How to Apply to Law School for a Second Time With the Same Personal Statement

The personal statement is an important component of your law school application because it lets you discuss your motivation for pursuing a legal career. For whatever reason, you may elect not to write a new statement on your second time around. Perhaps you do not have the time or you believe the statement is strong in its original form. Regardless of your circumstances, there are ways to ensure that your personal statement still serves the purpose of persuading the admissions officers that you are a great prospective student. Because this is your second time applying, you may have gained knowledge and insight from the first round to make your total application compelling even with the same statement.

Instructions

    • 1

      Contact your schools directly and ask if this practice is frowned upon. Perhaps they only glance at personal statements and the particular schools you are applying to rely almost exclusively on your undergraduate grade point average and your Law School Admission Test (LSAT) scores to make their decision. In these cases, using the same statement may be acceptable.

    • 2

      Update your list of schools, if necessary. If the schools you contacted suggested they seriously consider the personal statement, you may want to add a few new schools. Because while it is unlikely that your personal statement will be remembered by the admissions committee members, if it was very memorable, it may well be. In this case, using the same personal statement may hurt your application by showing a lack of effort on your part. Adding a few schools for whom the personal statement is new will mitigate this potential problem.

    • 3

      Work on the parts of the application you can change. This may include polishing your resume, getting new letters of reference, or retaking the LSAT and aiming for a higher score. Although the personal statement is important, it is not the only part factored into an admissions decision.

    • 4

      Revise your personal statement. Even if your statement is essentially the same, tweaking it here and there may make it more substantial. Ask a mentor or friend to look over the personal statement and address the weakest parts; then, revise your statement accordingly. A new opening or ending may be all you need to transform the statement from good to great.

    • 5

      Add briefly to the personal statement. For example, it may require an update if there is an achievement within that past year you would like to mention. Or, adding a final paragraph where you briefly discuss your specific reasons for wanting to attend a particular school can show diligence and dedication.

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