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Personal Statements

Most graduate programs will require an essay or personal statement. Some will provide a question which needs to be answered and some will leave it up to you to decide what you think is important for the admissions committee members to know about you. It is EXTREMELY important that you write coherently, effectively, and perfectly for this essay. If you are asked to answer a specific question, be sure that you ACTUALLY answer the question. Have as many people read over your personal statements and essays as you think would be qualified to make suggestions. Ask a faculty member in your field to read through your statement to make sure you have your discipline specific jargon and information correct. Ask someone who can evaluate your work for grammatical mistakes and general essay content. You are always welcome to bring your work in to the CCO and have a staff member read through it as we are familiar with strategies for an effective personal statement.

Questions to ask yourself before you write:

  • What’s special, unique, distinctive, and/or impressive about you or your life story?
  • What details of your life (personal history, people or events that have shaped or influenced your goals) might help the committee better understand you or help set you apart from others?
  • When did you become interested in this field and what have you 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?
  • How have you learned about this field– through classes, readings, seminars, work, other experiences, or conversations with people already in this field?
  • If you have worked a lot during your college years, what have you learned (ex: leadership or managerial skills), and how has that work contributed to your growth?
  • What are your career goals?
  • Are there any gaps or discrepancies in your academic record that you should explain (great grades but mediocre GRE or MCAT scores, for examples, or a distinct upward pattern to your GPA if it was only average at the beginning)?
  • Have you had to overcome any unusual obstacles or hardships (ex: economic, familiar, or physicals) in your life?
  • What personal characteristics (ex: integrity, compassion, persistence) do you possess that would improve your prospects for success in the field or profession? Is there a way to demonstrate or document that you have these characteristics?
  • What skills (ex: leadership, communicative, analytical) do you possess?
  • Why might you be a stronger candidate for graduate school– and more successful and effective in the profession or field than other applicants?
  • What are the most compelling reasons you can give for the admissions committee to be interested in you?

General Advice:

  • Answer the questions that are asked!
  • If you are applying to several schools, you may find questions in each application that are somewhat similar.
  • Don’t be tempted to use the same statement for all applications! It is important to answer each question being asked, and if slightly different answers are needed, write separate statements.
  • Tell a Story.
  • Think in terms of showing or demonstrating through concrete experience. If your statement is fresh, lively, and different, you’ll be putting yourself ahead of the pack. If you distinguish yourself through your story, you will become more memorable.
  • Be specific.
  • Don't, for example, state that you would make an excellent doctor unless you can back it up with specific reasons. Your desire to become a lawyer, engineer, or whatever should be logical, the result of specific experience that is described in your statement. Your application should emerge as the logical conclusion to your story.
  • Find an angle.
  • If you’re like most people, your life story lacks drama, so figuring out a way to make it interesting becomes the big challenge. Finding an angle or “hook” is vital. 
  • Concentrate on your opening paragraph.
  • The lead or opening paragraph is generally the most important. It is here that you grab the reader’s attention or lose it. This paragraph becomes the framework for the rest of the statement.
  • Tell what you know.
  • The middle section of your essay might detail your interest and experience in your particular field, as well as some of your knowledge of the field.
  • Too many people graduate with little or no knowledge of the profession or field they hope to enter.
  • Be as specific as you can in relating what you know about the field and use the language professionals use in conveying this information.
  • Refer to experiences (work, research, etc.), classes, conversations with people in the field, books you’ve read, seminars you’ve attended, or any other source of specific information about the career you want and why you’re suited to it.
  • Since you will have to select what you include in your statement, the choices you make are often an indication of your judgment.
  • Do some research, if needed.
  • If a school wants you know why you’re applying to it rather than another school, do some research to find out what sets your choice apart from other universities or programs. If the school would provide an important geographical or cultural change, this might be a factor to mention.
  • Write well and correctly.
  • Be meticulous!
  • Type and proofread your essay very carefully. Then proofread again!
  • Many admissions officers say that good writing skills and command of current use of language are important to them as they read these statements.
  • Express yourself clearly and concisely. Adhere to stated word limits.
  • Avoid clichés.
  • A medical school applicant who writes that he/she is good at science and wants to help other people is not expressing an original thought at all.
  • Stay away from often-repeated statements.
  • This is a time for you to be original and find something about yourself that sets you apart from every other applicant, otherwise, you just are every other applicant.

 

Sources:

Richard Stelzer’s How to Write a Winning Personal Statement for Graduate & Professional School

Donald Asher’s Graduate Admissions Essay: Write Your Way into the Graduate School of Your Choice