<p>I have no idea what to put. I'm hearing different things from different people. what do most people write about? i dont really have anything noteworthy to say about myself</p>
<p>Show them a little more about who you are. <-- Eh..that's a bit vague..</p>
<p>Uh... from what I've heard, a good personal statement successfully tells the reader who you are (I guess shows the best of you?). :D</p>
<p>should i talk about just one thing/ event or should i do more. its meets the required length with just one</p>
<p>just discuss your world, your accomplishments. they really want to know you and where you come from to get a feel of what you've been through, your hardships, etc. you can do it with events or w/e, but i find that a good way is a short autobiography</p>
<p>Write about one event in your life and then tie it into your life as a whole at the end.</p>
<p>EX1: When the UPS guy ran his truck into my favorite climbing tree when I was a kid, I sang to the dying tree to keep it alive (described in detail). Now I sing to heal myself and that's why singing=awesome and I don't need therapy.</p>
<p>EX2: In kindergarten a girl said she didn't want to be friends with me anymore because I wore glasses (described in detail). I was shocked. Now that I've grown, I see things and people judged on a superficial level all the time. Conclusion 1: I am still shocked and want to continue honing my ability to examine things closely and beyond the surface. (or) Conclusion 2: I want to be surrounded by open minded and brilliant people, such as those at your university.</p>
<p>Hope that this made sense. I'm tired and feel incoherent.</p>
<p>Here is my 99cents advice.
For private colleges, a slice of your life that describe your values and who you are. More show and less tell.
For UC essay, it's more formal, what is your aspirations? More tell less show.</p>
<p>Okay. Here's my opinion on this. </p>
<p>Being you, having your voice within the essay, is the absolute most important thing. Sure, you can make yourself sound good, and sure, you can explain some deep revelation, but that's not really you.</p>
<p>The original poster says that he (or she) doesn't have anything noteworthy to write about himself.</p>
<p>Who cares? It doesn't matter.</p>
<p>I'm serious. Screw deep meaning and all the introspective stuff that people come up with to sound profound but don't really mean. Write what you care about, what you feel.</p>
<p>You know what I wrote about for my personal statement? The thing I always think about when I brush my teeth. It's my favorite essay I've ever written.</p>
<p>If you have a choice between writing about how being short has made you feel oppressed (because it sounds meaningful), or how you have always believed that the sound of the radio is made by a tiny little band inside... write about the one you really feel about. </p>
<p>Write your essay like you are writing your novel. I'm serious. Write a novel for your essay. Be creative, be witty, be all the things you would want people to analyze in high school english classes 100 years later. If you write about something that's maybe silly or weird, but really important to you, you will actually sound like a real person telling a real story. The adcoms will feel like they are reading a book instead of an awkward essay by some teenager trying to sound smart. </p>
<p>That's my $.02, at least. Talk about anything, anything that is completely you, and write about it in the way that you think about it.</p>
<p>whirlybird-
thats some great advice,
even though this is afro's thread i want to ask you something-
in the essay on an experience , accomplishment and its impact on you- should i write about this one achievement that i wanted to achieve ever since 6th grade and how i did manage to achieve it after a lot of struggle and how it changed my perspective-
but this achievement is mentioned in my application and even in one of my teacher reccomendations- so should i write about that or something else?</p>
<p>To shreya: </p>
<p>That depends on you, and on the achievement. I wouldn't think it's a big deal for the topic of your essay to be <em>mentioned</em> in your app, but to also be in your teaher rec... It might seem like a tiny bit overkill on this one thing. </p>
<p>However, if this achievement is <em>super incredible</em> then maybe it deserves your time... if it is the only achievement that really changed your perspective or whatever (ie fits the topic well), then write it. If there are other things that you can write about with equal passion and emphasis, then I would say write about those. </p>
<p>In summation: if there are other experiences you can talk about equally well and with equal passion, use those. But if that's the only thing of its caliber worth discussing in your opinion, then go for it.</p>