PERSONAL STATEMENTS
Writing the Personal Statement
The personal statement, your opportunity to sell yourself in the application process, generally
falls into one of two categories:
1. The general, comprehensive personal statement: This allows you maximum
freedom in terms of what you write and is the type of statement often prepared for
standard medical or law school application forms.
2. The response to very specific questions: Often, business and graduate school
applications ask specific questions, and your statement should respond specifically to the
question being asked. Some business school applications favor multiple essays, typically
asking for responses to three or more questions.
Questions to Ask Yourself
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What's special, unique, distinctive, and/or impressive about you or your life story?
What details of your life (personal or family problems, history, people or events that have
shaped you or influenced your goals) might help the committee better understand you or
help set you apart from other applicants?
When did you become interested in this field and what have you learned about it (and
about yourself) that has further stimulated your interest and reinforced your conviction
that you are well suited to this field? What insights have you gained?
How have you learned about this field—through classes, readings, seminars, work or
other experiences, or conversations with people already in the field?
If you have worked a lot during your college years, what have you learned (leadership or
managerial skills, for example), and how has that work contributed to your growth?
What are your career goals?
Are there any gaps or discrepancies in your academic record that you should explain
(great grades but mediocre LSAT or GRE scores, for example, or a distinct upward
pattern to your GPA if it was only average in the beginning)?
Have you had to overcome any unusual obstacles or hardships (for example, economic,
familial, or physical) in your life?
What personal characteristics (for example, integrity, compassion, and/or persistence) do
you possess that would improve your prospects for success in the field or profession? Is
there a way to demonstrate or document that you have these characteristics?
What skills (for example, leadership, communicative, analytical) do you possess?
Why might you be a stronger candidate for graduate school—and more successful and
effective in the profession or field than other applicants?
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PERSONAL STATEMENTS
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What are the most compelling reasons you can give for the admissions committee to be
interested in you?
General Advice
Answer the questions that are asked
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If you are applying to several schools, you may find questions in each application that are
somewhat similar. Don't be tempted to use the same statement for all applications. It is
important to answer each question being asked, and if slightly different answers are
needed, you should write separate statements. In every case, be sure your answer fits the
question being asked.
Tell a story
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Think in terms of showing or demonstrating through concrete experience. One of the
worst things you can do is to bore the admissions committee. If your statement is fresh,
lively, and different, you'll be putting yourself ahead of the pack. If you distinguish
yourself through your story, you will make yourself memorable.
Be specific
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Don't, for example, state that you would make an excellent doctor unless you can back it
up with specific reasons. Your desire to become a lawyer, engineer, or whatever should
be logical, the result of specific experience that is described in your statement. Your
application should emerge as the logical conclusion to your story.
Find an angle
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If you're like most people, your life story lacks drama, so figuring out a way to make it
interesting becomes the big challenge. Finding an angle or a "hook" is vital.
Concentrate on your opening paragraph
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The lead or opening paragraph is generally the most important. It is here that you grab the
reader's attention or lose it. This paragraph becomes the framework for the rest of the
statement.
Tell what you know
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The middle section of your essay might detail your interest and experience in your
particular field, as well as some of your knowledge of the field. Too many people
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PERSONAL STATEMENTS
graduate with little or no knowledge of the nuts and bolts of the profession or field they
hope to enter. Be as specific as you can in relating what you know about the field and use
the language professionals use in conveying this information. Refer to experiences (work,
research, etc.), classes, conversations with people in the field, books you've read,
seminars you've attended, or any other source of specific information about the career
you want and why you're suited to it. Since you will have to select what you include in
your statement, the choices you make are often an indication of your judgment.
Don't include some subjects
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There are certain things best left out of personal statements. For example, references to
experiences or accomplishments in high school or earlier are generally not a good idea.
Don't mention potentially controversial subjects (for example, controversial religious or
political issues).
Do some research, if needed
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If a school wants to know why you're applying to it rather than another school, do some
research to find out what sets your choice apart from other universities or programs. If the
school setting would provide an important geographical or cultural change for you, this
might be a factor to mention.
Write well and correctly
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Be meticulous. Type and proofread your essay very carefully. Many admissions officers
say that good written skills and command of correct use of language are important to
them as they read these statements. Express yourself clearly and concisely. Adhere to
stated word limits.
Avoid clichés
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A medical school applicant who writes that he is good at science and wants to help other
people is not exactly expressing an original thought. Stay away from often-repeated or
tired statements.
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PERSONAL STATEMENTS
GOOD EXAMPLE
I could hardly keep myself from staring at the girl: the right side of her face was misshapen and
bigger than the left. Only later did I notice that Cheryl, about nine at the time, had light brown
hair, lively brown eyes, and a captivating smile. When she walked into the candy shop where I
worked six years ago, Cheryl told me she was a student of my former fourth grade teacher with
whom I had kept in contact. We talked then and spent time talking each time she visited. She
became a very special friend of mine, one whom I admire greatly. At the time we met, I was
taking honors and AP classes, working about twenty hours a week, and feeling sorry for myself.
Cheryl's outgoing confidence and good cheer put my situation in perspective. Cheryl was strong,
kind, and surprisingly hopeful. She never focused on her facial deformities, but always on the
anticipated improvement in her appearance. Her ability to find strength within herself inspired
me to become a stronger person. It motivated me to pursue a career where I could help those like
Cheryl attain the strength that she possesses.
At the time, my initial interest turned toward psychology. Impressed with Cheryl's outlook, I
overlooked the source of her strength: she knew that treatment will improve her
appearance. Focusing on the emotional aspects of her illness, I volunteered at the
Neuropsychiatric Institute. There, I supervised the daily activities of pre-adolescents, played with
them, and assisted them in getting dressed. I worked with crack babies, autistic children, and
children who had severe behavioral problems. I enjoyed interacting with the children, but I often
became frustrated that I was not able to help them. For instance, a young autistic boy frequently
hit himself. No one was permitted to stop this child. We had to turn away and allow him to
continually strike and hurt himself until he tired.
I was increasingly disappointed with the lack of progress I saw in my volunteer work at NPI, but
my job again pushed me in the right direction. During the fall quarter of my junior year in
college, I left the candy shop where I had worked for nearly five and a half years, and I began
working as a senior clerk in the Anesthesiology Residency Program. Ironically work, which
frequently made study difficult, helped me find the right path. There I learned about the oral and
maxillo-facial specialty, which will allow me to help people like Cheryl.
To explore my interest in dentistry, I volunteered as a dental assistant in Dr. Miller's dental
office. Dr. Miller introduced me to various dental techniques. Although I was mainly an
observer, I had the opportunity to interact with the patients. I came in contact with a diverse
patient population with different problems and dental needs. I observed as Dr. Miller dealt with
each patient individually and treated each one to the best of his ability. He familiarized me with
strategies for oral health promotion and disease prevention. I learned a great deal from him, and
as a result, my interest in dentistry grew.
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PERSONAL STATEMENTS
I choose to pursue a career in dentistry after following a circuitous path. My friendship with
Cheryl motivated me to enter a field where I can help the severely disfigured cope with their
condition. Although I initially turned to psychology, I found my work at the Neuropsychiatric
Institute to be frustrating and was searching for a different way to achieve my goal. Ironically,
Cheryl had told me all along the source of her strength: the knowledge that her condition was
treatable and improving. Through maxillo-facial dentistry I will help others with serious facial
deformities have the same knowledge and source of strength.
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PERSONAL STATEMENTS
BAD EXAMPLE
I want to make my personal statement for enrollment in your college program for Special
Education something different. I think the best way to do this is very clear. It does pay to be open
and honest at all times. Especially being honest and open with you on all fronts too. Why do I
want to be a student in your individual teaching program of education a whole lot? Well, I’m
going to give you the best answer I can, which does come straight from my heart and soul. I love
to teach, and I learned this at a very early age. At the young age of only five, I was playing
teacher in my bedroom, and my dolls and stuffed toys were my only students. Also, when
Grammy Emma would visit, she would also lovingly be one of my students too. Everyone in the
family knew then that I would be a teacher someday. This is why I am now applying for
educational instruction in your special education program.
I have just always loved to learn. Going to school for me was a real adventure. Every discovery,
I did make via training, was something that I added to my own personal collection of learning as
I grew up from child to adult. I think the desire to teach was something that started very early on,
when I was in kindergarten. It began the moment, I learned how to interact with other kids of my
age, and then developed a real love for wanting to learn. School proved to be a very fun place for
me in every way. I just loved being in the classroom. I was very unlike other children, some of
whom didn’t like school, all that much. It seems that I was born to be in a classroom, don’t ask
me why. Maybe all of these things were a clear indication that I was meant to be a teacher
someday.
Why do I want to teach special students the most? Well, the answer is very clear on this, and it is
because special students need that little special touch when it comes to learning. I have the
patience, the willingness, as well as a great love to want to teach these very exceptional students.
This is because they do need the most caring of all instruction possible, and I can do that kind of
teaching the best because it will be coming from my heart. Exceptional students are indeed
outstanding in every way. They need all of understanding, as well as the most caring of all
instruction, which a dedicated and devoted teacher can give them. I want to be that very special
teacher, to these so very needing students, in all the ways that count the most.
Teaching special children requires a different kind of instructor. I think that I can be that very
kind of teacher if given the chance. So, please do consider what I have said here, and do approve
my application for continued learning in your unique program of study for those who desire to be
teachers.
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