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David Busis
About
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- David Busis
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Comments
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Thanks, @mes08 . @"Jason Lai", I don't write people's statements for them. I can critique your work and catch grammatical errors without smoothing out your idiosyncrasies.
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@nader.parham, I agree with @Pacifico. Is there anyone else you can ask? If not, go back to plan A, or B, or whatever it was—have a long conversation with your professor, try to give him as much help as you can without qutie writing the letter for h…
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@"Cant Get Right" I agree—Anna Ivey's book is excellent. I consulted it as I created 7Sage's course. @DeeJayGee, I also drew on my experience as a writer and editor for the 7Sage admission product. Ivey's book gives a big-picture overview of what w…
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If you're done with your classes for this semester and you aren't taking classes over the summer, you might as well send the transcript now. As @Pacifico said, you can update them after your fall grades come in.
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@nader.parham I think the real question is, do you have other options? If so, explore them. If not, try continuing the discussion with the professor to find out whether he might be able to write his own letter if you give him your resume and note so…
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@"Cant Get Right" why don't you see if your old professors are willing to have a conversation with you on the phone or—if it's possible—let you take them out for coffee. Tell each one up front that you're applying to law school, but ask if they'd be…
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@Toxoplasmosis, I agree with everyone that you should contact your recommenders this summer and start drafting your personal statement. At this point, studying for the LSAT should be your first priority, but you should be able to work on your appl…
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Sorry I didn't see your comment earlier, @MikeyMangood. @twssmith is exactly right. A LOCI is a letter of continuing interest; you should consider sending one if you've been waitlisted.
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Hi everyone, Excited about tonight's Webinar. If you can't make it, all the material will be available in the Personal Statement Bundle (scroll to the bottom), and I'm already thinking about the next Webinar.
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Great question. It's not about the content; it's about the tone. Your essay won't come off as a sob story as long as you don't complain, whine or beg. Say what happened to you, and focus on how you overcame those challenges. It is totally, one hundr…
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@mes08 No, don't write a diversity statement. This is a special essay. I'm creating a lesson about this, but here's the gist: stake out new territory. Write about anything. The normal rules don't apply: you don't have to tell the committee about you…
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@amanda_kw That's a tough one. Can you de-emphasize the rule-breaking and just say that the organization had its hands tied, so you stepped in? I realize, though, that you're interested in the conflict between the rules and the right thing, and to w…
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@medianplus30 Yours sounds like a perfect case for writing an addendum. It's not hardship that makes a sob story, but a self-pitying tone. As long as you describe your circumstances factually, it won't be whiny. I think you should write it.
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@Jengibre I see. In my experience, getting outside help doesn't seem to have much effect on Yale applications, but it's impossible to measure anything since the alternative is a counterfactual. Asha, Dean of Admissions of Yale, obviously prefers "pu…
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@Jengibre I would advise you to answer every application question honestly. I don't meant to imply that you were thinking of lying, but you should know that a lie could haunt you long after you get into law school, and in the age of the internet, yo…
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@seth.corley Both are useful. The trick to writing about ethnography and faith is keeping your essay concrete. You don't want to actually incorporate a theologically informed discussion of the Christian--not because it's off-limits, but because it's…
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@c.janson35 It depends. I'd shy away from writing a "I want to save the children" type essay if you have never volunteered for children-helping organizations. It would be perfectly reasonable, on the other hand, to say that you're interested in lear…
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@c.janson35 No story is cliche if you can write about it compellingly. I've read great essays about injuries. Go for it.
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@twihardarshiya8 You need a college degree before you can apply for law school.
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@nordeend My gut is that your parents' divorce might be a tough sell for the DS, but as I think you know, it depends on the essay you end up writing. If your parents' divorce was a formative event, you might consider writing about it in your persona…
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@CrazyAmbitious I wouldn't worry too much about your extracurriculars for your PS. The idea is to tell a story about who you are. Check out the Personal Statement course--still only $.59--for some advice about how to get started. As for your DS, I …
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@ashleyisbadname I think self-acceptance is a great theme. When you're writing a diversity statement, you're almost definitionally not writing for a socially conservative reader. Anyway, you don't have to make a broad culture-war type argument; you …
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@ashleyisbadname Yes. You can contact me any time about essay editing.
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@ashleyisbadname I don't routinely ask for essays. I need them to build the 7Sage course.
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@mes08 Great question. The point of an addendum is to show your good judgment--even if you're explaining bad judgment from the past. Some people will tell you to submit an addendum for anything; I've come to believe that a low-LSAT addendum is just …
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@StandingOnTheSun180--I don't anticipate that being a problem. First of all, the essays are behind a paywall. Second of all, the admissions officers will have no reason to think you plagiarized.
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@IsabellaS Thanks for bringing this to my attention, Isabella. That lesson is from the old PS Bundle--I didn't write it--and I forgot that it existed. In any case, I don't agree with that advice, and I'll see about unpublishing it. My advice in a …
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@"Dr. Yamata" I think being LGBT can be a good reason to write a PS. I'd send it to schools in Texas, too. Remember that schools are, in general, bastions of liberalism, and a law school in Texas might be even more likely to want to attract LGBT can…
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@nicole.hopkins Great question. Law schools are looking for all kinds of diversity: racial, socio-economic, cultural, etc. If you grew up without a lot of money, that's a valid diversity factor--even if you're doing well now.
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@IsabellaS could you let me know where it says that everyone should write a diversity statement? I may need to edit that. In any case--no, not everyone should write one. You should write one if you are "diverse." You should definitely not write one…