One of the requirements for all UVic Law applicants is the submission of a personal statement. The simple guidelines can be found here. We’ve also published some helpful blog posts with tips to write a strong personal statement (Tips and Tricks: Personal Statements and Clarification on Personal Statement Guidelines). We also hosted a webinar with current students that gave helpful tips on writing personal statements. However, we still get a lot of questions about how to write a strong personal statement. This is part of a series explaining more of what the expectations are of a successful application, as well as some tips and things to avoid. This installment discusses what some of the expectations are for Part A of a strong personal statement.
We ask our applicants in Part A of their personal statements to:
“…write a personal statement of not more than 750 words, telling the Admissions Committee why you wish to join the UVic Law community and why you believe that your life experiences, background and personal attributes are indicative of a strong match between who you are and the community of students that UVic Law seeks to build.” UVic Law Admissions
Great, but what does that mean? Let’s break it down a bit.
Let’s start by talking about the basics: what is a personal statement? You can look up a variety of definitions on the Internet, but they all agree that a personal statement is 1) autobiographical and 2) relates significant personal experience(s) to the audience. We are looking for just that, a writing that relates your own personal experiences. It should be interesting, thought-provoking, and engaging, a solid piece of graduate-level writing that is free of grammatical errors and typos, as well as logically organized into an introduction, body and conclusion. Divide it into paragraphs that are not rambling to make the prose easy to follow.
This is not a creative writing exercise, an academic paper, or a cover letter. We see examples of all three. By far the most common are applicants who write a personal statement that reads like a formulaic cover letter. While much of what you might put in a cover letter is information we like to know, making your education/work/volunteer experience relevant to answering the questions asked below is important. As well, you can add any experiences that aren’t germane to that particular narrative in bullet points in Part B of your personal statement.
Many people find it incredibly difficult to talk about themselves, particularly in a formal setting, like a job interview or a law school application. Regarding this, applicants may find it useful to choose a specific instance or a series of instances that was or were pivotal in their own lives and influenced their choice to study at UVic Law. These instances become the points around which the statement is built.
Why do we have a 750-word limit? 750 words is about a page and a half single spaced or three pages double spaced. We realize this isn’t much space to tell a meaningful story. That’s intentional for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we are incredibly busy during the admission season reading oh-so-many applications, many of which have an additional essay or statement included (depending on the stream applicants apply under). We simply do not have time to read 6, 7, or 20 pages for each personal statement, no matter how good the writing is. Secondly, one of the signs of a skilled writer is the ability to tell a story using fewer words. Brevity and the ability to deliver a concise message are highly valued in the legal field.
What does the word limit mean for you? Well, if I only had 750 words to deliver a powerful/poignant/humorous personal statement, I would choose every word wisely. I would not spend 300 words painting a visual picture of the night you realized you wanted to study law. I would not spend 200 words giving us an explanation of a quote that defines your journey. I would not spend 100 words on overly flowery or descriptive language that paints the idyllic picture of what you envision the crowning day of your legal career looks like.
I would use plain language. I would look at big words like accessories. You can over-accessorize anything, including a personal statement. Everyone reading your personal statement has a strong education and the ability to understand most of the words you might use (and to look up the ones that they don’t). Too much academically-heavy language can also sound clunky. Moreover, unless you exercise the use of those words often (and even then sometimes), a message can get confused with the overuse of big words. Words you don’t commonly use might have nuanced meanings that are more likely to make their usage seem like an odd choice that the reader dwells on rather than your intended message. We love a good thesaurus as much as everyone else, but we do also appreciate a good explanation delivered in plain language.
I would not include a word count with your statement. 750 words is meant to serve as a ceiling. But we will not cut off the last two words of your personal statement if you come out at 752 words. We will know if you’ve gone significantly over the limit, which is not a benefit to you. Using fewer than 750 words will also not count against you. Note, though, that it is really difficult to tell a compelling story in 500 words. What we want from you is to tell your story; say what needs to be said. Your goal is 750 words.
What do we mean by tell us why you wish to join the UVic Law community? There are a few different things to think about here. The phrase “join the UVic Law community,” mentions several different things. Within this, we ask 1) why do you want to study law, 2) why do you want to study at UVic Law, and 3) why do you want to join the community? This is the tough part. When we ask these questions, what we are asking for is a deep dive into why you really want to do these things, rather than a superficial set of answers.
Why do you want to study law? To help people? Well, why wouldn’t you go into social work or education? Your “why law” should tell what it is about law specifically that draws you to it. This may involve talking about how law relates to society or how its justices/injustices can be found. You can talk about policy, language, words, effects, process, accessibility, and so many more things. Many applicants find retelling personal events most effectively answers this question.
Why do you want to study at UVic Law? What is it specifically that makes you want to come here? We want students who want to be at UVic Law. And we really appreciate when applicants take the time to write about why they want to be here. We do not want a personal statement that was clearly written for admission to another school.
Like with “why law,” your “why UVic” will be as widely varied as the number of applicants we have. This can range from family roots to the things we teach to the classroom environment to our reputation to job opportunity to pedagogical philosophy. This is as highly personal as your “why law.” However, I can tell you that “I like to go to the beach” or “I like to hike” is not a persuasive reason to the Admissions Committee. While naming a prof or two, particularly ones with whom you have had actual interactions, shows you have done your research, excessive name-dropping is kind of like over-accessorizing with big words. It’s unnecessary, and it honestly looks like you are trying too hard.
Why do you want to join the community? Again, note that we don’t want a superficial answer. This is a good chance to package together your “why law” and your “why UVic.” Frankly, it’s a great opportunity to tie everything else in your statement together.
What do we mean when we ask you to tell us why you believe that your life experiences, background and personal attributes are indicative of a strong match between who you are and the community of students that UVic Law seeks to build? We talk about being a good fit for UVic Law a lot with our applicants, and this is what we mean. However, what tends to happen a lot when applicants read this prompt, is they spit out their qualifications like this was a cover letter. We cannot emphasize enough how much we do not want to read a personal statement that reads like a cover letter. Things that are résumé-esque should be listed in Part B of your personal statement (which we will cover in the next blog post). What Part A of your personal statement should do is draw connections and conclusions, using personal experiences and significant events to weave a compelling narrative that gives us insight into your unique worldview and positioning.
Next week: Breaking down Part B