國外大學(xué)申請(qǐng)--個(gè)人陳述部分-personal-statement

1、Undergraduate GPA: 3.0LSAT: 163Applied to Florida State University.Accepted.Sometimes, it takes years to discover what you are really good at; some folks know right away. Youve read the statements of countless applicants who have a story about their lifelong love of law and their desire to continue

2、the legacies of their fathers, but my story is not one of those. My story begins with a seed, a fortune cookie, which, at the time I opened it was like some kind of bad joke. You would make a good lawyer. Living in bohemian New Orleans as a creative writing major, I cracked open my cookie, read thes

3、e words, and considered it a cosmic insult. I did not recognize until years laterafter having worked several years in the legislative arenathe eerie prescience of the cookies message.When I could no longer afford my tuition at Loyola University New Orleans, I relocated to Tallahassee, and Florida St

4、ate University, in order to take advantage of the available Bright Futures money and in-state tuition. As a student in Tallahassee, I had not spent a great deal of time considering what went on inside the gigantic Capitol building or the other bland government buildings downtown. I was a poet, train

5、ed in creative writing; however, as you may be aware, employment in the field is hard to come by, particularly in a town the size of Tallahassee, and so I accepted a position at the Clerks Office of the Florida House after graduation. It is dumb luck that I found an available editing job, as they, t

6、oo, are in short supply. I considered myself in much better shape than most of my creative writing peers, in that I was being hired into a position in which I would be encouragedrequired, even!to use one or two of the skills I had acquired in college. I was well aware that English majors often accep

7、ted the first salaried office job they were offered, regardless of what paper-pushing drudgery it represented. I was lucky.I didnt know my editing job would turn into anything more than that. At first, I considered it a placeholder. This was 2003. The position was temporary, scheduled to last for ju

8、st one legislative session. The Master Plan was to earn that paycheck while looking for a more creative position, but as John Lennon observed, Life is what happens to you while youre busy making other plans. Luckily, the Florida Legislature had several special sessions in 2003, which extended my tem

9、porary position long enough for me to realize the huge opportunity I had been given and my ability to excel in the field; seeing the behind-the-scenes work that goes into producing quality legislation gave me a deep respect for the good that government can do, when enabled by capable public servants

10、. When a higher-level position opened up, I applied. I moved fast. I was promoted repeatedly, eventually becoming the editorial supervisor in the Office of the Clerk.My work is tedioussome might say mundane, but I would notand requires a meticulous and analytical mind. Supervising the production of

11、the legal record of the Florida House, the Journal, demands attention to detail not common in most office work. I have found joy in the precision of my work, becoming increasingly fascinated with the intricacies of legal writing and research. My mind has always been one given to curiosity and proble

12、m-solving. Crossword puzzles and word games alone once sated me; as an adult, I have grown to appreciate statutory and constitutional puzzles for their complexity and for the mere fact that there may be multiple acceptable solutions, if those solutions are argued competently. I have come to understa

13、nd that one may express creativity and passion in ways that have nothing to do with art.My creative writing skills have been put to good use in my career, however. In 2006, when Clerk xxxxx retired his position and the Office of the Clerk was split in two parts, my unit was moved and housed under th

14、e newly created Office of the Parliamentarian. The loss of Mr. xxxxxs leadership was a strain on the office; however, my new work situation created another opportunity for me. My new direct supervisor, Parliamentarian yyyyyyy, recognized and employed my ability to communicate ideas effectively. He a

15、llowed me to participate heavily in the writing of several publications. The most daunting of these is Principles, Practices & Priorities: A Handbook on Parliamentary Practice in the Florida House of Representatives, which explores not only the practices of the Legislature, but also the intersection

16、s the Legislature must necessarily have with the other branches of Floridas government. The project required extensive research and fact-checking, in addition to writing and editing, and through this process, I expanded my understanding and appreciation of the Florida Constitution. Completion of the

17、 Principles book was pivotal for my professional career, because the research I did in order to flesh out this book revealed my desire to participate more fully in the process of government. While I had begun my career with the Florida House in 2003 as a recent college graduate just trying to get a

18、paycheck and blend in, by 2006, a larger picture had started to emerge and I began to see myself as a valuable part of that picture.The study of law represents a three-way intersection at which the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government meet; I am drawn to this convergence. To b

19、etter understand the work I have been doing for the past six years, I must approach this work from a different angle. Where I sit, at my desk, I can see some things that a law student might not see: I am involved in and understand the engrossing of amendments into bills, my grasp of parliamentary pr

20、actice is sound, I have a deep respect for the necessity of preserving official documents and records, I have direct experience working with others in an office setting. But these qualities do not give me a complete view of how law works. I can see how a bill is perfected over time and I can evaluat

21、e the arguments of those who have interest in the bill, but I cannot intimately understand how the statute enacted in the bill might impact the real world. Such understanding is vital if one is to even consider drafting a bill. Repeatedly, the Representatives who impress me with their grasp of the e

22、ffects and consequences of new laws (or changes to laws) are those who are attorneys or who have studied law. Yes, a Representative who is a farmer is likely to understand the effects of a bill relating to agriculture; however, a Representative who is an attorney has a broader picture than others, b

23、ecause he or she has had direct interaction with the laws previous Legislatures have enacted. I seek a broad philosophical understanding of how laws interact with one another and how, through their interpretation in courts, govern a society.I am applying for admission to the Florida State University

24、 College of Law in order to gain the formal training required to practice law in the state of Florida in the service of the public. I believe my background and experiences make me a competitive candidate, particularly when compared to more recent college graduates. My work experience has given me a

25、solid foundation upon which to build. I am intimately acquainted with long hours and difficult work; legislative sessions are quite demanding, often requiring that I work many 16-hour days consecutively. I have achieved a high level of personal confidence by producing quality work on a consistent ba

26、sis and have developed the maturity and focus required of a successful first-year law student. Additionally, my experience in writing, editing, and managing the production of publications has caused me to value precise language as an effective communication tool. I urge you to take these unique qual

27、ities into consideration when determining the makeup of your 2021 first-year class. I am not superstitious nor do I believe a fortune cookie has the power to predict or determine the future. An idea: You would make a good lawyer. It is a seed that I am asking you to let grow. I will do the work. I n

28、eed you to allow me to plant the seed.Top Shaggier1 Post subject: Re: Personal Statement SamplesPosted: Fri Jul 24, 2021 1:22 pmJoined: Tue Apr 14, 2021 8:57 amPosts: 1481 Worldtraveler: Fantastic personal statement. One of the more moving, substantive essays I have ever seen. Congrats on your great

29、 acceptances and good luck in LS.Top Haribo Post subject: Re: Personal Statement SamplesPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2021 3:27 pmJoined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 10:47 pmPosts: 1528 Stats: 3.68/180In: Harvard, Stanford (attending), Columbia, Chicago, Berkeley, Michigan, GeorgetownOut: Nowhere!A lot of my acceptance

30、letters commented on my personal statement; re-reading it I think there are some problems, but it served its purpose. I dont think this is the final-final draft, so there may be a grammatical error or two.Maria Teresa was stirring a copper vat full of boiling, light-yellow cream. A sweet-smelling st

31、eam obscured her face as she explained how to heat goat milk to make cajeta, a traditional Mexican caramel. While outlining the recipe, passed down from her great-grandmother, she hinted at her aching back and the many hours she spends in the kitchen. Still, her face was radiant when she spoke of ad

32、ding rum or vanilla to those century-old recipes to subtly change the flavor. In her words, I heard a refrain later repeated by other candy-makers I would interview around the globe: success requires hard work and a willingness to take risks and tweak traditional recipes for new and innovative resul

33、ts.Over the past ten years, Ive demonstrated these same values. At MIT and in the workplace, hard work and the ability to surmount obstacles, to think through problems, and to develop solutions are mandatory. In college, whether waking up at Oh-dark-thirty for Air Force officer training courses or s

34、taying up all night to program a ball-gathering robot, there was never enough time. Struggling to understand was normal - thermodynamics, my kryptonite. One dropped class, two years, and many late nights spent finishing problem sets eventually led to success in a subject I thought I would never unde

35、rstand.These lessons served me well later, when the pressure was intense to design, program, test and certify an operating system for the next generation of general aviation cockpit displays. Avionics software development is a bit of a tightrope walk. On one hand, you must upgrade the code to meet n

36、ew requirements. On the other, every change must be weighed with the corresponding expense of certification, a costly process required by the FAA to ensure all critical aircraft software is safe. Every day, I made decisions that set this balance. Despite the challenge, I was not happy. As a woman I

37、found the atmosphere difficult. In nearly four years, I worked with another female engineer only twice. I wasnt marginalized, but I was isolated. With no one to turn to for advice on balancing life and career and left out of many male-only bonding experiences, the aerospace industry was not a perman

38、ent option. In spite of these misgivings, my decision to leave a secure job to travel was unexpected to many people. Engineers are taught to abhor risk and to design and test it away, instead aiming for stability and safety. Yet, I left for 18 months of uncertainty. Something Id dreamed of became po

39、ssible when a documentary film-maker chose to sponsor me on my travels. My entry was selected from hundreds in an combination essay/interview competition because my reasons for travel to learn all that I can of the history, production, and consumption of candy internationally were interesting and in

40、novative and above all, unique. My earliest memories include trying chewing gum for the first time and starting up an elementary school candy business; the memory of boot camp that has remained most intensely alive to me is the sweetness of an ice cream sandwich after weeks without sugar. I travel n

41、ot just to see new sights and meet new people, but also to explore a fascinating, delicious, and at times unsettling aspect of human history. From the use of slave labor in sugar cultivation to international corporations forcing the closure of local businesses and pushing eating habits that lead to

42、diabetes and tooth decay, candy can have an unsavory core. However, it can also bring comfort and celebration, no matter where we are. This balance of the good and the bad has long been part of the history of candy.While traveling, I focus on writing and on viewing what I see with a reporters eye. I

43、 will have covered more than thirty countries by the time the trip is over, and each day brings forth something new to explore. In Belize, I made chocolate from the seeds of the cacao plant, grinding the beans by hand and roasting them on a roaring fire. Seeing Chinese and American imports crowding

44、traditional Nicaraguan sweets out of the market led me to a deeper understanding of the effects of globalization on candy markets. In Mexico, the impact of Spanish convents on the development of candy mirrors the more obvious colonial influences of the past 500 years. Studying sweets has given intel

45、lectual depth to my travels and a more humanistic way of looking at the world after nine years as an engineer. Additionally, with solo, low-budget, independent travel comes patience, a valuable global perspective, and the knowledge that risks and innovation can pay off in big ways.Perhaps it is sill

46、y to compare the experiences of candy-makers with a future law students. Still, success in any endeavor is usually brought about by a combination of hard work, craftsmanship, and finding the right balance between what has worked in the past and what should be changed for the future. The law is no di

47、fferent. With my background in engineering and software development and a long-standing interest in the impact of technology, Internet law is a natural fit. The laws in this field are newly developing; the balance between the old and the new is still being set. How do traditional rights to privacy a

48、nd freedom of expression extend to the Internet? Who owns the data online, and who determines how to disseminate it? How can we apply laws to a medium as global as the Internet, where boundaries of jurisdiction are unclear? I want to combine the tools and techniques Ive learned over the past twenty-

49、seven years with a law degree to help answer these questions. Like Maria Teresa, I want to work to set the balance.Top Kiersten1985 Post subject: Re: Personal Statement SamplesPosted: Mon Aug 17, 2021 1:55 pmJoined: Fri Jul 31, 2021 3:36 pmPosts: 1181 Haribo wrote:Stats: 3.68/180In: Harvard, Stanfor

50、d (attending), Columbia, Chicago, Berkeley, Michigan, GeorgetownOut: Nowhere!A lot of my acceptance letters commented on my personal statement; re-reading it I think there are some problems, but it served its purpose. I dont think this is the final-final draft, so there may be a grammatical error or

51、 two.Maria Teresa was stirring a copper vat full of boiling, light-yellow cream. A sweet-smelling steam obscured her face as she explained how to heat goat milk to make cajeta, a traditional Mexican caramel. While outlining the recipe, passed down from her great-grandmother, she hinted at her aching

52、 back and the many hours she spends in the kitchen. Still, her face was radiant when she spoke of adding rum or vanilla to those century-old recipes to subtly change the flavor. In her words, I heard a refrain later repeated by other candy-makers I would interview around the globe: success requires

53、hard work and a willingness to take risks and tweak traditional recipes for new and innovative results.Over the past ten years, Ive demonstrated these same values. At MIT and in the workplace, hard work and the ability to surmount obstacles, to think through problems, and to develop solutions are ma

54、ndatory. In college, whether waking up at Oh-dark-thirty for Air Force officer training courses or staying up all night to program a ball-gathering robot, there was never enough time. Struggling to understand was normal - thermodynamics, my kryptonite. One dropped class, two years, and many late nig

55、hts spent finishing problem sets eventually led to success in a subject I thought I would never understand.These lessons served me well later, when the pressure was intense to design, program, test and certify an operating system for the next generation of general aviation cockpit displays. Avionics

56、 software development is a bit of a tightrope walk. On one hand, you must upgrade the code to meet new requirements. On the other, every change must be weighed with the corresponding expense of certification, a costly process required by the FAA to ensure all critical aircraft software is safe. Ever

57、y day, I made decisions that set this balance. Despite the challenge, I was not happy. As a woman I found the atmosphere difficult. In nearly four years, I worked with another female engineer only twice. I wasnt marginalized, but I was isolated. With no one to turn to for advice on balancing life an

58、d career and left out of many male-only bonding experiences, the aerospace industry was not a permanent option. In spite of these misgivings, my decision to leave a secure job to travel was unexpected to many people. Engineers are taught to abhor risk and to design and test it away, instead aiming f

59、or stability and safety. Yet, I left for 18 months of uncertainty. Something Id dreamed of became possible when a documentary film-maker chose to sponsor me on my travels. My entry was selected from hundreds in an combination essay/interview competition because my reasons for travel to learn all that I can of the history, production,