HOW TO PREPARE A PERSONAL STATEMENT

Most graduate schools require a personal statement as a part of your application. This statement is often centered around your interest in psychology, your personal background, the reasons you are applying to that particular graduate program, and your career and personal objectives. Although a well-written personal statement will not overcome poor grades or low GRE scores, a poor one will surely hurt your chances of acceptance. Fretz and Stang (1988) cite the following example.

"Take the case of the student with a competitive grade point average and good references who was not accepted to any of the 11 programs he applied for. One cannot be sure, but the biographical statement included with his applications is the suspected reason. First, it was poorly typed, with many smears and crossed-out words. The spelling and grammar were both appalling. Finally, the content left much to be desired. It was far too long--about 15 pages--and went into detail about this person's philosophy of life (which was far from the establishment viewpoint). It also stressed emotional agonies and turning points in his life. Hoping to cure the world of all its evils, this person tried to indicate how

a PhD in psychology was necessary to fulfill that end. In short, it was an overstated, ill-conceived essay that may have been received so badly that it overshadowed his other attributes and data" (p. 45).

Plan and produce your personal statement as carefully as you would a crucial term paper. The following tips (quotes taken from Fretz & Stang) will help you produce a personal statement as impressive and effective as the sample on the following page.

• Before you begin your statement for each school, read as much about their program as possible so that you can tailor your statement to the program and convince the admissions committee that you will fit their program like a glove. "Each year many applicants will write, for example, that they want to attend the counseling psychology program at University X because they want to learn how to counsel emotionally handicapped children--even though the program specifies in its brochure that is does not provide training for work with young children. The selection committee immediately rejects those candidates."

• Prepare an outline of the topics you want to cover (e.g., professional objectives and personal background) and list supporting material under each main topic. Write a rough draft in which you transform your outline into prose. Set it aside and read it a week later. If it still sounds good, go to the next stage. If not, rewrite it until it sounds right.

• Check your spelling, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization carefully. Nothing detracts from the contents of a statement more than these types of errors. Avoid slang words that make you sound uneducated, and overly elaborate words or stilted language that will make you appear pompous or pretentious.

• Ask two of your teachers to read your first rough draft and make suggestions. Incorporate these suggestions into your second rough draft. Ask for another reading and set of suggestions, and then prepare your final statement.

• Your final statement should be as brief as possible--two double-spaced pages are sufficient. Stick to the points requested by each program, and avoid lengthy personal or philosophical discussions. If your statement sounds egocentric or boring, those who read it will assume you are egocentric or boring.