The personal statement is a key component of the JD application. It provides the applicant the opportunity to share important information and valuable insights and allows the committee to make a well-informed admission decision.
Personal statements can serve various purposes depending on the unique circumstances an individual may have. For some, it may highlight accomplishments or frame setbacks. For others, it will explore personal history and/or a world view. Or, it may highlight one's motivations and aspirations.
Online Application Personal Statement Blurb
The purpose of your personal statement is to offer the admissions committee a comprehensive view of what makes you a distinctive and unique law school candidate. This may include, but is not limited to, your motivations for pursuing a legal education, unique skills, abilities, or perspectives you bring to the classroom and legal community, and any experiences that have shaped your outlook on the legal profession and your unique way of looking at the world.
On the application, we ask specific questions designed to allow applicants to provide context where appropriate on matters such as application categories and context for academic performance. We encourage you to make use of the opportunities these questions provide and not repeat this information within your personal statement. This approach will help you avoid redundancy and ensure that your statement remains focused on providing a deeper insight into your individual qualities and experiences.
Formatting guidelines: Please submit your personal statement using a dyslexia-friendly, sans serif font, such as Arial or Verdana.
Maximum word count: 1000 words.
Helpful Starting Places for Writing a Personal Statement
If you are having trouble determining where to start in the writing process, or deciding what to write about, here are some useful questions to ask yourself.
Why do I want to go to law school?
What have I done/experienced that has prepared me for law school?
What differentiates me from other applicants?
What are the top three things I want the admissions committee to understand about me as an applicant, as a person and as a future law student?
Tips for Approaching a Personal Statement
There are many ways to write a personal statement. Below are some tips to consider in your approach to writing your own.
Avoid including information that can be presented elsewhere on the application
The online application includes a section for your resume and provides space to include context on academic performance and applying under specific categories. Use those sections as intended so that your personal statement can focus on any additional topics important for the admissions committee's understanding.
Avoid repeating information you have read on the website
It is not a requirement to speak about the Schulich School of Law in your personal statement. The admissions committee prefers to learn about an applicant rather than reading information about Schulich Law gleaned from the website. Therefore, if you speak about Schulich Law, please ensure that doing so adds meaningful insight into your motivations and/or providing genuine context about your perspective.
A personal statement is not a cover letter
It can be easy to think of a personal statement and a cover letter as similar documents as they can sometimes serve comparable purposes. However, while this approach may work for some, it can often read as lacking depth, interest and sincerity. A personal statement can be many things, and it is hoped that authentic is certainly one of them.
Avoid AI
Personal statements may be used, in conjunction with other metrics, to assess an applicant's writing abilities. The use of AI is a missrepresentation of one's capabilities and will be viewed accordingly.
Tips for Creating a Strong Personal Statement
Here are some helpful tips to consider when writing your personal statement to ensure it is reflecting your strengths as an applicant.
Proofread/Spell check
A clear indicator that an applicant may lack attention to detail (a valuable skillset for law students) is to find, when reading their personal statement that they have misspelled Schulich, or, in some cases, neglected to change the school's name from elements adopted from a separate application.
When in doubt, give your statement a final review before submitting.
Write to Your Strengths
Personal statements can be used to assess your writing abilities. While it is our job to teach you to write in a legal format and with legal context in mind, knowing your writing capabilities is useful. Since we do not have a preferred format, we encourage you to write to your strengths.
Be Clear and Concise
Focus on conveying your statement clearly and succinctly. Avoid niche jargon, acronyms or unnecessarily long explanations.
Use Specific Examples
Rather than simply stating your qualities or achievements, illustrate them with specific examples or personal anecdotes that demonstrate how they have shaped you.
Be Kind to Yourself
Speaking about one’s accomplishments is not bragging. Behind every experience there is a skillset and an understanding that can bring strength to you as an applicant and as a future law student. The same is true of setbacks in life and understanding life lessons can be just as important as those taught in a classroom.
