Your purpose in writing a personal statement is to explore the connection between a personal experience and what it says about your life and about the meaning of being human. The Personal Statement

I pulled information for this PowerPoint from a variety of sources, including CollegeBoard.com, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, and one of my former students, Phuong Huynh!

Now that you have written your first draft, I want you to reflect on what you have written so that you can refine it to meet your goals.

“Your personal statement is your chance to tell us who you are and what's important to you. Think of it as your opportunity to introduce yourself to the admissions and scholarship officers reading your application. Be open, be honest, be real. What you tell us in your personal statement gives readers the context to better understand the rest of the information you’ve provided in your application.”

 The personal statement is your opportunity to stand out  Let your personal statement work for you  It is an opportunity to provide information that supports and augments the admissions process  It enables you to make the best case possible for admission

 Adds clarity, depth and meaning to information collected in other parts of the UC application  Completes your application for admission  An admission decision will never be based on the content of a personal statement alone

 “While it is acceptable to receive feedback or helpful suggestions, applicants’ personal statements should reflect their own ideas and be written by them alone.”

 Respond to both prompts, using a maximum of 1,000 words total.  You may allocate the word count as you wish. If you choose to respond to one prompt at greater length, we suggest your shorter answer be no less than 250 words.  Stay within the word limit as closely as you can. A little over — 1,012 words, for example — is fine.

 Prompt #1 (freshman applicants): Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

 Prompt #2 (all applicants) : Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?

 Have you conveyed something that is special, unique, distinctive, and/or impressive about you or your life story?

 What details of your life (personal or family problems, history, people or events that have shaped you or influenced your goals) might help the admissions board better understand you or help set you apart from other applicants?

 Have you had to overcome any unusual obstacles or hardships (for example, economic, familial, or physical) in your life?

 What personal characteristics (for example, integrity, compassion, persistence) do you possess that would improve your prospects for success in college? Is there a way to demonstrate or document that you have these characteristics?

 Are there any gaps or discrepancies in your academic record that you should explain (great grades but mediocre SAT scores, for example, or a distinct upward pattern to your GPA if it was only average in the beginning)?

 If you already know your intended major:  When did you become interested in this field and what have you learned about it (and about yourself) that has further stimulated your interest and reinforced your conviction that you are well suited to this field? What insights have you gained?

 What skills (for example, leadership, communicative, analytical) do you possess?

 Tell a story: Use a story to illustrate the point that you really want to express. Stories are easier to remember than straight facts and this will make the admissions board remember you.  Give supporting details: If you mention in your personal statement that you will be a great doctor because you are hard working, then you’ll have to provide proof!

 Use concrete sensory details – details of sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste – to describe the actions, movements, and gestures of your experience.  Use interior monologue – the words you say to yourself in your head – to describe your thoughts and feelings about your experience.

Use sensory details to describe specific places, or settings, where your experience occurred.

Beginning Engage readers’ attention. Provide background information necessary for understanding the experience. Hint at the significance of the experience. Middle Use narrative and descriptive details to relate the events that make up the experience. Include thoughts and feelings and concrete sensory details. Continue to hint at the meaning of the experience. End Bring your telling of the experience to a close. Reflect on the experience; explicitly reveal its significance for you or its effect on you. Identify the insight into life the experience gave you.

 Include the actual words spoken by people involved in the experience  This helps your reader to imagine a complete picture of your experience.

 Do not use the same answers as other applications  Do not include middle school achievements  Do not touch on controversial or political topics  DO NOT LIE!!!  Avoid clichés

 Read the sample narratives to get a model in mind, but do NOT let these models heavily influence your personal statement.  Your personal statement should be unique.

As with writing any essay, remember these tips:  Always make the introduction pop. You want to draw them in!  Use the funnel approach in your introduction  Remember the basic structure of an essay: introduction, body, conclusion  In addition to checking your spelling, be sure your grammar is correct and your essays read smoothly. You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.

 Draft, revise, rinse, and repeat.  Once you are satisfied with your essays, save them in plain text (ASCII) and paste them into the space provided in the application.  Proofread once more to make sure no odd characters or line breaks have appeared.