Immuno Posted July 12, 2011 Posted July 12, 2011 It is officially time to begin writing my personal statement (I'm SO excited! Not. )I've searched on this board, and it seems that mostly all the advice is for the statement of purpose. I can't find much of anything on the personal statement. I understand that this piece of writing is "personal," so it is a bit harder to give advice on it than the SoP. The members of this forum have been extremely helpful thus far on other questions I have had pertaining to grad school, and I would love any help you could give on getting started on the personal statement. I have complete writer's block! Does anyone know any links that give outstanding examples from REAL students who have been accepted? Of course mine would be completely different, but it would still be great to get an idea. The main reason I have no idea where to begin is that I've never really done anything outstanding that made me realize I wanted to do a phD in immunology. I know it's cliche, but honestly, I've loved science ever since I could read and always KNEW it was what I wanted to do without really having any "experiences" that made me come to the realization. I know I can't write about childhood, so therefore I am completely lost on what to write. I also find it odd that everyone on this forum seems to be writing statements of purpose, yet ALL of the programs I'm applying to ask for a "personal statement." Is this not the norm for biological sciences phD programs, or am I missing something here?
newms Posted July 12, 2011 Posted July 12, 2011 Be careful. Sometimes some programs refer to a 'Personal Statement' when they want a 'Statement of Purpose' about your academic and research goals. If the programs that you are applying to only ask for a 'Personal Statement' then I am inclined to believe that what they want is something similar (or identical, except in name) to the Statement of Purpose. Sometimes schools will ask for a Personal Statement in addition to the Statement of Purpose. In this case, they usually want a short statement describing why you want to pursue graduate education and what contributions you have made to helping others pursue their education. Sometimes this can be like a 'Diversity Statement'. I hope you're not too confused by now, but as I said, if your program is just asking for a Personal Statement, then I think they want something like a SoP. Perhaps you could post their instructions about what they want for the 'Personal Statement'. Neuronista and gellert 2
lyonessrampant Posted July 12, 2011 Posted July 12, 2011 Just seconding newms here. Definitely don't confuse PS with SOP. If they ask for TWO things and call one of them a PS, then they want the all about you and why you're special kind of statement; some programs call that a Diversity Statement. If they ask for only one statement, though, they want an SOP, whatever they call it.
Immuno Posted July 12, 2011 Author Posted July 12, 2011 Most of the program websites simply say "A personal statement of research and career interests " with no further explanation. So it would be safe to assume that I could just follow all the advice given for the SoP?
newms Posted July 12, 2011 Posted July 12, 2011 Most of the program websites simply say "A personal statement of research and career interests " with no further explanation. So it would be safe to assume that I could just follow all the advice given for the SoP? Yep, it's definitely the SoP by another name.
Vaughan Posted July 15, 2011 Posted July 15, 2011 It is very helpful to map out a strategy as the admissions committee will be looking for consistency in your application. For example, your recommendations and your work or education experiences should be aligned strategically to the personal statement. Furthermore, it is important to understand that the admissions committee is looking to to see what you will be adding to the class and most importantly what you will be contributing to the program overall. It is officially time to begin writing my personal statement (I'm SO excited! Not. )I've searched on this board, and it seems that mostly all the advice is for the statement of purpose. I can't find much of anything on the personal statement. I understand that this piece of writing is "personal," so it is a bit harder to give advice on it than the SoP. The members of this forum have been extremely helpful thus far on other questions I have had pertaining to grad school, and I would love any help you could give on getting started on the personal statement. I have complete writer's block! Does anyone know any links that give outstanding examples from REAL students who have been accepted? Of course mine would be completely different, but it would still be great to get an idea. The main reason I have no idea where to begin is that I've never really done anything outstanding that made me realize I wanted to do a phD in immunology. I know it's cliche, but honestly, I've loved science ever since I could read and always KNEW it was what I wanted to do without really having any "experiences" that made me come to the realization. I know I can't write about childhood, so therefore I am completely lost on what to write. I also find it odd that everyone on this forum seems to be writing statements of purpose, yet ALL of the programs I'm applying to ask for a "personal statement." Is this not the norm for biological sciences phD programs, or am I missing something here?
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