7/1/ · Your personal statement is any essay that you must write for your main application, such as the Common App Essay, University of California Essays, or Coalition Application Essay. This type of essay focuses on your unique experiences, ideas, or beliefs that may not be discussed throughout the rest of your application When drafting your personal statement you usually need to make changes. The first words you get down on paper will probably not be those you send off. You will add, delete, re-arrange, combine pieces of information, and alter the language to make it more concise and readable. Universities appreciate PSs which are thoughful and well organised Hundreds of Personal Statement Examples to help you apply to university. Browse thousands of university personal statement examples below by subject, from A to Z. For more help and inspiration, check out our advice pages for Personal Statements
Easy Guide to Help You Draft a Personal Statement
When drafting your personal statement you usually need to make changes. The first words you get down on paper will probably not be those you send off. You will add, personal statement draft, delete, re-arrange, combine pieces of information, personal statement draft, and alter the language to make it more concise and readable. Universities appreciate PSs which are thoughful and well organised. Usually a PS which has been worked through several drafts transmits positive signals.
It shows careful connections, a thread of interest running through the whole text like an argument in an essaygood language choices, and attention to detail. These are all highly valued at university level. Although your PS will probably be read by more then one person, the amount of time given to your writing by each reader is not likely to be long, maybe one or two minutes on average. So you need to make sure that you communicate in a concise, personal statement draft, coherent and interesting way, personal statement draft.
When revising, what should you look for? Top priority in a PS is your academic motivation - why you want to study the subject. This is the first thing the universities want to know, personal statement draft.
Try to create a thread of interest running throughout the statement related to your academic choice. Find ways to connect your experiences CAS, extra-curricular, out of school interests to your central motivation, personal statement draft.
Also, make full use of research experiences like the extended essay, personal statement draft. After each example we give our comments. We are looking at how students used written personal statement draft to make their statements more focused, interesting and relevant. Example One Draft One: I want to study medicine because of my growing interest in science and how it can help people and improve the quality of life. Draft Two: My interest in medicine grows out of two motivations in my life.
Firstly, my love of science, which has become stronger as I have tackled more advanced research, for example an IB extended essay on cancer screening techniques. Secondly, my desire to contribute to an improved quality of life, particularly regarding personal health. Draft Three: My interest in medicine grows out of two motivations: a love of science, and a desire to contribute to better public health care. My IB research project on cancer screening techniques has made me aware of the some of the issues, both medical and ethical, in public health programmes, but also the importance of people and their emotions in health issues.
The combination of these two factors — the power and potential of medical science, together with the complex personal statement draft issues involved — have made me pursue medicine as a career. Rob's comments: This is an important part of a PS - the motivation statement, personal statement draft. The changes made by this student make her statement more focused on medicine, but also more rooted in her own experience. It has more detail.
A whole paragraph grows out of one sentence. She then improves further by connecting the two aspects. She adds a 'summary' sentence using a colon and a connecting sentence using a dash and words like 'combination' and 'together', personal statement draft.
The effect is to make the statement more personal and more professional. She has really thought about the role of medicine in the world. At the same time the student comes across as someone keen to learn. Note how the IB extended essay is used. The actual topic is mentioned 'cancer screening techniques' but it is connected to the broader topic of medicine. This student moves from generalization and cliché in Draft One to more specific weaving together of experience and motivation in Draft Three.
Draft One could have been written by almost any applicant; in Draft Three, the student is emerging as an personal statement draft — the reader gets a clearer picture of her suitability for medicine.
By Draft Three, it is evident that this student has put thought into her suitability for medicine and what its study involves. The increasing precision of thought is matched by increasing fluency of expression. Example Two Draft One: I am very committed to environmental issues and campaigns. I feel strongly that we should take more care of our local environment. Draft Two: I am an active member of Greenpeace and have taken part in local environmental projects. My involvement with this group has shown me the value of people working together to bring about change.
In I took part in a local action to drain and restore a disused canal. Rob's comments: This is about a student's environmental interests. The first version is full of enthusiasm 'very committed', 'feel strongly' but short on detail. The changes add detail and make the student personal statement draft across as more active and reflective. Rather than the vague 'we', the statement is now about 'people working together' and gives a specific example of change through local action, personal statement draft.
Note how the pronoun 'I' is replaced by 'My involvement' in the second sentence of version 2. It is worth finding ways to make sure that not every sentence of your PS begins with 'I'!
Admissions tutors are looking for evidence. By Draft Two, the student is beginning to give some proof. Example Three Draft One: I speak English and Russian. I think being bilingual has helped me a lot, personal statement draft. Draft Two: Being fluent in two languages helps me to see the world through different perspectives. Teaching a friend my native language, Personal statement draft, helped me to see the value of this.
Rob's comments: Being bilingual is definitely something personal statement draft put in your PS. But you personal statement draft to make something out of it. The reader may be automatically impressed. But they may also think 'So what? What have you learned from that? The student shows how being bilingual has helped him as a learner and an international student. He also draws in another experience - teaching- which gives the bilingual identity another dimension. Note again how the pronoun 'I' can be changed - he uses 'Being fluent in two languages' instead of 'I speak'.
Further additions could be made. This whole experience could perhaps echo the student's academic motivation, personal statement draft, expressed earlier in the statement. Being bilingual is not remarkable on its own. Example Four Draft One: Being in an international school has shown me the importance of other cultures and made me more tolerant as a person.
Draft Two: Being in an international school has shown me how differences between cultures can be turned into strengths by debate.
My experience as part of the school debating team working with other students from many countries helped me to see this. Rob's comments: This is a typical example of a cliche - a set of ready-made phrases taken off the shelf and telling us nothing about the individual person. They are rather common in personal statements, personal statement draft.
The second version shows the person reflecting on her experience in a way which is more individual. She connects two aspects of her life - the international student and the debater, personal statement draft. More additions could perhaps be made.
Could, for example, personal statement draft, this focus on debate and cultures now be related to the student's subject choice? Helen's comments: There are the seeds of some good points in Draft Two. Universities are looking for students who will contribute, academically and socially, to their institutions. Embed the message you want to convey.
As Rob says, perhaps the student could relate language skills to another aspect, e. course choice, career thoughts, or personal qualities desirable in the chosen field.
The answer depends in part on subject choice — everything you say has to be relevant. The debating skills could be part of a larger point about, for example, commitment to school activities, another desirable quality, or about learning to create convincing arguments, vital in university writing. Demonstrating academic qualities and potential How can you show you are on an upward learning curve?
That you will be an interesting student to teach? Admissions tutors and staff expect you to show awareness of your academic ability and promise without being arrogant. How can you do this? We hope the following examples from the drafts of personal statement draft statements written by students in previous years will help you to write about your academic qualities and potential in a convincing way.
In some examples, academic qualities overlap with other aspects of the students' experience; this is effective weaving together of key aspects and provides a connecting thread to the personal statement. After each example, we give our comments. This approach has provided me with tools to tackle unfamiliar problems through a personal statement draft of different knowledge areas.
It has taught me to question the manner in which I learn best, and subsequently has allowed me to satisfy independently my curiosity for knowledge beyond the assigned curriculum. These past two years especially have taught me to recognize the nature of a problem, devise a strategy for its solution, make an assessment of progress, as well as constructively evaluate the outcome.
This rigorous personal statement draft to learning has provided personal statement draft with tools to tackle unfamiliar problems through a variety of different knowledge areas.
Developing this awareness into an aptitude has allowed me to independently address my curiosity for knowledge beyond the assigned curriculum, personal statement draft. This in turn may well be a contributing factor as to why I often fall naturally into leadership positions on committees and team projects, personal statement draft. Living in several countries, including Greece and the UK, has made me trilingual, but has also taught me to integrate myself both intellectually and socially in an intercultural setting, without compromising my own values.
One paragraph becomes two, the second focused on the aptitude acquired and on how it has affected his experience in other areas leadership skills, language ability and adaptability. He mentions a particular book on Philosophy and going beyond the curriculum — both show a motivated learner.
How to write a PERSONAL STATEMENT for university or college
, time: 35:4020 Personal Statement Draft And Basic Things You Don't Want To Skip - Template Hq
Hundreds of Personal Statement Examples to help you apply to university. Browse thousands of university personal statement examples below by subject, from A to Z. For more help and inspiration, check out our advice pages for Personal Statements 12/18/ · Start with why you chose it.'. 'The best personal statements get to the point quickly.'. 'Start with a short sentence that captures the reason why you are interested in studying the area you are applying for and that communicates your enthusiasm for it.'. 'Go straight in How Long is a Personal Statement Usually the institute you are writing your personal statement for decides the length of it. This is the reason it is recommended to read and understand the guidelines provided. Generally, to words are required to draft your personal essay but it differs from college to college and country to country
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