The personal statement is a challenging genre. You’re tasked with packing years of experience into just a few pages. You want to sound smart and unique–but there are only so many ways to explain that you won an award or researched in a lab. How many times can you say “It was a great experience” in one document? Do you sound too confident? Not confident enough?
I’m going to share a method that I think leads to great personal statements–and it’s deceptively simple.
Personal statements aren’t a trick
First, though, it’s important to remember that the admissions committeethe group of faculty that agree to advise a student’s rese... More wants you to succeed.
- They want to get to know you.
- They want to recruit awesome students.
- They want to build the careers of future leaders in the field.
Don’t let the personal statement become an obstacle! It doesn’t have to be perfect.
What is it really about?
Graduate schools are excited to hear what you have to say and should not be setting out to be critical.
At Emory, we are particularly interested in your experience of and interest in research. If you’ve been in a lab, we want to hear about that–particularly the things you really enjoyed or the challenges you overcame. If you don’t have a lot of research experience, tell us WHY you want to spend more time in the lab!
But…there is a secret.
Now, about that method.
There is no magic bullet–nothing will work perfectly for everyone.
But a common mistake students make in crafting a personal statement is to focus too much on making things sound good and not enough on sharing their own voice.
Simply put, your statement should be honest. The secret is: tell the truth.
How to tell the truth
Don’t tell us that everything has always been bright and shiny and perfect. It’s helpful to know what you’ve experienced that didn’t go right. We’d rather hear that you were professional and capable in a difficult situation than be told that you “loved” your laboratory experience even though you spent all your time washing test tubes and waiting on an experiment that never. seemed. to. work.
How much honesty is too much?
Okay, there is such a thing as too much truth-telling in a personal statement. Don’t tell us your deepest, darkest secrets (unless they are clearly chemistry related.) Relationships, family matters, roommate troubles–they probably don’t belong in your statement, except where addressing them is key to your personal academic journey. Use your judgement–if you wouldn’t tell a professor at your current school, probably don’t tell us. (There’s always Post Secret.)
You don’t owe anyone your secrets.
Saying a little bit more about what not to tell might help you to see the truthful space that is key to the personal statement. Being asked to write a personal statement can seem like being asked to commodify your personal experience – give me your story and maybe, if it’s good enough, I’ll give you a place in a graduate program.
There is some truth to that. You do have to reveal something about your motivations and that can feel very vulnerable. That said, the kind of heart-rending truth-telling that can be encouraged in college applications doesn’t really suit the genre for graduate schoola school that offers advanced degrees. Important! Some schoo... More.
Another way to think about telling the truth in the genre? Be specific.
Example 1: Does chemistry love you back?
- Not specific: I love chemistry.
- A little more specific: I’ve loved chemistry since I was five.
- Much more specific: I love chemistry because of what it has taught me about problem solving.
Example 2: Has anyone really wanted to be a chemist since birth?
- Not specific: I’ve always wanted to be a chemist.
- A little more specific: I’ve wanted to be a chemist since my first exposure to bench work.
- Much more specific: My first experience using a high-throughput laser convinced me that I wanted to be a chemist.
Example 3: Why should we care?
- Not specific: I was really fortunate to win the Super Special Undergraduate Award at my university.
- A little more specific: I received the Super Special Undergraduate Award at [University] in spring 2022 for my work in the Jones Lab.
- Much more specific: I received the Super Special Undergraduate Award in spring 2022 for my work on heterocycles in the Jones Lab. The award is given to only one student at [University] each year.
Example 4: What’s your interest?
- Not specific: I would be honored to work on the highly impactful research in the Khanna Lab.
- A little more specific: I am interested in the computational chemistry work in the Khanna Lab.
- Much more specific: I am interested in the work the Khanna Lab is doing to design new software to automate the process of computing molecular properties in the solution phase, clearing new pathways for artificial-intelligence design and discovery in chemistry and beyond.
- Much more specific, different angle: I am seeking a graduate experience where I can apply my knowledge of chemistry to machine learning. I am interested in the work the Khanna Lab is doing to design new software to automate the process of computing molecular properties in the solution phase and the work of the Smith Group to extrapolate insights from big data.
- Much more specific, yet another angle: I am interested in the work the Khanna Lab is doing to design new software to automate the process of computing molecular properties in the solution phase and the work of the Smith Group to extrapolate insights from big data. While my undergraduate work was in a wet lab, I am deeply interested in theoretical chemistry as a tool for advancing knowledge in chemistry and have taught myself to code.
Real Example: The Truth About Tutoring
The examples above are my own. Below, I’m sharing a real example from a revision of a personal statement by a former graduate scholar at Emory, Anthony Sementilli. Anthony wrote this statement to apply for the NSF GRFPAn acronym for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduat... More. He received an Honorable Mention for this highly competitive fellowshipa monetary award provided to support a student’s education... More!
Personal statement draft one:
The students I tutored in the academic retention program were usually the most driven and enthusiastic students I’ve had, and as someone who also depended on financial aid, I was sympathetic to my tutees’ struggles.
Personal statement revision:
Understandably, students sometimes became upset after having the academic dean insist they seek extra help on top of recovering from tragedy. However, as someone who also depended on scholarships, I was sympathetic to my tutees’ struggles. I’m grateful that I could help my tutees pick up the pieces because it taught me the greatest lesson I’ve learned as a teacher so far: the most important students aren’t always the ones that come to your office bearing an apple with your name it. Over three years, I’m proud to say that I helped almost 20 students keep their scholarships.
What changed?
Anthony is a great writer. In both drafts, the information is clear and persuasive. However, in the second version, Anthony makes the story a little bit less cheerful. It was challenging to provide mandatory tutoring! He had to build empathy with the students he worked with and also learn the lesson that student interactions can be rewarding and important even if they are not overwhelmingly positive. The specific facts–3 years and 20 scholarships saved–really makes Anthony’s point. In the first version, Anthony felt like he has to be positive and that made it hard to tell a truthful and compelling story.
Good luck with your personal statement! Share your story and tell the truth!