7 Useful Advice for Writing Your College Personal Statement
A personal statement is one of the crucial papers every student has to write as part of their college application. It goes a long way in boosting your chances of being accepted at the intended institution. A personal statement is an account of your achievements, goals, interests, and values. It is meant to paint a picture that makes the college understand you as an individual and what you bring to their institution. Writing this important paper always intimidates many because it has to be perfect. This text offers tips to help ease some of that pressure and help improve the quality of the AMCAS personal statement you submit.
Take Your Time to Write
Never rush when writing any crucial essay or paper. You can produce a great personal statement if you take your time to complete it. It is not a paper you should complete in a few hours.
If the submission deadline is months away, take your time to write and revise it to guarantee a quality finished version. Write it in multiple sittings and maybe even take a break from time to time and come back fresh.
Turn Character Counter off for Your First Draft
When crafting your statement, the character counter can be distracting since you’ll try to limit yourself to remain within the character limit. Instead, turn it off and write all you wanted to say. Then, do not panic, even if your character count is at 7000 by the time you’re done.
After exhausting everything you planned to include in the paper, delete the excess wording and compress your work. This method is an expert writing approach that is easier than adding new ideas while still keeping the work under 4000 characters.
Focus on Your Strengths
The aim of your personal statement is to sell the best version of who you are to the admissions board. So, stay focused on how you might be an asset to them. With that in mind, mention some of your significant experiences, knowledge, and plans for the future.
Avoid writing about negative things as they will work against you. For example, don’t tell them that you hate math even if you always depend on CPM homework help. Instead, tell them about another subject you love. Focus on the positives.
Find a Superb Opening Statement
First impressions are crucial, and your opening statement is among the first things anyone reads on your paper, so it needs to be good. Some people choose to start with a funny statement to make a good impression if you get it right. However, don’t force it.
You don’t have to come up with a killer opening statement within the first few attempts. It’s likely to come to you randomly. Instead of waiting to get it right, continue with the rest of the essay and add it later on.
Be Honest
Don’t lie in your statement. Many people think they need to lie about themselves to make their personal statements more interesting. For example, don’t lie about being fluent in French if you can only say a few words. Others choose to lie about their skills to appear more competitive. It might work against you since the truth tends to reveal itself later on.
Proofread and Get a Second Opinion
Proofread your personal statement once you’re done writing to eliminate any mistakes present. Go through it multiple times before your submission deadline. However, that’s not enough, have other people read the paper to give it an unbiased opinion.
It could be your friends, parents or even teachers. The more people you involve, the more feedback you receive. You can even decide to have expert writers go through your work to ensure it’s okay.
Read Your Work Out Loud
Reading your paper aloud can help you improve it, especially if you do it in front of someone else. When writing an essay, you do it sentence by sentence. So it becomes hard to identify any lack of cohesion that might exist between paragraphs. Reading it aloud illuminates the vague sections, and then you can work on them.
Final Thoughts
Completing a personal statement offers an incredible feeling of relief. However, it’s also the time some people start second-guessing themselves, which is not ideal. Thus, our final piece of advice is once you submit your statement with the application, don’t read it again. It will just keep you worried and on edge. Wait to hear back; you’ll know how you did if you get an offer.
About the Author
Bibhuranjan Editorial Officer, technofaq.org I'm an avid tech enthusiast at heart. I like to mug up on new and exciting developments on science and tech and have a deep love for PC gaming. Other hobbies include writing blog posts, music and DIY projects.
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