The admissions essays convey important information about you in several ways. First, they provide the substantive information about you that is provided in the essay itself. Second, they demonstrate your ability to write clearly and effectively. Third, they allow you to introduce yourself as a person and give admissions teams an idea of how you’ll be as part of the law school community.
Pre-Law Advising
Essays
Types of Essays
Historically, law schools have all required the same general “personal statement” and an optional “diversity” or “identity” statement. Many have also included mandatory and/or optional idiosyncratic essays. Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard University in 2023, a number of law schools have modified or added new essay prompts.
There are a few different types of essays that may be required, including:
Note: The prompts for these can change each year so it is important for you to check with each school to see what they require.
Resources
There are a number of resources at Brown to help you with writing essays for law school.