Your Personal Statement is your opportunity to let us learn about you, beyond your
grades and test scores. It is up to you to decide what you want to tell the admissions
committee. In past years, many topics have been addressed, including the following:
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Interest / experience in your chosen major
State or national recognition for talent, creative ability, leadership, or academic achievement
An ethnic or cultural background or an age group that would add diversity to our campus
Extenuating circumstances that have significantly affected an otherwise strong academic record
Question breakdown: The topic is myself. The area is broad. It is essential to narrow
down my focus. I want to concentrate upon strengths I have, such as communicating in
many different forums, persuading people, creative insights and my wonderfully crooked
smile. I wish to downplay my weaknesses to seem more minor then they really are, such
as involvement in activities and average grades. I am exceptional, I am extraordinary, I
want them to realize that.
Formulate a specific goal: My goal is to show myself as the wonderfully exuberant
human being that I am.
Imagine Readers: I assume my readers to be of the scholarly type. They will appreciate
a large vocabulary. In fact I could see them modeled after Mrs. Clession, they will read,
noticing what the author is saying, notice style features and dismiss what exactly is being
said, as every essay is about the same thing. Here the important thing is not what I say it,
but how.
Constraints: From what I can tell, I should be able to print it out and attach it to the page
that the prompt is on.