To ensure that your personalstatement maximizes your chances of gaining admission to your dream school(even if your GPA or LSAT is below the school's range), avoidthese five mistakes.

1. Writing about study abroad: Approximately 15 percent of law school applicants write abouttheir study abroad experience. No matter how much your own study abroadexperience "changed" you, writing about it simply will notdifferentiate you from other applicants.

Remember that no one sits next toeach admissions officer requiring that he or she read every essay in itsentirety. If a reader has just read five study abroad essays and yours startswith, "My semester abroad in Florence profoundly changed my lifeforever," you are much less likely to receive the acceptance letter orE-mail you so covet.

2. Highlighting your personalexperience with the legal system: Lawyers pride themselves on being unbiased, relativelyunemotional professionals, so your story about witnessing a crime or serving ona jury will not impress the law school admissions committees.

Stories that show your character,work ethic, and intellect outside of the legal context will impress theadmissions committees far more than your firsthand experiences with the law.

3. Over-inflating yourvocabulary: Always use the word that best exemplifies the idea you aretrying to convey. If that word is only one syllable, fine. If it is fivesyllables, that is fine, too.

While you should avoid repeatingthe same word over and over, do not use a big word simply in an effort to showoff your vocabulary. It will seem forced, and it won't work.

4. Over-editing: Do not edit your essay to the point that the writing becomes sogeneric that your authentic voice is lost. Overly edited essays make itimmediately obvious to the reader that you had substantial help on the essay.

You should certainly have anumber of people, like trusted friends and professors, read your essay andprovide feedback, but ensure that the final essay is your work and is in yourunique voice.

5. Repeating your résumé: Your personal statement should not be just a narrative of yourrésumé. Use the essay to give context to the most compelling components of youracademic and professional experience.

Your résumé is a summary of yourqualifications and accomplishments, but your essay is your chance to"speak" to the admissions readers and tell your unique story. Don'tforsake this valuable opportunity.

By avoiding these things, youwill significantly increase your chances of admission to the law school of yourchoice.