How important is the personal statement really...?

[futureSLPhopefullylol]

I'm currently STRUGGLING with writing my personal statement. Mostly with structure and keeping it concise while still showing why I am a good candidate. This whole process has me wondering if the SOP really is a make or break-- especially when some schools have a 500 word/one page limit! Anyone have any insight on this or spoken to admissions committees about it? What is unnecessary to include in your statement? How can we avoid being generic?!

[Southwestspeechie]

Hello! I was in the same boat, it really helped to give myself a concrete deadline to finish a draft, and from there I immediately had others read it. I found that when I discussed my draft verbally with other people, it really helped make sure I talked about everything that I need to. When I spoke to a professor (who is on the admissions committee for UA) about personal statement, she said it serves as a writing sample since we will have to write a lot in this field, and it helps differentiate candidates with the same scores. She also stressed the importance of humble bragging, you have a bunch of skills that make you a great candidate, now is the time to tell them about it! Of course, if someone has a poor GPA/GRE, the personal statement will not erase those deficiencies. 

Good luck to you! 

[edardi1]

2 hours ago, Felice said:

Hello! I was in the same boat, it really helped to give myself a concrete deadline to finish a draft, and from there I immediately had others read it. I found that when I discussed my draft verbally with other people, it really helped make sure I talked about everything that I need to. When I spoke to a professor (who is on the admissions committee for UA) about personal statement, she said it serves as a writing sample since we will have to write a lot in this field, and it helps differentiate candidates with the same scores. She also stressed the importance of humble bragging, you have a bunch of skills that make you a great candidate, now is the time to tell them about it! Of course, if someone has a poor GPA/GRE, the personal statement will not erase those deficiencies. 

Good luck to you! 

the statement does give you that chance to explain any grade deficits.

[Southwestspeechie]

2 hours ago, edardi1 said:

the statement does give you that chance to explain any grade deficits.

You a very right! 

[CCCaffeinated-SLP]

When I was putting together my personal statement, I found this website to be helpful: https://slpecho.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/letterofintent_slpgradschool/

 

Unfortunately, I lost my personal statement when I got a new laptop before grad school, but if I remember correctly, the outline of my essay was something like this:

1. Introduction- strong statement about why SLP is inspiring

2. Information about your background, such as research experience, volunteer experience, etc

3. Information about personal qualities that make you a good candidate for the program, and which populations you want to work with

4. Ending- tie the pieces of your story together and discuss the strengths of the program you are applying to specifically (e.g., course offerings, clinical sites, etc)

 

Even as someone with strong writing skills, I STILL had someone at the writing center critique my essay.  Get as much feedback as you can!  Best of luck with your applications

[futureSLPhopefullylol]

6 minutes ago, CCCaffeinated-SLP said:

When I was putting together my personal statement, I found this website to be helpful: https://slpecho.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/letterofintent_slpgradschool/

 

Unfortunately, I lost my personal statement when I got a new laptop before grad school, but if I remember correctly, the outline of my essay was something like this:

1. Introduction- strong statement about why SLP is inspiring

2. Information about your background, such as research experience, volunteer experience, etc

3. Information about personal qualities that make you a good candidate for the program, and which populations you want to work with

4. Ending- tie the pieces of your story together and discuss the strengths of the program you are applying to specifically (e.g., course offerings, clinical sites, etc)

 

Even as someone with strong writing skills, I STILL had someone at the writing center critique my essay.  Get as much feedback as you can!  Best of luck with your applications

This is pretty helpful! I notice you decided on BGSU and that is one of the schools I am most concerned about writing my statement for because they say no more than 500 words! That just seems so short. 

[jpiccolo]

It's a good chance to show off writing skills which will be important for reports. I agree with the post that said don't talk about why you want to help people. It's not at all unique. If it fits with the prompt, talk about why you are a good candidate, things you've learned from experiences leading to grad school, reasons why that specific school can help you accomplish your goals, what you hope to gain from that program, profs/classes you want to learn from. Make sure each statement has a strong reason for being included otherwise take it out. 

[CCCaffeinated-SLP]

12 minutes ago, futureSLPhopefullylol said:

This is pretty helpful! I notice you decided on BGSU and that is one of the schools I am most concerned about writing my statement for because they say no more than 500 words! That just seems so short. 

That is understandable!  BGSU was the only school that I applied to which had a word limit (I applied to 10).  However, I felt that having this restriction made my essay more concise for all of the schools I applied to, since I more or less used the same essay for all of the schools.  I was only able to discuss the most important details.

If you would like, I can critique your essay for you when you get to that point, or possibly help expand on ideas you may have

[NYslp93]

I'm almost 99% sure that's why I got into my program of choice.  I discussed language and how it, essentially, makes up your entire daily life.  I also was able to discuss my future ambitions as an SLP.  I definitely think it is important and also an area to show you are able to concisely answer a question and not go off on tangents.