Statement of purpose and autobiographical sketch for MFA Fiction

[Killy Jelly]

I'm down to the wire here so I'd thought I'd ask you fine folks for some advice.

I'm applying to a handful of schools offering either Masters in English or Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Obviously my writing samples and my statements of purpose will differ from degree to degree.

But I noticed that the MFA programs require an additional "autobiographical sketch" along with the s.o.p.

The only information I can really find about it, is that the s.o.p. is supposed to be much more formal and academic (like an academic history?) and the a.s. will be a literal biography.

How creative am I allowed to get with these papers, do you reckon? Should I just be literal and explain my personal and academic biography? Or do I try to tell a story?

If anyone has any further insight into this, or has experience with MFA-fiction programs, I'd appreciate your wisdom

Thanks!