How to Write a Personal Statement – A Quick Guide

Colleges look for applicants who can add value to the school and society, such as passionate scholars, aspiring leaders, and optimistic go-getters. To this end, they require personal statements demonstrating your best traits and merits for why they should pick you over thousands of other applicants.

A personal statement is crucial to your suitability for admission into the college of your dreams. To this end, writing one can feel overwhelming. Fortunately, this guide on how to write a personal statement covers everything you need to know.

What is a Personal Statement?

Personal statements are required when applying for various roles. To this end, they vary in the nature of their content, depending on the role for which you are applying. For example, a job application personal statement is different from a college application personal statement.

Overall, a personal statement is essentially an essay demonstrating your merits and making the case for why you should be considered for a particular role. It is worth noting that this guide discusses how to write a personal statement for college.

5 Tips on How to Write a Personal Statement

Writing a compelling personal statement requires a calculated approach. Here are five tips to guide you when writing:

1.    Understand What Colleges Look for Personal Statements

A personal statement is a chance to demonstrate that you can add value to the college you want to join. To this end, colleges look for traits that set you apart from the crowd.

Most importantly, admission counselors consider traits such as leadership, commitment, passion, research, teamwork, and communication skills when reviewing your statement. Overall, the personal statement should be a clear and convincing answer to the questions, “Who are you and what do you value?”

2.    Structure Your Content Well

While the experiences and ideas you want to discuss in your personal statement can be good, a poor structure can get in the way. To this end, presentation and readability are crucial when writing a personal statement. Interestingly, the statement’s structure also demonstrates your aptitude for crafting and presenting other important documents, such as job and internship applications, hence demonstrating your readiness for college and employment.

Ideally, the ideas and content in your personal statement should flow smoothly. As such, adopt a logical structure, including an introduction, body, and conclusion.

The introduction should be engaging and demonstrate your passion for the college and your selected field of study. Additionally, the statement’s main body should be a detailed demonstration of your academic qualifications, relevant extracurricular activities, and your best personal traits. Finally, the conclusion should make a compelling reason for getting admitted.

3.    Highlight Your Best Traits

So, what makes you stand out from thousands of other applicants? Remember, your personality matters, so be bold and discuss your best traits and greatest achievements. For example, you can discuss positions of responsibility that demonstrate your leadership and teamwork skills. You can also discuss your plans to demonstrate your commitment.

While you can be creative with your personal story, you must be authentic and honest. Unfortunately, many students feel compelled to exaggerate their traits and achievements to stand out.

4.    Take Your Time

Crafting a perfect personal statement can take days. As such, it is prudent to start working on your personal statement as early as possible. Unfortunately, some students wait until the last minute to learn how to write a personal statement and end up making costly mistakes when writing in a rush.

5.    Edit and Get a Professional Review

Are you confident in the quality of your personal statement? It should be flawless, considering the high expectations and strict review process. To this end, it is important to proofread your statement and edit it to perfection. Moreover, you should get a teacher or professional to review your personal statement and suggest helpful changes.

Final Thoughts

Your personal statement can make all the difference when applying for college. As such, it should be unique, flawless, and convincing. Fortunately, these tips on how to write a personal statement have worked well for millions of applicants. Alternatively, you can take advantage of our customized essay writing services and get a personalized, flawless, and compelling personal statement. Get in touch to learn more about how we can help.