The Guide to Write Your Personal Statement to University

When the high school is over, the time for real changes comes. You need to decide whether you want to quit studying or continue mastering your knowledge and grow personally and professionally. Different people choose different paths but if you are interested in personal statement writing for university, you surely want to continue your education and receive all possible benefits from it.

What is a personal statement

First of all, let us define a personal statement. A personal statement is the same thing as an application essay or a statement of purpose. Basically, this is an essay that you send to admissions office of the university to impress them with your desire and passion for studying there. Some universities have a list of requirements and demands for such letters. For example, they may ask you to tell them about your previous achievements, plans, or intentions as a student of their university. For some universities, you just need to tell about your personality, presenting the facts from your biography.

Personal statements for different universities can be different in length, style, number of paragraphs, and other aspects. A student is responsible for finding information about all these details and understanding what exactly the university expects to see in the application letter.

The importance of personal statement

To some extent, a personal statement seems to be the least important part of applying to the university. Some students believe that their test scores and achievements in high school have bigger importance for the admissions office. But in fact, for the highly competitive universities and studying programs, a personal statement is the determining point that assists in selection of the best candidates who may get onto the student list and receive scholarships.

A personal statement is the best way to distinguish yourself from the list of other applicants, especially if you do not have surpassing achievements and excellent test scores. So make sure that you write an impressive and strong personal statement that will stand out from the rest.

How to write a personal statement: 10 important steps

We have created a brief guide that will cover all basic steps of writing an effective personal statement and will help you create an essay that will impress the admissions office. Each of the steps is equally important, so make sure you follow all of them.

1. Write a draft

The first thing you need to do is to write an extended draft of your personal statement. Do not pay attention to the number of characters, length, and the ideas that you cover. Write everything you want. If you have enough time, write several different drafts, and compose your application letter using these drafts.

2. Make a pause

The best thing you may do after writing drafts is to take a pause and don’t think about what you have done before. Do not rush and never try to write a letter in a few hours. Keep in mind that working on the application letter may take weeks and even months.

3. Find weak and strong points in your draft

After making a pause, you need to check your draft again. Find the strongest ideas, expressions, and phrases, and pay attention to weak points. Maybe you can strengthen the weak points or develop some ideas into new ones. Work on your drafts again. Feel free to re-write them completely if you feel the need for that.

4. Enrich your letter with impressive phrases

A personal statement is a piece of paper where your main weapons are the words. Even though you may have a list of achievements and rewards, no one will appreciate it if you do not present them in a proper way. Thus, you need to work on your ability to present yourself using impressive phrases and strong words.

5. Use your strengths

Every person has their own strong points but not everyone knows how to use them. Writing an application essay, you may even forget about them. Remember that you need to sell yourself to the university and make the admission office buy you, so pay more attention to what you do or know best.

6. Look for the proper inception

How would you start your application essay? A proper opening sentence can change everything. In fact, the time you spend on finding a proper opening sentence should equal the time you spend on the rest of the essay.

7. Find your voice

Choosing a proper tone of voice for your essay is one of the basic moments. The tone of voice will determine the style of the whole essay. Moreover, you need to stick to the chosen style. If you feel that the tone does not correspond to your vision of the perfect personal statement, it is better to change it before you make the biggest mistake.

8. Never lie

There is always a temptation to look better than you really are. Another problem is underestimation of your abilities and achievements and missing important points just because you think they cannot be used for reaching your goals. Be honest with yourself and with the university.

9. Do not beg

Sometimes, your desire to become a student gets out of control. You make mistakes: forget about strong and impressive words, choose improper style, and even lie to look better. Of course, these things can spoil the impression your letter makes. But the worst thing you may do is to start begging to accept your application.

10. Proofread

Even the best personal statement may be ruined by spelling and grammar mistakes. Just imagine that you may never get to fulfill you dream about the university degree only because you misspelled some words. Of course, you always need to double check what you write. Your personal statement should be reread, edited, and proofread by you, your parents, friends, and in some cases even by professional editors. This is your future, and you should take it seriously.

Conclusion

A personal statement can nail your application to the university. If you create a powerful and inspirational statement, you can expect the desired results. Follow the above-mentioned 10 steps of writing an application essay, and you will definitely appreciate the benefits they will bring you.