Your personal statement is your first and best chance to reveal your personality to the admissions committee. Lots of applicants write a laundry list of their accomplishments, basically reiterating what they?re listed as post-graduate experiences. A better approach is to write a human interest story, taking an in-depth look at just one of these experiences and showing how you felt about the experience, how it impacted you, and how you grew as a result. Several essay samples using this approach are available at the
Accepted website.
Still need help stimulating the creative juices? Here are a few writing exercises that might help you kickstart the process:
* Complete the sentence: "I just wouldn't be me if it weren't for..." Then write about a person, place, or experience that has been crucial in making you who you are.
* Think about an idea that really excites or puzzles you -- something you turn over in your mind again and again. You could then write about a situation where this idea came up and you realized how important it was.
* Make a list of the personal experiences that have had the most meaning for you: travel, people, national or world events, obstacles or difficulties you overcame, books or classes that shaped your ideas. Then write about why you consider these things important (when you realized their importance, what have you learned from them, etc.).
The draft that results won?t be ready to submit to the admissions committee ? for that, you?ll need to determine your theme, select your examples, and
revise, revise, revise -- but I guarantee that the time you spend on this introspection will be well worth it as you develop your personal statement.
I hope this helps you get started. There will also be a live chat on May 27th with several admissions counselors available who can answer your questions -- see the
chat page for details. Good luck!