Resources

Personal Statement

The personal statement is an important part of your application package. Depending on the topic you choose, the essay you write provides additional evidence of your intellectual and creative achievement. The essay is also the only opportunity for the readers of your application to get a feel for you as a person as well as for you as a student. The essay is also the place where you can put your academic record into the context of your opportunities and obstacles.

There is no one correct way to write a personal statement, but in general those who will read your essay are looking for two important things:

• HOW the essay provides evidence of your achievements that isn't reflected in other parts of your application.
• HOW and WHY the events that you describe have shaped your attitude, focus, and, most of all, your intellectual vitality.

This information will help you think about and craft a personal statement by taking you step by step through a process of brainstorming, drafting and revising. At the end, they hope that you will produce a personal statement that you are proud of and that will provide admissions officers with an accurate portrait of whom you are and why a college education is important to you.

Structuring Your Personal Statement
A typical two-page personal statement will consist of the following:

• An introductory paragraph that provides your essay’s controlling theme.
• 2-4 body paragraphs that develop your theme through examples and detailed experiences and build upon each other. The final body paragraph will contain your most poignant information.
• A conclusion that widens the lens and wraps up your essay without summarizing or repeating what has already been written.

On-Line Personal Statement Information