I would love to learn from all admitted students what you think made you stand out from the rest that got you accepted into the top schools? What is your personal statement? What is your ranking at school? Did anyone one got accepted without any work experience? Did anyone got accepted without high GPA? Do you think the personal statement was the most important? Or maybe the recommendations? I yearning to hear what are your opinions.

what you think made you stand out from the rest that got you accepted into the top schools? --> my strange situation. I go from a specialized degree to general degree

What is your personal statement? --> Corporate Crime

What is your ranking at school? --> No ranking provided at my school
Did anyone one got accepted without any work experience? --> Me
Do you think the personal statement was the most important? No...but still should be precise and straightforward.
Or maybe the recommendations? Yes...one of my recommender is the Supreme Court Judge of my country and another is the director of my current degree who used to graduate and be an instructor at the school I got amitted. In addition, he is academically well-known in the area he is currently working in the US.

what you think made you stand out from the rest that got you accepted into the top schools? --> coming from a Nordic country to the US to study American legal history from a comparative perspective - an unusual choice.

What is your personal statement? --> for Yale, I emphasized the fit between their strenghts and my interests, and in an additional research proposal I described the outline of my doctoral dissertation.

What is your ranking at school? --> No ranking provided at my school; I was in a similar position so I wrote a summary of university education in Finland, of the grading system, and of my own achievements in that system.
Did anyone one got accepted without any work experience? --> did not have much experience outside the university where I'm currently a graduate student
Do you think the personal statement was the most important? No...but still should be precise and straightforward. I agree.
Or maybe the recommendations? Yes...one of my recommender is the Supreme Court Judge of my country and another is the director of my current degree who used to graduate and be an instructor at the school I got amitted. In addition, he is academically well-known in the area he is currently working in the US. Recommendations are definitely important and should be written by persons who actually know you and your work/abilities