Lesson Eleven: Addressing Other Essays
Given the number of programs out there, it is impossible to address every prompt. While writing a strong personal statement, diversity statement, and addendum—plus the occasional “why school” prompt—will cover over 90 percent of your essay content, you will still have the occasional one-off question pop up. Using the tips for brainstorming, outlining, and writing we have provided will put you on the right track, but here are some final tips for some other essays from three top-tier schools.
Yale
In no more than 250 words, write about an idea or issue from your academic, extracurricular, or professional work that is of particular interest to you. The idea or issue you choose does not have to be law-related; this is simply another opportunity for faculty readers to learn more about how you would engage in the Law School community.
· Make sure it’s of interest to you and NOT what you think Yale would want to hear. That it does not even have to be law-related gives this away. Yale already knows what it values; it wants to know what you value.
· Be sure to discuss why you are passionate about the idea and what you believe about it. The key word here is “engage”—you are not just talking about what you enjoy, but how you enjoy it.
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“It really needs to be something that… shares a little aspect of you. Some of the most interesting 250-word essays I’ve ever read… were about things like eggplants or lichen or historic golden watches.” -Nick Everdell, Former Director of Enrollment, Yale
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Stanford
Consider submitting responses to no more than two of the following questions. Note that there is a 100 to 250 word limit for each question.
1. Would you rather be given a gift of a trip to the moon or $10,000 to travel the Earth?
2. You're given the opportunity to teach a one-day class to your fellow students at Stanford Law School. Based on your particular skills and talents, what would you teach?
3. The library in the town where you grew up has been destroyed. Choose three books to contribute to rebuilding the library's collection.
4. Music has a way of setting tone and mood for any occasion. With this in mind, pick three songs or musical works to be playing in the background as the Admissions Committee reviews your materials.
· Which question you answer does not matter as much as how you answer it. Some things merit long contemplation—this is one where you should spend only 10-15 minutes deciding and going from there. Stanford—and any other school with multiple choices for prompts—would not give you multiple choices if it wanted you to prioritize certain essays over others.
· It is not just about what your answer is, but why your answer is the way it is. Stanford even advises for the last question, "don't just name three songs—explain why they're important to you and why the admissions committee should listen to them!” These questions are not meant for their own sake; they are meant to give insight into what you value and how you think.
· Make sure it is “on brand” with the rest of your essays. If you spend your personal statement talking about how poverty inspired you to pursue law, but you answer the first question discussing how you’d extravagantly spend $10,000, it may not align with your overarching theme.
Pennsylvania
1. These are the core strengths that make Penn Carey Law the best place to receive a rigorous and engaging legal education: genuine integration with associated disciplines; transformative, forward-looking faculty scholarship; highly-regarded experiential learning through urban clinics and our pro bono pledge; innovative, hands-on global engagement; and a manifest commitment to professional development and collegiality. These qualities define Penn Carey Law. What defines you? How do your goals and values match Penn Carey Law’s core strengths?
2. Describe a time when, as a member of a team, you particularly excelled or were especially frustrated. What was your role within that team? What was the outcome?
· First—read the instructions carefully! You would only answer one of these, and it would only be in place of the diversity essay or the addendum. Nothing would look worse than your failure to overlook instructions and to accidentally answer more than one essay (not to mention you would waste time).
· It is easy for both essays to focus on the value or the experience rather than yourself. If you are going to talk about the value of philanthropy, do not just do so generally, but as it relates to you. And if you are going to talk about a time when your research lab reached an impasse, spend less time on the disagreement and more on you.
· Above all else—what are you trying to tell the admissions committee about you? These (and all essays) are not about the content as much as what they tell the committee about you. Everyone values honesty, hard work, and strong communication—what trait or story can you tell that shows something unique about you?
If you have made it this far, congratulations! Finishing your major essays and any smaller ones is no easy feat. But before you dash off and submit your essays so you can be done, make sure to review some final steps—steps which we will discuss on the next page.
