typo in personal statement law school

Finding Typos in Your Application After You Submit

Typos. In very important missives. That you've already sent to very important people.

Everyone has been there at one time or another, *including lawyers (*which can be especially embarrassing ). And including me. Yes.

And, as you might be acutely aware, it happens to future lawyers, too. When you've been staring at the same thing six hundred times while you polished it, trying to get it just so, your eyes can start missing the little things. The irony.

It's that time of year when people start freaking out over typos they find after they've hit the submit button. I feel your pain. There's no magic wand or time machine to undo that submission, so here's the best you can do:

If you find a typo after you have submitted your application, first ask yourself whether it’s a big potato or a little potato. If you misspelled one word in an essay or got your mom’s telephone number wrong, I’d let those go. The chances are very slim that anyone will even notice, and you’re better off not drawing more attention to them.

But if it’s more significant than that — for example, you forgot to disclose something in the Character & Fitness section, or you accidentally listed your GPA as 4.3 instead of 3.3 — you can call up the admissions office, be very nice ( always! ) to the person who answers the phone, and ask if you can update your application with a new document or (depending on the situation) substitute a particular document that you already submitted. If your file hasn’t already been sent off for evaluation, they’ll probably let you send in the new or corrected document. Ask them how they would like to receive the update or correction, and do not treat their reply as an offer for you to negotiate some other method. It's their way or the highway.

Even if they let you send in a corrected document, they might not be willing to get rid of the old one. They might only add a more recent copy to the file, but it’s unlikely that admissions officers will do a line-by-line comparison anyway. So be it. That's still the best outcome in some circumstances.

I'll end on a happy note. An applicant once called the admissions office at the University of Chicago Law School, where I used to work, and sheepishly confessed that he had misspelled his own name on the application, and what was his best option to fix that? The wonderful woman staffing the phones (a) laughed and (b) said, "Don't worry about it, honey, I'll just fix it in our system. All taken care of."

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Law school personal statements: what not to do.

Reviewed by:

David Merson

Former Head of Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University, & Admissions Officer, Brown University

Reviewed: 01/18/23

Your personal statement provides admissions committees with a narrative of who you are and what you value. To learn what not to write in your personal statement for law school, read on. 

“At the intersection of 21st and Speedway, I lay on the open road. My leg grazed the shoulder of a young woman lying on the ground next to me. Next to her, a man on his stomach slowed his breathing to appear as still as possible.

A wide circle of onlookers formed around the dozens of us on the street. We were silent and motionless, but the black-and-white sign affirmed our existence through their decree: BLACK LIVES MATTER.”

So began the memorable personal statement that landed Cameron Clark a spot in his top-choice law school, Harvard University . As it likely did for you, this introduction grabbed the admissions committee’s attention and urged them to continue reading to learn what happened next.

This level of engagement and originality is what makes an excellent personal statement . But, what makes a bad law school personal statement? Find out below!

What Not To Write In Your Law School Personal Statements

Personal statements are meant to humanize and add dimension to applicants! As such, it’s impossible for us to tell you exactly what to write about to capture your unique essence. But, we can tell you what NOT to write!

Here are some elements you should avoid in your personal statement:

Overused Quotes

Your first sentence has to hook your reader enough to urge them to continue reading. A sure-fire way to stop your readers from wanting to read on is using a generic, overused quote as your hook. 

Instead, start with the punch line of an engaging anecdote about your life that can be linked to your perseverance, drive, and ambition. By starting with an authentic personal experience, you’re sure to have a unique hook that the committee hasn’t already seen.

Focusing On Someone Else’s Success

Your personal statement is supposed to sell the admissions committee on you! You want to demonstrate what an outstanding candidate you are and the excellent traits you possess. In order to do this, you can’t spend the majority of your statement talking about someone you admire or someone who has influenced you.

If you choose to use an anecdote in your story, ensure you’re the protagonist of it!

Vague Descriptions

You want to avoid being vague in your personal statement. To seem as genuine as possible, describe important details of the narrative you’re creating. For instance, instead of discussing your entire childhood, pick one event that stands out and has shaped you into who you are today. 

Be descriptive! If you’re retelling a story, think about what you saw, how you felt, even what you smelt and heard. This will engage your readers and immerse them into your statement.

Focusing Too Much On Your Anecdote

While including an anecdote in your story is an excellent idea, ensure you don’t simply retell a story without connecting it back to skills and values relevant to law school. Connect your anecdote to your law aspirations and highlight how your experiences have given you unique and valuable perspectives that you can bring to your legal career.

While humor can add color to your personal statement, it’s best to leave the punch lines out! Humor is tricky and unpredictable; you might have a tough crowd who won’t find your joke funny, or worse, you might offend them with.

To err on the side of caution, avoid making jokes. A good personal statement won’t need humor to stand out!

Types of Bad Law School Personal Statements

Aside from avoiding certain elements in your personal statement, there are also common types of bad law school personal statements you’ll want to avoid. 

The Pity Party

Writing about an emotional event that tugs at the admissions committee’s heart strings can be an effective way to keep them connected to your story. However, ensure you don’t evoke pity as your main emotion. Making the judges feel bad for you won’t influence them to accept you into their programs! 

The judges want to get a sense of your resilience; you want them to be impressed by your attitudes and motivation despite your adversity. 

The Debby Downer

Some students believe listing their flaws or weaknesses will make them appear more humble and down to earth. This isn’t the case! You never know what types of skills or traits law schools will find admirable, so don’t sell yourself short by sharing specific weaknesses. 

The admissions committee is not interested in what you can’t do, they want to know what you can do and bring to their law school!

The Overachiever

You don’t want to sell yourself short, but you also don’t want to exaggerate your accomplishments to an unrealistic extent. The admissions committee will be able to tell! 

You also want to avoid spending the majority of your personal statement listing all of your accomplishments and saying how great you are. Your resume will already do this.

Everyone has room for growth, so it would be more beneficial to focus on one big achievement and mention the backstory to it! Was there anything in your way of this achievement? Did people doubt you? Is there an interesting, unexpected story involved? Use these answers to guide your statement!

If you need even more law school personal statement advice, make sure you speak with one of our law admissions experts .

FAQs: Bad Law School Personal Statements

If you have remaining questions about bad law school personal statements, read on to find your answers.

1. What Topics Should You Avoid in Law School Personal Statements?

Avoid topics that make someone else the protagonist of your story, that are far too personal, or only focus on your accomplishments and not your growth. 

2. What are the Dos and Don'ts of a Law School Personal Statement?

Here’s what you should do in your personal statement:

• Tell a personal story
• Highlight your strengths and growth
• Use the climax of your story as your hook
• Evoke various emotions

Here’s what you shouldn’t do:

• Tell someone else’s story
• Rewrite your resume
• Focus on weaknesses
• Use overused quotes as your hook
• Use risky humor

3. What Looks Good on a Personal Statement For Law?

Your personal statement gives the admissions committee insight into how well you can write! Ensure you edit your work several times and don’t have any grammatical or punctuation errors that can limit the power of your words.

Law schools also want to see that you’re equipped to handle and thrive in law school and a legal career. They want to see that you can overcome challenges, are highly self-motivated, resilient, persistent, and dedicated.

4. How Long Are Personal Statements?

Most law school personal statements are around two pages long.

5. Do Personal Statements Actually Matter?

Yes! These statements are meant to capture your essence, not your academic potential. No other part of your law school application does this, so it’s extremely important.

6. How Should I Start My Personal Statement?

Your introductory line and paragraph should be the most interesting part of your personal statement. The best way to make this sentence unique and interesting is to use the climax of the experience you’ll be focusing on as your hook.

Final Thoughts

Figuring out what to write in your personal statement is challenging. Students often either have no idea where to start, or have no idea how to condense all of their ideas into two pages. 

However, by going over what to avoid in your statement and the common bad types of law school personal statements, you should have a better idea of the direction to take your statement in!

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