What Qualities Do Law School Admissions Committees Look for in Applicants? Persistence

You want your application to tell your unique story—but there are certain qualities that law schools are looking for in applicants, and you must prove you have those through the anecdotes you share in your essays.

Persistence. Law school and the practice of law require commitment, fortitude, and tenacity. Show the admissions committee that you are up to the challenge by providing examples of previous situations in which you worked steadfastly towards a goal, despite setbacks or failures. Show your ability to face adversity and get things done. 

What Qualities Do Law School Admissions Committees Look for in Applicants? Teamwork

You want your application to tell your unique story—but there are certain qualities that law schools are looking for in applicants, and you must prove you have those through the anecdotes you share in your essays.

Teamwork and Collaborative abilities. Law school and the practice of law are often team endeavors. Throughout your application, you will want to showcase your ability to work with others to accomplish a common goal. Consider the role you play within a group and how you help bring out the best in other team members. What has working in teams taught you about yourself? Law schools are looking for a diverse range of students. You don’t need to be the captain of a sports team or a club president to be a highly-effective and persuasive leader. Rather, you need to be able to articulate how your influence and openness promote the best outcome(s) in a collaborative environment. 

What Qualities Do Law School Admissions Committees Look for in Applicants? Critical Thinking

You want your application to tell your unique story—but there are certain qualities that law schools are looking for in applicants, and you must prove you have those through the anecdotes you share in your essays.

Critical thinking. Law schools look for students who are adept at problem-solving. In Psychology Today, Christopher Dwyer, Ph.D., Assistant Lecturer in Applied Psychology at the Athlone Institute of Technology in Ireland, wrote that critical thinking is the process of using analysis, evaluation, and inference to derive a conclusion. Show that you employ this process when making decisions or handling a problem. Demonstrate your ability to combine and review disparate pieces of information to examine a situation and come to a conclusion. 

What Qualities Do Law School Admissions Committees Look for in Applicants? Intellectual Curiosity

You want your application to tell your unique story—but there are certain qualities that law schools are looking for in applicants, and you must prove you have those through your anecdotes. This week, we’ll highlight some traits that you want to show in your Personal Statement.

Intellectual curiosity. Law school is academically rigorous, and schools want students who can not only handle the workload but elevate the classroom discourse by engaging deeply with the material and concepts. Just demonstrating a record of academic success is not enough. Rather, you will want to show the admissions committee examples of situations where you went beyond what was required to better comprehend a topic. Show your commitment to asking questions, taking on additional research, and seeking out learning opportunities. Keep in mind that you can demonstrate intellectual curiosity in an academic environment but also beyond it – at work or in your participation with a charity or hobby. 

Your MBA Interview: Practical Tips

Amidst your pre-interview preparation, don’t overlook day-of planning. Review our tips below to ensure that you feel your most confident when the day arrives.

What to bring:

Theoretically, you need to bring nothing. The interviewers have everything they need from you already. But there are a couple of things that we suggest you bring along to an in-person interview (which, if possible, we recommend you choose over the virtual interview).

1. An extra copy of your resume. It never hurts to have an extra copy in the case your interviewer asks for one.  

2. A copy of your application. This application isn't for you to hand over to your interviewer. This copy is for you. Review it while you're waiting so that you can refresh your nervous brain and stick to the same takeaways. You should feel prepared to talk about any experience included within the application and/or resume. If you feel you've reviewed this application all you can review it, take a break, and read the newspaper or a book while you wait. 

3. A notebook. You can and should ask questions during your interview too. Feel free to bring yours prewritten and jot down shorthand versions of your interviewers' answers. Just be sure to look up and nod periodically as you write. 

4. The right clothing and accessories. You already know to wear something professional, but this tip has less to do with being interview-appropriate than with being activity- and weather-appropriate. If you're touring the campus before or after your interview, wear or bring comfortable shoes. If it's going to rain, bring an umbrella. If you're from Florida and you don't have a warm coat, borrow or buy one before your interview in Boston. When you're engrossed in interview prep, these are the kinds of things you'll forget. 

5. Water and a pain reliever. Being physically uncomfortable during your interview is a nightmare. Make sure to bring a bottle of water that you can sip prior to your interview, and if you're prone to stress headaches, have some pain medication on your person. 

6. Fun plans. You might live in this city or town someday. If you have the time, explore it. This will give you something to look forward to after your interview, and it might come up in interview small talk. "Will you be doing anything while you're in town?” Yes! I'm checking out the botanical garden this afternoon. This simultaneously shows your interest in the area and makes you seem like you have a life and interests outside of studying.

Your MBA Interview Prep: Make a Claim and Back it Up Responses

This blog series covers the types of questions you can expect to receive in your MBA interview.

“What is …[the most important leadership trait]?”

Claim questions are simple and direct—but your answer should be complex and direct. Just like with your SAR responses, you will want to use stories here, not just statements. They may ask about attributes or skills you have but they're not looking for a list, they're looking for examples of when you’ve exhibited those things. Go ahead and use multiple examples! They don't all have to be long, but they should be detailed. 

Some questions will be about your future goals. Think: "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?" A question like this should still be backed up with experiences, if possible, or anecdotes that prove that you have the skills necessary to achieve this goal. You’ll also want to include what you hope to learn in business school that will position you for success.

Other claim questions will require you to showcase your critical thinking. “What advice would you give to your classmates who are interested in working in your current industry?” Don’t just provide advice, tell a story from your experience that inspired this wisdom. 

Questions could also seem to require opinion-only responses. Something like: "How do you feel about your company’s CEO?" But don't get it twisted. This is a "make a claim and back it up"-question. You believe the leader is succeeding (or not) “because…" 

Other “make a claim and back it up”-questions that you may be asked: 

• How will you add to the diversity of our school? 

• What is your greatest strength?

• How do you deal with ambiguity? 

• What traits are the most important for a leader to have?

• What is your management style?

Your MBA Interview Prep: SAR Responses

This blog series covers the types of questions you can expect to receive in your MBA interview.

“Tell me about a time when…”

Throughout your MBA interview, we encourage you to share anecdotes whenever possible. But there are some questions that you MUST answer with a story. These are "SAR responses" because you'll describe the situation (20% of the response), the action you took, and the result (collectively 80% of the response). Some SAR prompts will be familiar because they are commonly used in interviews. You may have also used some of these anecdotes in your essay responses. Go right ahead and reuse any applicable application content. Those were your experiences and your takeaways, after all. There's no need to invent a whole new self. 

Consider how you would respond to prompts like these:

• Describe a failure and what you learned from it.

• Tell me about a time when you challenged the group consensus.

• Tell me about a time when you took on a leadership role.

• Tell me about an experience when you learned from people different from yourself.

• Tell me about a time when you developed an imaginative solution to a problem. 

Your MBA Interview Prep: Articulate Why You Want This MBA (Not Just an MBA)

This blog series covers the types of questions you can expect to receive in your MBA interview.

“Why our MBA?”

Or: “Tell me why you are interested in this program,” etc. This interview prompt will appear, in some form, early on in your interview.

Make it clear how this MBA will help you to achieve your goals. Your response should include school-specific details, like what classes or experiential learning opportunities you'll take advantage of, what unique resources you’ll utilize that maybe aren't available at other schools, which professors you're eager to learn from, the student clubs you'd like to join, the names of companies you’re interested in that recruit from the program, and maybe even what you like about the area. And don’t forget to bridge these details with your past experiences and future goals to reinforce your interest in these offerings. 

Whatever you do, don't say something ingratiating and general: "It's an esteemed program where I'll learn from esteemed professors who lead in their esteemed fields." We're teasing about this phrasing, but go deep rather than broad. Answer the question with a few salient details and you'll be golden.

Your MBA Interview Prep: Prepare a Three-Minute Elevator Pitch

In this week’s blog series, we will cover the types of questions you can expect to receive in your MBA interview.

“Tell me about yourself.”

The first question your interviewer asks will likely be something general that invites the widest-ranging answer. This question comes in many forms. It could be as short and blunt as: Tell me about yourself. It could be: Walk me through your resume. It could be: Talk to be about anything you believe will enhance your candidacy for admission. 

These opening questions require a three-minute answer. Think of it as an elevator pitch response. Naturally, your response should reiterate your commitment to pursuing an MBA and make it clear why an MBA will benefit your career and help you to bridge your past experiences with your future goals. It is okay to stay in a linear timeline: I did X and transitioned to Y. What's important is explaining the motivation behind your decisions. You can also share who you are via your three most impactful experiences. 

Practice some possible responses to ensure you're not going wildly under or over the three-minute mark. Don't try to memorize anything word-for-word as this will lead to fumbling with your words or coming off as wooden. But have an outline in mind—some milestones you know you want to pass. 

Some sub-questions you might answer to build your "Tell me about yourself"-answer are:

• What was your path to this point? Did you always know you would pursue a career in business?

• How has your work experience prepared you for business school?

• Do you want to expand on any meaningful professional experiences and how they reinforced your interest in graduate business education?

• What are your post-MBA career goals? 

• How will an MBA bridge your past with your future? 

• What fun fact about you could you close on?

Admissions committees like it when applicants include personality in their answers, especially when answering this question. Revealing something fun about yourself encourages a connection between you and the interviewer.

Medical School Secondary Essays: One Optional Question You May Not Need to Answer

There are two optional secondary questions that are common to most applications, one that you can always answer and one that you should only answer if it is appropriate. We covered the former yesterday and the latter below.

Have you experienced any hardships?

If you have experienced hardships regarding your health, family, finances, or any significant interruptions to your education, share them here.

If you have not experienced such hardships, don't exaggerate a small hurdle or massage any facts to answer this question. A hardship prompt is different from an adversity prompt. We've all faced adversity in our own way. But an optional secondary question about hardships is exactly that —optional.

We once had a client write in a draft that she lived in a medically underserved area. Her home state was in the top 10 medically underserved states, but this description applied to rural parts of the state and areas of her city deeply affected by poverty—not where she lived. We counseled her to remove that answer from her application and we routinely caution against using embellished responses to prompts and interview questions.

Medical School Secondary Essays: One Optional Question You Can Always Answer

There are two optional secondary questions that are common to most applications, one that you can always answer and one that you should only answer if it is appropriate. We’ll cover the former today and the latter tomorrow.

Is there anything else we should know about your candidacy?

If you have no issues to address and the prompt is this open-ended, you could recycle a Secondary Essay from another school to highlight an experience that didn't fit into your W&A. Or, if they didn't ask in another Secondary, talk about why you love this program.

But the secret purpose of this prompt is to give you a chance to take down some red flags. It is the school's nice way of saying: "What not-so-great thing did you do? Explain why we shouldn't be concerned about it." Some schools will ask about it more explicitly: Please explain any inconsistencies in your college or graduate school academic performance and/or MCAT scores.

So, did you tank a class your freshman year? Does your lowish MCAT score not reflect your ability to thrive in a challenging academic environment? Don't make excuses. Instead, after you share your misstep, explain how you excelled in later courses or rigorous academic or work environments. You want to keep any answer concise: This is the issue. These are my accomplishments that mitigate that issue.

Test scores and grades aside, is there something else in your school record that needs to be addressed? Did you get a citation for underage drinking at a campus music festival two years ago? For topics like this, keep your answer very brief. Going on and on about every circumstance and how this is not really your fault, etc. is weak. Get to the point: This is the situation. This is the action I took afterward. This is the result of that action and what I learned.

You do not have to max out this word count. And much like the adversity question that might pop up in your Secondary application, you want to avoid appearing too negative or overly critical of others here.

Crafting Your Personal Statement: Lessons from Memoir Writing

A memoir requires more than a recounting of events from your life. Rather, you must show the reader that you’ve experienced transcendence. Marion Roach Smith calls it the “golden rule” of memoir. She writes, “Memoir is not about what you did. Memoir is about what you did with it.” The experience is not the focus or the reason for the writing, just the vessel for sharing a more universal learning with your audience. 

Smith expands this thought when she writes, “Specifically memoir is a promise from me that I experienced something, I’ve given some real thought to it and now know what it is, and now I am going to share what I now know with you. The promise is not that I am going to recreate the experience or make you relive it with me.” 

This approach also aligns with what admissions committees are seeking in your personal statement. From your past experiences, they want to learn more about your potential and character. Show them how a recent discovery helped you evolve, how you’ve refined your abilities in innovation and/or leadership, and/or teamwork. Prove to them that you are ready to pursue a graduate education and career path.

Below, we’ve compiled a few other takeaways from Marion Roach Smith’s approach to memoir that will help you craft a strong personal statement. Also, be sure to check out her memoir manifesto. 

1. Structure. Memoir is created out of three components. Prior to writing, sit down and consider the building blocks of your piece. 1) What is this about (think: universal, e.g., connecting with and empowering your team, trying and trying again to find the right approach to solve a complex problem)? 2) What is your argument (something that you learned based on your experience)? 3) What experiences from your life will you deploy to prove your argument? 

2. Think small. Memoir requires that you share your growth with the audience, which can be done effectively by incorporating small details. Smith notes the power of observation for showing the reader your journey to transcendence. She writes, “Never forget about the small stuff and how it reveals the big stuff of life.” Small details also create a relationship with your reader, drawing them into the experience. 

3. Don’t forget your audience. Your memoir should hit on universal themes that are relatable to the reader. When you’re writing, and more importantly editing and rewriting, keep in mind how your audience will take in what you’re saying. Did you provide enough detail of the experiences to show growth and to make your argument? Did you provide too much or extraneous detail? Were you vulnerable and honest in your writing? 

4. Keep it tight. Focus only on the experiences, sentences, and words that you absolutely need to support your argument and demonstrate your growth in the piece. You want to go deep, not broad. Adding in additional stories can distract the reader, and potentially lose them. Once you have demonstrated growth and made your argument, your personal statement is complete. Fight the urge to turn it into an autobiography or a resume.

Writing Tip: See Feelings as Information

This week on the blog we’re providing you with a to-do list for your personal statement and school-specific essays. Keep these tips in mind throughout your writing process.

See feelings as information. If you can state or allude to how an experience made you feel, you will paint a dynamic picture for the admissions team. You can include "negative" emotions like fear but also positive ones like joy, camaraderie, and pride.

We don't believe in self-aggrandizing but don't self-deprecate either. We think the "pride"-vibe you're aiming for is best explained by organizational psychologist and author Adam Grant: "Downplaying your achievements is not the antidote to appearing arrogant. Humility is acknowledging your weaknesses, not denying your strengths. Generosity is elevating others, not diminishing yourself. Owning your success doesn't make you a narcissist—it makes you a role model.”

(Bonus!) Understand that you will rewrite most things. Embrace it. Know now that having to write several drafts is not a failure. It is a way to success.

Writing Tip: Don't Shy Away From Fear

This week on the blog we’re providing you with a to-do list for your personal statement and school-specific essays. Keep these tips in mind throughout your writing process.

Show fear when it's applicable. Similarly, the "show no fear" image people often want to flaunt in their applications doesn't seem authentic because it isn't. You have many terrific qualities; being 100% fearless isn't one of them. You've experienced fear, whether it was about not finishing your Honors thesis on time or confronting a colleague about a sexist comment. Good. Fear helps you assess a situation, prepare yourself to address it properly, and take (sometimes very cautious) action. Addressing a fear can be quite humbling—it's another way to show vulnerability in your application. And fear can be a pathway to courage.

Writing Tip: Show Self-Awareness

This week on the blog we’re providing you with a to-do list for your personal statement and school-specific essays. Keep these tips in mind throughout your writing process.

Show that you're self-aware. Many of our clients shy away from sharing examples of their weaknesses or times they've made mistakes in their Personal Statement. But replaying a fumble is an opportunity to then share actions you took to remedy a situation and lessons you learned. That said, not every issue you present must be one that you've fully resolved. For example, say you're great at presenting ideas on paper but you have a hard time speaking up in professional settings. Likely, one beautiful, clarifying moment didn't change that forever. That's something you work on over a long period. You may share an anecdote where you spoke well in front of an intimidating group and how you prepared to do it. Then say how you will continue improving your verbal communication skills and how you plan to exercise that muscle regularly in the future. That's a stronger, more realistic take than "I will never have this problem again!”

Writing Tip: Remember what Resonates

This week on the blog we’re providing you with a to-do list for your personal statement and school-specific essays. Keep these tips in mind throughout your writing process.

Remember what resonates most with reviewers: Passion. Depth of Impact. Potential. We probably don't need to explain passion to you. Depth of impact means expressing how much an experience and your actions during it changed things within you and/or outside of you. Potential is you exemplifying one or more qualities that medical, law, or business schools admire: Leadership, collaboration, critical thinking, etc. You know these from your brainstorm “buckets."

Writing Tip: Emphasize Past Experiences

This week on the blog we’re providing you with a to-do list for your personal statement and school-specific essays. Keep these tips in mind throughout your writing process.

Emphasize past experiences. Focus on what you've done more than on what you want to do. So many of our clients think their essays should exclusively be about their fantasy future. But this isn't a magic carpet ride. Your rug must be on the ground. What you have accomplished and learned is the only proof that you are committed to the study and practice of medicine, law, or business. (Take note of that phrase because you should be reinforcing this commitment throughout your application.) 

A Tip for Your Med School Secondary Essays

We’ve written about how to approach common secondary essay questions from a content perspective, but today we’re providing a tip for economizing your process: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

The good new is that you will be able to recycle your Secondary answers for different prompts and use aspects of your Secondary drafts for your super-short answers too. But to do this more effectively, you'll need to get organized.

We suggest that clients keep school-specific folders holding all of their responses. Having separate folders for specific topics is helpful too. For example, keep a Diversity Essay folder. School A's diversity prompt might require a response of 500 words or less. Save that edited doc to the school folder as "School A Diversity 500." Also, save it as "Diversity 500" in the Diversity folder. Perhaps much later, when School M's diversity prompt calls for the same word count, you can find your finished and edited 500-word essay in the Diversity folder and tailor it to fit School M.

When you pare down your 500-word essay to suit School Q's 250-word or 1,000-character diversity short answer (and you likely will), save that to the Diversity folder as "Diversity 250" or "Diversity 1,000 Characters." You're applying to so many schools that when you read your 40th prompt, you're going to ask yourself, "I know I wrote this as 500 words already, but for what school?!" You want all your hard work to be in easily findable locations.

Related:

Your Medical School Application: Trust the (Writing) Process

Common Secondary Essay Topics

Common Secondary Essay Topics: School Specific

This week on the blog we’re covering common secondary essay topics. Stay tuned for a new topic each day along with pointers on how to make the most of your response.

Why our school?

This is a place to mention courses you're excited to take, potential mentors you'd seek out, clubs you'd join, what the school's hospital affiliations and research opportunities mean to you, etc. And you want to share how those offerings are relevant to your past experiences and/or passions. If you've spent the last two years volunteering at a free clinic and doing community health outreach and the school has a brand-new mobile clinic serving the unhoused, you want to be working on it. If you aim to become an OB/GYN and Professor So-And-So just published a 10-year study on geriatric pregnancy, you want her as a mentor and to become involved in her current research.

You also might share how the school's location will set you up for the kind of career you want. Say, for example, the school is in a city, and you ultimately want to practice in an urban area. If true, you could take your reasoning one step further, saying that you want to work in the school's city or state when you're a physician. State schools love applicants who are committed to practicing in their state post-residency.

Mentioning that you find other aspects of the town or city appealing or that it is located near friends and relatives is also relevant here. Schools want to know if you have a local support system.

Similar Q: Tell us about your special interest in the campus you selected.

If a school has multiple campuses, à la The Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, they will likely ask you to choose a favorite. Again, you should share your interest in the local clinical opportunities and how the campus location relates to your career aspirations. A personal affinity for a larger or smaller city or rural campus is noteworthy too.

Common Secondary Essay Topics: Key Physician Attributes

This week on the blog we’re covering common secondary essay topics. Stay tuned for a new topic each day along with pointers on how to make the most of your response.

What are the most important attributes a physician should possess?

Which one do you embody? This question is self-explanatory, but again, don't just tell, show. Share a story (or, better yet, more than one instance) where you exemplified an attribute that means a lot to you.

Describe a time where you worked on a team.

Teamwork is a huge part of working in medicine, so make this example count. Choose the best anecdote from your Teamwork and Collaboration Bucket in your brainstorm. Be detailed: What was your team's goal? What problem did you solve together? If the team was small, include everyone's first name. (It shows that you valued these people as collaborators.) What did each of them bring to the table? How did you delegate tasks? When did you choose to lead and when did you choose to follow? Did a conflict arise? How did you solve it? If you didn't, is there anything you would do differently if faced with that situation today?