A Guide to Writing a Personal Statement for Grad School Applications

A personal statement is a short essay between two and three pages long explaining why you’re applying to the program and what makes you a strong applicant. Writing your personal statement for grad school is the best way to show off your personality, which doesn’t always come through in the other parts of the application process.

What is a Personal Statement?

The point of a personal statement is for the admission committee to better understand who you are outside of your professional and academic experience.

It’s also an opportunity to share information that they won’t find in your other application documents.
A personal statement for grad school applications is different from a statement of purpose.

Do your research

Have a concrete idea of what the university and program offers, what they value, and the kind of applicants they are looking for

Address the prompt

Some schools will require you to answer a specific question. If that’s the case, keep your personal statement tailored to the prompt and be direct with your answers.

Don’t use platitudes or clichés

You don’t want to oversimplify important life events by using a platitude

What makes a strong personal statement?

Best personal statements capture who you are as a person and give the reader a sense that they know you once they’re finished reading

Have a sense of completeness
Provide your audience with all the information they might need to make a decision on your application
Be grammatically and syntactically perfect

Don’t overshare

Pick an example or two of life events that shaped you and your desire to apply to grad school, but don’t tell your whole life story

Include examples

Provide anecdotes to back up your claims

You don’t want to say, “I’m smart and reliable.” You want to show that you are
Example: You balanced a job with school to pay down student loans
Show that you’re creative by giving an example of a time you offered an innovative solution

Grab their attention

Your hook is everything

Make it interesting
Think of an instance that shaped you and jump right into the story
Keep it short, engaging, and illustrative of the qualities and motivations you will explore later in your statement
Use examples to illustrate your ideas

Crafting your personal statement

Begin with an outline of what you plan to include

Include a hook that grabs the reader’s attention and makes them want to keep reading
Body paragraphs should include examples of characteristics you want to come through
Conclusion should be an opportunity to discuss future plans and explain why acceptance into your desired program would benefit you

Brainstorm before you write your personal statement

What are my short-term and long-term goals?

How will acceptance into this program help me achieve them? What are strengths in terms of skills and characteristics? How can these benefit the program?
What life experience or interest is so meaningful that I would devote years to exploring the topic or subject?