How to Write a Personal Statement
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Introducing ….. YOU!
 This is first time you expose
yourself to your future university. Through a personal statement you are
introducing the university to the way you think and express yourself. It
is serving as a reflection of your personality and intellect.
There are two types of personal
statements or essays, general and specific questions. It is important that
you read each question carefully and make every effort to understand it
and respond to it. All essays should be composed with well-considered and
in a persuasive manner to hold the reader’s interest.
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Understand and Explain Yourself
One of the main problems when
writing is that applicants fail to take a very thorough, probing, and analytical
look at themselves and their objectives. Admission committee members are
looking for interesting, insightful, revealing, and non-generic essays
that suggest you have successfully gone through a process of careful reflection
and self-examination.
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Set Yourself Apart
A personal statement must be
written by ONLY you in order not to closely resemble what all other applicants
are likely to write. The committees are looking for PERSONAL and ANALYTICAL.
This means by sharing information you rarely share with others and assessing
your life more critically than usual. This approach is key to a successful
personal statement.
An Important Exercise:
In order to begin writing your personal statement – your story—you’ll
need to answer some basic questions to prepare yourself.
Questions:
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What’s special, unique, distinctive,
or impressive about you or your life story? What details of your life (personal
or family problems/ history, any genuinely notable accomplishments, people
or events that have shaped you or influenced your goals) might help the
committee better understand you or help set you apart from other applicants?
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When did you originally become
interested in this field and what have you since learned about it – and
about yourself- that has further stimulated your interest and reinforced
your conviction that you are well suited to this field? What insights have
you gained?
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How have you learned about this
field – through classes, readings, seminars, work or other experiences,
or conversations with people already in the field.
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If work experiences have consumed
significant periods of time during your college years, what have you learned
(leadership or managerial skills, for example), and how has the work contributed
to your personal growth?
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What are your career goals?
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Are there any gaps or discrepancies
in you academic record that you should explain (great grades and mediocre
LSAT scores, for example, or a distinct improvement in you GRA if it was
only average in the beginning?
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Have you had to overcome any
unusual obstacles or hardships (e.g., economic, familial, physical) in
your life?
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What personal characteristic
(integrity, compassion, persistence, for example) do you possess that would
enhance your prospects for success in the field or profession? Is there
a way to demonstrate or document that you have these characteristics?
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What skills (leadership, communicative,
analytical, for example) do you possess?
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Why might you be a stronger
candidate for graduate school – and more successful and effective in the
profession or field -- than other applicants?
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What are the most compelling
reasons you can give for the admissions committee to be interested in you?
Tell a Story
Be truthful and stick to
the facts; yet, think of your personal statement in the terms of writing
a story. You want to write as fresh, lively, different – not to mention
articulate – to put yourself a head of the other applicants.
A personal
statement MUST be MEMORABLE. One of the worst things you can do with
your personal statement is to bore the admissions committee, yet that is
exactly what most applicants do.
Find an Angle
If your like most people,
however, your life story might well lack significant drama, so figuring
out a way to make it interesting becomes the big challenge.
Finding
an angle is vital. Brainstorm for ideas which emphasize your exceptional
qualities, goals, past performances.
Concentrate on Your Opening
Paragraph
Keep in mind when composing
your statement that the lead or OPENING PARAGRAPH IS generally the MOST
IMPORTANT. Here you either GRAB the readers attention or lose
it. If you are telling a story you will use this first paragraph to introduce
the elements most relevant to that story – and the ones that will hold
greatest interest for the reader.
Tell Who You Are
The committee needs to get
a sense of who you are, what makes you tick, and how you are different
from other applicants. They should be interested in you by now, eager
to hear more, impressed that what you’re saying to them -- the story you’re
relating – is not simply what they’ve read a thousand times before.
Sometimes a personal statement
can be perfectly well written in terms of language and grammar, but disastrous
in lacking punch or impact and in being totally off the mark concerning
what it chooses to present about the applicant.
Remember, what is most
important about your personal statement is what you say and how you say
it! Be selective about what you tell the admissions committee.
What you choose to say in
your statement is, again, very much a reflection of you because it shows
the committees what you priorities are, what you consider to be important.
The personal statement is often an indication, too, of your judgement,
so be careful and give a great deal of thought to what you write. Think
about yourself, you background, experiences and abilities – as well as
what you know about the profession--- and develop a strategy.
Review Your Personal History
Review your life very carefully
(get help from family or friends if necessary) for facets or experiences
that reveal an unusual dimension, related to your professional goals, or
could serve as evidence of your suitability for a certain career.
What NOT to Include
References to experiences
or accomplishments during your high school years or earlier are not a good
idea. There are exceptions, extraordinary achievements or traumatic event
that had a significant impact on your development or career plans. You
sound very young and immature if this information does not have a big impact
on your life.
Do not mention subjects that
are potentially controversial; it is impossible for you to know the
biases of members of various admissions committees. Religion and politics
normally don’t belong in these statements, although, again, there may be
exceptions. Any views that might be interpreted as strange or highly unconventional
should also be omitted because you want to avoid the possibility of offending
any of the individuals who will be reading your application.
Sometimes there will be things
you want to mention because you are proud of those achievements and experiences;
however, they may not belong in your statement. You are being selective.
The information you give must support your story and/or case. You will
not want to talk about every achievement. Be Selective.
Reviewing What’s Been
Said (Plus a Few New Points)
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Remember that, in a general
sense, what is most important is what you say and how you say it.
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Make sure you answer the question(s)
being asked of you.
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Determine what you would tell
an admission committee member if you had five minutes to answer the question
“What is most important for us to know about you?” This exercise
will force you to do the type of thinking that must precede the preparation
of an effective personal statement. For help, refer to the list of questions
you should ask yourself.
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Don’t make the mistake of trying
to guess what the admissions committee is looking for, and don’t just write
what you think the committee wants to hear. Such ploys are highly obvious
to admissions people and can be detrimental to your cause.
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When appropriate,
find an
angle and tell a story about yourself. If your life story has drama,
use it.
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You are preparing a personal
statement. Often it is appropriate and useful to include material that
is quite personal in nature.
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Grab the reader’s attention
in your opening paragraph.
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Review your life carefully with
outside help, if necessary, to make certain you are including all relevant
information.
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Be selective. Don’t introduce
inappropriate material or get into so much detail that your judgement can
be called into question.
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Try to maintain a positive
and upbeat tone. While it is often useful to deal candidly with aspects
of your history that might be perceived negatively, overall you still want
to project confidence and enthusiasm.
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Be specific when appropriate
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Avoid potentially controversial
subjects.
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Express yourself clearly and
concisely.
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Adhere to stated word limits.
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Be meticulous (type and proof
read your essay carefully).
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If a school wants to know why
you’re applying to it rather than another school, do a bit of research
if necessary to find out what sets your choice apart from other universities
or programs. If the school setting would provide an important geographical
or cultural change for you, this might be a factor to mention.
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Think about what you’re saying.
(Is it interesting, relevant, different, memorable?)
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Be Honest. Are you being yourself
and revealing yourself? In many instances, admissions people are interested
in finding out about who you are, and they appreciate honesty.
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Are you providing something
more than a recitation of information available elsewhere in the application?
If no, revise!!!
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Are you avoiding obvious
clichés? For example, a medical school applicant who writes
that he is good at science and wants to help other people is not exactly
expressing an original thought.
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Use the Evaluative Questionnaire
yourself ( in addition to giving it to others) to assess the effectiveness
of your rough draft.
PREPARATORY
QUESTIONNAIRE
I am applying to _______________
and must prepare a personal statement as a part of that process. I want
to be sure to include all relevant data about myself and my background,
so I am soliciting information from various individuals who know me and
whose judgement I value. Thank you for your help.
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What do you think is most important
for the admissions committees to know about me?
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What do you regard as most unusual,
distinctive, unique, and/or impressive about me (based on our association)?
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Are you aware of any events
or experiences in my background that might be of particular interest to
those considering my application to graduate school?
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Are there any special qualities
or skills that I possess that tend to make you think I would be successful
in graduate school and/ or the profession to which I aspire?
EVALUATIVE
QUESTIONNAIRE
I have composed the attached
personal statement(s) for submission to ___________________, which I hope
to attend. If you could take some time to read what I have written and
answer the following questions, I would be most grateful for the benefit
of your perspective.
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Did my opening paragraph capture
your attention? Why?
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Did you find the statement as
a whole to be interesting?
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Did you find it to be well written?
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Did the essay appear positive
and upbeat?
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Did it sound like me?
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Are there any other comments
you would like to make in order for me to improve my essay?
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