Posted by Editor’s Note: You may notice that we’ve started a mini craft course on Instagram this week. We’ll be spending the next three weeks helping our very recent grads as they work on the next stage of their lives – whether you’re applying to graduate work, networking as you apply to jobs, or starting that transition to professional writing, we’ve got you covered!
Ah, summertime…the perfect time to get a head start on those scholarship and graduate school applications. As you assemble your materials and start reaching out for transcripts and recommendations, the one thing you’ve probably left for last—if you’re anything like me—is the personal statement.
Personal statements can be one of the hardest kinds of papers to write. Cranking out roughly 1,500 words about yourself can be awkward and time-consuming; especially if you aren’t feeling confident about your accomplishments, and even more so if you aren’t confident about your writing skills.
I like to come at personal statements like I’m building something with LEGOs. The trick is to assemble your structure one brick at a time; so here are the building blocks you can use to get your personal statement looking as polished as possible!
- Lay your foundation with a theme or story line.
Applications usually include questions and prompts for personal statements. Set aside time to carefully read the prompt and develop an overarching theme for your statement—that can be centering your statement around a life experience, or writing about your academic/professional/journey that led up to you wanting to apply for this particular program or scholarship. This way, if you ever feel like you’re getting off track, you can always go back to your theme and make sure everything stays relevant.
2. Build up the walls and hype yourself up!
Sometimes you’ll feel like you have nothing to write about because you don’t have enough life experience to include. Here’s a fact: that is always FALSE! Being a student in and of itself already provides you with a whole host of experiences to choose from. Never be afraid to reference classes that were relevant and interesting, school projects that you worked on, or extra-curricular activities that you’re a part of as valid things to include in a personal statement. In the end, they’re all part of the story of what set you on your current path. And that’s what a personal statement is—a story.
3. Make sure that all the pieces fit in.
The best way to make sure that all of the information you include relates back to the prompt and to your theme is to always, always, always be specific! If you have a love for a subject or a profession, where did it come from? When you reference certain skills that boost your application, how did you obtain them? What are the unique aspects of the university or the program that made you want to apply? Are there any professors that you want to work with? Any courses that you want to take? Never be afraid to name-drop, elaborate, or contextualize information in your personal statement, because this is the best way to make it unique to YOU.
4. Top it off with a flourish!
Like any conclusion paragraph, you want to end your statement by leaving an impact! This is the place to let the program or the scholarship committee know why their specific program or award is perfect for you. Specifically for graduate school, you want to let them know that you’ve done your research on why their program is the place for you to be. For scholarships, you want to remind them how the award can help you achieve your goals. You want to leave them with an impression and remind them why you’re worth it, because let’s face it—you are!
So go out there and write yourself a personal statement that’s going to do you justice! And if you need a little extra advice, our handouts on personal statements and narratives are here to help!
All images from giphy.com.
The Write Attitude 
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