personal statement for graduate school

personal statement for graduate school

Crafting a Compelling Personal Statement for Graduate School

1. Introduction to Personal Statements for Graduate School

Not to be underestimated, the personal statement is in many ways the most difficult part of the application process. Every applicant has a different set of motivations, experiences, and skills, and this is their chance to tell the admissions committee about what sets them apart. As much as good marks and award-winning research experience can do to set solid applications apart, poor personal statements can take those same applications down a couple notches. The role of the personal statement is to provide something qualitative, when every other part of the file is quantitative. It is crucial, then, that an application has that “something extra” to make them stand out to the admissions committee.

The key to writing a compelling personal statement for graduate school is to be genuine, and prove that you are the kind of thoughtful and self-reflective person that they are looking for. Now, we cannot get carried away here – it needs to be genuine while not being TOO genuine. We want to be honest and yet it’s also like a performance: we are being our most professional, pulled together, switched on-even-to-the-point-of-having-fun selves. Not every statement is the same and not every program is the same. But reading countless statements every year, we’re always drawn toward those that explain at a deep level, get to the heart of an issue, tell us about something very interesting: after we read those statements, we often look up and realize that we made a decision about the application that we hadn’t been prepared to make before we read the personal statement. This is likely what your statements are doing, and hopefully what they are doing. Keep it up.

2. Identifying Your Unique Story and Goals

If you’re wondering where to start when it comes to writing a personal statement for graduate school, one of the easiest ways to begin is by figuring out what makes you different and culminating these things in a story. Once you’ve found your story, make sure this is the story that most powerfully establishes a sense of your own value as a prospective student for your chosen field of study, at the graduate school to which you are applying. Do what you can to help the readers to see you, feel what it is like to talk with you about your goals and interests, and remember you. Support with any hard evidence you can provide that what you’re saying is true, and deliver a conclusion that sums up why the thing you’re saying is important. Talk with people, including your professors, your family, and your friends. What would they notice about you if they’d known you from the beginning of time? The best personal statement will make you stand out among the competition by characterizing your personality, strengths, future aspirations, and demonstrating your creativity and passion for the discipline. You may be more suited to an entirely different set of programs than you initially thought. Be certain that in the course of your personal statement you represent your skills, strengths, experience, hopes, ethics, and character, and how these things link with the affiliation to which you are applying. Your task is to make yourself a special person among an array of talented and committed people. Your personal statement should provide a credible scenario of your personal and scholarly qualities, your faculty interests, and your professional dreams. Begin correctly and enthusiastically since the opening paragraph is the most essential aspect of your personal statement. Start with a captivating sentence or two that grabs reader attention and assures them that the personal statement is well worth examining. Moreover, readers should also want to explore an illustration or in-depth story to learn more about you, your professional target, or your focal subjects. The three main components of the ensuing paragraphs will be three: an in-depth examination of your specific project from any of the above, a summary or description of the application’s relevant faculty and why you want to work with them, and finally, a discussion of where you should be professionally in the future. These paragraphs can be of varying length but keep them to a minimum of five to six sentences, as a rough guide. Since most of your space should be taken by the first two main components, the brevity demands a clinical attitude. Even though the third component has not been emphasized, some more time to investigate your professional objectives for yourself and the visitors might be important. Since the CV and recommendations provide the department with a good indication of the kind of job you are prepared for, tell them what type of profession you are seeking. Finally, you have to re-enter the theme of your own in the conclusion. The final paragraph of your personal statement will shape the entire piece for your readers. You should close with a paragraph that emphasizes what sets you apart or contributes to your growth. You should also share your joy and sincerity in becoming part of your future department or school and send your application for their careful evaluation.

3. Structuring Your Personal Statement Effectively

Typically, a person’s life is too vast to be condensed into a few pages. However, this is exactly the objective of a personal statement. Its main purpose, after all, is to provide the selection committee with an account of the entire lives of its authors. But how should you begin? What points should you focus on giving to a stranger? When seeking to outline your personal statement, you could begin by jotting down pertinent facts that you think would be valuable to someone else, as well as anything that you find formidable about the program that you intend to apply to. What sort of evidence do they require? What are the expectations that you are supposed to fulfill in your personal statement?

Last and most significantly, accept the fact that writing an academic personal statement is not all about developing striking prose. Instead, it is about successfully communicating your ability to study at an advanced level.

Structuring your personal statement. In general, one’s personal statement should incorporate all of the following elements, subdivided into three logical sections:

a) An introduction. This section should be no longer than one paragraph in length. It is intended to provide readers with an immediate impression of who you are, what draws you to the course of study for which you are applying, and the steps that have led to your particular interest in the subject of said course.

b) The main body. This is the crux of your personal statement, where you must chart your personal and professional journey in a thorough and logical fashion. Make sure each paragraph flows into the next seamlessly so that the reader remains engaged throughout.

c) A conclusion. Used to sum up your main statement.

4. Showcasing Your Achievements and Experiences

The final section of a personal statement focuses on showcasing what you have achieved and your experiences, which tell the story of who you are and how you came to be interested in your graduate program. Who are you at your core? What experiences have defined your life? What people, communities or organizations have had an impact on it? What stories can you tell about these experiences and how do they give insight into the factors that have led you to apply for a graduate degree program? How do your experiences inform how you relate to the field and how you fit into the departmental community you hope to be a part of? This section seeks to provide a compelling body of evidence that is related to, but different from, the objectives of the program.

This section is about showcasing how you have turned ideas into actions. In real personal stories that show the actions and initiatives you have taken on behalf of your research and your ethic of curiosity, your excitement about discovery. Integrate details from your experiences that illustrate the underlying habits of mind and points of view that have led to your interest in and application for graduate study. A consistent theme for these sections is the ways in which your research and background makes it logical and compelling for you to apply for this graduate program. A statement of purpose is a separate document within your application that should primarily be the place where you talk about your research. Your personal statement will say something about your research, but the primary focus should be you, your background, and the trajectory of your interests in scholarly exploration.

5. Polishing Your Personal Statement: Editing and Proofreading

Realize that all graduates are expected to be able to craft an acceptable personal statement of purpose. Employers are no different. We gather our highly experienced writing team together, which comprises employees with direct and relevant experience, and then work with you on creating a personal statement for a master’s degree application. We strive for a personal statement to be great, with absolutely no vagueness and simply many facts. Do not hesitate, contact us now!

Revise, Edit, Proofread, & Seek Feedback. Once you have all the key elements of your personal statement, as outlined in the previous sections, it is time to polish and refine the content. Editing: This process primarily involves writing style and content adjustments. Start by reviewing your personal statement for grammar, syntax, and spelling errors. Pay particular attention to any details you’ve gleaned from the programs to which you are applying. A personal statement needs to be creative because a recruiting committee will not be willing to read an uninteresting paper. If a lot of students apply, you need to show all your good qualities. You need to write an interesting story because it is important to maintain focus. Typically, the personal statement should be one page typed. It should contain 500 to 1000 words. Proofreading: This is the chance to tighten your argument, smooth out shoddy writing, and make sure that you have effectively related personal and academic subjects. This may involve carefully reviewing your personal statement and possibly editing or restructuring it. Pay particular attention to the opening section. Make sure that you are effectively using the first person when discussing elements of your personal story. It is important to avoid general statements and keep dialogue to a minimum. You should keep the first sentence short. Jobs in the personal statement should also be written out. Managers quickly tire and cannot focus or even read through the document if it seems endless. Additionally, it is always helpful to revise and proofread the content for any people looking for a fresh perspective. This may be accomplished by any one of the following ways: a. By talking to a reading enthusiast college graduate to see if the paper grabs his or her interest. b. Reading the paper aloud. It should sound well unified and flow smoothly.