To Become a Lawyer: College Admission Essay Sample

As an undergraduate, I was fortunate to have professors who pushed me to blend abstract principles with real world experience. I hope to continue this mixing of education and life through New England's clinical programs, because I know that direct interaction with clients and communities will make me a better lawyer. In college I worked in the political arena all four years and witnessed how policies affect people personally. Politics showed me that sweeping improvements are possible, but things don’t improve for everyone. As a member of the legal community I will be able to help people who fall between the cracks of the larger societal framework, as my family did.

My family’s experience demonstrates how the nation tries to aid those in trouble with but cannot always do so, and I led me to enter the legal profession. My father had always provided for my family, until he suffered a stroke that impaired his ability to speak for the next few years. He lost his job, and between that and his ongoing need for additional medical treatment our savings were quickly devastated. Through health or employment law, I hope to fight for families for whom traditional unemployment insurance and employee benefits do not provide adequate aid.

The stereotype often attributed to attorneys is that of excess and power, an assumption that all attorneys must be mindful of. As an attorney I hope to help alter this perception. Fighting for the lowliest among us must be just as important as making six figures defending the world's corporations. In a democracy we must be sure to uphold the right for equal and adequate legal representation for everyone as well. Wealth and prestige should not be the only means by which to procure top-notch legal counsel and I hope to help every potential client regardless of status. There are two places in the United States where everyone is entitled to equality: one is in the voting booth, the other is before the law.