Is using an essay editing company on your application essay even necessary? Do you guys have any good company/website/people to recommend to me?
No. Do your application yourself.
@HappyAlumnus Soemone using a service for essay help is still writing their essay. It’s no different than asking an English teacher for help (as many students do). OP google College Essay Guy. We didn’t use him but I’ve listened to his podcasts and read a lot of what he’s wrote. He’s amazing!
No one really cares about your application essay. I wouldn’t worry about it. Although, if you want to be a lawyer, you really should be able to edit your own work.
OP is an ESL foreign student.
@Demosthenes49 This is completely untrue. There are many schools that take the essay very seriously. The essay is a big deal at Emory where my son will be. And FYI even lawyers get their work edited. Don’t kid yourself.
@Publisher: Good to know, but not particularly relevant. Regardless of OP’s original language, if the OP wants to practice US law (or even take the law school’s writing courses, which are often mandatory), OP will need to know how to self-edit.
@collegemom9: Lots of schools say the essay matters. No one has ever shown any empirical evidence supporting that claim. Conversely, there’s lots of evidence that schools really care about GPA and LSAT, especially lower on the rankings list. By way of an easy example, there’s a reason schools send merit aid to high LSAT applicants and not to best essay applicants.
And FYI, I’m a litigator and you’d better believe I expect our new hires to know how to edit their own work. We edit it too, sure, but I expect work to be edited at least once before it comes across my desk.
I did not realize that this was in the law school forum.
OP: Have you taken the LSAT yet ?
@collegemom9 anyone who wants to go to HLS should be able to edit an essay.
Test yourself on the LSAT and try to get realistic about HLS. If you can’t cope with the LSAT requirements, make another plan. You are a sophomore at Berkeley, supposedly not a kid dreaming of being an astronaut (or a Harvard student).
@sorghum Yes, I am definitely on the track of realistic about HLS. And I mean the application essay, not the essay in LSAT. I would know that’s plagiarism for sure. I mean almost everyone finds someone else to editing his or her personal insight right?.. even the application essay from high school to undergraduate. I don’t think 90% of candidates who apply to law school totally check their application essay only by themselves…
@Demosthenes49 Yes, I would agree with you I should do my own work if I want to have a legal career. But I personally think if you don’t have someone to peer review and help you edit your essay, that’s totally putting your admission on risk, isn’t it?
@Publisher No, I haven’t taken any LSAT yet. I am only a sophomore year undergraduate student. Just trying to have a clue for the future.
It might be if anyone cared about admissions essays. There’s no evidence they do though.
Why would you think that? I know dozens and dozens of lawyers and law students and I don’t know of any who used someone else to edit their application materials, let alone paying someone to do it.
Back in the days,no one used these services because they weren’t available but now people try to gain an edge so I won’t be surprised if more students use them. However, even if they did use these services, they would be very discreet about it even to family and friends. But as it’s widely known, admissions are more about GPA and LSAT.
Very few law school applicants seek help with essays but there are several firms who help law school applicants with other aspects of the process like getting off wait list, creating a cohesive application or strategizing where to apply to. The most active firm that I’m aware of is Spivey Consulting and they work with a limited number of applicants each admissions cycle.
I have edited law school essays for several hundred applicants over the course of almost 3 years. Lots of Yale 250s. Did it for free on another website which no longer exists in its previous user friendly form.
I totally agree with what has been said. Your essay needs to have YOUR voice and tell YOUR unique story. That being said it is 100% okay if you would like to get some help in terms of identifying your angle, proof-reading and editing. I know that there are plenty of companies out there you can reach out to. They usually schedule free phone calls to discuss their rates etc. If this is too expensive, you could use the editing service my friends and I have started. We are all in Top 20 colleges and have helped other students polish their essays and get into their schools. Our rates are obviously much cheaper since we are all sophomores/juniors in college. Just pm me if you are interested and we can see whether we can match you up
If you do not want to spend any money you can always ask your relatives, friends and teachers. I would suggest to limit the number of people to 5-6. Too many opinions might harm your essay.
Hope this helps.
If you’re still considering an essay editing service, I’d highly recommend Brian from Gurufi. Might not be comparable, but I just used him for my MBA application essays and was really happy with the end result. He comes from an academic background so the edits might come across very formal, but perhaps that’s what law schools are looking for?
TLDR: highly recommend Brian from Gurufi