10 personal statement tips for students

If you’re applying for a college program, a scholarship, or a job opportunity, chances are, you’ll have to introduce yourself to the admissions committee, the grant-making organization, or your potential employer. And in order to do that, you’ll need to write a convincing personal statement. Basically, it’s an essay in which you talk about your achievements and why you’re the perfect candidate for the course/position/financial aid. In this article, we will focus on writing a personal statement for a college or a scholarship, but you can also use our tips if you need this document to apply for a job.

1. Know what your audience wants

If you’re applying to several universities or other institutions, you can’t just submit the same personal statement to all of them. Instead, you need to write these papers from scratch and customize them. Some colleges have a 4,000-character limit for personal statements, while others require a single printed page, so read the rubric or the prompt and make sure you understand the assignment. 

2. Determine your goals

Before you begin writing your personal statement, take some time to think about what you want to achieve in life. How does this course or scholarship fit into this plan? It’s supposed to foster your academic or professional growth. In the end, you should come up with at least one long-term goal that is clearly connected to your application.

3. Start with an attention-grabbing opener

The person reading your personal statement probably reviews at least a dozen of similar papers every day, so consider how you can stand out from the crowd. If you’re feeling stuck, get some ideas from a custom personal statement writing service, such as AdvancedWriters. These companies provide all sorts of help, from creating original essays in English to proofreading. As a customer, you can quickly place an order on the website and get advice from professional writers in the USA as well as ESL experts.

4. Demonstrate your enthusiasm

As we’ve already explained, the purpose of writing a personal statement is to convince the audience to choose you. And what better way to do it than to showcase your enthusiasm and interest? If you say something along the lines of, “I guess it would be kind of cool to join your program,” they simply won’t buy it. 

Be specific. It’s a good idea to research the educational program, scholarship, or employer you’re applying to. For instance, if you’re pursuing environmental studies and applying to a green company for a corporate scholarship, you can write about how you admire its corporate responsibility. Just make sure it’s actually true. 

5. Focus on the personal stuff

One of the greatest mistakes students make about personal statements is assuming that it’s enough to simply list your personal and academic achievements. It’s not. Instead, you should focus on several relevant experiences from your biography that have made the biggest impact on your life, perspective, and development. Remember, this is all about you.

For example, if you’re applying for a nursing scholarship, it’s best to write about your volunteer experience (if you have any) or the time you helped a relative who was sick. Explain how this experience changed your outlook. Perhaps, you’ve realized that it is your mission in life to care for people.

6. Acknowledge your shortcomings

If you have poor grades, the admission and scholarship committees are going to notice that, so there’s no point in hiding your academic failures behind other successes. Instead, keep your head high, recognize these shortcomings, and explain how you’ve overcome or are planning to overcome them. You must show your eagerness to develop and reach the top.

7. Talk about the future

Remember those goals you set before starting your personal statement? Now is the time to explain how the program or scholarship you’re applying to is going to help you achieve them.

Let’s say your dream is to help develop cheap renewable energy sources. You want to spend as much time on your studies as you can, but you also need to support yourself. Thus, you’d be extremely thankful for financial assistance in the form of a scholarship because it will help you focus on research and changing the world for the better.

8. Reiterate your main points in the conclusion

Don’t underestimate the importance of a closing paragraph. It would be a shame to fumble at the end after having written the entire personal statement. Your conclusion should tie in all the major points you’ve discussed in the main body. Also, use the last couple of sentences to impress the reader and leave a lasting impression on them.

9. Don’t forget about structure

Remember, your personal statement is not a free-form paper. It’s still an essay that needs an introduction, the main body, and a conclusion. Also, read your draft and leave out the stuff that adds nothing of relevance. Instead, add transitions and elaborate where it is necessary. If you’re really struggling with organization, you can use an online essay service and get help from an experienced writer.

10. Revise and ask for feedback

Read the final draft and make sure it doesn’t contain any typos because that would be extremely unprofessional. Your audience may think that you aren’t really serious about the application. We also recommend asking someone to check your paper and give feedback because they may notice some errors you might have missed. You can also use online custom writing services if you want an expert to review your personal statement.

Key takeaways

Let’s recap what we’ve learned so far. Before you start working on your personal statement, you need to focus on your audience and the purpose of your writing. It’s important to grab the reader’s attention from the start and show your interest. This paper should be personalized, so don’t be afraid to focus on yourself. Talk about your achievements and failures, what you’ve learned from them, and of course, explain how this course or scholarship will help you achieve your goals. Finally, don’t forget to edit and proofread the final draft. That’s pretty much it. We hope these tips will help you write a high-quality personal statement.