Essay vs personal statement

[Hobaboba]

Hi,

What is difference between application essay and personal statement? I found a book about essay, but need to write POS and dont know if it will help

[an11]

Well, I don't really think there is really a huge difference between the two. An essay is supposed to primarily highlight your career objectives and your research/work experience (or any other points that the original essay asks to elaborate)...whereas, a personal statement, as the name suggests is supposed to be more personalized. So, basically you can take the liberty of going into personal details and experiences, that have shaped your career or your objectives, and helped you come closer to your goals, that you would have otherwise left out on a general essay. Having said that though, I don't really think there would be a stark difference between the two...and after completion, a generalised personal statement wouldn't look too different from a generalised essay. Of course, that depends a lot on what is required from you to begin with...just stick to the points that they have asked you to elaborate on.