| Guidelines
for Writing Your Personal Statement |
| |
| To
assist you in writing your personal statement for graduate
school applications, Career Services has prepared these
guidelines. |
| STEP
1: Brainstorming |
|
Actions:
- Devote
some undisturbed time to reflecting on these key questions.
- Also
discuss them with friends or family members.
- Jot
down notes. In some cases write sentences.
- Don't
expect to have responses to every question or example.
- Also
think about the flip side of each question. For example,
why are you really committed to the field of biology
despite pressure from your parents to become a lawyer
or to get a job?
|
| Your
answers to some of these questions will form the heart of
your personal statement. |
| 1.
How did your pre-college education influence your decision
to pursue graduate study in your field? |
| Think
about: |
High
school courses, teachers, special programs, student organizations,
and community or volunteer work. |
| 2.
How has your Rutgers experience influenced your decision? |
| Think
about: |
College
courses, professors, academic interests, research, special
programs and student organizations. Think about the decision-making
process you went through to choose your major. |
| 3.
How has your work experience influenced your decision? |
| Think
about: |
Internships,
externships, part-time jobs, summer jobs, and volunteer
or community work. |
| 4.
Who has had the most influence on your decision to pursue
graduate study? In what ways? |
| Think
about: |
Parents,
relatives, teachers, professors, clergy, friends of the
family, college friends, parents of friends, local merchants,
supervisors, coaches, doctors, dentists, lawyers, etc. |
| 5.
What situation has had the most influence on your decision? |
| Think
about: |
Family,
academic, work or athletic situations. Think about happy,
sad, traumatic, moving or memorable situations. |
| 6.
What personally motivates you to pursue graduate study in
this field? |
| Think
about: |
Your
personal skills, interests and values. |
| |
| STEP
2: Writing Your Personal Statement |
| Actions: |
- Incorporate
your responses to the above questions.
- Begin
writing your first draft.
|
- Develop
an outline of your statement prior to writing. It doesn't
have to be detailed. It can be three or four main points
in the order you want to make them.
- Accentuate
your strengths and what makes you unique.
- Explain
your weaknesses in positive ways. For example, refer
to them not as weaknesses but as areas for improvement
or growth.
- Paint
pictures and tell stories about what makes you special.
In this way the admissions readers will remember you.
The story can be happy or sad. The more feeling you
can inject into your statement, the more you will stand
out.
- Find
out the specific orientation and philosophy of the graduate
program. Adapt and refine your statement to fit. This
will make you stand out from other applicants who recycle
the same personal statement with each application.
|
| References
(Available at Career Services) |
Donald
Asher.
Graduate Admissions Essays: What Works, What Doesn't,
and Why.
Ten Speed Press, 1992.
Richard J. Stelzer.
How to Write a Winning Personal Statement for Graduate
and Professional School.
Princeton: Peterson's Guides, 1997. |
| |
| Personal
Statement Critiques |
Contact
Dr. Richard White at  to
have your personal statement critiqued. Set up an appointment
and send your personal statement via e-mail at least one
day before your appointment. |
| |
