Sep
14
Writing a graduate school personal statement can be a daunting and difficult task. In a graduate school personal statement you are selling yourself and trying to let the admissions representatives know WHY you should be chosen over other qualified applicants. This can be even more daunting when you realize that between two to five people at the School will be reviewing your statement
Aug
29
Writing a graduate school personal statement can be a daunting and difficult task. In a graduate school personal statement you are selling yourself and trying to let the admissions representatives know WHY you should be chosen over other qualified applicants. This can be even more daunting when you realize that between two to five people at the School will be reviewing your statement - YOURS needs to stand out from the crowd while also addressing the criteria and questions the school has outlined.
If you are applying to several different schools using one generic statement will be easily recognized and just as easily dismissed. WHY - because you will be seen as not making an effort sell yourself to this particular school, low effort equals low interest to admissions representatives. Remember the admission committee will likely view thousands of these statements from qualified candidates and they will spot a weakness, flaw or lack of attention to the process in a heartbeat. What you don`t want to do is give this committee an easy excuse to dismiss your statement and application.
In talking to Admissions Representatives across the country, there is one aspect of a personal statement they all agree on - BE YOURSELF and let them get a feel for the type of person you really are. This includes your motivations and the ability to evaluate your personal experiences and the effect they had on you. If you can understand that 8 out of 10 personal statements fail to do this, then you are well on your way to being 1 of the 2 applicants in every 10 that stands out.
The first step in preparing your Graduate School personal statement
Take the time to research and understand the doctrine and mission of the school, this will be intrinsically reflected in your writing and prove you are addressing your statement to this particular School. However, do not parrot their own information back to them - they already know it and this leads away from helping understand YOU. Understanding the audience for your statement will help you to develop compelling content that grabs their attention.
Next ensure that you understand the requirements for your statement or essay including:
-Format
-Word limit
-Questions to be answered
If you miss any of the above, your application will already be short-changed. Word limits are fixed and if you can imagine yourself with the job of reading thousands of applications, you can understand why. Not answering any of the questions will give your application a one way ticket to the rejection pile. This will also help with the next step planning.
Planning your Personal Statement
Planning not only gives you an outline to work to, it also helps avoided the dreaded writers block. Chances are you have already had to plan and write many essays to get to this point, don`t be complacent and skip this step as it may lead to omitting either required or useful information. Planning can also ensure that you don`t give yourself room to babble or write a novel instead of a 500 word essay.
Planning Part A
Flesh out the information you can provide including your experience/motivations. Writing prompts will give you cues for the content when you hit the writing stage. Here are some questions that you could use to formulate information:
1. Who do I really think I am? Who do others think I am? (include characteristics and skills e.g. loyal, hardworking, born leader, attention to detail)
2. What has caused changes to who I am over the years? How have I grown as a person and what caused these changes or growth? How did these experiences affect me?
3. What makes me unique? This is an extremely hard question to ask ourselves without filling in clich