| To
assist you in writing your personal statement for graduate
school applications, Career Services has prepared this two-step
worksheet and guidelines. Step 1 involves asking yourself
some key questions about your background, interests and future
goals, and writing some of these thoughts down on paper. Step
2 involves the actual writing of a first draft of your personal
statement.
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 the following 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. What person
or persons have 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.
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5.
What situation or situations have 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:
Read
these guidelines.
Incorporate
your notes or responses to the above questions.
Begin
writing your first draft.
1. Develop
an outline of your statement prior to writing. It doesn't
have to be a detailed outline. It can be three or four
main points in the order you want to make them.
2. Accentuate
your strengths and what makes you unique.
3. Explain
your weaknesses in a positive ways. For example, refer
to them not as weaknesses, but as areas for improvement
or growth.
4. 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.
5. Find
out the specific orientation and philosophy of the graduate
program to which you are applying. Adapt and refine
your statement to fit the program. 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
Call Dr. Richard
White at 932-7353 to have your personal statement critiqued.
Set up an appointment and drop off your personal statement
the day before. If you prefer, send an e-mail message to
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