[blindlaw] Questions

Fri Oct 27 15:00:32 CDT 2006

It sounds to me that you are doing what you are suppose to do. Most everyone
experienced similar difficulties in writing the personal statement. Mine
took me almost two months, including all the editing's and revisions, so you
are not alone.  The personal statement carries a lot of weight in the
admissions process, so you want to afford it an equal amount of time when
writing it. You need to write and edit, over and over until you believe you
have conveyed everything you want to say about you in the limited space
provided. Your goal is to write in a form of a story about your experiences,
not in a form of a traditional essay. Which means, lean on the side of
simple English, and short sentences in the active voice. You might already
be aware of these things, but it doesn't hurt to point them out.

The fujitsu scanner is very expensive, around $850 for the model I use, and
even more for the one Angie uses. However, I would highly recommend the
investment, you will not regret it. When Angie recommended it to me, I went
and did my own research, and ended up convincing my school to buy it for my
use. I now can spend my time studying as suppose to scanning thousands of
pages over a million hours.

Again, as you have gathered, most people on the list are willing to help, so
if you have any doubts as to how you should proceed with the application
process, there are many of us on here who are 1LS and would not mind to
further assist you.
 Take care.

If you have to, contact me off list:
Roddj12 at hotmail.com

Rod 
-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf of Yasmine Hakimian
Sent: Friday, October 27, 2006 2:47 PM
To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Questions

Thank you all so much for your useful insights. I have taken note of all the
suggestions you all have made. I hope to send my applications out before
Thanksgiving. I've never had any problems writing but this personal
statement is really making me go crazy....I think it's because I have to
write about me and all my feelings seem hard to put into words. Hopefully it
will be done by the end of the weekend and I can send it to some people to
proofread it.

  I just received an Epson scanner from the Blindness and Vision
Rehabilitation Services in Pittsburgh and I have OpenBook. How much is the
Fujitsu scanner? It sounds like a great investment and I'd like to look into
it. 

  Yasmine 

Rod Alcidonis <roddj12 at hotmail.com> wrote:
  Ronza, excellent advice. I, as a 1L, don't find anything you said to be
out-of-date. Now, I would further advice Yasmine to take all these e-mails
and synthesize the different suggestions here. This will be extremely
helpful in the next month or so.

As I said, get these apps out as soon as you can. 

Rod 

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of AZNOR99 at aol.com
Sent: Friday, October 27, 2006 12:10 AM
To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Questions

Hey Yasmine and All,

I, like Greg, will finish law school this fall, so my advice my be a little

out-of-date. However, since I began law school, I've been working a few 
hours a week in the Admissions Office, so I've got some particularized
insight 
for applicants. Anyone wanting more information is welcome to email me 
off-list at _aznor99 at aol.com_ (mailto:aznor99 at aol.com) .

In the meantime, I'd say you should write a great essay, and make sure it
is 
proofread and asthetically pleasing. Get friends and undergrad professors 
to proofread and suggest revisions. Your essay should be interesting and 
concise. I'd also suggest you try to add something that makes it stand out
among 
all the others -- something that conveys how unique you are. It certainly 
helps to get it out early that you're blind, but it may not be a good idea
to 
make that your focal point. Dozens of people with various disabilities
will 
apply every year, and you want to impress upon the committee that you're
more 
than just your disability.

Be sure to make sure your essay conforms to all of the rules the law school

wants. Stay within word limits, margin sizes, etc. I also suggest you
have 
someone sighted take a look at your essay just to make sure you don't have 
any abnormalities a screen reader wouldn't convey. A very strong applicant
was 
denied admission once because the hard copy of his personal statement had a

small black mark in the margin. The Committee said this was a sign that he

was not thorough enough to review his materials, and therefore he wasn't 
serious about law school.

I'd also suggest that you check out the disability services office for the 
law schools you consider. However, don't nag them. Law schools tend to
have 
small disability services departments, and those staff members often handle

other areas in addition to accommodations. For example, my school's 
disability services officer is also the director of multicultural affairs,
student 
government advisor, student organizations coordinator, and dean of
students. 
Consequently, if you nag someone who is connected to various aspects of the
law 
school, word is bound to get around to the Admissions folks who make the 
decisions. No law school wants to admit someone they foresee will cause 
problems in the future. They won't deny admission because of a disability,
but they 
will find another reason that fits within the boundaries of 
antidiscrimination laws; they'll justify it in a way that places them beyond
the scope of 
being sued. They're law schools, so they're in the business of knowing the
law 
and their rights under it.

I don't want to scare you or deter you from doing anything you feel 
comfortable doing. I'm just offering a few suggestions I hope will help to
smooth 
the process of applying to law school.

Regards,
Ronza

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