Panic is often a feeling that presents itself when it comes to crafting the perfect personal statement for your college or university application, but with the right know-how you can confidently pitch your skills, successes and qualities to have your pick of places.
Whilst talking about our achievements may be considered the easiest part of personal statement writing, when we get to the part that says a bit about ourselves, the majority of us are left stumped! We question how personal a personal statement should really get when telling your prospective university about your interests and little quirks…
Be Yourself
This is often considered the ultimate cliché when it comes to writing a university or job application, but it really does pay to be yourself on paper as well as in person. The key when writing about yourself in your personal statement is accuracy, honesty and personality. Use your experiences in and outside the classroom to give the person reading your personal statement, and eventually approving your application, a real feeling of who you are.
Watch Your Writing Style
Demonstrating a good grasp of spelling and grammar in your personal statement is a must, but when it comes to your writing style, try not to be too ‘stuffy’ or pretentious in your approach if that isn’t you. Instead let your natural voice and tone come through in your writing to reflect your personality and see yourself stand out from the crowd.
No Sob Stories Please
When it comes to getting too personal when writing your statement, sob stories to gain sympathy from admissions teams is a big no-no. Whilst admissions want to hear about how your personal experiences have seen you triumph over adversity, making you the well-rounded individual that is applying today, you want to ensure that this isn’t all you talk about.
Try not to go into too much detail whilst talking about family issues or other troubles, instead skim over the drama and talk about how it has positively affected you and how these experiences will influence you in the long-run.
Aim for Organised Creativity
Whilst following guidelines on the structure and content of your personal statement helps give you direction when writing, try not to follow these to a tee, as this may result in a dry and almost standardised application. Aim to include everything you need to with a twist of creativity, inject some humour into your statement if that’s your personality to keep admissions entertained and engaged.
This article was written by Brittany Thorley from Getting-In, a ground-breaking resource that helps students of all ages make sense of the wonderful world of education. As well offering personal statement examples to take inspiration from, Getting-In helps students succeed in and outside the classroom with advice on careers, revision and the fun parts of student life!