How not to write a personal statement

[OneDay81]

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I know its a little bit late in the game, but I just found this link and thought I would share

http://chronicle.com/article/Leave-Dr-Seuss-Out-of-It/126098/

 

[EpiWin]

FTA: "A few years ago on my FemaleScienceProfessor blog, I organized a "Statement of Purpose (SOP) Contest" in which readers competed to write the worst such statements. It was akin to "The Bad Hemingway Contest," only my version was for graduate-application essays."

That sounds hilarious, there should be a thread like that for worst first sentence/introduction in a public health SOP. Reminds me of UW's application specifically calling out people against using "literary elements" in their statements.

 

[Stories]

She's been a good source of info over the past few years. Worth a read if you're interested in pursuing a doctorate, currently a grad student, or want to go into academia.

 

[Vayu]

Very funny. Take everything with a grain of salt though - you should not shy away from mentioning important events in your life even if they seem cliche to a blogger. Write openly, honestly, and to the point with an eye towards relevance and specificity to the program.

 

[Stories]

Very funny. Take everything with a grain of salt though - you should not shy away from mentioning important events in your life even if they seem cliche to a blogger. Write openly, honestly, and to the point with an eye towards relevance and specificity to the program.

Everyone has different opinions on the topic, but I do think dedicating a substantial portion of the SoP to personal experiences may not always be the strongest statement. Due to word limits, it writing a lot about personal experience may limit how much you can write about other more relevant issues.

I know when I was writing my SoP for PhD programs, my (MPH) adviser/mentor told me that it should really be called a Professional Statement and not a Personal Statement. The focus should be on research interests and experience. The adcoms are focused on if that individual can be a good scientist.

My comments may not be as important for MPH SoPs, though.