Hi, can anybody who has applied to Columbia before tell me what the instructions for the Personal Statement in Columbia's LLM applications say? The forms for 2009-10 will not be out till mid-September, and I'd like to know what exactly the application required in the personal statement during the last years.

For instance Harvard's application says the personal statement should be in two parts - (a) a legal essay on a contemporary issue and (b) something about yourself.

Does Columbia have any such specific expectations in the personal statement?

These are Columbia's instructions to applicants last year regarding the Personal Statement:

"You must submit a detailed personal Statement describing your background, academic interests, the program of study you wish to follow and your reason for doing so. This statement should be prepared without assistance from others, and should not exceed three double-spaced pages. Your application will not be considered without such a statement. We will not accept a resume or CV in place of the Personal Statement."

Mercury, thanks a ton. If you do have a copy of the previous year's application, and if it isn't too much to ask, could you please forward me a copy of it? Thanks once again.

The CLS application is filled in and submitted online, so I don't have a copy of the application form. If it helps, I don't recall it being that much different from other schools like NYU or HLS.

can suggestions on what to write in the background part?