LLM Personal Statement

[lb0810]

I was just wondering if anyone would be willing to share their LLM personal statement with me? I’m asking because I have no idea how to write one and really struggling to come up with anything!

 

[lb0810]

@AvniD

 

[LLM2022]

I am happy to send you my cantab LLM one, but please note that it's not actually a 'personal statement'. Instead, they ask for a 'reason for applying', which is akin to a PS but has elements missing that ought to be included in an actual PS (e.g: career/professional goals, which were asked as a separate question). I can also send you my PS for the BCL but it is awfully short (300 words), and would not suffice for any course that places a great deal of weight on the personal statement.

Let me know if you still want them and I'm happy to dig them out

 

[AvniD]

I was just wondering if anyone would be willing to share their LLM personal statement with me? I’m asking because I have no idea how to write one and really struggling to come up with anything!

I wrote a different personal statement for each application as I generally had different motivations for each programme and university.

This is the general structure I followed but please note that I amended the structure, level of detail and length for each application according to their requirements and my motivations-

• Your background and its relevance to your motivations for wanting to pursue an LLM
  • Definitely include details about your academic background, including courses you've studied and papers you've published/written that motivated you to pursue an LLM.
  • Bring in your professional background to showcase if/how it led you towards pursuing an LLM.
  • Depending on the university's word count requirements, bring in information about your personal background to demonstrate how it contributed to the development of your academic and professional goals.
• Why do you want to study the LLM?
  • What does studying an LLM mean for your professional and academic goals
  • Highlight courses you're interested in studying and why
  • Mention any academics that you would like to work with for your dissertation and why
  • Depending upon word count, elaborate upon any dissertation topics that you have in mind
• Why do you want to study at XYZ university?
  • Bring in information about their teaching style, programme structure etc. and elaborate on why this stands out to you
  • Bring in information about the quality of their careers services, alumni relations, speaking events etc. to highlight what attracts you to the university beyond the LLM
  • Tie in your background and motivations for the LLM with why you think the university is a perfect fit for you ( think about their student culture, the city the university is in and the advantages that affords, any strategic partnerships they have etc.)

I hope this helps! Please do reach out if you have any questions. All the best