Personal History Statement for UCLA film MFA

[CCSM]

So I'm currently applying for an MFA in film production at UCLA and in the guidelines they don't indicate anything about a personal history statement, however in the application form it seems that we are required to fill it. There are no specific guidelines given and I'm very confused as to how to approach it. I feel like it will sound like my statement of purpose...

[loffire]

All the UCs require a SOP and personal history. I get the sense it is meant to be a diversity statement. The prompt I got from the psych dept was

"Describe how your background, accomplishments, and life experiences led to your decision to pursue the graduate degree for which you are applying. Include any educational, personal, cultural, economic, or social experiences, challenges or opportunities relevant to your academic journey. In addition, please describe any aspects of your personal background, accomplishments, or achievements that will allow the department to evaluate your contributions to the University's diversity mission. Contributions to diversity and equal opportunity can take a variety of forms, such as efforts to advance equitable access to education, public service that addresses the need of a diverse population, or research that explores inequalities."

Hope this helps. I struggled to suss out which belongs in which statement as well. Also if you'd like we can swap statements when you're done   anyone else applying to any of the UCs?

[divmoh247]

So I called them (i'm applying for the UCLA Screenwriting program) and they said you dont need to do the personal history statement. you can either leave it blank or put your SOP there. i dont know if it's the same for all the programs in the department but you can call them and double check. I left mine blank.

 

I am super nervous with the SOPs. Has anyone worked on theirs? I dont know what to put on the SOP. I've made it quite personal but I'm not sure if they require a more technical "this is why i want to do this and this is how i will do it" kind of essay

[loffire]

14 hours ago, divmoh247 said:

So I called them (i'm applying for the UCLA Screenwriting program) and they said you dont need to do the personal history statement. you can either leave it blank or put your SOP there. i dont know if it's the same for all the programs in the department but you can call them and double check. I left mine blank.

 

I am super nervous with the SOPs. Has anyone worked on theirs? I dont know what to put on the SOP. I've made it quite personal but I'm not sure if they require a more technical "this is why i want to do this and this is how i will do it" kind of essay

Im more or less done. just tweaking them for the different schools. also have I mentioned how much I hate it when they tell me I have a 700word limit? But i digress. I'll be happy to look at yours if you'd like