Graduate Application Process

 

Writing a strong personal statement

 

When should I start writing?
  • You should begin a draft of your personal statement the summer before you are applying to graduate school.
  • Finalize your draft in September and have your faculty advisor and other close faculty read your essay.
  • Spend the rest of September and some of October revising your essay and writing different versions tailored to each school.

 

What should I include?
  • Make your essay sincere but unique by mentioning how you found your own research opportunity, or published a paper when you were an undergraduate, or used a really awesome new technology that inspired you to continue doing research.
  • Your most important research projects in brief.  Explain the question(s) you addressed and what you accomplished.  Don’t be afraid to mention that your project didn’t work.  Graduate schools understand the trials and tribulations of research and above all respect honesty.
  • Your goals in graduate school and after you receive your doctorate.
  • Why you became interested in science and why you want to follow a research career in the immediate future.
  • Any professors that you are interested in working with, why you find their research interesting, and possibly a future project based on their current works.
  • Explain any discrepancies in your GRE scores, transcript, or disciplinary record.  If you have anything that really stands out, give a simple explanation for what happened.

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What not to include
  • Avoid excessive detail on your personal background or research as well as flowery and verbose writing.  You have limited space; complicated vocabulary or sentence structure will detract from the important points of your statement and won’t impress anyone.
  • If you are interested in getting a job in industry after you get your Ph.D., it is not wise to blatantly state that in your essay.  Graduate programs want a significant number of their students to become faculty, so it is safer to mention that you are interested in continuing research post graduate school.
  • Don’t write anything that indicates you aren’t sure about graduate school.  If a school knows that you are highly qualified, but feels that you are just applying to have options after college, not because you truly want to attend their program, they will be disinclined to offer you admission. 

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How long should my essay be?
  • The length of your statement depends on what is specified in each application.  Thus you cannot get away with writing one personal statement and use it for every application.  Typically schools ask you to write a personal statement that is 1000-2000 characters long.
Other tips
  • Make sure to carefully proof read your personal statement.  Typos or grammar mistakes make your essay seem sloppy and easily turn off your reader.  Have friends, faculty, or parents proof read your essay for typos. 
  • Look online for sample essays to view examples of strong personal statements.
  • Taylor your essay to each program.  You can include the core of your original essay for each school, but add an additional paragraph or two detailing why you want to attend that specific school, why you would thrive there, what professors you are interested in, etc. 
What about supplemental essays?
  • Most applications have one or two supplemental essays.  For instance, some schools ask you to explain your research in more detail, while others ask you to explain how you think you will fit into their program with respect to the students, faculty, and school community.

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