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Do you need HELP with your personal statement for an American University application? If you are a non-native speaker of English, I will review and critique your essay FREE OF CHARGE! (Please read the article below first, however.) Just send me a copy at sesicroff@bridges-prtd.com. (Native speakers of English, sorry, you'll have to pay $75 for this service.)
Personal Statements for Applications to American Universities
Advice to the Applicant
CONTENT
Your Personal Statement should focus on four topics:
- goals
- preparation
- what you expect to gain from your studies
- what you can contribute to the program and the institution to which you are applying
Goals
You must lay out your long-term goals very explicitly. First, explain the context for your goals: the special needs of your country and your own personal interests and abilities that make your choice meaningful and feasible [do-able]. Then state what career you will pursue, and who will employ you. Of course, nothing is certain: therefore, you may speak of "expectations" -- but don't be wishy-washy.
Preparation
The personal statement is not a place to repeat what is represented on your course transcript -- except insofar as it is related to your specific goals. You should explain experiences that attracted you to the field in question. Refer to important figures (professors, politicians, entrepreneurs) whose work or words inspired you; mention specific scholarly books that you have read. These references should never be simply neutral listings: cite specific views with which you agree or disagree.
In discussing your educational background, focus on your most specialized training. If you haven't taken advanced courses in the field for which you are applying, then refer to particular topics studied in more general courses. For example, an applicant to a genetics program might describe a project on fruit flies undertaken for a general biology course.
Plan of Study
Justify your decision to study in America, and, if possible, your desire to study in a particular city. Let the admissions people see that you are aware of the strengths of their university and the program for which you are applying. Mention particular areas of coursework that you need as preparation for your career. Be very specific about the research you expect to undertake.
Contribution
You can refer quickly to the mutual advantage of improving international understanding through personal contacts among students of different backgrounds. If you are from a country that is poorly represented in American universities, you could explain particular areas or controversies where it might be useful to have a native point of view represented in class discussions.
Another type of contribution would be the expectation of future collaboration. If you intend to organize a research project in your own country, you might want to recruit American students as collaborators.
TONE
You want to impress the admissions personnel with your maturity and academic seriousness. Generally, it is not helpful to boast about accomplishments on a junior high school swim team. It is probably more useful to talk about deficiencies: areas of study or experiences that have not been available to you at home, but which might be acquired in an American university. (These could include spoken English, independent research, or volunteer work for international "NGO's" -- non-government organizations.)
When explaining specific goals in an academic field, you should not try to write at the level of an uninformed reader. Rather, you should expect that the essay may be passed to someone in the department to which you are applying. You want to give the impression that you are comfortable with sophisticated ideas, and eager to go further. Therefore, do not explain any terms or concepts unless they are specific to your country.
In general, you do not want to make a point of saying things that could easily be said by any applicant. "World peace is the most important goal" won't impress the admissions personnel. Neither will "I need the tools to prepare my for a high-paying job to support myself and my family." You should write as if you have too little space to explain what exactly you want to study; therefore, all extra words should be eliminated.
SPECIFICITY You should write each Personal Statement as if you are applying only to that one program. If you are in fact applying to several different institutions, you should print out a separate version for each application. These versions should refer to the institution (and the city and state) by name as if it is the only place you are applying. A more serious candidate will take the time to consult the course catalog and program brochure for each application. Why say, "At some American university I will take courses in genetics and radiology"? Instead say, "Fresno Junior College has top-rated courses in my field; I am particularly interested in Genetics 399, 'Transfer RNA in Mitochondria,' and Radiology 278, 'Planktonic Exostructures."
What should you do if you know where you want to go but really don't have a clear idea of what you want to do? Fake it! Look up the course listings in your field; read the program brochure to find out the narrow specializations of each professor, or ask the department secretary for the CV (curriculum vitae, or resume) of each. Choose a topic on which a particular professor gives a seminar or is doing some well-funded research, and let that be the field you have been interested in all your life.
THE BACK DOOR What should you do if you think your English isn't strong enough, or if your TOEFL or GRE scores are too low? You can still get into the program of your choice, but you will need a few months to try the back-door approach.
You should understand that the TOEFL and GRE scores are generally useful to the admissions personnel in screening large numbers of applications, but the scores are not supposed to be used as sole determiners. If a particular professor wants you enough to make a personal request, that may be sufficient excuse for the admissions personnel to make an exception regarding your score. The fact is, they all know that the scores are not very meaningful.
Why would a professor help you?
First, professors need graduate students to help on their research projects and serve as TAs (teaching assistants) for their lecture courses.
Second, professors are evaluated on the basis of "productivity": how many graduate students they supervise through to completion of an advanced degree. These evaluations determine promotions and raises. If a professor is sure that you will want to work with him, it is worth his while to see that you are accepted.
Third, professors are flattered by your interest. If you write from abroad, that means they have an "international reputation."
Fourth, professors are genuinely interested in promoting their own fields of research. So what should you do? First, choose a target professor, or sponsor. Look at the ranks of the professors in the program to which you are applying. The ranks, from lowest to highest, are: Instructor, or Lecturer; Assistant Professor; Associate Professor; Full Professor -- or just Professor. A full professor may be too tired and too comfortable to take the time to help you. An assistant professor may not have enough influence with the admissions committee. An associate professor generally is extremely hungry for that final promotion; he has active research projects, and is looking for more students. He serves on committees -- otherwise he wouldn't have been promoted from Assistant. He's your best bet.
When you ask the program secretary to send you CV's, ask for several: otherwise the target professor may hear that you made the request in connection with your application and be suspicious of your motivation. Go to the library, look up what he has written, and read one recent article very carefully. Then write to him. Tell him you've been following his research over the years (mention prior publications), and you have one question or comment... If you get an answer, write a thank-you note with yet another question or comment. Then, some time later (depending on how much time you have), write a letter BRIEFLY explaining your interest and asking if his program would be an appropriate place to study. If you get a positive response, you might say something about your TOEFL or GRE scores, and ask his advice. Each time you write, include a question or comment about his work. It could be as simple as, "Have you read such-and-such article by so-and-so? I think it might interest you." Never let the professor forget that your main interest is his field -- NOT just getting into an American university. Finally, when you apply, let him know! Ask him to make sure that your application doesn't "fall between the cracks" [get lost or set aside], because of some oversight which you, as a foreign applicant unfamiliar with American application procedures, might make.
This approach may be a little time-consuming -- especially if you use it for several different application campaigns. On the other hand, you may use it, and your Personal Statement, to compensate for objective weaknesses in your application.
Do you need HELP with your personal statement for an American University application? If you are a non-native speaker of English, I will review and critique your essay FREE OF CHARGE! (Please read the above essay first, however.) Just send me a copy at sesicroff@bridges-prtd.com; I will try to return it in two days. Are you a native speaker of English? Sorry... there is a $75 charge for this service...