Should one disclose personal information in a law school application personal statement?

Unfortunately, the cold hard truth is that GPA and LSAT are all that matters. Ask any law school admissions director. The rest is just icing on the cake. If it doesn't taste good, don't frost the cake with it.

I agree with the general chorus of "don't get into specifics, but mention it" because yes, overcoming adversity can only help her. With that said, it looks to me like anything on the illegal side of this happened while she was a minor. Is any of that even legally admissible for anything at all? That is...I would think that any records listing arrest, etc would be sealed. I would also think that ones High School record will count for very little, generally...I know that it does for other graduate programs, if not law. Do law schools really look at HS?

Her GPA is excellent and, as you say, she's doing very well on the LSAT. Considering that she did this while working for 30 hours a week, any law school would be idiots not to take her. She should definitely put the adversity and the work into her statement - it shows that she has worked so much harder than any of the students who didn't have to work (much harder than I had to), and that she is still an excellent student. 4.0s are nothing to scoff at - most graduate school students have something more like 3.8, even in competitive programs. I actually did address family experience in my personal statement for graduate school - I talked about being the first person in my family to go to college. It does matter, more than other people understand. But I tried to talk about it in relation to my chosen field of study. If she can dovetail her experience into a cohesive statement about why she wants to study law, that would be ideal; it would also demonstrate her argumentative writing skills. I'm not a professor, or a someone whose read law school applications, just a graduate student. But I'm already more impressed by your student and both her determination and her ability than I am by just about anyone I've met. What kind of world do we live in that a student like this is worried about not getting into law school when competing against people who've had their parents pay for their educations, who had the freedom to do things that look good on their resume? How can anyone talk about even playing fields when people from rich universities (which make things easier for their students, with cushy dorms and meal plans, etc - no one goes hungry because they can't afford lunch) are preferred over people at universities with far less support? And as for dismissing her grades because they came from a community college - well, I've marked essays at a "top" university, and I would challenge anyone to say that an A there is any better than an A anywhere else. They may have cut off the bottom of the bell curve, but the top is no higher. (Sorry, my ire at the system is rising, though I'm enough an idealist to hope that when your student starts applying, that the schools are at least intelligent enough to recognise true ability. If not, please let us know, and I'll go sign up for the revolution already.)

Thanks a ton all. I've copied/pasted and make a little sheet for her. Very helpful!

Sexual orientation and tough home life, definitely. Drug use, not unless necessary. The sexual orientation thing gives diversity points (it's not as good as being an under-represented minority, but still a plus). The tough home life adds narrative structure to her PS which is good, and also helps to explain the community college stuff (which might otherwise be a small negative). If she has drug convictions or is asked point-blank about past drug use, she should definitely be honest. It will not be a deal-breaker, but lying about it would be. See http://www.lawschooldiscussion.org/students/index.php?topic=4948.msg%25msg_id%25 discussion at a pre-law board for more info re: criminal records and law schools.

I just spent today reading through quite a few PhD applications, and several students had recommendations where their professors mentioned overcoming adversity and how much they admired it, but didn't really go into specifics of what the adversity was. So I'd agree with those who say be general about the what, but be honest about your admiration for her ability to overcome.

Regarding personal information, she needs to make sure everything personal dovetails well with the why lawschool question. Make sure it feeds directly into why she'll be an excellent candidate, committed, intellectually curious & dedicated, etc. If she can't spin every single iota of personal information so that it speaks to her being an asset to the school, she shouldn't include it.

(It's not just academia, gatorae. You wouldn't talk about your past drug use or lousy home life in a job interview, loan application or political campaign speech either. That stuff is out of place pretty much any time you're talking to strangers — and especially if you're trying to impress them.)

Spin the coming out in an application essay about how that allowed her to grow etc. Keep the whole drug thing private. Nothing good will come from discussing that and she doesn't need it to explain anything. Other life stresses will suffice.