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Reviewed by:
Former Head of Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University, & Admissions Officer, Brown University
Reviewed: 03/03/23
As you complete your law school application, you might wonder how long your personal statement should be. To find the answer to this question, read on!
A well-crafted personal statement can set you apart from other applicants and demonstrate your potential to become a successful law student and lawyer. It should provide insight into your personal and professional goals, your passion for law, and what you hope to contribute to the legal field.
While the exact length of your personal statement depends on the schools you’re applying to, this guide will provide direction on how long your personal statement for law school should be.
The length of a personal statement for law school varies by institution, but most schools typically request two to three double-spaced pages (approximately 500-750 words). Admissions committees read thousands of personal statements per application cycle, so conciseness is imperative.
Many law schools do not have rigid word count limitations but instead ask that the statements do not exceed a certain page length. This is most commonly two to three double-spaced pages, but can sometimes be four.
To give you a better idea of law schools’ personal statement expectations, here are the page length limits for five top law schools:
Your personal statement should give the admissions committee more insight into who you are, what you value, and what you hope to achieve. As such, most students reach their page limits to share all of this information.
For instance, if you’re applying to Harvard, your personal statement will likely be at least one and a half pages long. This length will help ensure you share your most meaningful experiences with the admissions committee and prove you’re an excellent candidate for law school.
The quick answer to how long your personal statement should be for law school is around two pages, double-spaced, or close to the page limit. However, meeting your page limit should not involve repeating information, adding unnecessary language to lengthen your essay, or veering off-topic.
If the school you’re applying to has no strict word count, you can write a longer personal statement. However, only do this if necessary. Otherwise, stick to their recommended guidelines.
Your goal is to structure your personal statement to concisely provide more information about you. Follow the tips below to structure an excellent personal statement.
Before the writing phase, reflect on your personal and professional experiences, interests, and goals.
Consider what sets you apart from other applicants and what you hope to achieve with your legal education. Jot down all of your ideas so you can pick the best experiences to talk about.
For your first draft, ignore the word count. Write your ideas as they come so that you have a good foundation; you can cut out the fluff later.
Once you’ve completed your first draft, choose one or two meaningful experiences that will act as the core idea. Do not create a laundry list of your skills and accomplishments; you will already submit a resume with your application. Remember, the goal of your personal statement is to provide new information they can’t acquire from any other aspect of your application.
Use your story, challenges faced, and lessons learned as the focal point. Provide specific context and depth and relate these experiences to your legal career decision.
Your personal statement should impress admissions officers. It should highlight your strengths, accomplishments, skills, and experiences, demonstrating your potential to succeed in law school and as a legal professional.
Avoid talking about your weaknesses - it will waste space and can work against you.
Only mention skills or abilities that can be backed up with concrete examples. Avoid any generalizations. Share your specific passions and how you’ve developed them.
For example, rather than simply stating you’re interested in environmental law, share the exact topics within this area of law that intrigue you and what influenced you to follow this passion.
Always write in the active voice. This will make your statement more direct, personal, and engaging and help you avoid wordiness that may confuse your reader.
Use the vocabulary you are comfortable with. Incorporating colossal verbiage could make you sound pretentious or counterfeit (see what we did there?).
Instead, use simple language to ensure you do not misuse words or over-complicate your sentences. Again, your goal is to connect with your reader. If you use big words, you might lose them.
Whether you get feedback from your best friend or our consulting team at Juris, it’s essential to have another set of eyes look over your personal statement to identify areas that need improvement or clarity.
Most importantly, revise your draft multiple times until you’re satisfied with it. Your personal statement directly reflects you and your writing abilities, so spend time perfecting it.
Don’t just think you’re done after the first draft; some personal statements go through several revisions. Start early so you can take your time with the revisions!
In this guide, we focused on the length of your personal statement. To ensure all of your concerns are addressed, here are the answers to other common questions about personal statements.
A three-page personal statement might be too long for some law schools but acceptable for others. The general rule of thumb is to keep your personal statement between two and four pages long, but always check the school’s application requirements to be sure.
Your law school personal statement should be 500 to 750 words, two to four pages double-spaced. Some schools might have specific requirements for the personal statement structure, so refer to the school’s admissions requirements before writing.
To ensure your personal statement is as effective as possible, begin early and leave time for revisions. Cut out any unnecessary language and avoid fluff! Stick to one or two transformative experiences and structure your personal statement around those core ideas.
While most statements are between two and four pages long, use your judgment and the school’s expectations when deciding how long your personal statement should be. You may be tempted to include as much information as possible, but it's important to focus on crafting a strong and concise statement that effectively communicates your passion, motivations, and potential to succeed in the legal field!
Reviewed by:
Former Head of Northeastern University's Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University
