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First blog post!
I'm working on my personal statement for my graduate school applications. In addition to my undergraduate alma mater (U of Waterloo) I'm also applying to UCSD, MIT, Georgia Tech, and Carnegie Mellon.
I need some advice on how to write my personal statement. I don't even know how to start! The field I'm interested in is discrete optimization and combinatorics. I have 4 months of formal research experience and another 20 months of co-op experience, of which 8 months are related to my field.
I think the most difficult part for me is how to start. I asked two of my friends (both who are doing their PhDs) about their personal statements. One of them used a poetic opening about a book she read, while another friend wrote something tongue-in-cheek and random (but he also had perfect subject GRE scores and probably one of the best undergraduates in Canada). I don't want to start with something like "Ever since I was a child bla bla bla" because that would be lame and untrue.
Any suggestions?
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It depends on your field, and I know nothing about your field, to be honest. The *general* advice, though, is that you should try and make yourself feel like a "fit" at the school you're applying to. So, say for instance, you're an English Major interested in Kafka and other modernist writers--make that clear in your statement rather than just saying "I like books". Make it known what your specific interests are and what you can bring to that given department.
There are specific instructions for certain departments and such. For instance, from my understanding, law schools want to know what motivated you to be interested in law. Or, say, a science related field wants to know your research experience and such. I have a sheet my honor's program printed out if you'd like to look at it(I could PM it to you).
That all said, I think if you have good enough GRE scores and letters of recommendation, you could probably re-write "Jabberwocky" and get in. :p
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Look, people like to overlook the personal part of a personal statement. Nobody gives a shit about your grades or your achievements in a personal statement, they already know that from your transcript/application. So make it a PERSONAL statement, make it so when somebody reads it they can figure out what kind of person you are.
That being said my personal statement was on why I decided to go into my prospective field and what ultimately made me think this is something I would enjoy doing for the rest of my life; my decision making process and how the respective institution will help me get my goal.
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United States139 Posts
Not sure whether this helps, but I took the time to look at specific research interests of professors at X school you are applying at (that happen to coincide with your own) and writing a full paragraph on that.
Detail your experiences, why you are qualified to be in their program. E.g. academic performance, research experience, but mostly research experience. This part can be copy-pasta'd from one personal statement to the next.
Most importantly, keep things short.
I did pretty well admissions-wise. Not sure whether that and the content of my personal statement are correlated though.
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Personal statements are just that, personal. It's the AdComm's only way of learning personal facts about you, like what drives you, why you're in this field, why you want to pursue further education.
I'm in the same boat, writing a personal statement for med school, and that's the approach I took. Surely there will be an area in your grad school application to fill in classes, research, and extra-curricular activities, and the AdComm's know that and will look at that. Great. So why would AdComm's want to read just another rehash of the previously mentioned sections of your app? Yeah you can add a few sentences here and there about your accomplishments, but the essay should mainly be about your dedication and reasons for being in the field, not your academic-peen.
My advice is to keep it personal, and keep it sincere. Write like you would talk, don't try to fluff it up with a writing style you're uncomfortable with, because the AdComm will definitely notice the fluff. One of the most common approaches to the personal statement is the question "Why [insert profession here]?" So in my case it's "Why doctor?" Try to answer that and keep it personable, down to earth, and sincere.
One of the other things that you may or may not have to add is that you need to address any "red flags" in your application. For example, say you were diagnosed with cancer, and you had to withdraw from all your classes that semester, you need to state the context that the line of 'W's in your transcript originated from.
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Well, first of all, I don't know what "AdComm" is I'm under the impression that the professors themselves actually read the statements if the grades etc are above a certain cutoff, especially since my field is relatively small.
I'm not so sure.
I've read an article by a professor who stated that he is very interested in three things in particular; interest, experience, and potential, in research. I'm concerned about the whole 'look at what target profs are doing and read their papers and write about it' because there's the possibility that
1. I will look completely transparent and it will be obvious to the professor what I'm doing
2. I will end up talking out of my ass since their research topics are quite complex and would require me to take some more classes.
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Sorry about that, I used AdComm as a shortened version of admissions committee.
Also, some of the stuff I said may not apply because med schools get amazing numbers of applicants, but your field is relatively small. Although, I'd be careful about trying to target your personal statement toward a particular reader because it could seem like you're just brown nosing. I'd still go with trying to convey your passion for this field, with a small spattering of qualifications included.
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United States139 Posts
I'm concerned about the whole 'look at what target profs are doing and read their papers and write about it' because there's the possibility that
All you have to do is reflect interest in what they are doing.
I will end up talking out of my ass since their research topics are quite complex and would require me to take some more classes.
I'm not sure if its different from math but there's a big difference between understanding the general gist of a paper and understanding all the fine points of it.
Although, I'd be careful about trying to target your personal statement toward a particular reader because it could seem like you're just brown nosing.
If you can't say with a straight face you'd be excited to take part in Professor _____'s research... then going to graduate school is going to be a terrible, terrible choice.
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Passion and truth my friend. Also before u apply, make sure u talk to some profs who share research intrests with you to network a bit.
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Definitey going have to focus on a topic that shows your interest in the field and how the field can use you, not how you can use the field. Should be a harmony of both that makes you stand out and say wow this guy needs to be part of our school. Definitely at a graduate field it needs to be tailored. not open ended like those college ones. lol
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That might be a little off topic but still: being admitted heavily relies on luck.
Just apply to many places, and try to network as much as possible. Many profs I talked to told me that the personal statement actually doesnt matter that much.
Btw, what Im saying is relevant for my field (optimization/artificial intelligence/stochastic programming); pretty close to yours. Maybe it would be wrong in other areas.
In hard-nerdy-science fields, it looks like they mostly care about your grades/ranking/research experience.
So, maybe you should detail a bit your experiences, and show that you were actually good at what you did.
Ha, and good luck btw  I applied to top US grad school right in the middle of the crisis, didnt get in (no network and no experience, because you dont get any when you study in France..), and ended up in a great program in Paris through networking.
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Good suggestion: Don't let others write it for you.
By that, I mean don't listen to other people's critiques like it's the holy word of the Bible. Let your own words and feelings come out, because if you don't, it no longer becomes a personal statement.
Take all advice with a grain of salt and do what you feel is right. These critiquers are there to point out things that you might not have initially considered, not there to rewrite your essay.
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EPT
