Law School Application Resources

Creating and writing a professional resume and polished personal statement is crucial for success when applying to law school.

Your resume and personal statement should highlight your achievements, showcase your skills, and tell a compelling story that reflects your passion, goals, and readiness for a legal career.

Creating a Resume

General Tips

• Choose a simple font style, and use 11–12-point size
• Pay attention to format
  • Each header should be the same size and style
  • Spacing should be consistent
  • Margins should be no smaller than .5
• Emphasize leadership and involvement
• Include academic honors and awards
• Include significant academic details such as relevant courses and thesis/senior paper titles
• Don’t include an objective or “references available upon request”
• Proofread, proofread, proofread!
  • Have your resume reviewed so you can get another perspective

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Resume Format

1. Education

• Undergraduate degree and major (i.e., Bachelor of Arts in Political Science)
• Don’t include any high school information
• Do include any study abroad experiences

2. Work Experience

• Each experience should have 3-5 bullet points
  • Bullet points should start with an action verb
  • Quantify whenever possible
  • Each bullet point should include information about what you accomplished in the role

3. Leadership & Involvement

• List your roles and what you achieved in the following:
  • Student organizations/clubs
  • College sports teams
  • Greek life
• • Volunteer experiences
  • Student Government
  • Leadership roles in organizations outside of UND

4. Skills

• List foreign language proficiencies
• Avoid listing soft skills; prove those in your bullets
• Anything related to skills that are directly relevant for law (internship at law firm, paralegal type work, etc.); anything that shows real world knowledge of and connection to the law is potentiality useful

Writing a Personal Statement

1. Look forward

• What are you motivated to accomplish after graduation?
• Avoid listing personal stories from the distant past with too many details
  • Do briefly discuss relevant recent experiences that have influenced your decision to pursue a legal career

2. Show some confidence

• How will you make an impact?
  • What does impact for you look like?
  • Where do you see yourself fitting in, in terms of leadership opportunities?
• What makes you stand out or different from others in the applicant pool?
  • For some schools, being from North Dakota will be an asset
  • Think about your accomplishments (music, sports, etc.) and highlight how skills applied there will be transferable to your ability to excel in law school, e.g. commitment and dedication

3. Focus on things you haven’t already said

• Don’t list the same things that are in your resume without additional details

• Elaborate on something that connects to law from your resume if possible

4. Provide information that illustrates your determination to succeed in law school

• Prove your work ethic
  • Did you fund your own education?
  • Are you a first-generation college student?
  • Did you work a full-time job or more than one part-time job as a student?

5. Know the school’s priorities and speak to how you connect with them

• Does the school have specialized programming or law clinics that interest you?
• What are the programs of study?
• Why would attending that specific school be beneficial for your career goals?