Are you intimidated by those one page essays on “Why do you want to become a ____?” You are not alone. A lot rides on that essay. What is the best strategy for the personal essay?
One important overriding principle of the Personal Statement is to avoid generalities that are not supported by specific examples. For example, if you are applying to medical school, don’t say simply that you want to go to medical school because you want to help people. This is a cliché, and will draw nothing more than a collective yawn from the admissions committee. You can say that you were inspired to become a doctor by the feeling of fulfillment you received when you did volunteering with Doctors Without Borders in Sudan during the summer of 2003, handing out needed medicines, teaching basic sanitation techniques, and assisting a surgeon under less than optimal conditions. Now what was a cliché becomes a matter of substance.
Another point that bears mentioning is to view the essay from a different perspective: that of the Admissions Committee. Every candidate wants something from the school: maybe a prestigious name or maybe a ticket to practice a lucrative, well-respected, and fulfilling career. However, from the school’s perspective, they want to know what the candidate can do for them. If the school is research-oriented, they are looking for candidates with research experience. If the school is publication-oriented, they may want students with a track record of publications. So, a Personal Statement is in many ways a sales pitch in which the candidate answers the question of what the candidate can do for that institution. A candidate who does not satisfactorily answer that question will most likely not be admitted into the program.
A third overriding principle of the Personal Statement worth mentioning is primacy: the first thing that you say will set the tone for the essay, and generally make or break your Personal Statement. Start with a bang, usually with a hook: a story, an anecdote, or a life-changing experience, something that will capture the reader’s attention, and yet also be relevant to the essay topic.
Once you have captured your reader’s attention, you can go on to lay out why you think you are cut out for the field or school. This may involve discussing experience in the field, and extracurricular activities that may be relevant, even if only by analogy. For example, if you are a competitive diver and you are applying to medical school, clearly diving will not help you to be a good doctor. However, many of the same traits that you displayed to become a successful diver may also help you to become a good physician: dealing successfully with pressure, adversity, and stress, and having successfully demonstrated goal setting, hard work, dedication, and discipline in your training and performance.
Next, if applicable, you’ll want to discuss any problems that show up in your background. This could include low test scores, a low GPA, a bad semester or year, run-ins with the law (it happens, you know), academic or disciplinary probation, taking off time from school and work, or anything else problematic in your background. Get it out there; don’t try to sweep it under the rug and hope no one will notice. I can assure you that the admissions committee will flag any problem areas, whether you bring them up or not, so your best bet is to raise any issues yourself, and then try to spin them in your favor. Keep in mind that many programs also include background checks as standard operating procedure and may also verify claims made. So if you had a bad semester or year, was that because you were also helping to take care of your very sick mother? If your grades were continuously low, was that because you were also working full-time while in school to support your family? If you had a run-in with the law, was it an experience that you learned from and inspired you to change? If your test scores are low, is it because you do not test well, but did your demonstrate your abilities with consistently high grades? These are the type of arguments that you can make to take some of the bite out of a problem area. In spinning the problem area your way, keep in mind general themes that may apply to your situation. For example, overcoming adversity is a powerful theme, whether it be racial discrimination, poverty, a displaced family or a physical handicap. If this applies to you, turn the weakness in your application into a strength by telling your story.
We have mentioned some of the things to include in your Personal Statement. What about what to leave out, or what not to do? First of all, don’t brag about a high GPA or high test scores. The committee will notice this in any event and there is nothing gained by bragging. For that matter, don’t brag about anything. You can communicate the same information without bragging. For example, if were selected as an All-American in basketball, you can say that due to excellent coaching, great family support, hard work, and God-given gifts, you were fortunate to be selected as an All-American in basketball. You have communicated the information you wanted to, but you’ve given everyone else the credit. In addition, don’t whine or complain. Admissions committees don’t want to hear that life’s not fair. If you have encountered obstacles in your life, they want to know about that, as well as how you overcame such obstacles, but whining and complaining is a big turn off. Third, don’t make something out of nothing. For example, don’t blame low grades on a grandfather’s extended illness unless you were in fact the primary caretaker. Committees have seen that too many times to give it much weight. Further, don’t hire someone to write your essay. There are many reasons for this, including integrity of the admissions process, academic honesty, and the fact that there is no one more qualified than you to tell your story. In addition, many schools also will have you do a writing sample on interview day to validate that you are actually the one who wrote your essay.
How should you end the essay? You started with a bang, now you have to end with a bang. But this bang is a little bit different. This is where your sales pitch reaches a crescendo. You summarize all the key reasons why you should be accepted into this field, school or program. You are recapping what you’ve already said, but leaving out the supporting examples. You conclude with a statement that for all of the aforementioned reasons, you will make a positive contribution to this institution and field, and therefore should be admitted. With a strong conclusion, you will enhance the overall impression that your Personal Statement makes, thereby increasing your chance of admission.
Finally, once the Personal Statement is written, review it for grammar and spelling mistakes. It must be completely free of errors. Give it to anyone who is a master of the English language to review. The more time and effort you and others spend refining and reworking it, the better it will be.
Hopefully, you have found these guidelines helpful. Put them into practice, and you will greatly improve your chances of admission in to your desired program. Good luck in the admissions process!