Guide to Writing the Georgetown Law Optional Essays (2023)
Deciding whether to include an optional essay with your law school application can be challenging. If an optional essay doesn't add anything new to what's covered in your personal statement and/or diversity statement, it won't help your law school application. However, if you use the Georgetown Law essay to show personality, creativity, and a new side of yourself, you increase your chances for admission and scholarships. Putting in the effort to write a strong optional essay is always worthwhile. If a law school admissions committee is comparing two application packages that are otherwise similar, the person who included the optional essay will be accepted. Unlike many other optional essays, the Georgetown Law essay provides fun prompts that make it easy to show off your personality and unique approach.
Georgetown Law's Optional Essay Prompts
Georgetown Law regularly changes up its optional essay prompts, so you need to check the school's website for the current prompts before you start writing. In 2023, this is the prompt for applicants who would like to write an optional essay:
The optional response is another way for the Admissions Committee to get to know you. If you wish, we encourage you to submit a 250-word statement for any of the following questions:
1. Tell us about something that seemed small but turned out to be huge.
2. Describe a time when your reaction to something surprised you.
3. What opinion of yours would your friends least expect?
4. Share a top ten list with us.
5. Prepare a one-minute video that says something about you. Upload it to an easily accessible website and provide us the URL. (If you are using YouTube, we strongly suggest that you make your video unlisted so it will not appear in any of YouTube's public spaces.) What you do or say is entirely up to you. Please note that we are unable to watch videos that come in any form other than a URL link.
Bonus: Optional Video
If you want to avoid writing the optional Georgetown Law essay, consider submitting a video instead. Instead of a written essay, Georgetown Law also allows you to create a one-minute personal video to submit with your law school application. The same advice applies to the video as for the essay—tell the law school admissions committee something that they cannot learn by reading your personal statement or diversity statement. The committee doesn't set any restrictions on what you can do or say in the video, but you do not want to bore them with things they already know from reading the rest of your law school application package.
Composing Your Georgetown Law Optional Essay
Choosing to write the optional Georgetown Law essay is in your best interest as long as you put effort into writing a great essay. In some ways, the school's prompts make it easier for you to get started. You have some choices, so you don't have to feel boxed in by one prompt, but you don't need to feel overwhelmed by choosing any subject that you want either. These tips will help you compose a strong law school essay that adds value to your application package.
Brainstorm Topics Within the Prompts
To start your writing process, take an hour or so to brainstorm and come up with a few topics for each of the prompts. Don't limit your creativity by overthinking. Instead, put down anything that comes to your mind. Once you've compiled a list of potential law school essay topics, it's time to narrow them down. The most important part of this essay is to let your personality and creativity shine through. Use these guidelines to help you choose your final topic:
Does This Topic Cover Anything Already Mentioned in My Personal or Diversity Statements?
You can mention your ethnic or religious background in your optional law school essay. However, be careful of repeating ideas or content from your diversity statement. Instead, tie your background to the prompt by showing how your distinctive personality and experience inform your answer to the question you chose.
Does This Topic Show a Special Side of Me That I Sometimes Hide or Feel Vulnerable When Sharing?
Whether writing, painting, or creating music, vulnerability is often the key to creating authentic and compelling creative work. Don't be afraid to go deep on these topics and let your emotions shine through. This separates you from the pack and shows committees who you are.
Is This Topic Trite to the Extent That It Covers a Subject That Many Others Have Covered?
Avoid territory that plays into common stereotypes associated with diverse applicants to law school or other graduate and professional programs. It's okay to write about growing up with a single parent, in poverty, or in a rough neighborhood. However, you can be sure the law school admissions committee has read similar essays. If you choose these types of topics for your Georgetown Law essay, be specific to your unique situation and discuss how your background shaped your perspective.
Be Authentic and Truthful
It's natural, and even helpful to a point, to want the law school admissions committee to like your optional essay. However, some applicants get so hung up on this that they spend too much time and energy thinking about what the committee wants to read in their essays. Even worse, some applicants write the answers that they think the committee members want to read, rather than what feel authentic. Law school admissions committee members each have their own personalities and backgrounds, so it's impossible to write a response that's tailored to each person's preferences. More importantly, catering to what you think someone wants to read can make your law school essay seem disingenuous.
Instead, be authentic and truthful. The optional Georgetown Law essay is another chance for you to showcase your writing skills. Some committee members might not like your response, and you have no control over that. Still, this does not mean you wrote a "bad" essay. Ultimately, committee members look for your personal perspective and whether you can communicate it in an honest way.
Don't Overwrite
Georgetown Law asks for 250 words from those who submit an optional essay. It's easy to think that more is better, but this is a mistake. Stick to the given word count. Take the short length as an opportunity to demonstrate your ability to follow directions and write concisely. Committee members need to read many essays, so assuming that they should read more of what you have to write does not present you in a good light. Take the time to edit your law school essay carefully. Ensure that each word counts so that you can stay within the allotted word limit.
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