The personal statement is your ticket to the degree of a dream. If you want to study in one of the most recognizable schools worldwide, you should prepare a prominent self-presentation. It is great when a future student asks, “Can you help me to write my personal statement?” because they get relevant examples and avoid many mistakes in their own drafts. Still, if you are confident that you can cope with personal statement writing independently, follow our guide on empowering your text and impress the admission committee easily.
- Stay brave
Some students think that they have nothing to say in their personal statements. Luckily, it is not true! You should beat your fear of blank paper and just start writing words. Don’t be afraid of making errors because it is not your first draft but a brainstorming list. Begin with the subconscious flow and see how your thoughts change their shapes in a while.
Use your favourite tool to simplify the first writing steps. It might be a classic way of writing with pen and paper or typing on a laptop with such useful apps as Scrivener or XMind. The last one is great for mind-mapping if you don’t know what to write about.
- Always be positive
Avoid telling in your personal statement about the things you are bad at. On the contrary, focus on your advantages. Positive writing means revealing your uniqueness without becoming arrogant. For instance, it is good to back yourself up with qualities and relevant examples, but telling, “I am a great leader because I am always telling people what to do” reflects you from a negative aspect. Good showing off is OK if you represent your current affairs, work experience, or extra projects.
- Ask for advice
If you still don’t know your beneficial qualities, ask your friends or family members for help. They might assist you in writing, so you remember many valuable things you are good at. For example, your relatives can tell you about your childhood and raise some memories about how you won a football match or chess competition. Indeed, it shouldn’t always correspond to a program you will take, but it shows your leadership and hard-working qualities, which are no less important for the studying process.
- Tell me what inspires you
It is crucial for an admission officer to read about your interests to imagine who applies for a course. Your future teacher wants to know you before meeting you personally, so it is essential to make a good impression on them. Tell what article or book you’ve read that you are interested in the specific subject. Also, mention your activity by answering the question, what do you like to do when you have free time. It is a place to reveal your hobbies and represent who you really are.
- Avoid complex style
Keep your English plain and use only simple sentences to express your thoughts. Some students make a widespread mistake when they want to impress their admission officer with flowery language. Avoid big words such as “honour” or “distinction” because they only distract readers from what you want to say. Explain everything simply and try to follow a chronological order so your admission officer doesn’t mix up. Shorten your sentences if possible to ease perception as well.
- Understand why you’ve chosen the current program
If you’ve been dreaming about studying in a particular college or university, you should tell why you’ve selected this place for your study. Don’t use cliches by writing, “I had a childhood dream to become a computing science specialist to hack worldwide net, and now I am here.” It is not a successful way to convince your audience you deserve a place in a class. Pay attention to your previous experience, where you’ve used your coding skills in practice. Perhaps, you’ve written the wrong coding line and hacked a program mistakenly. It could work and impress tutors, but, honestly, only if you’ve done it accidentally. 😉
- Stay original
Teachers like interesting stories, but they are tired of cliches. Please, don’t be like others and think differently. Show your teachers your originality but don’t exaggerate your story. This recommendation is beneficial for those who like to copy-paste text without thinking about the effects. Think about how your story differs from others and play with it courageously.
- Outline your content.
You should structure your personal statement thoroughly. Never stop organizing text parts to reach excellent results in better explanation. Remember that your main target is to get into the university of your dream, so don’t be vague. Keep your outline clear, and it will help you to write exactly what you want.
- Proofread independently
Please, don’t rely on online grammar checkers only. They automatically improve your text still, it will not notice issues with style and delivery. Make sure you don’t break formatting style rules and check your text on correct punctuation, paragraphs alignment, indents, margins, and other points. Track grammatical and spelling issues yourself, and then show your content to people you trust. They can notice something you couldn’t because the author’s eyes are always blurred.
- Don’t leave the first draft
Thinking that your rough text is perfect is a big delusion. Always think about how you can improve personal statement content until you say, “Yeah, that will work excellently!” Always leave your first version to compare it with the last one. Track how you progress with word selection and sentence construction and make a final rewriting session.
Afterall
Sharing your experience, achievements, interests, and goals is crucial in the personal statement. Just don’t give up if something goes wrong, and don’t be afraid of asking for help! Practice writing and avoid delaying the writing procedure until the last minute because the admission committee will not wait!