Statement of Purpose AND Personal History

[Timshel]

So, one of the schools I am applying to is asking for a Statement of Purpose AND a Personal History. I guess I am little confused as to how "personal" this personal history should be.

Can anyone help?

[George2248]

What school is it?

[deparkison]

When I encountered this, it was from Berkeley. I think that they really are (or are trying to give the appearance of being) interested in how your full past informs your work -- as opposed to your academic past. I've started thinking of the SOP as a place to propose a project I'd like to work on, suggest what in my work history makes this project intriguing to me, etc, and the personal statement or personal history as being the place for the narrative we probably wanted in our first draft of our SOP's: "Ever since third grade when I picked up an R.L. Stine book, I knew..." etc etc.

That is only my assessment of this particular writing situation. But, if I were you I would separate the two types of content along those lines.

[George2248]

When I encountered this, it was from Berkeley. I think that they really are (or are trying to give the appearance of being) interested in how your full past informs your work -- as opposed to your academic past. I've started thinking of the SOP as a place to propose a project I'd like to work on, suggest what in my work history makes this project intriguing to me, etc, and the personal statement or personal history as being the place for the narrative we probably wanted in our first draft of our SOP's: "Ever since third grade when I picked up an R.L. Stine book, I knew..." etc etc.

That is only my assessment of this particular writing situation. But, if I were you I would separate the two types of content along those lines.

Actually I think Berkeley´s PHS is more a diversity statement, more focus on social work and diversity. At least that is what it seem from the question they ask in the application.

Any thoughts about it?

[truckbasket]

Yeah, keep an eye out for these as they're all a bit different for each program. When it asks for both, your SOP should be a little more terse, and your Personal History is where the more creative, narrative type stuff comes into play. But keep an eye for prompts because, as others have stated, the Personal History can mean Diversity Statement. If I remember correctly, Cornell did something like that. Northwestern limited the SOP to like 500 words, but wanted a much more elaborate PH. Berkeley definitely wanted the PH and DS blended with a separate SOP. They used to have that awesome example of the POS and DS/PH floating around (from the history department) but I think they've taken them down. Those were amazing pieces of writing.

As far as "how personal" you should go, just think of it as the combined SOP without the academic specifics. You'll still want to demonstrate how your life events have blah blah led you to this juncture blah blah fired your interests blah, but the nitty gritty of what you want to do would be a separate deal. For consistency, you could perhaps drop a brief tie in to the PH/DS, but the separated SOP should be all business.

Best bet would be to make a table of what each program wants, and then construct basic frameworks of SOP, PH, DS and SOP/PH combined. Also, look at the apps themselves (i.e. skip through the various pages) as I got hit with several impromptu "mini-essays" (all diversity statements, essentially) that required a 300 word blurb or whatnot.

Again, expect them all to differ. Figure out ahead of time who wants what, and who may sneak a mini-statement on you at last minute. If it's not clear, contact the grad office directly to make sure it's clear.

[George2248]

I just want to be sure of this, since I just finished my first draft for the PHS in Berkeley.

I tried to answer what they ask for on the prompt, but this made my essay strongly focus on my social work and ethnic diversity, which I have a lot to talk about (not a single mention about my academic background). I just want to be sure that this is the right approach on this.

When you say that Berkeley´s is definitely a diversity statement, then what is a diversity statement supposed to be like? Am I on the right track?

Thanks for the advice...

[truckbasket]

When you say that Berkeley´s is definitely a diversity statement, then what is a diversity statement supposed to be like? Am I on the right track?

Again, it sort of varies. I remember a couple of prompts asking something about how you comprehend diversity and how it play a role in your own academic life and whatnot. If you're not clear, honestly, contact the department. I went through this last year, and frankly I've tried to block much of it from memory. I just so happened to remember Berkeley's being very geared toward diversity, and the sample essay they had was especially about diversity. Doesn't Berkeley have a really elaborate "this is what a PS looks like" section? They did last year.

If the PH doesn't have much academic reference, could you perhaps connect it through some thematic ties?

[Timshel]

Okay, so the school I was referring to was UC Riverside. The website does not give a prompt, it just states to upload a personal history and a statement of purpose. When I contacted the department, the secretary simply said:

The statement of purpose includes why you want to get the degree/why you're applying, etc.

The personal history is your personal history.

That was all I got..........................

[TripWillis]

Okay, so the school I was referring to was UC Riverside. The website does not give a prompt, it just states to upload a personal history and a statement of purpose. When I contacted the department, the secretary simply said:

The statement of purpose includes why you want to get the degree/why you're applying, etc.

The personal history is your personal history.

That was all I got..........................

Haha, wow helpful! UC Davis wants this from me, 500 word PH, 500 word SoP.

Best I could tell, I should just extricate the 500 words of narrative that guides my SoP from the 500 words in my SoP that talk about my currents interests, projects, and future proposals. *shrugs*

Oh brother. This is almost as weird as NYU's 10-12 page writing sample range. WTF???

[Origin=Goal]

Your still supposed to tie in the autobiographical details, experiences, etc to your academic interests; maybe also a little bit about why you think your research is relevant to non-academic areas (if it is) and how you would enrich the current program (especially if you have a unique personal perspective such as being an immigrant or an ethnic minority)

[bfat]

Minnesota has the same requirement for the American Studies program. They say they're looking for "A statement of distinctive qualities, characteristics, and life experiences you would bring to the ______ graduate program and to the education of fellow students."

As oppposed to the statement of purpose, which should contain "relevant goals and experiences and how these would be served by a PhD..." blah blah blah.

So to me, it seems like the "Personal Statement," for this program at least, is the "selling yourself" essay, talking about how you're awesome and different from all the other candidates.

[xfgdfrmgpo332]

So...what exactly is a diversity statement?

[TripWillis]

Update: I've been working on piecing together a PH and PS out of my primary SoP for the last week or so. It's tough... I'm definitely reluctant to get more personal than relating my scholarly growth to my life narrative in a cursory way. I've basically said that my hometown in Michigan was important to my senior thesis and it really sparked my interest in grad study and then I said that being queer amidst the equal rights debates of the last couple years has affected the way I approach literature. I'm tempted to get all self-righteous about my state school not-born-with-a-silver-spoon-worked-full-time-to-pay-my-way-through-undergrad blah blah blah background, but I bet that would be awfully cliché. Anyway, bottom line is that the way I discussed my personal history was dictated by my scholarly growth.

[Ryzhaya]

From what I've heard, diversity statements are also sometimes used to determine if you qualify for certain kinds of financial aid. While a personal history statement seems more about discussing your background and your unique personal qualities, I believe diversity statements are more or less supposed to be tearjerkers. I dashed off a quick draft for the one school I'm applying to that requires it, and frankly I'm having trouble editing it because it's embarrassing to read. I am having the hardest time discussing my personal struggles without coming off as manipulative or self-pitying, but again, that may be sort of the point behind a diversity statement.