Aside from preparing your academic transcripts, requesting people to write your reference or recommendation letters, and doing well in admission tests by obtaining high scores, there is one more requirement in your college application that you should never disregard ? your college essay.
The college essay is not merely a proof of your writing prowess. More importantly, it is your tool to introduce yourself to the admission committee and let them see your character, your personal side that cannot be gleaned through the other application requirements. Those who would read your essay want to see your writing ability and insight into who you are.
Introducing yourself to your readers
Indeed, writing the college essay could be a stressful and exhaustive process, but you must view the essay as an opportunity rather than a chore. In doing so, you are more likely to come up with a good essay. Remember too that of all the application requirements, the college essay is one where you?ve got complete control over.
Letting them discover your unique characteristics
You need to do a little brainstorming prior to writing your essay. You must take time to reflect on your life. What are your interests, motivations, and your strengths? You can play up with these and relate it to your choice of university and course. You should be able to “sell” yourself to the admission officers and convince them that you are worthy to be part of their college.
For example, if you want to enter med school, one possible theme of your essay can be “why I want to be a doctor.” From here, you can relate your experiences and inspiration that led you to decide to become a doctor. You can also highlight some of your skills and interests which you deem helpful in becoming a good med student.
Other effective tips in revealing yourself through your essay
Other essay tips include being yourself and being different so you will stand out from the rest of the applicants. You should have a focus and a thesis statement that is clear to your readers. Write from the heart and write about topics that are truly significant to you.
Related links:
Personal Statements – Personal statement writing tips and guides
Notable Achievements – Achievements you should include in personal statements
Personal Statement Essay – How to use a personal statement essay sample
Sample Essays – Where to get good sample essay sources
Essay and Resume – Similarities and differences of a personal statement and a resume
Writing Personal Statements – Steps in writing personal statements
Good Story – Using a story in personal statement essays
Effective Personal Statements – Tips in writing effective personal statements
Good Essay Examples – How to write personal essays with the aid of good essay examples
Personal Statement – Tips on making your personal statement reveal more about you
One of the hardest parts about writing a personal statement is coming up with a catchy topic to write about. While some people focus on world events or challenging experiences, others choose topics related to their passion or interests, such as sports. Sports can be a great topic for your personal statement, especially if you are applying for a sports-related scholarship program. It’s important to realize that the topic of sports, if not handled well by the writer, can come off as a shallow topic considering that the personal statement should be a representation of your character and personality. This article will give you some suggestions and tips for using sports as the topic for your personal statement.
Discussing your favorite sports activity
One way of using sports as a topic for your personal statement is to discuss your favorite sports activity, whether that be football, basketball, soccer, baseball, or any other sport. If you play sports competitively, you can discuss how sports have helped mold your character traits and personality. For example, sports help develop leadership, teamwork, and dedication. When discussing your favorite sports activity, it’s essential that you talk about how the sport has helped you build admirable virtues, values, qualities, and traits. Try to reflect on how engaging in the particular sports activity has affected you physically, mentally, or perhaps even spiritually. Remember, your perspective of the topic is just as important to your personal statement as the actual topic itself.
Discussing your favorite sports personality
Another angle for using sports as a personal statement is to write about your favorite sports personality. Perhaps this is someone you have idolized, such as a player that you have watched all your life. You may be tempted to write about that player’s accomplishments in sports, but you should try to focus on the impact that the person has had on your life. Perhaps this sports player has inspired you to undertake some of your own great accomplishments, both in sports and in other areas of life. You can also write about some of the qualities of the player that you have admired and how you emulate these positive qualities in your life. When it comes down to it, your personal statement is about you and not the sports personality that you admire.
Other ways on how to use sports as a theme of your essay
- Discuss a specific sports-related experience that has challenged you and taught you valuable life lessons.
- Discuss how a sport has helped you in developing your focus, dedication, and aspiration toward future goals.
One of the most important things to remember when writing your personal statement is that your essay should be personal to you. The essay should be an honest and earnest representation of who you are, because your personal statement is a way of introducing yourself to the admissions committee. So, no matter what kind of sports topic you decide to write about, relate your topic to how you have become a better person who is better prepared to handle the challenges you will be facing in the future.
A personal statement essay is your own way of describing who you are, what makes you tick, and why you are unique. In it, you are expected to explain not only what the school will do for you, but also what you are capable of doing for the school. The best way to explain all of this is by focusing on your passion; the one thing that you love most. For music enthusiasts, this should come as a breeze since music is known to many as the universal language understood and appreciated by all people around the globe. If you choose to focus on music in your personal essay, you might want to consider using the following subtopics
Your favorite music artist
By naming your favorite music artist, you are letting your reader know about your personality. If, perhaps, your favorite artist is a pop star, you are telling your reader that your personality is more or less fun-loving, bubbly, and outgoing. If, on the other hand, your favorite artist is a rock star, you are basically saying that your personality is exciting, edgy, and passionate. And, if your favorite artist is a jazz or blues musician, you are essentially telling your reader that you are extremely creative, intuitive, and perhaps even intellectual. However, no matter what genre of music your favorite artist belongs to, it is really up to you to decide how your reader will interpret your type of personality. Based on the reasons why you love this particular musician, your reader will be able to understand more fully the depth of your passion not only for music, but also for life.
Your favorite music genre
If you do not want to name just one specific artist, you can also name your favorite music genre. By doing this, you are giving your reader more opportunities to understand who you are as an individual, rather than as a distinct comparison to just one musician. For those who love disco music, for instance, the reader will be able to grasp that you are a very outgoing and sociable personality, and, at the same time, he or she will be given the chance to read about why you are outgoing and sociable. Remember that when you state your favorite music genre, you must use it as a “stepping stone” in order to describe your attitude and outlook in life.
Other ways to use music as a focus
The reason music is a great way of explaining who you are in your personal essay is that music, as a form of art, expresses one’s dedication to creativity, as well as one’s love for life and harmony. It is an expression of drive and passion, one that tells the reader that you are capable of expressing yourself to the fullest. In the event that you decide to take your personal statement even further, don’t be afraid to be creative. Instead of just writing about your favorite music, you can try composing your sentences in a musical form. You can also use quotations from lyrics of your favorite song(s), or even explain who you are in relation to the subjects of other songs. Remember that creativity can never go too far when writing your personal statement; don’t be afraid to show just how creative you really are.
Books are among the things that could have a lasting impact on your life. This is why writing about a book that changed your perspective and affected your decisions and goals can be a great way to write your personal statement for college.
About your chosen book
One of the first things that you should do is to introduce the book you have chosen. You have to make sure that you tell the admissions committee what the book is all about. You should then make sure that you give easons why you have chosen a specific book as one of the topics in your personal statement for college.
Lessons you learned (or insights you gained) from the book
What have you learned about the book? Why did it affect you so? These are just some of the questions that you should answer when you write your personal statement. You have to make sure that the insights and the lessons that you have learned from the book is closely associated to the reason why you are pursuing a specific career path.
Applying the lessons in your life
It is also important that you give instances in your life in which you have shown that you applied the lessons you have learned from the book. If there are lots of events showing how the books influenced you, you just have to choose a specific one to talk about. You have to remember that your essay is only short, so you have to ensure that you only include the most important ones.
How to write your own personal statement
Before you write your own personal statement, you have to read various personal statement samples first. You should then study how these sample personal statements were developed to grab the attention of the reader. The most important thing that you should remember is to be honest.(1) You also have to introduce yourself as uniquely as possible.(2) However, you should not be overly creative in doing so.(3)
(1) http://students.berkeley.edu/apa/personalstatement/gettingstarted.html
(2) http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:FEueqZOdYa0J:ual.stanford.edu/pdf/uar_writingstatementofpurpose.pdf+personal+statement&cd=42&hl=tl&ct=clnk&gl=ph
(3) http://www.hamilton.edu/writing/statement.html
If you want to enroll in that prestigious dream university of yours, among the factors that could give you better chances for admissions are your achievements. There are various areas where you can accomplish great feats. These may include your school, family, and community.
Achievements at school
Many sample personal statement essays focus on the academic accomplishments in order to grab the attention of the admissions committee. These academic achievements may include the honors and awards you received in the academe. The excellent academic achievements on your personal statement for college will give an impression that you are a bright student who shows interest in learning. You just have to make sure that you choose only the major accomplishments that you received for your topics since everything that the admissions personnel need would be on your resume.(1) You also have to focus on the qualities that enable you to gain awards and also the difficulties you faced, instead of concentrating solely on the awards.
Achievements in the family
Excellent personal statement samples do not only include the accomplishments that one gains from the school. Because the personal statement can be used as a yardstick in measuring one’s personality, achievements in the family are also highly valued in personal statements.(2)
Achievements in the community
You can talk about incidents in which you have shown how you contributed something to your community. You don’t have to write about big social events in which you are one of the catalysts; all you have to do is to choose a specific event in which you have exhibited your accomplishments.
To guide you in writing your own essay, you can read various personal statement samples. Take note of how sample essays are constructed. When you write your own, make sure that you read and reread it several times.(3)
(1) http://career.berkeley.edu/Grad/GradStatement.stm
(2) http://www.bunchecenter.ucla.edu/degree/scholarshipstatement.html
(3) http://www.wit.edu/prospective/admissions/homeschool.html
There are some circumstances in your life that would hinder you from taking a straight path to college. Sometimes, you are financially broke that you really need to give up attending college right after you graduated from high school. Aside from this, health problems can also hinder you from getting to college after high school. Other reasons may include making preparation for the coming of a more serious phase in your life.(1) No matter what your reason is, you can actually use this event in your life to your own advantage.
Explaining why you needed to take a gap year
Your personal statement for college is your chance to let the admissions committee hear you out. If you have taken a gap year, you won’t be able to explain it through your resume. This is why you have to take advantage of your personal statement for college in order to say things that you cannot say in your other application requirements. It is best that you make your explanation subtle and you should also try not to sound so defensive. You have to be honest as the admissions committee has a way of knowing if you are lying or telling the truth. (2)
Writing about the productive things you did in your gap year
To make your gap year a strong point rather than a weakness, you should highlight the productive things that you did during those times in your personal statement for college. Again, make sure that you would not exaggerate when you tell about the good deeds that you have done during your gap year.(3)
Making a case for why you’re finally ready for college after your gap year
The admissions officers would surely feel curious about why you have decided to attend school. So you have to include in your essay the reasons why you made up your mind about attending college. You should make sure that your reasons are triggered by deep interest on pursuing a degree rather than just by pure whim.
A sample personal statement can help you structure your own essay. You can ask your friends and teachers if they can give you a copy of a personal statement sample.
(1) http://www.career.emory.edu/students/gap_faq.html
(2) http://www.cis-edu.dk/studentservices/ibpersonalstatement.htm (3) (3) www.manchester.edu/OSD/Career/pages/docs/Applying_to_Graduate_Professional_School_Handouts.pdf
If you want to gain admissions in the college or university that you want, having a grammatically correct essay or a creative one is not enough. To be able to pass the basic qualifications set by the admissions committee, you have to make sure that your essay has a central point that would bind together every idea and sentence of your personal statement for college.
Why having a thesis or focal point in a personal statement is a must
One of the secrets of an excellently written essay is a good thesis sentence. This topic sentence makes a claim, controls the arguments, and provides structure for your whole argument.(1) Your focal point is the one that would unite all the information found in your personal statement for college.
When you are merely rambling
Saying things all over again is one of the common errors applicants commit in their essay. Some applicants run out of ideas on what to write that they end up saying the same idea all over again. In other cases, some do not know what ideas to include that they usually end up focusing on things that has nothing to do with their intention to apply.
How to avoid talking in circles
In order to avoid beating around the bush, you have to determine first the important points that you should discuss in your essay. You also have to make sure that you have astrong thesis sentence and theme in which your every idea should revolve.(2) Another thing that you should do is to avoid listing the information that appears in your resume or CV.(3) These may include your accomplishments and academic achievements that already appeared in your resume.
You can find various personal statement samples from online sources. You can use these sample personal statements to help you in brainstorming and finding a topic for your own essay.
(1) http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/ac_paper/develop.shtml
(2) http://writing2.richmond.edu/WRITING/wweb/thesis.html
(3) http://www.smcm.edu/academicservices/healthadvising_writingpersonalstatement.html
Top 5 Tips on How to Write a Winning Essay with the Help of a Sample Personal Statement Essay
Your essay is very important to your college admission. Many colleges stress immense importance on the admission essay. However, you can still aim higher rather than just aiming for that college admission. Make yourself remarkable in your first step into college by writing a winning essay. An excellent way of starting an essay that has a high potential for winning is by using a sample personal statement essay. Below are 5 tips that will help you come up with an award-winning piece.
1. Choose an excellent sample essay.
If you want to write a winning essay, you must have winning material. You can do this only by choosing from a list of winning essays in the library or on the Internet. An award certifies that an essay is written well and has an excellent content. Choose a sample personal statement essay that has won an award. It is upon this essay that you will base yours. Basing upon a poorly written work creates a poorly written essay. If you can do more work, then you may choose two sample essays. This allows you to have a wider viewpoint.
2. Pick a single aspect of the essay that you like best.
An essay has many facets. Choose what interests you most in a sample essay and study it. It could be the content, outline, or style. Study it carefully and figure out how it helps in making that essay an excellent piece. Then, study how you can apply his writing techniques in the development of your essay. You do not have to master everything. Your essay only has to possess one distinctive characteristic and you already have a potentially winning essay.
3. Be specific.
What makes an essay boring? It is unsupported generalization. It leads the reader nowhere. Discover how the author of the sample essay develops his topic. Know how he or she focuses on something very specific and concrete. Study how he makes every detail in his essay revolve around a specific incident or idea. Specific details make a solid piece. Learn the writer’s technique and pattern your outline after his or hers. A concrete essay based on specific details is more likely to earn better recognition.
4. Your work must reflect yourself.
You must be able to reveal yourself in writing. Even though you are using a sample essay, it does not mean that you have to exclude yourself. Your sample essay is just a pattern, something that guides you, and stimulates your thinking. Your essay still has to show how unique your personality is. Showing the evaluators how distinctive you are can create an excellent impression. It also means additional winning points.
5. Acknowledge your sources.
You probably have lifted some information from the sample personal statement essay that you are using so be sure to cite the material in your works cited page. In any case, you must cite the author when you borrow ideas. This means that you still have to cite the author if you changed his or her words.
Photo Credit : MShades
If you are interested in music, why not pursue this field? There are a lot of advantages if you choose to tread the path in which you really show passion and talent. It is also easy for you to surpass the obstacles along your way if you love your course. So, if it is music that you care about, then start writing a personal statement for college that would open the door of this field for you. Below is a guideline that you can consider when you write your personal statement.
Stating your musical interests
When you read some sample personal statements, you will observe that one of the most common features of these is the introduction of the writers’ interest on their chosen field. This is why in writing your own, you should emphasize your ardent desire to major in music. Aside from your interest, you also have to mention the skills and the things that you have learned to make you suitable to pursue a career in music.(1)
Writing how your musical interests have influenced your career decisions
You also have to talk about how your interest in music affected your decisions in choosing a field to pursue. You have to talk about your intentions on why you are entering a specific field and what are your experiences that prompted you to choose this particular course.(2)
Writing about having a career in music
Showing your interest in the field that you choose is one of the factors that could contribute to your chances of admissions. To do this, you have to ensure that you leave to the readers the impression that you have future career goals that you want to achieve and that choosing this specific course is a step toward your goals.
The personal statement for college is your chance to let the admissions committee know you passionately love music.(3) So, you should not have qualms in showing your interest through your essay. You can read personal statement samples to help you improve your own writing.
(1) http://www.unm.edu/~pre/law/archuleta.htm
(2) http://www.dickinson.edu/career/student/persstmt.html
(3) http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/Prospect/PerStmt.htm
If you want to study in a prestigious university, yet you don’t have excellent school records, you don’t have to worry too much. You can make up for your not-so-impressive grades by writing a personal statement for college that would grab the attention of the admissions committee. Reading lots of personal statement samples would give you idea on how to write your own. As a matter of fact, there are several resources you can go to for sample essays.
Resource #1: from friends who’ve written their own personal statements
Your friends who applied to the school where you want to study can give you a copy of their personal statement for college. You can ask them for tips on how you should select your topic and how to make your personal statement for college very interesting. You can also ask them to help you remember and choose events in your life that had a great impact on your ideals and aspirations.(1)
Resource #2: from teachers and counselors who can show you a sample personal statement essay
Aside from your friends and peers, you can get a copy of a well-written personal statement for college from your teachers and counselors. More than anyone else, these people have broad knowledge about writing personal statements. They can teach you the ways on how to make your essay appealing.
Resource #3: from websites that offer free sample personal statement essay
You can also find various personal statement samples from online sites. These websites can provide you with numerous excellent samples that you can use as models of your own personal statement. All you have to do is to key-in the keyword “personal statement” and you can surely find various essays.(2)
How to use these sample personal statements
You have to observe how these essays are structured. It is important that you watch out for the writer’s technique in writing essays. Try to find out how the statements and ideas were woven together to create a unified whole. After you have made the first draft, ask your friends, teachers, counselors, or relatives if what you portray in your essay is the same as how they see you.(3)
(1) students.berkeley.edu/files/Admissions/12626_4.statement.pdf
(2) http://www.uwc.ucf.edu/Writing%20Resources/Handouts/personal_statements.htm
(3) http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/application.html
