Tell All About You
The Personal Essay: Tell About Yourself
The audience for your "personal essay" is an admissions committee composed of members of your future profession or academic discipline. When they read your essay, they will be seeking depth and substance, along with a true passion and commitment to your area of study. They will also be looking for individual traits or characteristics that make you an outstanding graduate school candidate.
Through the personal essay, you have a unique opportunity to: * Convey your long- and short-range career goals. * Present yourself as an individual with desirable personal abilities, background, interests and plans. * Describe the nature and significance of your relevant experiences, and give concrete evidence of your knowledge, competence and motivation in the field of your choice. * Explain your special interest in this particular graduate program. * Account for any conspicuous weaknesses in your record. * Demonstrate your writing ability and communication skills in general.
How to Get Started
It is imperative that you conduct a thorough self-assessment of your interests, motivations and career goals before you begin to write. Consider these questions about your own abilities, background, interests and plans:
* Why do I want to pursue a graduate school program? * What are my career goals? How will the achievement of a graduate degree further those goals? * What are the special features, approaches, or values of this particular program? * How do my interests, values, strengths, and experiences relate to what this program offers? * Why do I want to be a part of this program? Why would this program want me? * What is my interest and motivation in this field? Can I trace my interest and motivation to any concrete experience? * What are my strengths related to this field; personal, academic, and experiential? * What experiences demonstrate my competence
The audience for your "personal essay" is an admissions committee composed of members of your future profession or academic discipline. When they read your essay, they will be seeking depth and substance, along with a true passion and commitment to your area of study. They will also be looking for individual traits or characteristics that make you an outstanding graduate school candidate.
Through the personal essay, you have a unique opportunity to: * Convey your long- and short-range career goals. * Present yourself as an individual with desirable personal abilities, background, interests and plans. * Describe the nature and significance of your relevant experiences, and give concrete evidence of your knowledge, competence and motivation in the field of your choice. * Explain your special interest in this particular graduate program. * Account for any conspicuous weaknesses in your record. * Demonstrate your writing ability and communication skills in general.
How to Get Started
It is imperative that you conduct a thorough self-assessment of your interests, motivations and career goals before you begin to write. Consider these questions about your own abilities, background, interests and plans:
* Why do I want to pursue a graduate school program? * What are my career goals? How will the achievement of a graduate degree further those goals? * What are the special features, approaches, or values of this particular program? * How do my interests, values, strengths, and experiences relate to what this program offers? * Why do I want to be a part of this program? Why would this program want me? * What is my interest and motivation in this field? Can I trace my interest and motivation to any concrete experience? * What are my strengths related to this field; personal, academic, and experiential? * What experiences demonstrate my competence