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Sample Essay

I am the only member of my family ever to go to college, but at one time it seemed that this might not happen. I started my undergraduate career on a football scholarship, but a midseason gridiron injury hospitalized me and temporarily derailed my academic pursuits. Discouraged by my month long incapacitation, I decided to defer college and instead go to work. For two years I worked as an assistant buyer for a stereo store; for two additional years, I served as an inventory analyst for a major national toy maker. This latter job gave me the opportunity to interact regularly with both accountants and business executives, an experience which helped refuel my ambition to prepare myself for a professional career. Reentering college, I earned virtually all A's while studying economics. My success in this endeavor bolstered my confidence and helped me to cope with the challenges I faced later upon transferring to a top-rated West Coast university.

Like many law applicants, I kept an active extracurricular agenda while an undergraduate. Among many diverse activities, I served as student liaison for my university's Black Alumni Association and as placement director for the Washington, D.C. Government Internship Program, as well as founding the Minority Business Association and tutoring inner-city children in math and English.

I was also fortunate to have the opportunity to do a summer internship in the nation's capital with the Legal Aid Society. Working with this group gave me a chance to sit in on depositions, accompany attorneys to court, and draft interrogatories. Moreover, I was able to play at least a small role in helping an indigent population that was unable to articulate their problems for themselves in court or afford legal counsel. I was struck by the dedication of the lawyers who staff the Legal Aid Society and by their altruistic use of their training and skills.

For the past two years I have worked (25 to 30 hours per week during school, full time in the summers) for a ten-attorney Los Angeles law firm. This experience has provided me with insights into the demands a lawyer faces and a realistic perspective on what the profession involves. I know that the effective attorney must bring many skills and talents to bear in meeting his responsibilities and that stamina, persistence, and patience can never be in short supply.

As a man who is 27 years old, I believe I would bring a maturity and seriousness of purpose to my legal studies that perhaps many younger applicants cannot offer. I have had experience in the world, I am aware of my capabilities, and I know with certainty what I want to do with the rest of my life. I have survived the mean streets of the inner city, and I have made my way in executive suites. I have a 19-year-old cousin who is an incarcerated gang member and an older cousin who has his own law firm. I know how to relate to and communicate with many different types of people, and I am interested not only in the possibility of pro bono work in my old neighborhood but also in legally serving a full spectrum of clients. I have the intellectual prowess, commitment, and enthusiasm to be an excellent lawyer, and I hope you will allow me to take the vital first step toward this goal at your School of Law.

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