Over the past few years, many admission committees have placed great emphasis on the personal statement section of a college application. While the other sections are generally facts regarding academics and other information, this section is designed to really illuminate the individual. This is what differentiates students from each other, as everyone has their own unique ambitions and experiences to narrate. Here are a few tips to write an effective personal statement.
Be honest: No matter where you apply this rule in life, you will eventually realize that nothing beats honesty. Try to be as clear and honest about your ambitions, experiences and values, as possible. Do not try to give the reader what you think he or she wants to read, just be yourself. Otherwise you risk dissolving into the ocean of the thousands of other applications that look pretty much the same because they follow a certain pattern.
Keep it focused: When writing personal statements, many candidates tend to think that they are supposed to fill in every minute detail of their accomplishments since first grade. Don’t do that. Instead, try to focus on a particular direction and only relate relevant achievements, which go hand in hand with your ambitions, and the ones you’re proudest of. You will have to sit down and brainstorm over which are the most important and pertinent ones.
Address all questions: Usually, every university has its own set of questions that it requires the candidate to answer, in his or her personal statement. Make sure you carefully read those questions and address them appropriately. If you stray from those questions, you actually risk being rejected because you’re effectively not telling them what they want to know about you.
Adhere to proper writing conventions: This includes anything from proper grammar to correct syntax to appropriate formatting techniques. You can always get help from your peers or English teacher in this regard, provided you make the first draft yourself. However, there are some things that you will have to work on your own, for example, internet slang.
Pay attention to feedback: The best way to go about the personal statement is to start from a rough draft and keep improving it with constant feedback from your instructors or peers. That way you will ultimately end up with a highly polished and professional piece of writing. The more effort you put in, the better your personal statement will be.
Stand out from the rest: Usually, this can best be achieved by using your creativity to come up with a clever and interesting introduction. It should be something that will immediately catch the eye of the reader and make him or her want to read right down to the very end. Moreover, tell your own story and not someone else’s.
Demonstrate College/Major knowledge: Even though you are not expected to know everything about the college or major you’re applying for, you still need to do your homework and show the admissions committee that you are serious about acquiring a place in their institution. This can really improve your chances of getting admitted to the college of your liking.
Sound Confident: They key here is neither to beg nor brag, but instead come out as an individual who is confident that he can not only be successful in his area of interest, but can also prosper wherever he applies himself. This acts as more of a reassurance for the admissions committee, that the person they are choosing is the right one.
To sum up, even though personal statements do require some effort, they are rather easy write, especially once you have figured out the direction in which you have to proceed. Just remember, that in terms of importance, personal statements either make or break your application.
References:
http://students.berkeley.edu/apa/personalstatement/gettingstarted.html