queennight Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Re: Applications, should the personal statement have a unique title (like what we normally would give to an essay)? I've gotten varying feedback on this - some people have put simply 'personal statement' at the top, while others have advocated for a creative approach. Is there a right way to do this? This may seem like a dumb question, but I genuinely have no idea if there's a proper way to do this or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Old Bill Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Completely for what it's worth, I did not give mine a title. I did give my SOP an MLA-esque header with my name and "Personal Statement" clearly labeled, but didn't provide an actual title. Frankly, I just can't imagine what a SOP title would be. I'd be curious to hear from anyone who has given their SOP a title though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queennight Posted November 3, 2014 Author Share Posted November 3, 2014 A girl in my program said that she gave basically the title she would want her potential dissertation to eventually have. I think I'm going to opt for the more conservative approach, though? I'm assuming maybe it was a bit of an outlier answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Old Bill Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 That's odd... I can understand a Writing Sample having a title (mine does), but giving a SOP a title just seems strange to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unræd Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Yeah, I just went with "Personal Statement." That seems a more fitting title for the actual content than any potential future diss title--aside from the fact that my SOP is just carving out an area/approach of interest rather than defining a set dissertation topic, I should hope my dissertation wouldn't talk nearly as much about me as my personal statement does! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unræd Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Or was she talking about UK programs, where you're applying with a clear, specific research program already drawn out? shrugs I dunno. Does seem odd to me, but what do I know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queennight Posted November 3, 2014 Author Share Posted November 3, 2014 Ok phew! One less thing to worry about ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfLorax Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Here are some titles I think you all should use: From Squalor to Baller: The Meteoric Rise of the Best Student You've Never Met Say Yes to the Best: Why I'm the Smartest Decision You'll Make Today #FuckYes unræd, hypervodka, danieleWrites and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unræd Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Here are some titles I think you all should use: From Squalor to Baller: The Meteoric Rise of the Best Student You've Never Met Say Yes to the Best: Why I'm the Smartest Decision You'll Make Today #FuckYes Dibs on #1. jhefflol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Old Bill Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zanmato4794 Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 I might have this impression because my last department had an unusual concentration of upper-middle-class, sitcom-obsessing, over-dressing-for-everything hyper-extroverts, but I get the feeling that there's a bit of a professionalism wave going on, as if the cutesy-creative approach--at least for non-creative writing applicants--was seen now as more unprofessional. I would be austere: title it "Personal Statement," or structure it as a letter. hypervodka 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danieleWrites Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 I didn't think I titled mine. And then I looked. I did. The first thing to go is the memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhr Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 All seriousness, my PS was titled (for all but one program which specified Last Name Personal Statement) "I Was Evil For a While, But I'm Much Better Now" I did have one person at a different program mention how much they enjoyed the title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikers86 Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 I didn't title mine. Several of the applications instead asked you just put Personal Statement Last Name in the headers which I appreciated. When you have a page restriction, every line counts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Q84 Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 All seriousness, my PS was titled (for all but one program which specified Last Name Personal Statement) "I Was Evil For a While, But I'm Much Better Now" I did have one person at a different program mention how much they enjoyed the title. May have to steal this but change it to: "I was turned into a newt but I got better." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queennight Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 At this point, I'm debating between "Started From The Middle, Now In Debt" or maybe "Please Keep Me At The Poverty Line for Another Half Decade" 1Q84 and mikers86 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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