Demystifying the Personal Statement
What you need to know….
THIS MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU HAVE EVER WRITTEN
Why is this so important?
• Your personal statement is your chance to tell the school who you are and what is important to you.
– Think of it as your opportunity to introduce yourself to the admissions and scholarship officers reading your application.
• Be open, be honest, be real. What you tell them in your personal statement gives readers the context to better understand the rest of the information you’ve provided in your application.
Why is this so important? (cont.)
• Allows the applicant to fill in the gaps, explain unusual circumstances, and provide a more complete picture of her or himself. • Helps the reader understand a student’s interests, achievements, opportunities, and challenges faced while achieving academic and personal success.
It’s A Closer look at YOU!!!!!
Tips
Read the prompt carefully! Make sure you understand what they are asking! Make sure you use your own voice!!! Proofread meticulously! Be honest and truthful throughout!
What do they usually ask?
• Often times even if you are applying to different schools the prompts are similar.
1.Why go to college? Why here?
• Why do you want to go to college? • Why do you want to go to this college, in particular? • What are your career objectives, and how will college help you achieve them? • How will this college help you fulfill your goals and aspirations? • What will your presence add to this college?
2. Who are you?
• What is important to you? • How would you describe yourself as a human being? • How might a freshman roommate describe you? • Write your own recommendation to college. • If you could strengthen one aspect of yourself, what would it be? Why? • What quality do you like best in yourself? What quality do you like least? • What makes you different from other people?
• Write about a significant experience or event in your life and what it meant to you. • Write an original essay about a humorous personal experience. • What is it that you have done that best reflects your personality? • Describe a challenging situation and how you responded. • Comment on an experience that helped you discern or define a value you hold. • What is the most difficult thing you've ever done? • Write about a group endeavor in which you participated, and describe your contribution.
3. Tell us a story about yourself
4. What is important to you?
• What is your favorite quotation? Explain your choice. • What have you read that has had special significance for you? Explain • Identify a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence. • Tell us about a personal, national, or international issue of particular concern to you. • If you could affect the outcome of human history by changing a particular event, what event would you choose? How would you change it, and why? • If you could spend an evening with any prominent person -- living, deceased, or fictional -- whom would you choose, and why?
5. What would you like to tell us about yourself?
• We would welcome any comments you care to make about yourself. • If there is anything else you would like to tell us about you, please explain on an additional sheet. • Please use this page to give us any information you think would be helpful to us as we consider your application. • Is there additional information we should know that will help us to make an informed decision? • To better understand you, what else should we know?
Things to Think About When Writing A Personal Statement
• Reflecting on your family’s experiences and personal circumstances, what would you like to tell us that is not already revealed or explained sufficiently in your application? • What you do in the classroom defines only a part of who you are. How do you spend your time when you are not in class or studying? Focus on one activity, two at the most, and discuss what you have gained from your involvement.
Continued
• If there are any circumstances not evident in your application that may have affected your academic performance, explain the circumstances and discuss how you responded to them. • If you participated in a special program such as, AP, FBLA, HOSA, etc., describe your involvement in the program and discuss how you have benefited from the experience.
• Answer the question that is asked of you.
Do’s
• Write honestly and candidly about yourself.
– Be sure your essay makes sense in relation to the prompt and gives a clear, definite answer. – Admissions staff should hear your unique voice in your writing, and your essay should enable you to effectively distinguish yourself from other applicants. – It is much better to write about personal experiences rather than general issues unless you have had active involvement. Your best bet is writing about something you know about firsthand. – What is it about you that makes you different from every other applicant?
• Write about something that is important to you.
• Write a one-of-a-kind essay that only you can write!
• Focus on one specific idea or topic.
– This is a great way to show your dedication to a certain group, team, activity, or cause, or to examine a personal quality or life event.
• Don't just write a laundry list of your activities or achievements. Your essay should not be a recap of information you have already provided elsewhere in your application. • Don't try to guess what colleges want to hear. There is no right or wrong answer to a college essay question. • Don't try to impress by sounding overly intellectual. Your essay should flow nicely with language that is natural sounding and easy to read through. Don't clutter your essay with too many big words. • Don't come off as conceited or too boastful. It's okay to be proud of yourself, but be careful not to mix pride with arrogance. • Don't lie. If you have no idea what you want to major in, don't lie and say you want to be an astrophysicist. Sincerity is always the best way to go, and you don't have to try to make yourself seem perfect.
Don’ts
Your Mission….
• Find the application for the college or university you wish to attend.
– You may choose more than one if you plan on applying to different schools.
• Bring a copy of the Personal Statement portion of the application.
– If are not sure or the school you want to apply to doesn’t have a personal statement option/requirement then print UT’s