Many law school applications provide you with the opportunity to submit optional essays or supplemental essays. Some of these ask you why you want to attend that particular law school, or what your favorite work of art is, or to write a 250-word essay on any topic of your choice. A few law schools even invite you to provide a video of yourself answering a specific question. The first decision is whether you should attempt to respond.

Law School Expert generally recommends that applicants complete optional essays if the question applies to them. If a school provides an opportunity to explain your interest in that school, you would be remiss to ignore it. After all, why should a law school go to the trouble of admitting someone who can’t take the time to state that he is interested in that school? Law schools know you are applying all over the place and they are concerned with admitted a lot of people who decide not to attend because their admission offer yield impacts their ranking. Law schools want some assurance of your sincere interest in attending. Completing the optional essay prompts goes a long way toward providing that assurance.

Ann believes that your essays are what set you apart and help you get into your dream school. The law school admission process is not just a numbers game. It’s about effort and enthusiasm too, and taking time to answer those optional essays are a big part of that. If you are writing about a particular law school, be sure to go beyond simple website text and inserting the name of a clinic to dress up a generic “why law school essay.” Talk to alumni (Ann can help connect you to current students and alums at almost every school in the country), visit the campus, and have concrete things to say after doing more in-depth research. Find things to highlight that align with other things you are sharing in your application. Demonstrate that the school is a great fit for you, and vice versa.

Law School Expert can help you decide how to best approach optional essays and have them add to the caliber of your law school application. If you are wavering on whether to submit a diversity statement, Ann can help you to make that decision.