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Perfect Personal Statements
Thirty samples of successful application essays with insights from admissions officers on winning strategies. Every student needs help writing essays.
- GenresReference
156 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 25, 2014
I've read almost every personal statement book out there in preparation to apply to law school. This little gem was full of insight grouped into understandable chunks. I hated reading other books with pages and pages of solid text. It's a light read but don't discount the info inside! It's great for an overview but doesn't go into explicit detail, which was exactly what I needed when I picked this up.
This book breaks everything up into categories and explores the pros/cons of pursuing certain themes (ie: what makes you different/unique; your motives and aspirations; why you want to attend your particular school, etc) and also has a helpful section on addenda - explaining deficiencies, inconsistencies, and blemishes; disclosing skeletons in your closet.
Peterson's PPS supplies valuable information on the style/format of your essay, along with "the top 10 rules to write by" and "top 10 personal statement pitfalls." It even sheds light on LORs and what schools really want to see on your recommendations.
These two parts are followed by a section on actual personal statements (listed by theme) and then advice from the experts - from law schools like Boalt Hall and Georgetown, business schools like Columbia and Stanford, and med schools like NYU and UMich.
This book, along with "Essays That Will Get You Into Law School," was the most instrumental in my writing process and gave me enough of a knowledge base to channel through the anxiety (and trust me, I had a lot of anxiety). I would definitely recommend both (and maybe "The Ivey Guide" and Montauk's "How To Get Into The Top Law Schools, 5th Ed.") for any hopeful law school applicant.
This book breaks everything up into categories and explores the pros/cons of pursuing certain themes (ie: what makes you different/unique; your motives and aspirations; why you want to attend your particular school, etc) and also has a helpful section on addenda - explaining deficiencies, inconsistencies, and blemishes; disclosing skeletons in your closet.
Peterson's PPS supplies valuable information on the style/format of your essay, along with "the top 10 rules to write by" and "top 10 personal statement pitfalls." It even sheds light on LORs and what schools really want to see on your recommendations.
These two parts are followed by a section on actual personal statements (listed by theme) and then advice from the experts - from law schools like Boalt Hall and Georgetown, business schools like Columbia and Stanford, and med schools like NYU and UMich.
This book, along with "Essays That Will Get You Into Law School," was the most instrumental in my writing process and gave me enough of a knowledge base to channel through the anxiety (and trust me, I had a lot of anxiety). I would definitely recommend both (and maybe "The Ivey Guide" and Montauk's "How To Get Into The Top Law Schools, 5th Ed.") for any hopeful law school applicant.
October 9, 2008
I was hoping for something meatier. This was written as if its audience were high schoolers, but it at least gave me some ideas and had some solid examples.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews