A good GPA and excellent recommendations are required for all prospective candidates for the most competitive academic grants. The quality of the personal statement is what separates the top candidates from the rest. It should highlight your achievements while also communicating your vision for the future. Most essential, your personal statement should make the selection committee members remember you and desire to interview you.
Purpose of Personal Statement
Your personal statement should say something about you that your resume or transcript does not reveal.
For scholarship applications:
- It should explain why you are qualified for the scholarship. This usually entails ensuring that your essay is relevant to the scholarship provider’s objectives.
For colleges:
- It should give universities a clear picture of who we are and what we offer to the table. This is why, instead of simply listing accomplishments, it is often preferable to tell a good story or provide examples.
- It should fit along with the rest of your application. Take a look at your entire college application. Your personal statement, short answers to application questions, and supporting evidence should convey a narrative about who you are. This also means that your personal statement and brief essays should not be overly repetitive.
For both:
- It should highlight your assets. This isn’t to say it can’t identify flaws; nevertheless, it shouldn’t solely focus on the negative.
How to write a Successful Personal Statement?
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to crafting a winning personal statement, just as there is no one-size-fits-all profile of a fellowship winner. If you apply for numerous awards, you’ll almost certainly need to create various versions of your personal statement, as different organizations value different attributes in their candidates. Some general guidelines are listed below:
- Graduate fellowships and scholarships require different personal statements than college admissions. While college admissions boards search for academic promise and potential ambitions, fellowship selection panels seek practical knowledge and insight into the field you are applying for. For most research and study prizes, think of the personal statement as a philosophical autobiography that defines a specific academic issue that fascinates you, describes how your work fits within the larger academic or professional field, proves your own skill through detailed and precise descriptions of previous accomplishments, announces what you hope to do after the fellowship, and connects you to others. In other words, you could tell a story about how your ability grew through time and how it led to your future plans.
- Successful personal statements are not composed in one session or even in a week. It’s critical to get started as soon as possible, even if that means months before the submission date. Before selecting which technique works best for them, some applicants write multiple different draught versions of a personal statement. Show as many people as possible draughts of your personal statement. People who know you should read your personal statement and recognise that it could only have been written by you and that it does not seem generic in the least. People who are unfamiliar with you should read your personal statement and comprehend the main points you wish to make.
- Choose your examples carefully. Try to avoid examples that solely indicate how an event, course, or experience affected you while establishing your claims. Instead, concentrate on examples that demonstrate your knowledge, problem-solving style, strong leadership, or another attribute you want to highlight. What have you already accomplished that will entice a board to invest in your future?
- Make sure your essay is free of grammatical problems and has a smooth writing style before submitting it to a campus panel. To prevent clichés and redundancy, read your article aloud and aggressively modify it. This article should be a representation of your best work; give it the attention it deserves.
Example
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
My job as a member of my generation is to actively participate in changing the system for the better. Enrolling in and succeeding in various extracurricular programs has improved my ability to contribute actively to improving both the school and the community. Taking an active role in reaching out and offering assistance to individuals in need has reaffirmed my desire to devote time to helping others. Advanced subjects have successfully tested my work ethic and time management abilities.
Academics are my top focus, but I maintain a healthy lifestyle by seeking the pleasures of life, such as enjoying time with family and friends, working very hard at my work and earning a consistent income, and exercising by participating in a leisure basketball league.
I am really appreciative of the chances that have been provided to me, and I have no regrets about the decisions I have made in my life due to those chances. I’ve had an extraordinary and unique life, and I’ve learned a lot of valuable things along the way. I’ve traveled overseas in my life, exposing myself to other cultures and adapting in a way that was acceptable to those civilizations. I moved to a distant state with my father to participate in a program that taught me the value of positivity and enthusiasm.
FAQs
What is the length of a personal statement?
Depending on the graduate program, you may be given precise instructions on the length of your statement. However, there is frequently little or no instruction given, only a request for a statement. A good rule of thumb is to submit a 2-3-page statement in 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced with 1-inch margins. While there are no hard and fast rules about length or format, this is usually deemed enough.
Is it possible for me to submit the identical statement to each program where I apply?
“No,” in a nutshell. While there will be some similarities in your statement from one software to the next, each version should be slightly distinct. Pay close attention to the writing prompt as well as any length requirements listed on the application. While one program might ask you to describe your relevant education, another would prefer to look it up on your transcript. Aside from these contrasts, your statement should explain why you wish to attend that particular college. These reasons could include the availability of specific classes or specialties, the opportunity to collaborate with a well-respected faculty member, or some other compelling element. Obviously, you’ll have to write a different essay for each program.