Tips for Writing Your Personal Statement

Personal Statement

When you’re applying to colleges, there are a variety of elements that you’ll need to include in your application. A personal statement may well be one of them. The best personal statements function as a tool that can help you get into the perfect college and move toward your career goals, while a less effective personal statement can lessen your chances. Here’s everything you need to know about writing a personal statement.

What Is a Personal Statement?

A personal statement is a document that you submit to college admissions detailing your background, why you’re interested in a specific field, and what makes you unique and a good fit for an institution. It’s more common in certain fields than others. A law school application or medical school application, for example, may require a more robust personal statement than someone who’s going for a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at a community college.

How to Structure Your Personal Statement

What’s the best way to format a personal statement? Much like a resume or a cover letter, your personal statement should have a specific format that helps you in the writing process. Here are a few ways to write your first draft.

• Start with a hook

  First, you need a hook to draw the reader’s attention. A personal statement can be a lot of text to read, which means that many admissions officers will read the opening paragraph and decide from there whether they want to keep reading. Open your personal statement with a unique story, specific personal characteristics, or your prize research project. Turn your life experiences into something that other people will care about and fit your field of study.

• Explain why you’re in this field

  The next step is to explain why you’re in this particular field. In most cases, your hook will lead into this information. For example, if you’re going into the healthcare field and you started having an interest in it because of a life-threatening injury that you had when you were younger, this effectively creates both a hook and a reason for being in the field.

• Mention your skills

  Now it’s time to show off why you could be a good fit for the school that you’re applying to. This is to give the admissions committee more of a reason to admit you. If you’re fresh out of high school, you can use extracurricular activities and part-time work experience for a college application. If you’re writing a higher-level college application, like an application for graduate school, look at any existing work experience you have. Also review your personal experiences and past academic successes, including your GPA and academic awards.

• Show how this college is the next step in your career path

  To close out your letter, you need to show off how this college experience is the obvious next step of your career. You need to make the case that your skills and your reasons for entering this field make you the perfect match. End the letter with a formal sign-off such as “Sincerely” or “Best regards.”