you powerfully forever, no matter what career path you pursue, and whether you stay in law or not. They are the core assets of a Harvard lawyer and they are universally applicable to any endeavor in life.

Be sure to check out our law school admissions guide “How to get into Harvard Law School (whether you have the highest scores or not)” for in-depth tips and strategies on admission to elite law schools!

The post What is the most valuable thing you learn at Harvard Law School? appeared first on Harvard Law Admissions - Deconstructing and Conquering the Harvard Law Admissions Application.

I often respond to questions from readers on the law school admissions process. Here is a question I recently responded to: 

Q: Are law school application deadlines “soft deadlines”? I am applying to law schools (or, rather, did apply to law schools a month and more ago) and over the past week have received several emails from schools asking me to apply even though their deadlines have passed. This is based, presumably, upon my LSAT score, which the Law School Admission Council sends out to law schools. Does this indicate a particularly bad year for law school recruitment, or is it always like this?

A: It isn’t necessarily always like this. In my experience — as a Harvard Law School graduate who had the exact same situation happen to me (along with seeing many application cycles as a law school admissions counselor for both Kaplan and Harvard College) — there are a few reasons why this may happen.

1. The law school is indeed, as you suggested, having a bad application year and is looking for more applications to fill the class.

2. You have a very good LSAT score (compared to the school’s median) and other solid credentials and the school wants to attract you even if it could otherwise fill the 1L class from the regular applicant pool — in other words, they may think you and people like you will help pull up the averages and medians of the 1L class, which can help with rankings like US News.

3. The school is trying to manage its yield — for example, Yale Law School has, in the past, sent out application invitations and fee waivers, only to subsequently reject those applicants. Now, if a law school does this to a lot of people, then their published admissions data (e.g., on their website, on US News) reinforces the perception that there is a large number of applicants only a small fraction of whom get accepted.

Or it could be a combination of some of these. Either way, since the applications are more or less standardized through LSDAS, and especially if you are invited to apply with a fee waiver, it can’t hurt you to send in an application. Who knows — you might not only be accepted, but even get some scholarship money to boot!

Be sure to check out our law school admissions guide “How to get into Harvard Law School (whether you have the highest scores or not)” for in-depth tips and strategies on admission to elite law schools!

The post Are law school application deadlines “soft deadlines”? appeared first on Harvard Law Admissions - Deconstructing and Conquering the Harvard Law Admissions Application.

I often respond to questions from readers on the law school admissions process. Here is a question I recently responded to: 

Q: How do you write a compelling law school personal statement?

A: As a Harvard Law School graduate who also worked for 5 years as a law school admissions counselor for Kaplan and Harvard College before and during law school, I have a strong point of view on this.

Simply put, you should write about something you care about deeply. Something you’re passionate about. If there is a specific reason or event in your life that makes it appropriate for you to write about “why I want to go to law school” or even “why I want to go to XYZ Law School specifically,” then go ahead and do that. But explaining why you want to attend law school is not necessary, and certainly should not be a topic you default to if you don’t have a compelling reason to do so.

Use the personal statement as an opportunity to help the admissions committee learn more about yourself, your interests, aspirations, and perhaps your goals for the future. You don’t have to declare these things directly. You can tell a story. And you should use examples. Your reader should draw the right conclusions on his own. In fact, telling a good story and entertaining the reader (appropriately) are good ways to distinguish yourself from the masses of other applicants that simply write “why I want to go to law school” essays. By the time your reader reads the 357th essay about “why I want to go to law school,” they are ready to bang their head against a wall. So being able to tell a good story that shows things about you, that shows what kind of person you are and what kind of leader you may likely become, rather than simply declaring those things, can make your application memorable when the admissions officer must go back and separate admitted applications from rejected or waitlisted ones.

Finally, help your application reader get a glimpse of your personality and character through your essay. One successful applicant to Yale Law School I knew about spent his 250-word essay writing about pie crusts. Not one word about the law or being a lawyer. Pie crusts! But what it did show was his humor, character, and surprising insight about a topic that seems so tangential and fringe. I am sure the applicant got a good chuckle from the admissions committee–just before they accepted him.

My own essay to Harvard was about a volunteer experience I had with a non-profit organization that was important to me and had special sentimental value. I wrote about why I volunteered there, what I learned, and how that experience changed me and influenced my thinking. I mentioned nothing about why I wanted to attend law school, and I didn’t even say I had any aspirations of being a lawyer. I just wrote about a personal project I had been part of and why it was important to me. It was enough for my application reader to draw whatever inferences he wanted about my character, personality, and potential as a graduate of Harvard Law School. Two months after I applied, I got my acceptance letter in the mail.

Be sure to check out our law school admissions guide “How to get into Harvard Law School (whether you have the highest scores or not)” for in-depth tips and strategies on admission to elite law schools!

The post How do you write a compelling law school personal statement? appeared first on Harvard Law Admissions - Deconstructing and Conquering the Harvard Law Admissions Application.

I often respond to questions from readers on the law school admissions process. Here is a question I recently responded to:

Q: Is attending all but the top tier law schools a personal and financial mistake?

A: I think it is probably true.

I might have given a different response if this were the year 2000, but the cost of attending law school has become so expensive, and the job security afterward uncertain, that I don’t think it necessarily makes sense to attend unless you can get into a top law school.

Fact: As a Harvard Law School graduate who also worked 5 years as a law school admissions counselor for Kaplan and Harvard College before and during law school, the most common reason I heard for why students want to attend law school was to “keep their options open.” They see it as a solid default option that will allow them to “do anything with a law degree.”

I think that is a mistake. I strongly discourage applying to law school with the thinking that it is a good backup option and will “keep your options open.” To be sure, it is true you can do a lot with a legal education, and you can do a tremendous amount with a Harvard legal education in particular. But you should be prepared to actually enter the legal profession and practice law for at least a few years, if for no other reason then to pay off your sizeable academic debts that you will have accrued following graduation. Practicing as a lawyer is what you are being trained to do in law school. So if you already know right now you don’t want to practice law, then it doesn’t really seem to make sense to attend in the first place. 

Even jobs at “big law” firms are still really only assured if you went to a top law school. So unless you can bear the risk of accruing $170K in law school debt, potentially without a 6-figure job prospect after graduation (as is commonly the case at non-top law schools), the risk-reward tradeoff of attending a non-top law school may not be worthwhile. 

Be sure to check out our law school admissions guide “How to get into Harvard Law School (whether you have the highest scores or not)” for in-depth tips and strategies on admission to elite law schools!

The post Is attending all but the top tier law schools a personal and financial mistake? appeared first on Harvard Law Admissions - Deconstructing and Conquering the Harvard Law Admissions Application.

I often respond to questions from readers on the law school admissions process. Here is a question I recently responded to: 

Q: What are some effective ways to prepare for law school before 1L year?

A: As a Harvard Law School graduate myself, I would say that law school prep courses aren’t very useful for preparing for 1L life. However, I think I would have found it helpful to read some hornbook treatises on the basic 1L classes: Contracts, Civ Pro, Criminal Law, Torts, and Property. I wouldn’t read them and try to memorize them in super detail, though — just read and skim to understand the basic framework for that body of law. Your law school will teach you the details, but sometimes just having a basic understanding of the framework beforehand really helps.

Be sure to check out our law school admissions guide “How to get into Harvard Law School (whether you have the highest scores or not)” for in-depth tips and strategies on admission to elite law schools!

The post What are some effective ways to prepare for law school before 1L year? appeared first on Harvard Law Admissions - Deconstructing and Conquering the Harvard Law Admissions Application.