Graduate School Personal Statements

Location: On the Internet.

Prerequisites: No formal prerequisites, just the desire to learn.

Description: A course on perfecting a graduate school personal statement.

Objective: The ability to effectively convey to graduate school admissions committees why you should be admitted in a clear and organized manner.

Obviously if you are applying to a top graduate school, their admissions are selective and most applicants including yourself have the high GPA and test scores needed. This is what makes the personal statement so important. It is a way for the admissions committee to narrow the field, and a way for you to make the impact needed to be admitted.

These top graduate schools will look for additional information in your personal statement in order to make their final decisions.

Requirements for the personal statement will vary by field of study, but there are some general things the admissions committees will be looking for:

1. Who and why? The school needs to know who are you are, your reasons for wanting to study this subject at their graduate school and the reasons they should accept you into this program.

2. Strong writing. In order to succeed in graduate school you need strong writing skills, so if your essay is weak or poorly communicates your ideas they will notice. At the very least, your essay must be competently written.

3. Just like kindergarten, did you follow the directions? The admissions office wants you to answer the questions they have asked, that is why they asked them. Also, make sure your essay is not obviously written for another program or another school. The essay should include what you want to tell the graduate program, but not at the exclusion of what they want to know.

4. Pursuit of goals. Personal statements can show someone how effectively you can set a goal and pursue it. Staying on topic and being in control of your writing instead of letting it control you is very important because of what it shows about you. So make it logical and coherent.

5. Will they like you? Do you come across as a person they want as a student and a colleague someday? Did you avoid clichés and succeed at being unique without appearing obscure?

Review our checklist and tips pages for more information on writing your personal statement.

Below are more links for other specific types of personal statements:

Law School Personal Statements

Medical School Personal Statements