<p>but what exactly is a personal statement? Everyone I talk to keeps raving about how they've finished their personal statements, but none of the schools that I have looked at say anything about this specific piece</p>
<p>They're probably referring to the long essay on the Common Application (the one that has five prompts or the option of choosing your own topic).</p>
<p>Many schools don't require personal statements or essays. Don't sweat it if your targeted schools don't mention this.</p>
<p>well to be a bit more specific....do any of the ivies require them because I couldn't find much on their websites</p>
<p>Yes, most schools require personal statements (I don't know if community colleges do). . .it's usually a long essay about yourself and your skills and what you can bring to the school. Usually it wants you to speak about yourself as an individual and what sort of unique talents or whatever that you can contribute to the diversity of the student body.</p>
<p>Sometimes the essay is not explicitly titled "PERSONAL STATEMENT" . . .usually it's the essay that the school that you're applying to requires. All schools require an essay/personal statement, or (like UC schools) they ask a few questions and you have to answer with word limit restrictions.</p>
<p>And dabulls, if you are applying to an ivy league school, yes, they require a personal statement. Usually it's the prompt in the application that asks you to write you an essay about yourself.</p>
<p>oh ok thanks for the help</p>