Distilling your whole identity in one short statement is certainly a herculean task. How can you get to all the depths of who you are and what makes you worth admissions to a college or program in so many words? Writing a personal statement isn’t easy, but there are ways to break down the complexities of the process and of your own story to help you craft the best personal statement. In this blog, we will break down the process in several parts. Know Thyself Don’t be afraid to take some time to write in some diaries. Reflect on your achievements, and on your worst days. Reflect on the subjects you love, the people you love, and the experiences you love. A personal statement should be reflective of what the title suggests, PERSONAL. Being able to express a clear version of who you are into your writing means you can have the ability to make yourself irreplaceable to the admissions committee. How much can you share in your personal statements? As long as it feels relevant and honest, feel free to make your essay personal. Know About the School/ Program Don’t tell the admissions committee what you think they want to hear, because that can often come off as trite and cheesy. You want to make sure you’re as specific as possible when making applications. Ask yourself, how can I contribute to this school? Is there a particular program the school offers that your experiences would relate to? Use the language, the titles of professors, and all the specific details you know about the program and school in your statement. This helps admissions connect your story with theirs. Add Spunk Are you someone that likes to make jokes? Do you get teased for being grammar obsessed? Or do you like poetry? Rhyming? Arguing? This is what you want to sprinkle into your essay. Add elements of flavor and spunk, or even uniquely well-written language and grammar, into your writing, and you’ll add one more detail that makes you memorable. Draft While surely you will craft a spirited, engaging personal statement by following those tips above, the most useful tip will be to ensure you write not, not two, but multiple drafts. Have a select number of individuals that you love in your life read through the personal statement and address if they feel it’s the most reflective of who you are. Ask them to check for grammatical errors and flow. But, make sure you feel it’s most reflective of who you are and the story you want to tell. Multiple drafts will help you in this process.
At first we were concerned with October exhaustion, now, it’s time to use self-reflection to measure your academic success! Importantly, as a diligent student, you must ask yourself questions through self-reflection in critical moments. Over time, these reflective questions will build an understanding of how you best approach education, and contribute to your success as a lifelong learner. How are you doing? Have you reflected lately on your educational process? Additionally, have you taken stock of your school work and learning, noting where you did well and didn’t? Students, teachers and all in the education space may react differently to questions of self-reflection. So, it’s no wonder that reflection is important! With November coming upon us, now is the best time to take stock of your progress and for students to check in with themselves while learning. In order to make sure you getting the most out of your educational process as it continues to build over time, here are some questions to consider: What have I learned? When was a time when I struggled with learning a new concept? Where do I learn best? What are the characteristics of these places? How do I learn best? What are the tools I’m using? Who do I learn best from? With? What are their characteristics? Which subjects are the most interesting to me? Reflection drive direction Asking self-reflective questions like those above during this fall season will help you perform better as a student. Studies suggest that self-reflection helps with a “growth mindset” attributed to Carol Dweck, psychology professor of Stanford University. Those individuals who exhibit a mindset that they are able to grow and learn through their failures and challenges are able to achieve more of their goals. Self-reflection such as asking these questions, or even any others you think of, is the cornerstone to measure your academic success to ensure continuous improvement. As Shakespeare once said, “know thyself”.
