Graduate Personal Statement: Features and Writing Tips [2023]

A graduate personal statement is a short essay written by a student who tends to get a graduate degree. It is rather a short paper that defines your achievements and reasons why you should get a place in a chosen program. You present yourself in the statement and define your academic goals at once. When you prepare an essay, you should focus on the best explanation of why you are the paramount candidate for the program. In your paper, you also define your desire to join the chosen program and the reasons for this decision.

What is Graduate Personal Statement?

Applying for a graduate program is filled with challenges, and the one that puzzles students the most is the personal statement. A personal statement is required by any graduate program, but you will never find any requirements or prompts coming directly from the institution. Applicants are left guessing what their personal statement should look like, but there are some universal tips for making your personal statement shine and help you achieve your academic goals.

The most important writing tip for creating a graduate personal statement is to provide the readers with great content. The graduate school admission board goes through dozens of statements every day, so think about the ways to make your writing stand out. Generalized phrases, clichéd statements, and generic reasons for pursuing a graduate degree won’t get you any further. Be creative when explaining your need to pursue the degree and the results won’t keep you waiting.

A graduate personal essay differs from a personal statement written by high school graduates. Here, you prepare a statement to get a wanted Master and Ph.D. degrees. Thus, you have already got a bachelor’s degree and can describe your undergraduate degree achievements in your essay. You already have experience with academic papers and can be more forthcoming with the written statement.

Why and When to Prepare Graduate Personal Statement

When you apply for a Master’s or Ph.D. degree, you must prepare a strong graduate personal statement. Surely, some universities do not require this particular essay. Still, there are bigger chances your educational institution will require one eventually. Be ready to deliver a strong essay to make a decent impression on the admission committee. A properly written graduate personal statement can be used for the next purposes:

To amaze your admission committee and assure them you are the best candidate for the program;
To reveal your personal qualities and achievements instead of only academic accomplishments frequently included in a letter of intent;
To become more personal in your experiences’ description, thus define important challenges and experiences that are not directly connected to the field of study;
It works as a great personal experience demonstration document if the university also requires a statement of purpose.

Students mostly see the difference between a personal statement and a statement of purpose based on the facts they focus on the most. While a personal statement is based on personal experiences and achievements, the statement of purpose focuses mostly on academic results. Sometimes, these two types lose solid differences. Also, they have common sections like future goals and a list of talents that can be beneficial for the chosen program.

What Makes a Good Graduate Personal Statement

A properly written graduate personal statement is usually a short essay that reveals a clear message. It also includes the list of the personal achievements and experiences together with the right reasons why the applicant perfectly fits the program.

In general, a decent graduate personal statement has the following features:

A clear message to the reader. There is only one way to submit a perfect grad school personal statement. You should provide a clear message to the readers. In your case, the admission committee expects to get the clear key points related to you being the best fit for the program.
Specific experience described. You need to use specific examples in your message. You should provide references to the works completed in the same field of study. Moreover, you need to define the top features that make you the best candidate for the chosen program.
Flawless and inspiring writing. To make a wanted effect on the admission committee, you should provide inspiring and flawless content. Your writing must be strong as well to converse your message clearly to the readers.
Relevant and authentic content. Your statement must include only relevant examples and experiences. Moreover, you should be honest once revealing your characteristics.

Steps in Writing a Graduate Personal Statement

The main purpose of a graduate personal statement is seemingly simple: to convince the board that you can be a worthy addition to the institution. However, the exact ways to reach that objective may differ depending on the circumstances. Think about the people who will read your statement and what they want to see in a personal statement from an applicant, then use your findings in your writing.

Write not only what you will do, but what have you done

When working on a personal statement, most applicants explain in detail what they want to achieve and what they plan to do to get to their academic and career goals. Keep in mind that the board certainly wants to read about your aspirations, but they also need to know more about your past and present. Present your achievements (even custom dissertation writing counts) and show that you’re a worthy candidate.

Tell about your motivation

Knowing your goals is an important requirement for the success of your aspirations, but what exactly fuels your passion? Which personalities or events have shaped you to be the motivated and driven person you are today? How do you find inspiration to continue becoming better every day? And, finally, how exactly can the graduate school help you on your journey? These are the questions your personal statement needs to provide answers to!

Strong writing

Graduate school applicants are expected to not only have outstanding proficiency in their subjects, but also a firm grasp of professional writing. Your statement needs to be coherent and completely free of grammar and spelling mistakes. If you don’t trust your own proofreading skills, ask someone to do it for you. And make sure to include only the most essential information into your statement.

Don’t forget to include this

Your graduate personal statement needs to paint a complete picture of you as a person, scholar, and professional, so anything that describes those three sides of you belongs to the statement. You can start by telling a short history of your prior education with everything you have achieved in the education field so far. Of course, it helps to have an ideal record, but even if you have parts in your academic record you’re not too proud of, don’t try to hide them – present them with an honest explanation about the obstacles you faced on your way. Listing your skills is also a good idea, both professional skills that make you a better scholar and soft skills that make you a better person to be around. Think of it more as of writing a self-assessment paper and you’ll get the right idea.

Exclude this

Avoid simply retelling your grades or awards won during the course of education – the reviewing board can easily find that information in other parts of your application. Don’t try to expand your personal statement by including anecdotes from your childhood or personal stories that have no connection to your scholarly pursuits – those stories can be told in person once you’re accepted. Another thing to leave out of your statement are various clichés and generic phrases without any personalization.

In any case, your graduate personal statement must be original, relevant, and flawless. If you struggle with the task, it is always good to use a personal statement writing service. Professional online writing assistance is the best way to submit a perfect grad school personal statement without even learning how to complete it from the start.

Top Features of a Good Graduate Personal Statement