In my opinion, as someone who has never applied to law school before and is thus an expert in this subject matter, I think that the personal statement is the hardest part to complete of any law school application. Why? Well, I’m glad that you asked! There are so many components to a good personal statement that one must keep in mind in order to craft a truly great personal statement. Again, just as a disclaimer, I have never applied to law school before. This is all information that I have gathered through a simple search of what different law schools think of the personal statement. Viewer discretion is advised (lol).

Component 1: Well written

This should go without saying, but a great personal statement must be well written. It doesn’t matter if you have the 4.0/180 perfect combination of GPA and LSAT score. If your personal statement is terrible, so will be your chances of getting into a good law school. That’s just a fact of life. I recommend finishing the personal statement way before you plan on turning your entire application in. That way, you and your choice editors have ample time to edit your statement.

Component 2: “Unique”

This is a hard requirement to fulfill. Your personal statement should make you stand out as an applicant, but the subject matter also has to be relevant to the “story” that the rest of your application tells. You shouldn’t write about a certain topic just because it would be an interesting topic to read. The personal statement, as Harvard Law School describes it, “is an opportunity to give the Admissions Committee a better sense of who you are as a person and as a potential student.” Thus, your personal statement must speak to both who you are as a person and as a student. Don’t ignore one aspect in favor of the other.

Component 3: Will you be a valuable contribution?

Component 3 goes hand-in-hand with component 2. In addition to speaking to who you are as a person and a student, your personal statement should positively reflect the strengths that you possess. If you write about your study abroad experience, for example, you should highlight how the experience made you worldlier and more open to the thoughts and opinions of others. In a very obvious nod to the name of this component, how is the experience you wrote about going to make you a valuable contribution to the law school you are applying to? If you don’t answer that question at all during your personal statement, then your personal statement is not finished.

Component 4: Rules/attention to details

None of the components above matter if you neglect to follow the format that is expected. If a certain law school wants your personal statement written with 1-inch margins and size 11 font, that’s how your personal statement should look. Failing to submit a personal statement with the right requirements reflects poorly on you. Like, really poorly.