Advice on Writing the Law School Personal Statement (and Diversity Statement)

[@BrittanyTran]

What's the most stressful part about applying to law school?

[@u1dechoi]

English...haha

[@oohellyaa08]

Waiting lol

[@Samantha-sk9xl]

so far the personal statement lol....even more stress than the lsat!!!

[@shabrinakhansa6952]

definitely the personal statement :") I wonder if you can help to review my draft.. It will be extremely helpful

[@BrittanyTran]

@@shabrinakhansa6952 sorry i don't review personal statements but maybe get a professor or parent or someone like a mentor or boss to look at it for you!

[@patboland1650]

Really concise and clear communication in this video

[@WriteTrackAdmissions]

Glad you found it helpful Pat. Brittany did an incredible job with this overview on the personal statement.

[@bighitsfootage]

Berkeley specifically says don't talk about your interest in law. Boston College asks for it specifically. So take this advice with a grain of salt.

[@TXCTellsAll]

Good insight. Many people have asked about making themselves appear attractive to law school admissions. Many are afraid that their history isn't perfect but having a history of overcoming obstacles (working while in undergrad, 1st gen grads, and financial struggles) makes for a compelling personal statement

[@WriteTrackAdmissions]

Yes it certainly does. By discussing the hardship, how you overcame it, and the lessons learned (especially in terms of resilience, and resourcefulness) this can truly make for a compelling argument in terms of how you could become a great legal advocate and an invaluable part of the incoming class. Point is, the application needs to exhibit vulnerability and perseverance, so be brave and unafraid to face your past!

[@dannyhernandez2230]

Very helpful! Many insightful tips- thank you!

[@WriteTrackAdmissions]

Glad you liked it Danny!

[@anyarudko6308]

Hello Brittany! I just graduated high school and becoming a lawyer is one of my options. Right now human rights is what interests me, but I am still unsure of which path to take that focuses on human rights; through a medical or a political perspective ? I was wondering if there is a chance that I can email you and ask you questions or ask if you know any people who deal with human rights. I live in the Sacramento area, I don’t know if you are still here, but I would really appreciate it. Thank you! ❤️

[@BrittanyTran]

Sure, feel free to email me at [e-mail]. I'm not sure if I'll be able to answer your questions since I don't know much about human rights law nor do I know anyone that deals with it.

[@anyarudko6308]

Brittany Tran okay thank you so much!

[@michelleyakobi4641]

Thank you so much for this video! It is so helpful! Would it be a bad idea to try to include humor within the PS? My personality tends to be playful/use humor as comedic relief... I want to show that off (instead of making the PS super serious). If I added some sort of simile or metaphor to invoke a laugh from the admissions officers, would it go against me?

[@BrittanyTran]

I don't think so! I think it would be unique, of course being within reason since this is still law school but I think adding a bit of personality and making it more fun would be nice. Keep in mind I am not a career counselor or admissions counselor so these are just my thoughts!

[@emilycarter8922]

You might want to check this out kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4u4mIdrmMyHnZI

[@gracec6149]

Will there be more videos. A day in life a lawyer?

[@BrittanyTran]

i'm guessing you've already seen my other 3 day in the life of a lawyer videos?

[@marissanicole375]

Maybe a day in the life of a quarantined lawyer lol But I'm loving the baby videos!

[@BrittanyTran]

I did do a quarantine day in the life :) did you check out that video?

[@caringlovetv6998]

How can we see?

[@arina.rusakevich]

Hello, I am going to apply for American university in 5 years from now, but I have couple of questions about it. Could you ask or do you know about international students in law school, there is no much information online about it, are there any nuances for international students entering law school? Also, I couldn't find the information about exact exams I need to enter a JD or JD/MBA program, I know I need to pass TOEFL and LSAT, but I'm not sure about GRE or GMAT. It would be great if you would answer my questions, I hope I don't ask too much. Thank you in advance ❤️😅 Also sorry for my English, I don't have much time to practice it.

[@BrittanyTran]

When you say American university do you mean you want to go to college/undergrad here in the US? Or did you mean you want to go to law school in the US (they are separate and different)?

[@arina.rusakevich]

@@BrittanyTran law school, I'm getting bachelor degree here in Russia

[@BrittanyTran]

You can definitely talk to the people at Write Track Admissions or other lawyers but from what I understand about international students, it's better to get a legal degree in your home country first and then come to the US to get your LLM (masters is law) and then take the bar exam and become a lawyer. I'm sure each school is different so my advice would be to pick a law school you want to get your LLM at and see what their admission requirements are (what test are required, GPA, etc.).

[@arina.rusakevich]

@@BrittanyTran And what about JD degree? Is it equal to Bachelor degree in European countries and I can get JD in USA after that? As far as I know I need at least 2 years experience to get a LLM degree (it is what most law schools require for international students)

[@BrittanyTran]

a JD is what students in the US get after they go to 3 years of law school. After getting their Bachelor's degree at a college, they then apply to law school which is another 3 years. You could come to the US to get your JD if you want, but is there a European equivalent to a legal degree that is combined with your undergraduate studies?

[@danielliu8605]

I have a sub 3 gpa but a 17x lsat, would you be able to give me an idea of my law school prospects?

[@BrittanyTran]

the 17x LSAT might save your lower GPA but I would say just look at the stats for schools you want to apply to and see if they are similar to what you have. If not, then I would say it's probably a reach school. You could make it up in other areas but it's hard to say...

[@WriteTrackAdmissions]

Here are some pointers (1) write a strong addendum for why you did not do as well in your GPA (this can help: kzbin.info/www/bejne/poqXoHyrhbqsrMU), (2) Outline Reach, Target and Safety schools to diversify your chances of admissions, (3) write a SUPER compelling PS to really stand out and mitigate your GPA. Point is a 3.0 and lets say 172 is like having a 3.6 and a 162 (rough numbers), so the chances of admissions in a T-30 are good. Hope it works out!

[@patboland1650]

Do schools look at LinkedIn profiles

[@BrittanyTran]

not that I'm aware of but I'm not positive. to be safe I would assume they do and make sure your profile is up to date and matches your resume.

[@WriteTrackAdmissions]

@@BrittanyTran Agreed - its fair game so make sure everything lines up with your resume!

[@shogun7107]

Should I talk about when I was younger a good friend of mine opened up my mines to all the discrimination LGBTQ+ community non-black poc and disabled people are treated. And then go on to talk about how within the black community there’s a lot of homophobia and racism towards other groups and I was raised in one of those households. So when he explained to me what it was I they go through I began to grow, and now I’m an activist and if I see people being discriminatory I call the out on it, and that me and student council tried to pass a dress style where the men wear dresses and the women wear suits to try and break the gender role stereotype and remove the idea that clothing can only be worn by certain genders. Despite the work we put in we were just high schoolers and the board is very close minded, so it didn’t go through. Is this good bad personal statement or diversity statement? Ik this is late

[@BrittanyTran]

It could be! I think it depends how you tie it back to law and how it is written

[@shogun7107]

@@BrittanyTran so I should use it for a personal statement? and then I feel like I could Tie it back in by saying that I want to help those who are being wrongfully discriminated against in the courtroom

[@BrittanyTran]

@@shogun7107 you could :) but you have lots of time so perhaps something else will happen in your life that would make for an even better personal statement.

[@caringlovetv6998]

Hi, Why you this videos? To make extra money? Thanks.

[@BrittanyTran]

Hi, what do you mean?

[@caringlovetv6998]

Hi, Do you work for KZbin? Thanks.

[@BrittanyTran]

If you mean do I make money from making youtube videos then yes, I do make a small amount each month from ad revenue from people who watch my videos but my full time job is still as a lawyer at a company :)

[@caringlovetv6998]

What company do you work for? Do you practice F. L.? I have a on Aug. 3, 2020.

[@BrittanyTran]

Sorry I don't share where I work for privacy reasons! What is F.L.?

[@purplepassion9700]

Nice grift you've got going :)