If your dream is to be able to study at your dream university, one step to making this come true is to write a very interesting personal statement for college. To make your admission essay more enthralling and convincing, you can use the personal SWOT analysis and take hints from well-written personal statement samples.
What is a SWOT analysis?
SWOT analysis is a basic model that serves as the basis in developing a market plan. This method evaluates the strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of an organization, project venture, or business.(1) This involves determining the internal and external factors that would be favorable or unfavorable to a certain organization or plan.(2) This model, however, can also be used as a guide for self-assessment. This helps students get to know more about themselves and determine the best strategy on how they can get admitted to college.
How do you interpret the results of your SWOT analysis and use them to write your college essay?
Using the personal SWOT analysis is easy. All you have to do is to determine your strength, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities not only as a student but also as an individual. Through this method, you also get to pinpoint your advantages over other applicants as well as identify your weak points.(3) This will help you assess your chances for college admission and let you focus on what you can improve on. You can use the results of your personal SWOT analysis for setting achievable goals that ill give you better direction throughout your college life.
How do you use the SWOT analysis to determine academic pursuits?
Using this planning method will give an impression that you are a strategic planner. Better self-assessment will also let you win some points with the admissions committee who will be going over your application. But best of all, this will help you choose fields or college courses that are aligned with your goals, skills, and interests, allowing you to succeed with your chosen career.
(1) http://www.stfrancis.edu/content/ba/ghkickul/stuwebs/btopics/works/swot.htm
(2) http://www.das.psu.edu/dairy/teams/planning
(3) http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm
The SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis can be applied in various areas needing performance evaluation. For example, it is used to plan and assess the possible behavior of a business venture. It is basically a tool in determining, analyzing, and interpreting the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats relevant to a project. Similarly, this method can be used to assess your status in school to help you find the right academic career to pursue. To do this, refer to the notes below:
Learning how SWOT analysis works
To conduct a personal SWOT analysis effectively, know by heart how it is done, why is it done and the manner in which the findings are interpreted. The process requires answering to a set of questions that are relevant to your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. For your SWOT analysis process to suit your situation, the questions need to be designed to your academic objectives. Browse online for relevant materials on personal SWOT analysis for help in conducting your analysis. Formulate your questions in such a way that it focuses on your personal traits, experiences, training and education. Enumerated below are some helpful questions:
1. Strength – Which are my most exceptional skills?
2. Weakness – I am having difficulties in writing which part of an essay or a paper?
3. Opportunity – I am interested in the programs offered by which college or university?
4. Threat – To get my college degree, what factors stand in the way?
Knowing yourself better
The best way to answer and get an efficient result is to answer the questions as honestly as you know yourself. Remember that the data you put in this process will be the same data that will be analyzed and interpreted. When answering the questions on the test, try to answer as honestly as you can. It is significant that, as you reply to the questions, you also find out what other people think as your strengths and weaknesses.
Interpreting the data gathered
After all the questions are answered, sit down and review the results. Assess your answers and relate it to your academic status using the results to choose the best academic career suitable for the person that you are. The following are some tips that can help you analyze and make your decision:
* Pick a course that capitalizes on your strengths
* An academic career can be an opportunity to make your weaknesses irrelevant by focusing on your strengths. This doesn’t mean however that you need not face your weaknesses while pursuing your academic ambition but you can use it as a chance to strengthen your weaknesses. Attending workshops, seminars, group discussions, and other extracurricular activities will help you improve on your areas of weakness.
* Take advantage of all possible opportunities that will help your personal and academic traits excel.
* Threats are inevitable to each ones’ ambitions and career perspectives. Identifying these threats however will provide a more focused solution as early as possible. When you are able to anticipate these threats using the information gathered, you will be able to prepare or avoid possible hurdles to your academic objective.
Photo Credit : paul danger Williams
