Personal Statement
Personal Statement
Most graduate school applications require one or more essays, commonly known as a personal statement. The personal statement or collections of essays are an opportunity for the admissions committee to put an actual person to a test score and GPA. It is an opportunity for you, the applicant, to demonstrate you have done the necessary reflection to know grad school and this program is the right next step for you. Through the narrative analysis of aspects of your personal, educational, and professional history, you are making explicit connections between your background and your goals and this grad program, albeit in a relatively short amount of space. You want to be enthusiastic, honest, confident, and succinct.
What the admissions committees may be evaluating about you from your personal statement:
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Tips for Crafting a Personal Statement
| Focus on your background, abilities, goals, and motivation. | By their nature, statements are “personal” in that they ask you not only to tell things about you, but also to reflect on their significance to your past and future educational/career goals. The personal statement should highlight your skills, abilities, and character traits that correlate with success in graduate school and the field. Make the connection between your experience in school/work to grad school and how your experiences cultivated your interest in the field/this degree program. Stories about how you became interested might reference as far back as childhood, but skills, achievements, and activities that are more recent carry more weight. |
| Less is more, i.e., strive for depth rather than breadth to maintain the statement’s focus. | Organize your statement around a unifying theme rather than listing accomplishments. Choose what is most important to highlight and be sure to explain the significance of those points to make them relevant to the statement as a whole. Be concise. Follow length limitations. If no limit is specified, don’t make the statement longer than two pages. |
| Give good examples and explanations. | Use examples to show who you are. Anyone can say they are persistent. Prove it to the reader! Be careful that examples are evaluated and not just described. Explain how and why experiences had an effect on you. |
| Be thoughtful about including negative experiences. | If something in your academic record is weak or questionable, a thoughtful explanation/evaluation of the situation could help. Discussing a negative experience that taught you something valuable or helped you make important decisions can sometimes be a good way to provide insight into your character and goals. However, if you don’t want to draw attention to a particular situation (or have nothing positive to say about it, it is probably best to avoid bringing it up. |
| Help your reader. | Make sure you make connections between the info you are providing and your potential for graduate study and a career in the field. Don’t assume the readers will make the connections themselves. Additionally, members of the admissions committees will likely have varying levels of knowledge in your field; therefore, be thoughtful in your descriptions of any research or technical work you have done. |
| Focus on the specific institution. | Just as you would for a resume/CV or cover letter for a job, tailor your statement to the institution and the prompt(s). Do your research on the institution. Really make clear why you want to go there. How can this program help you achieve your goals? How do their resources relate to you? What do you offer the program? It is important to connect your experiences to the goals and requirements of the program to which you are applying. |
| Follow instructions. | Make sure that your statement responds to the prompt question(s). If you are applying to several schools, you may find questions are similar across applications. HOWEVER, do not use the same statement for all applications. It is important to answer each question being asked, and if slightly different answers are needed, you should write separate statements. |
| Use good writing strategies. | You should write the statement in first person since it is about you. Try to avoid the passive voice (“be” verbs) to help decrease wordiness and give more energy/action to your writing. Formatting a statement with an intro, body, and conclusion gives it shape and helps the reader see the direction, recognize key messages, and understand the significance of what you have written about. |
| Proofread and get feedback. | Do not allow any typos, misspellings, or grammatical errors to be in your final submission. Proofread and enlist the help of others to make sure the final statement is immaculate. Use others for feedback to ensure your message is clear and compelling and you are thoroughly answering the prompts. Often it is good to ask people both in your desired field and those who aren’t to read your statement. Use UW-Madison’s Writing Center – they have specific support services for writing personal statements! |
Steps for Starting to Write a Personal Statement
- Before even looking at application prompts, do some self-reflection. Write down stories with tons of detail about people, experiences, situations, etc. that have been significant in your decision to pursue a field or further your education (i.e., motivating factors).
- When did you become interested in this field of study? What distinctive moments in your life story have led you in this direction?
- How have you been pursuing your interest so far? (e.g., education, work, volunteering)
- What have been situations or experiences that have forced you to grow or change?
- What experiences have made you decide on this degree program?
- What do you want/plan to do with additional education? What are your career goals?
- What is appealing to you about this field of study – what “fits” with you?
- Write down thoughts/experiences that relate to the specific programs you are applying to.
- What appeals to you about each specific school/program/department? (Make sure to do this for every program you are applying for!)
- What do you bring to the program or student cohort that others could benefit or learn from?
- Look at the prompt(s). Are there any ideas you haven’t already addressed? Write out any additional thoughts/stories that respond to the prompts.
- Read through your stories. Is there a common, compelling theme that emerges? Or is there a singular event that clearly tipped you in this direction? What is your “hook” that will compel the reader to be interested in you?
- Outline the statement.
- What is the main theme?
- What stories/examples will you provide to demonstrate your preparedness and motivation? Which stories are most compelling?
- Write a first draft of the statement without consideration for length.
- Some prefer to start writing by focusing on the theme in the first paragraph. Others find starting with the body paragraphs makes it easier to discover the theme as they are writing, and then they go back to develop the introduction.
- The first paragraph ultimately will be the most important as it sets up the rest of the statement, draws in the reader, and presents your “thesis” (why this grad program, why right now). So, make sure you spend time crafting the introduction.
- As you develop the body paragraphs, make sure you are always showing who you are/what skills you have (through examples and details) rather than telling. Don’t just say “I want to help people” or “I am a good listener;” use examples to illustrate how you have done those things.
- You could choose to start editing for length before getting feedback, but it is a good idea to get feedback early so that you don’t over-edit.
- After the first round of feedback, more seriously edit.
- Are you showing rather than telling?
- Are you clear and concise?
- Is your writing style active and varied?
- Are you within length limitations?
- Get more feedback and continue adjusting.
Be true to yourself in this process. You’ll get conflicting feedback and/or you may feel like advice doesn’t fit your style or goals. There is no obligation to follow all advice – do what feels right for you!
Sample prompts from real grad school apps:
| “A personal statement of 1,000 words or less from the nominee describing background, interests, plans for graduate study and career aspirations. The statement should include a discussion of some experiences and ideas that have shaped those interests, plans and aspirations.”
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| “Why do you want to go to graduate school?”
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| “The admissions committee requires every applicant to submit an original example of written expression. The purpose of this personal statement is to provide you with a flexible opportunity to submit information that you deem important to your candidacy. You may wish to describe aspects of your background and interests–intellectual, personal, or professional–and how you will uniquely contribute to the SCHOOL community and/or the profession. Please limit your statement to two pages, double spaced.”
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| “You are required to submit a personal statement. The statement is your opportunity to introduce yourself to the admissions committee and should include (1) what you think have been your significant personal experiences beyond what may be reflected in your academic transcripts and on your resume, and (2) your personal and career ambitions. No required length.”
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| “In your statement, be sure to address fully each of the following questions: Why do you want to pursue a career in __? Why are you choosing the __ Program? What do you view as barriers to obtaining your degree and what are your plans for overcoming them? How does your experience with and/or knowledge of diversity issues inform your desire to obtain a degree? How have your past and current volunteer, internship, fieldwork, employment, and/or other experiences prepared you for graduate studies? Indicate how these experiences have provided you with skills and an understanding of qualities such as leadership, creativity, ethics, and professionalism. *12pt Times New Roman, Double-spaces, One inch margins, Approximately 5 pages (please number each page), Use standard essay format, Write one statement that addresses all five questions. Do not write five different statements addressing each question separately. Submit in PDF format.” |