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Recs, Resumes, and Essays

Supplemental Essays

Sometimes a single essay cannot encompass all that is important about you. For instance, one of my students had chosen two majors. English was a natural choice to a person who spent her childhood listening to her father read; his artificial leg kept him from engaging in more physical play with her. But an economics course thrilled her with its concept of effecting change on a national or global level by manipulating the economy. Her grades in her sophomore year were poor, since she had to be hospitalized two or three times for Lyme's Disease. Her favorite course was children's literature, in which she wrote stories instead of reading them. Her proudest personal achievement was backpacking through Europe and overcoming her fear of some very real physical dangers; she culminated her adventure by skydiving in the Alps.

These answers focused on a shift from passive to active, from a world of ideas to a world in which the physical repercussions are as important as the ideas. This shift made an excellent theme, but try as we might, we could not find a way to make her suffering from Lyme's Disease a coherent part of that story. So she wrote an essay about the change in her values from thinking to doing, beginning with her childhood memories of reading with her father and ending with her adventure in the Alps. She also wrote a simple two-paragraph letter explaining her hospitalizations and the effect on her academic work. These two documents were much more effective than trying to make that simple walk through the woods a personal challenge, or than focusing on the active and passive elements of hospitalization.

What are "supplemental" essays?

Many law schools ask specific questions. They may want to know the most influential person in your life, or ask you to "show us how you think." Additional essays offer you the opportunity to support the picture you painted in the rest of your file. If your personal statement says you're dedicated to feminism, the most influential person in your life should be a woman. If you dedicated yourself to a particular social or political cause, your essay on how you think might examine a philosophical problem which you've considered.

"Why Us?"

Often the most important "extra question" on the application is, "Why do you want to attend our law school?" This question should be given careful consideration and an honest answer. If geography, demographics of the student body, or special facilities influenced your decision, say so. Recommendations from prelaw advisors or current students are also reasons worth noting.

You might also use this opportunity to present a consistent message. If your undergraduate interests included international law, a special program offered by the law school could be mentioned. No matter what your reasons, an honest answer is the best. Reputation, convenience, desire to relocate, can all be mentioned, especially if your file supports this. But beware of overgeneralizations or flattery. Writing to N.Y.U. about its excellent reputation is fine (although surely you have something more to say, about your love of New York or the programs N.Y.U. offers). The same statement about reputation might seem artificial on an application to New York Law School; in fact, they might wonder if you've confused the two schools.  

At wait list time, a statement of interest in the school could make an enormous difference. Many schools that do not ask the question on the application will value the information nonetheless.  However, generic or uninformed statements count as no statements. So if you're going to try this strategy, be prepared to tell them a good deal more than their US News ranking.  

Essays explaining problems

Some questions require a lengthy answer only if you answer "yes" to a preliminary question, such as, "Have you ever taken a leave of absence?" Your answers to some of these questions may be included in your personal statement; others will not. If the topic of your personal statement lends itself to including the answer, do so

If your file will need more than two separate notes, you should probably change the topic of your personal statement. On my own applications, for instance, I had to explain breaks in my academic career, disabilities, one academic probation, and attending two colleges. It would have been pointless to include an essay about how my philosophy major affected my view of the world with four explanatory notes about other subjects. Instead, I wrote of the circumstances of my life: dropping out of school to work when my father had a heart attack, being injured at work, attending school part-time between surgeries and full-time afterward, trying to do too much and suffering academically. The admissions committee thus saw a full picture of my life, instead of receiving the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle which they had to assemble.

Essays instead of a personal statement

Occasionally a school wants a jigsaw puzzle; it asks for several brief answers to specific questions instead of your personal statement. Some schools want a short (250 word) essay that serves primarily as a writing sample.  Sending a mass-produced personal statement instead of answering these questions is a good way to get yourself rejected.