Writing the All-Important Personal Statement

When you apply to college or graduate school, you will undoubtedly have to create a personal statement. Sometimes, it comes in a basic “write about you” format. Sometimes, you have to answer some specific questions regarding your goals or achievements. Either way, this is your time to shine.

When thinking about your personal statement, imagine you are an admissions officer looking at your application. Does it stand out? What makes you, as an applicant, jump off the page? Most applications are a sea of transcripts, recommendations and test scorse, but it is the personal statement that really gives your application personality. So make sure  your essay is amazing.

Tell a story, inject your life experiences into it, make sure that it stands out. This is your chance to make a statement, so do it boldly and dramatically. And don’t forget to make sure you have many eyes look over it. Ask parents, friends, guidance counselors to read it and get opinions. One of the ways to make your writing better is to keep writing.

Write, get comments and edit. This is the surest way to make sure your personal statement does what it should:  gives your application some personality, some interest and, most importantly, makes the reader know who you really are and why they would be crazy to reject you.