Too many experiences for personal statement?

[psychout129]

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I'm writing (well, attempting to write) my personal statements now and I am having trouble keeping it concise and within the page limits. I have had a lot of different experiences, all very different but all very valuable. How much time should i be spending on each thing? I am trying to write about what I gained from each experience instead of just listing them like a resume but I don't think I have room for that. I've heard that research should be emphasized over clinical experience, but I am applying primarily to PsyD programs-- does this make a difference? How much into detail about the research should i go into?

Would really appreciate any guidance 🙂

 

[erg923]

Personal statements for Doctoral programs should not be an expansion or rehashing of your CV.

Tell me why you're interested in psychology, why you want to apply to my program and what your interests and career goals are.

 

[PsychPhDone]

Personal statements for Doctoral programs should not be an expansion or rehashing of your CV.

Tell me why you're interested in psychology, why you want to plan my program and what your interests Bd career goals are.

This. You have a cv. Say something new here and highlight experiences to illustrate points, not just rehash your cv.

 

[psychout129]

Right, that's why I specifically said that I did NOT want to write out a list of my experiences but rather was trying to talk about what I've gained from them, as those experiences are a big reason why I know that I am interested in psychology and what I want to focus on in my future career. Are you suggesting I don't talk about past experiences at all?

 

[psych.meout]

Personal statements for Doctoral programs should not be an expansion or rehashing of your CV.

Tell me why you're interested in psychology, why you want to plan my program and what your interests Bd career goals are.

I've seen this mentioned frequently, both in advice about writing personal statements and in prompts from grad programs themselves. It always seems somewhat generic, or maybe that just is how it seems when I've added that section to my statements. Is this supposed to be some sort of profound epiphany or charting of your path to psychology or something? I'm just not sure how to write it in an interesting or unique way beyond how clinical psych informs upon the overall study of human experience, thought, behavior, etc.

 

[erg923]

Right, that's why I specifically said that I did NOT want to write out a list of my experiences but rather was trying to talk about what I've gained from them, as those experiences are a big reason why I know that I am interested in psychology and what I want to focus on in my future career. Are you suggesting I don't talk about past experiences at all?

Great. Tell me all that in the interview. For now, keep it to 4 sentences.

 

[MCParent]

Right, that's why I specifically said that I did NOT want to write out a list of my experiences but rather was trying to talk about what I've gained from them, as those experiences are a big reason why I know that I am interested in psychology and what I want to focus on in my future career. Are you suggesting I don't talk about past experiences at all?

Pick the three thematic things you see as most critical to communicate. Communicate those things, using examples, one paragraph each. Done.
Being able to write concisely and within required parameters is an important skill to learn.

 

[Doctor Eliza]

I think thematic is the key word. Talk about how your experiences relate to a central theme or themes. Good luck!

 

[rerope]

While I'm applying to PhD programs I had the exact same issue. I have a lot of relevant experience and little space. However the best piece of advice I got was: Clearly write a theme at the top or the page (or in the header) and ask yourself if each paragraph pushes that theme forward in a unique way. Even if two experiences are different if you learned the same basic concepts in 2 of them then 1 can be axed (ie I did 3 labs in undergrad but I only spoke about ONE lab in detail; the that applied most to my theme, that I had the greatest amount of skill growth and that I had the most accomplishments with. The others can go on my CV). My experiences went from general and social psychology focus in undergrad to specific and clinical implementation focused in post-bac. I want to do the same things as in undergrad but each experience refined the goal and my abilities as a researcher and I constantly refer back to my theme and enthusiastically rip things out. Also don't discard anything yet. Just pull out paragraphs/sentences and put them in a separate document as you may realize you may want to use it for a different school. HTH

 

[psychout129]

Thanks so much everyone! This definitely clarifies things