Personal Statement Writing Guide

The opportunity to which you are applying is highly competitive. Other candidates may have higher GPAs or more relevant work and life experience. How are you going to make your application stand out? One answer is through the message you convey in your personal statement. There is no doubt about it; this is a hard statement to write. You need to keep your target audience in mind and think long and hard about what it is that you want to convey. First write a draft and then revise, revise, and revise until you are satisfied that you have a document that conveys your desired message well. 

Consider your personal statement to be an opportunity to:

• “Speak” to and engage the attention of the people reviewing your application; and
• Persuade the individuals reviewing your application that you possess particular skills, abilities, perspective, motivation, personality traits, and experiences that set you apart from the other applicants 

Writing Tips

Give yourself plenty of time: 

Start thinking about your essays early. The quality of the essays as well as the impact they have on the readers are very important factors in the decision-making process. Make sure you have put your best effort into writing the application essays.  

Answer the questions that are asked: 

Give thought to each question in the application. Read the directions clearly and answer the questions accurately and address issues directly. Allow your spirit, character, and uniqueness to come through and make sure your writing is formal and grammatically correct. 

Organize your thoughts:

Ensure that you have a clear logical progression from the beginning to the end of the statement. Sometimes working from an outline into which you have incorporate desired points is easier than beginning by writing line by line. The outline should contain the information you want to convey.

Have a flow to the essay:

Convey the main point of each paragraph in the first sentence of the paragraph. Doing this should provide the reader with a sense of the essay by reading only the first sentence of each paragraph. Be sure that the body of each paragraph includes details supporting the main idea in its first sentence, and that there are transitions from one paragraph to the next so that the essay flows.  

Be specific:

Back up your personal statement with references to your past experiences. Specific knowledge, skills and insights acquired through internships, study abroad, and other work and personal experiences are particularly valuable. Be sure to provide specific and concise examples that back-up statements you make (e.g., I am capable of quickly assessing a situation and confidently making a decision. For example, one day at work I was required to…). Also, if you are going to mention a relevant past experience, be sure to thoughtfully reflect on how it impacted you. For example, “I studied abroad in Spain. It was the best experience of my life,” is not good enough; discuss why it was a transformative experience for you. 

Strive for a strong opening statement: 

Look for something beyond the predictable, something that demonstrates the qualities that set you apart from other candidates. Avoid openings such as “My name is” or “I am applying for this award because…” You want to hook the reader from the beginning and set the framework for the rest of the essay. Avoid the overused, “For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a…” Be original! For example, “When a convicted felon, handcuffed to the gurney and accompanied by armed guards, was brought into the Emergency Department on my first day as a volunteer…”  

Develop a strong ending: 

In addition to having a great opening statement, you want to have a solid ending as well. This is a good opportunity for you to bring together all the pieces of your essay into a well-organized section that conveys your confidence in being a strong applicant. 

Proof your document: 

Check, double check, and have at least one other person review your essay for punctuation, spelling and other grammatical errors. Be sure that the essay does not exceed the character, word or number of pages limit.  

Write a new statement for each application:  

Do NOT re-use the same personal statement for each award to which you are applying. While you may not have to write an entirely new personal statement for each program, make sure to read each application thoroughly and tailor your response to fit the specific questions asked. 

Most Important! 

• Convey your goals and your personality
• Write to inform, not to impress
• Meet with Craig Kelley or Kris Silva before you begin writing and continue to work with them throughout the writing process