Personal Statement Tips

[expensiveswimmer]

Hey everyone,

I applied last cycle and got 1 interview which ultimately ended up being a rejection. My biggest takeaways were that 1) I need more publications and 2) My personal statement needs work.

Does anyone have any tips for revising their personal statement from cycle to cycle? How do most of you guys start your statements? Any advice would be appreciated, especially from people who got in last cycle (props to you guys!)

[Clinapp2017]

3 hours ago, expensiveswimmer said:

Hey everyone,

I applied last cycle and got 1 interview which ultimately ended up being a rejection. My biggest takeaways were that 1) I need more publications and 2) My personal statement needs work.

Does anyone have any tips for revising their personal statement from cycle to cycle? How do most of you guys start your statements? Any advice would be appreciated, especially from people who got in last cycle (props to you guys!)

I enjoy giving SOP advice. If you feel comfortable DMing me, I am happy to give it a read and provide some feedback in the coming weeks. 

 

I can't speak r.e. applying to multiple cycles and updating it because I was very fortunate to get in on my first try, but I think the SOP is a critical factor. Several PIs I know say it is a big driver in deciding who to invite to interview when you have several applicants who look roughly the same on paper. Balancing how to let your voice come through, whilst still being professional, is key. For me, I used it as an opportunity to clearly outline 1) why I was interested in X area of psych, 2) what experiences I have had that have prepared me to study X in grad school, and 3) how I think studying X will set me up for a career in clinical work/academia. 

 

 

[EileanDonan]

I’m definitely no expert here, but last cycle I used an anecdote from one of my clinically-oriented positions as an introduction, from which I pivoted into my graduate goals. I had one POI comment positively on this, as well as on the generally well-written prose. Can’t understate the importance of the last point!

[yikespsych]

Any tips on crafting an impactful and descriptive Personal Statement for school that have crazy word limits (like 500-750 words)? I've struggled with this in the past. I'm 5 years out of college so I have a fair amount of post-bac clinical and research work I want to hit on, but it's hard to fit that all in addition to letting my personality through, describing fit with a potential mentor, explaining why I want to go to grad school, etc. Thanks in advance for any feedback!

[Psyche007]

20 hours ago, yikespsych said:

Any tips on crafting an impactful and descriptive Personal Statement for school that have crazy word limits (like 500-750 words)? I've struggled with this in the past. I'm 5 years out of college so I have a fair amount of post-bac clinical and research work I want to hit on, but it's hard to fit that all in addition to letting my personality through, describing fit with a potential mentor, explaining why I want to go to grad school, etc. Thanks in advance for any feedback!

Can you summarize your research experience into a one or two principles you're observed, learned from, and applied elsewhere? It's a great opportunity to show how you can summarize data into useful and generalizable information.

They're going to read your resume, which I imagine will include all the minutiae of your experiences, so I'd avoid repeating anything in your statement that reviewers can find elsewhere. The statement is an opportunity to say something that you can't say elsewhere, something that makes them want to meet you.