My experience with the "adversity" essay/statement concerning trauma was a mix of feeling reluctant and uneasy about sharing my story, while also feeling like it was necessary for an admissions officer to understand who I am and why I want to do certain work. It was very tricky trying to write about my story while also not going into details, AND emphasizing the impact it had on me. In my case, there is no answer to the question "Why do you want to go to law school?" that couldn't involve telling that aspect of my story. I just hope that my essay isn't dime-a-dozen.
Love the way that Dean Zearfoss uses the example of having a difficult conversation when you first meet someone (face-to-face). Also like the "what do you love about yourself most?". Really gets my self-reflective, emotive brain churning out ideas of personal essays that could set me apart from other applicants. The genius of me is being able to communicate in a way that people understand. I think that race has transcended to more complex societal issues, so hopefully for applicants they can find them ripe for the picking. Thankfully, I can spend THIS Saturday afternoon watching Michigan play State in football. The Leaders and The Best. 〽
Hi Dean Z! Long time listener, first time caller. I have a question about résumés (so I'm happy to wait until you next talk about résumés!). I know it's a big no-no to include high school activities on your résumé, but is it also a no-no to include post-high school, pre-college activities? I took a gap year between high school and college, and during that time I worked abroad in a service job and as an intern - nothing exceptional, but it was a formative experience for me. How would you feel if I put that work experience on my résumé? If I do include it, should I go out of my way to make it clear that I had graduated from high school by that time? Thank you, always, for doing this podcast.
Great question! I do like to say that life begins at college when I’m talking about the law school resume, but only because I am not thinking about this scenario. What I *should* say, I now realize is, life begins after high school. I would definitely like to see info about your post-HS activities and work; your decision to do a service job for a year speaks well of you, and would tend to make me think that you had heightened maturity in your first year in college as a result. To make it clear that you did this as a high school graduate, I would simply include a brief line in the description of your duties/tasks, saying, “Full-time [or whatever] post-high-school service opportunity,” or something like that. Thanks for this terrific question.
My experience with the "adversity" essay/statement concerning trauma was a mix of feeling reluctant and uneasy about sharing my story, while also feeling like it was necessary for an admissions officer to understand who I am and why I want to do certain work. It was very tricky trying to write about my story while also not going into details, AND emphasizing the impact it had on me. In my case, there is no answer to the question "Why do you want to go to law school?" that couldn't involve telling that aspect of my story. I just hope that my essay isn't dime-a-dozen.
Love the way that Dean Zearfoss uses the example of having a difficult conversation when you first meet someone (face-to-face). Also like the "what do you love about yourself most?". Really gets my self-reflective, emotive brain churning out ideas of personal essays that could set me apart from other applicants. The genius of me is being able to communicate in a way that people understand. I think that race has transcended to more complex societal issues, so hopefully for applicants they can find them ripe for the picking. Thankfully, I can spend THIS Saturday afternoon watching Michigan play State in football. The Leaders and The Best. 〽
This episode made feel so great about my response to the optional prompts!
Such a nice thing to hear! So happy to hear you feel confident about your essays
This was so great. Love dean z
Hi Dean Z! Long time listener, first time caller. I have a question about résumés (so I'm happy to wait until you next talk about résumés!).
I know it's a big no-no to include high school activities on your résumé, but is it also a no-no to include post-high school, pre-college activities? I took a gap year between high school and college, and during that time I worked abroad in a service job and as an intern - nothing exceptional, but it was a formative experience for me. How would you feel if I put that work experience on my résumé? If I do include it, should I go out of my way to make it clear that I had graduated from high school by that time?
Thank you, always, for doing this podcast.
Great question! I do like to say that life begins at college when I’m talking about the law school resume, but only because I am not thinking about this scenario. What I *should* say, I now realize is, life begins after high school. I would definitely like to see info about your post-HS activities and work; your decision to do a service job for a year speaks well of you, and would tend to make me think that you had heightened maturity in your first year in college as a result. To make it clear that you did this as a high school graduate, I would simply include a brief line in the description of your duties/tasks, saying, “Full-time [or whatever] post-high-school service opportunity,” or something like that. Thanks for this terrific question.
@@umichlawWonderful, thank you so much for your response!