Saturday, October 5, 2013

Getting Personal: How to Write a Personal Statement Workshop Highlights

We just wanted to thank everyone who was able to attend; we hope you all learned some valuable tips for writing your personal statements! A special thank you goes out to Dr. Byler and Dr. Haake for sharing their experiences and invaluable wisdom!

For those of you who could not make it to the workshop, here are some of the highlights!
  • If the application maps out guidelines, follow them to the letter!
  • Generally, personal statements are around 1-2 pages long. 
  • Usually, it is a committee of professors looking at the statements. The committees have many packets to read, so make sure you make your story original and have it stand-out. Make sure to have flawless grammar, be pithy, and coherent. 
  • Never put any information about yourself that makes you feel extremely embarrassed or makes you feel like you’re exploiting yourself! 
  • Usually what goes in a personal statement is your academic and personal identity, how you developed this identity, and how you expect to continue refining it.
           -Select the most important aspect of your accomplishments
           -Use well selected evidence set in context (how you won award, how you came to succeed, etc.)
           -Have a theme/thesis that runs through the statement, keep things tight and coherent.
  • Tone: Confident, not cocky. Discuss your skills and accomplishments, own them! You did it! But don’t pretend to having skills and knowledge that you do not. 
  • Really discuss what you want to study, how your past studies have prepared you for this future endeavor, and where you would ultimately like to see yourself (in terms of your studies, the award). 
  • Be concrete when telling your story! Put relevant details about your life/information. 
  • Don’t forget to proofread! Have trusted friends and professors look over your statement for feedback! 
Although personal statements do not make up the whole application, they are extremely important in making good or bad impressions. They are the written version of a face-to-face interview, which is important, especailyl if there is no interview. If a written sample is not required in the packet, your personal statement serves as a sample, so aim to impress! No matter what you’re applying to, we hope that these tips help! Good luck!

Click here to download the full handout provided at the workshop, by Professors Bylar and Haake.


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