Hi!
I was interested in people’s thoughts/advice on personal statements, like how it was for you writing it, what makes a personal statement unique, what’s a generic type, what to avoid, etc.
Any type of insight or advice is well needed and appreciated! I’m sure many other people struggling with the app process will greatly appreciate it as well.
Also, a specific question I have is: if writing with a connection or focus on your intended major is a good thing or not? And also do you think a great personal statement can make up for a meh gpa/test scores?
Thanks.
My two best pieces of advice:
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It’s a story. Stories are what will make it memorable. If you start with a theme or message and try to fill that out with a story, you’re unlikely to write a really standout essay. If you find all your best stories, though, you can probably draw great themes and messages out of them (a great story can reveal countless insights, after all). So start with stories, then try to make them into essays. And remember: good stories do not convey habitual events–depict specific instances that illustrate that larger truth.
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The PS is about who you are not about what you do or what you’ve learned. You can do stuff in the essay, you can learn stuff in the essay, but it shouldn’t be about activities or epiphanies–it should be about who you are.
Apparently a Columbia ad officer said that your essay should be so like you that if it fell on the floor and a friend picked it up, that friend would know right away that it was yours. I have read many essays and I think that is great advice. My own kid used that advice wisely and did well in the admissions process.
I would say that cliched essays are about sports achievements, paid volunteer opportunities to work in poor communities abroad, personal tragedies (more on that in a bit) and anything about expensive vacations. Something small is just fine. One girl wrote about her night lite. Another kid wrote about his experience dealing with people as a pizza delivery guy. Another wrote about unexpected benefits after coloring her hair. The essay doesn’t have to be a grandiose life statement.
Sometimes a personal tragedy/obstacle is a great way to get the attention of a admissions reader. But the focus on those essay should be about the positive outcome and how you grew as a person. Not to diminish the impact such events have on people’s lives. No doubt, there are some really harrowing stories out there. There are kids who have faced all kinds of obstacles and have come out the other side. The problem is, there are MANY people who have faced some kind of adversity, and adcoms have seen it all. Not that they are bored with it, but they need to see the person beyond the tragedy. So by all means write about such events, but be mindful of what I have suggested. An example would a gay student who has faced hostility in his or her own family after coming out. An essay like that needs to ensure that it isn’t focusing on the discrimination and hostility the person faced, but rather how they handled it and how it made him or her a better person.
I think if you can incorporate what you want to study into your essay, that is great. One kid talked about his love of chemistry, which he intended to study, developing when he was small and saw an old lady with blue hair (which was obviously a rinse gone wrong.) Sure, do that, but it has to evolve naturally in the writing. It is great to talk about what you intend to study if it is part of who you are.
To answer the last part of your question, no, generally I don’t think it can make up for lower grades. Certainly not test scores. BUT, there are always exceptions, and there is no doubt that a good essay can swing an adcoms in your favor, given that another candidate might be equally qualified and your essay is clearly better. By an exception, let’s say for half a school year, your grades tanked due to a family illness. Your counselor has written up this info in her rec about you. You’ve written a strong essay, and adcoms can see that despite a semester of bad grades, you are the kind of person they want. The essay and teacher recs are how adcoms determine if you are the kind of student they are looking for, so its importance should not be underestimated.
Agree that an essay cannot make up for below average grades/standardized tests. You need to apply to schools that are academic fits. In terms of the essay, the best advice is that it should tell the admissions officer something about yourself that can’t be found elsewhere in the application.