Pros and Cons of Using the same personal statement

[ChemistI]

I did not get accepted to a program last year. I will be reapplying again this year. I worked really hard compiling my personal statement for last year's application. I know its recommended to rewrite a personal statement but if you submit the same one again, is this looked down upon?

has anyone reapplied and used the same personal statements before and got accepted?

pros and cons?


i guess the only pro to this is that you don't have to retype another personal statement.



thanks

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[ChemistI]

bump!

 

[masterdix]

I used the same one I just tweaked it a bit and put a sentence or two about what I was doing with my year off. Oh and I got in to my number one choice. I would say if you put a lot of time and heart into then you shouldn't feel like you have to start all over!

 

[Swanchick84]

I used the same personal statement, except changed one whole paragraph. I also got into my 1st choice school my second time around.

 

[redrose0786]

I used my original personal statement just added what I was doing during my year off and how it would help me in the long run.

 

[ChemistI]

thanks everyone for the advice. i've just modified some paragraphs that way it doesn't sound exactly the same as the previous one.

 

[Hels2007]

You would definitely rework it a little. Why?

a) Surely you have had some experiences in the past year that would be worth adding
b) The statement might not have been as good as you think (after all, you didn't get accepted), and with a year's more experiene, you may be able to spot some awkward phrasing/sentences that are distracting from the main message/etc.
c) If someone read your statement last year, and happened to remember it, they would feel very sorry for you (and it's not what you want admissions people to feel for you)

 

[tungster]

when i applied last year at ubc, i got an interview with my personal statements. however i did not get accepted. i applied again this year with the same personal statements (with a couple of changes). the reason why i kept it the same is because it got me an interview the first time. i just played it safe. i didn't want to risk changing it too much. luckily, i got in this year.

 

[brasilia01]

I would change some things in your personal statement. I spoke with an admissions counselor at Creighton, and he told me its better to change the ps or it looks like you haven't changed your app. Thats just my $0.02 though.