AI Can Help You Generate Ideas. It Shouldn't Tell Your Story

What every Canadian law school applicant should know before using AI to help them write their personal statement.

Artificial intelligence has quickly become part of everyday life. Whether you're brainstorming ideas, summarizing documents, or organizing your thoughts, tools like ChatGPT can be incredibly useful.

But when it comes to one of the most important parts of your law school application—your personal statement—it's worth taking a much more cautious approach.

Across Canada, law schools are making it increasingly clear that authenticity matters. While policies differ from school to school, the trend is unmistakable: admissions committees want to hear your voice, not an AI-generated version of it.

A Growing Number of Law Schools Are Addressing AI Directly

Several Canadian law schools have provided guidance regarding the use of generative AI in admissions materials. For example:

• Queen's University explicitly prohibits the use of AI-generated content in personal statements to ensure submissions are authentic.

• Western University strongly discourages AI use and notes that personal statements will be compared with LSAT writing samples to assess consistency in writing style and quality.

• McGill University cautions applicants against relying on generative AI because strong writing skills are fundamental to success in law school.

• Lakehead University expressly states that personal statements may not be AI-generated.

  
  

Why Admissions Committees Care

The strongest personal statements aren't memorable because they're perfectly written. They're memorable because they sound genuine. They help admissions committees answer questions that grades and LSAT scores cannot, such as:

• Who is this applicant?

• What motivates them to study law?

• How do they navigate challenges?

• Will they contribute meaningfully to our law school community?

Admissions professionals read thousands of applications every year. They're remarkably good at recognizing authentic, thoughtful writing—and increasingly aware of language that feels generic, overly polished, or disconnected from the applicant's lived experience. Ironically, as AI-generated writing becomes more common, authentic writing becomes more valuable and can give applicants a competitive edge.

Can You Use AI At All?

Like many technologies, AI isn't inherently good or bad. The key question is how it's used. Appropriate uses may include brainstorming possible topics, organizing ideas, checking grammar or spelling, and suggesting questions to help deepen your reflection.

Where applicants should be cautious is allowing AI to generate the narrative itself, rewrite personal experiences in a voice that isn't their own, or create stories that don't genuinely reflect who they are. Your personal statements should always represent your own thinking, experiences, and writing.

A Final Thought

Law school is the beginning of a profession built on integrity, judgment, and trust.

Your application is your first opportunity to demonstrate those qualities.

Use technology wisely—but make sure that when an admissions committee finishes reading your personal statement, they've learned about you and your authentic voice.

Need a Second Set of Eyes?

Writing about yourself is never easy. Many applicants benefit from having an experienced advisor challenge their thinking, ask probing questions, identify opportunities to strengthen their story, and ensure their personal statement clearly reflects their own authentic experiences and voice.

Recognizing this need, ForeReach Consulting has recently expanded its services to include law school application and personal statement support for Canadian law school applicants. Rather than writing applicants' statements for them, ForeReach Consulting helps applicants clarify their ideas, strengthen their storytelling, and present the best possible version of who they are—while respecting each law school's expectations regarding originality and authenticity. Because at the end of the admissions process, the most compelling personal statement is one that could only have been written by you.

Click here for more information on ForeReach Consulting’s Law School Application Packages and a recent client’s experience: https://www.forereachconsulting.com/law-school-applicant-support