<p>What is the difference between a "personal statement" and just a regular "essay"?</p>
<p>Plus: where does my resume come in?
Do I just write one and attach it if they ask for one?
Any specific guidelines?
Can I write only the activities I did during <em>high school</em> ?</p>
<p>A personal statement more or less IS an essay. A college essay. A college admissions essay. It tells the admissions officer a little about yourself through a given prompt.</p>
<p>You should be able to write down your resume on the application. They ask you to list your extracurriculars somewhere, I think. They might ask for your senior year courses as well. Your school sends them your transcript and you have to send your SAT scores.</p>
<p>I think they only ask for high school activities starting from freshman year. Not too sure though.</p>
<p>There are lots of books out there on how to write a college admissions essay with examples of essays that work. Harry Bauld’s is especially good, but just pick up one or two and start reading. You’ll get a feel for it pretty quickly. Write your essay over the summer between junior and senior year, so you have lots of time to think it over and polish it up. And no, it doesn’t have to be just about what you did in high school, although the point of the essay is to showcase who you are today.</p>
<p>The personal statement is just another essay.</p>
<p>Yes, write a resume, and send it in, unless a college says they don’t want one. Plus, you’ll most likely end up just rewriting most of your resume on your app.</p>
<p>A “personal statement” is an application essay in which the applicant conveys to the Admission Committee who he/ she is, why he/she wants to attend that school and what he/she will add to the college community. As one admissions officer recently put it, “who are you and why will you be a good roomate at this college.”</p>
<p>Yeah like I said, another essay, but the “why you want to attend” question- however, that question can be in another, regular non-personal-statement essay too, so to me, the name of it doesn’t really tell what it is.</p>
<p>I had one school that asked what I’d add to the community and they called it their essay question; another asked why I wanted to attend and called it a personal statement.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much!
I am going to be a senior next year and I’ve written all of my college application essays over the summer, and I was just wondering if there was a difference. 
Thank you thank you.</p>