Ann K. Levine is the founder and chief law school admission consultant at Law School Expert. Each year, pre-law students rely on Law School Expert’s blog for advice on personal statements, letters of recommendation, LSAT scores and more, to help them get into reach law schools. She has been a law school admission consultant since opening LawSchoolExpert.com in 2004, and this is her fourth book. The following is an excerpt from the Amazon bestselling law school guide, The Law School Admission Game.

What Is a Personal Statement?

This is the piece of your application over which you have—at present—the most control. And it’s not to be taken lightly. A good personal statement adds to the application by tipping the scales in your favor. If someone with your numbers has a chance of being admitted to a particular law school, but not everyone with your numbers is admitted, the major deciding factor is the personal statement. A good LOR helps, but if you can’t advocate for yourself, someone else advocating on your behalf isn’t going to make your case for you. And, if the personal statement is unimpressive, the person evaluating your application may not even go on to read the LORs. Read more