<p>So I need to apply to graduate school asap for an Environmental and Evolutionary Biology program and am now confronted with writing the personal statement and statement of purpose. I’ve been doing research on the best ways to write these and now face an apparent problem: I have no way in which to differentiate myself from any other applicant. I’m honestly fretting over this because they are specifically asking for how my background affected my ached emic decisions. Honestly, there is nothing interesting or non-cliché about my experiences: average grades, finances, and there is no interesting reason as to why I chose a career in biology (I simply enjoy the subject more than any other discipline). I don’t know what to write and feel that any honesty about my life will seriously hurt my chances of acceptance. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?</p>