Every career person has that one dream; to always more steps higher while advancing their careers. Now, you are about to enroll in graduate school. The idea sounds great and exciting at the beginning. However, the application process can give you a meltdown because you must write a convincing personal statement for graduate school for experts to review before getting the chance as part of most schools’ requirements.
So, writing, especially about yourself, is one thing most people don’t admire. Nonetheless, writing and presenting an admirable personal statement can make your statement stand out from the rest. So, what does it take to craft a compelling grad school essay? Let us find out below.
Grad school essay: definition of personal statements for graduate school
When about to join a graduate school, you will write a personal statement, which is a crucial document required by the admission board. The purpose of the personal statement is to explain yourself deeply for the admission board to understand and evaluate your capabilities besides your work and education experiences.
Since there are many other applicants, the document helps to prove that you are an ideal and worthwhile candidate for the post. When writing a personal statement, it is also a perfect chance to state any other useful information that may not be available in your application.
Note: don’t confuse a statement of purpose and a personal statement. While a statement of purpose’s main focus is all about career and academic goals, a personal statement is about a career as a whole and life experiences as a whole, and how life experiences have shaped your journey towards your dream career.
Personal statement for graduate school: How to write a personal statement for grad school
Since this is an official and crucial document that will determine the fate of your desired dreams about joining a given institute, there are some approaches you must understand to ensure you write an incredible personal statement. So, before explaining the process, the following questions are crucial in understanding the whole concept:
- How do I start a personal statement for graduate school?
While writing a catchy story is a good idea when starting your personal statement, be sure not to overthink. Maintain simple statements and simple wording the reader can easily interpret. Besides, you need to avoid being common with your phrases. Try and avoid words like
I have always yearned to, from a tender age, I am applying for this course because. And many other related statements since are overused, and with time, they become boring and outdated.
- How do you write a statement for graduate school?
When writing a grad school essay, you must know how to balance a well-structured document while hooking the reader at the same time. Ensure you tell the admission board why they need to enroll you in their program.
- How long is a typical personal statement for grad school?
One more concern is how long should a grad school personal statement be? Although different institutes will have varied requirements depending on their interests, an ideal personal statement should be between ½ or one full page, with a word count between 250 and 750. However, ensure you understand the institute’s guidelines first to be sure of the limit.
- How do you start off a personal statement?
Ensure in your opening statement you explain why you chose the course in a summary of a maximum of two sentences. This info shouldn’t be generic but focus on the personal experience as it draws the attention of the reader. Remember, the admission committee is interested mainly in who you are at the present moment, but not as you were growing up. So, try and avoid bringing in the childhood memories and elements.
How to format a personal statement for grad school
A presentable graduate school personal statement format is a basic requirement for this document. You need to arrange your ideas in a compelling and attractive manner.
- Your personal statement should have paragraphs that are short and clear to the point you want to put across.
- In the introduction section, remember to capture the attention of the reader by explaining why you need a chance. However, don’t go into details since you will need to share more information in the next paragraphs.
- Be sure to include all your life experiences, employment, and education achievements to back up as evidence of the skills highlighted in the document.
- As you conclude, sum up everything in a manner that will convince the reader to pick you as an ideal candidate.
- In most instances, the formatting requirements include using font 12 of standard fonts such as Times New Roman, Calibri, or Arial. This is effective when submitting your application online.
Conclusion
A successful career path isn’t an easy one. The application processes are the most daunting tasks, but with the right approaches, you can always advance your career in a smooth manner.
