Page 1 of 1

Personal statement topic HELP

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 7:16 pm
by jenni12043
Should I write about my experience in a boarding school in a third world country for my personal statement? Or should I write about my eviction and how I rose above it. Which one is more interesting in your opinion?

Re: Personal statement topic HELP

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 9:57 pm
by LSATWiz.com
jenni12043 wrote:Should I write about my experience in a boarding school in a third world country for my personal statement? Or should I write about my eviction and how I rose above it. Which one is more interesting in your opinion?
Definitely the first.

Re: Personal statement topic HELP

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 10:44 pm
by jenni12043
Thank you for the feedback!

Re: Personal statement topic HELP

Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2019 10:15 pm
by QContinuum
Ii'd only write about the eviction if that played a role in drawing you to the law. If it did, then I think it's fine to write about it, so long as the end product is positive and compelling. If it didn't, then I'd write about the boarding school experience instead.

Re: Personal statement topic HELP

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2019 11:29 am
by LSATWiz.com
QContinuum wrote:Ii'd only write about the eviction if that played a role in drawing you to the law. If it did, then I think it's fine to write about it, so long as the end product is positive and compelling. If it didn't, then I'd write about the boarding school experience instead.
I'd keep in mind that C&F is going to review your app, and you're likely to get asked about it even if it doesn't fall under something you have to disclose. I'd only write about the eviction if it was for racism or something equally appalling, and was definitely not your fault.

Re: Personal statement topic HELP

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2019 5:26 pm
by QContinuum
UBETutoring wrote:
QContinuum wrote:Ii'd only write about the eviction if that played a role in drawing you to the law. If it did, then I think it's fine to write about it, so long as the end product is positive and compelling. If it didn't, then I'd write about the boarding school experience instead.
I'd keep in mind that C&F is going to review your app, and you're likely to get asked about it even if it doesn't fall under something you have to disclose. I'd only write about the eviction if it was for racism or something equally appalling, and was definitely not your fault.
Pretty sure the eviction would have to be disclosed anyway (for the bar C&F, probably not law school C&F) - most states are pretty thorough about requiring disclosure of any legal cases one has ever been a party to. Also pretty sure the eviction wouldn't pose any C&F concerns, unless it was due to some crime like drug dealing or whatnot.

Re: Personal statement topic HELP

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2019 6:18 pm
by nixy
Not clear to me, though, whether the OP was personally evicted or their family was.

Re: Personal statement topic HELP

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2019 6:26 pm
by LSATWiz.com
QContinuum wrote:
UBETutoring wrote:
QContinuum wrote:Ii'd only write about the eviction if that played a role in drawing you to the law. If it did, then I think it's fine to write about it, so long as the end product is positive and compelling. If it didn't, then I'd write about the boarding school experience instead.
I'd keep in mind that C&F is going to review your app, and you're likely to get asked about it even if it doesn't fall under something you have to disclose. I'd only write about the eviction if it was for racism or something equally appalling, and was definitely not your fault.
Pretty sure the eviction would have to be disclosed anyway (for the bar C&F, probably not law school C&F) - most states are pretty thorough about requiring disclosure of any legal cases one has ever been a party to. Also pretty sure the eviction wouldn't pose any C&F concerns, unless it was due to some crime like drug dealing or whatnot.
C&F obtains access to the app you submitted to LS. I said it's likely it wouldn't fall under a mandated disclosure, but C&F would see it. It wouldn't hold up admission, but it could be a bit of a headache if there are requests for paperwork. In all honesty, it's sometimes easier to be found guilty of a minor crime than not guilty of one as different jurisdictions have different policies relating to saving paperwork.

Re: Personal statement topic HELP

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2019 12:53 pm
by jenni12043
Thank you all for the feedback. I still live with my mom and sibling, my mom didnt have enough money to pay the rent so we were evicted. It didnt play a role in my decision to go to law school or become a lawyer.

Re: Personal statement topic HELP

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2019 1:43 pm
by cavalier1138
jenni12043 wrote:Thank you all for the feedback. I still live with my mom and sibling, my mom didnt have enough money to pay the rent so we were evicted. It didnt play a role in my decision to go to law school or become a lawyer.
This might be a decent PS, actually. I think other posters were under the impression that you were evicted for failing to pay the rent. It sounds like it had a big effect on you, and it doesn't have to play a role in your decision to go to law school to be a good PS topic.

Re: Personal statement topic HELP

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2019 7:51 pm
by jenni12043
since I am talking about my eviction in my addendum (played a huge role in low grades) I think I should talk about something else. I don't want my application to only be about the eviction.