Covered Content:
💡 General examples are in grey boxes.
⚖️ Information specific to Law applicants are in blue boxes
💊 Information specific to Med School applicants are in red boxes
📖 All personal examples/stories will be in yellow boxes. Feel free to ignore but they definitely spice things up 😂
🖥️ Do Your Research
Personal statements (also called Letter of Intent, Personal Essays, Statement of Interest, etc) are generally 500-700 words and ask the following questions:
- Why are you interested in this school/program?
- Explain why you are a good fit for this school/program?
- What are your goals after completing this program and how do you think this program will help you achieve those goals?
Remember that this is your chance to share your story, your passions and interests, and your personal characteristics. This is your chance to stand out. Think critically about why you want to apply to this particular school. Did something or someone inspire you? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What problems or challenges have you faced throughout your life? How did you react to these situations? What would you change if you could have a do-over? As you think about these questions, compile a list of situations and stories that will help you express your thoughts, feelings, personal qualities and life experiences. Remain humble and genuine, but showcase the work you have done with confidence! Rearrange and organize your stories to answer the essay questions and show the admissions team the kind of person you are.
There might be slight variations between applications but the questions above are generally the main questions you want to try and answer. Before answering, take time to research what kind of answers will best fit the application and tailor your words - the more specific the better.
What to Research?
- What does this school/degree/program offer? If the program you're applying to has a special feature (e.g. practicum, internship, laboratory work, lots of extracurricular clubs, located in a big city, unique curriculum structure) then talk about how that feature applies to your interests and how excited you are to pursue that opportunity. This is especially important if that feature is very distinct or renown for a particular school or program. Let's say the program you're applying for involves an exchange opportunity in second year. When writing an essay for this school, you could mention your eagerness to study abroad.
- What kind of format does the school want for the essay? Every school values something different. The instructions will obviously give some general guidelines of how they want the document formatted (font, letter size, number of paragraphs, margins, etc) but they might also give you some direction about what kind of essay they want to see. Maybe they want to hear more of a emotive essay that goes in-depth about your upbringing and academic journey? Or maybe they want to see something very professional that concretizes your plans for the future?
- What is the "ideal" student they are looking for? This one is very similar to what is written above about format. When researching a school and the kind of format they're looking for, you want to also keep an eye out for what kind of student they want in their institution. Looking through school prospectuses (that website or pamphlet that advertises your program) is a great way to start this research. Try keeping an eye out for specific keywords like "interdisciplinary", "world leader", or "global" and look carefully at the students they feature in their websites and which accomplishments they emphasize. This might not be super obvious right away but as you compare schools with similar programs and read their prospectuses, you will start to get a grasp of the kinds of students these schools want to recruit and the graduates they want to produce.
🖊️Be Concise