Graduate School Application Essays: Personal Statements
So you have to write an application essay? Or maybe several? This is the third in a series of blog posts that break down application essays so that you have a clear picture of who your readers are and what they expect.
Overview:
If you’re applying to graduate or professional schools, chances are that you will have to write one or more personal statements. These application essays help readers to get to know you on a deeper level than allowed by your transcript, test scores, or résumé.
Some programs use a common application that enables you to upload materials to a single hub, accessible to all of the institutions you select. In this case, you’ll write a personal statement that works well for all of the programs to which you’re applying. Other programs either don’t use a common application or require an additional personal statement. In these cases, you’ll need to tailor personal statements for each program and the specific prompt(s) provided.
What goes in a personal statement?
Personal statement prompts can be open-ended or very specific. Typically, they ask for some combination of the following:
Why you’re drawn to that field or career choice
What experiences have prepared you for graduate studies or your intended profession
Why you’re interested in a particular graduate program or professional school
What your short-term and long-term goals are
However, prompts can vary significantly and may ask for something else, such as how you might handle a specific scenario or how you embody particular values that are important to the program or field.
Here are several examples of personal statement prompts:
In your own words, write a brief statement expressing your motivation or desire to become a physician assistant. Keep your statement general as it is shared with all programs you apply to. (From the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants)
How have your background and life experiences, including cultural, geographical, financial, educational or other opportunities or challenges, motivated your decision to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Michigan? For example, if you grew up in a community where educational, cultural, or other opportunities were either especially plentiful or especially lacking, you might discuss the impact this had on your development and interests. This should be a discussion of the journey that has led to your decision to seek a graduate degree. Please do not repeat your Academic Statement of Purpose. (From University of Michigan - Ann Arbor’s master’s degree in Educational Equity, Justice, and Social Transformation application)
Describe your experience with resilience and/or perseverance. Give an example of a time in which you faced failure, a significant roadblock in making steady progress towards a goal. Describe how you approach this situation. What did you learn from this experience? How has this experience shaped the way you approach challenges today? (From MIT’s application for graduate study in Chemistry)
Who Will Read Your Essay (Audience):
Applications for graduate and professional schools are typically screened by a selection committee made up of faculty in the programs to which you’re applying. You probably never met the people who decided to let you into the college or university you attended for undergraduate studies. But you can count on having a relationship with the people reviewing your application for graduate or professional school—that is, if they choose to let you into their program. The committee members will be your teachers, or maybe even your advisor or supervisor.
The selection committee will receive all of your application materials, including your personal statement. The good news is that if they are reading your application essay(s), you’ve probably already passed an initial round of review based on your academic achievements. Your personal statement will help the committee get to know you better and distinguish you from candidates with similar achievements.
As you’re writing your personal statement, keep in mind that your readers won’t have much time to spend with it, and that they’ll also likely be reading many essays in a short amount of time.
What Your Goals Should Be:
If you’re writing a personal statement, then clearly your goal is to get accepted to graduate or professional school. But if you want that to happen, you must also consider what your personal statement needs to accomplish for your readers. I recommend that you let these goals guide you as you write:
Set yourself apart from the competition. There may be hundreds—or even thousands—of other applicants with similar transcripts, résumés, and test scores. Your personal statement is an opportunity to show what you bring to the table that others don’t.
Show that you are ready for the program. Graduate and professional schools are academically rigorous programs that demand a lot from their students. Faculty will be looking for applicants who are not only intellectually prepared but also have good time management skills, are capable of handling stress, and who are resilient in the face of failure or challenges.
Persuade readers that you are someone they’d like to have in their program. It’s important to show readers that you’re the kind of student that they’d like to have in their classes, the kind of advisee they’d like to mentor, or the kind of intern or assistant they’d like to supervise. This means that you not only need to come across as capable but also as someone they’ll appreciate having around. Think about showcasing how you are a team player, a leader, a problem-solver, receptive to constructive criticism, considerate of others, a good communicator, etc.
Demonstrate fit. If you are applying to a specific program (e.g., you’re not using a common application), as directly and specifically as possible, show that you are a good match for the program and that the program is a good match for you.
Features:
Word limits for personal statements range from 200 words (two or three paragraphs) to 1,500 words (about three single-spaced pages), though most are in the 500- to 750-word range. Occasionally, personal statements come in the form of short-answer questions, though most often, they require a cohesive essay. Common applications often provide character limits and ask you to paste your personal statement into a text box, while school-specific personal statements are often submitted as a single-spaced document.
Most personal statements have an introduction, several body paragraphs (each addressing a specific life experience), a paragraph that talks about why the school or program is a good fit (if applicable), and a concluding paragraph that addresses short and long-term professional goals.
As suggested by their name, personal statements should be personal—that is, focused on your experiences and written from the first person point of view (using “I” and “me”). Moreover, your writing should sound like you. Personal statements should be written in a style that is less formal than an academic paper but more polished than casual conversation.
Tips:
Carefully read the prompt. Personal statements often ask you to answer multiple questions or to discuss several topics—such as your personal, academic, and professional or volunteer experiences. Make sure that you address each element of the prompt in your draft.
Be specific. Look at every sentence in your personal statement, and ask, “Could someone else have this in their personal statement?” If the answer is yes, then you need to add more detail. Set yourself apart by writing about your experiences with a level of specificity that makes them unique to you.
Aim for depth, not breadth. Given the limited amount of space you have, you will not be able to tell your whole life story or describe all of your accomplishments. Your personal statement should not be a rehashing of your résumé in paragraph form. Instead, choose a few key experiences that helped prepare you for the next step in your career, and offer in-depth explanations and reflections on those experiences.
Explain irregularities. If you have any irregularities in your academic record—such as a failed class or a semester with a low GPA—your personal statement can be a good opportunity to address them. Often, a good approach is to explain the circumstances and to describe what you learned from them.
Make sure to check out my next post for information about statements of purpose!
