Tips for Writing an Effective, Memorable Personal Statement

Start here! At the Pre-Application Workshops, we will provide you with the foundational knowledge you need to write a compelling personal statement. We hold the live versions of Parts 1 and 2 of the Pre-Application Workshop once per year, but the video version is available at any time.

To begin, we recommend learning about this style of writing as well as reading examples of effective personal statements. Many students found the following resources useful:

Allow 20-30 minutes for the following exercise. We recommend really doing it: get out some paper and some markers and sit down to really focus on this exercise:

  1. Get out a big piece of paper (legal size, if possible) and a set of colored pencils or markers
  2. Take 15 minutes for a brainstorming session, writing down as many interesting, significant things that you've done or have experienced. Think back from your childhood to the present. This is a “brain dump” onto the paper.
    • Did certain life events profoundly influence your values, goals, or life trajectory?
    • Which of your experiences have impacted who you are and what you stand for?
    • Which of your intellectual experiences (coursework, research, etc.) got you excited about learning (in general, or about a specific topic area) and intellectual problem-solving
    • What are some of the accomplishments that you’re most proud of?
    • Have you overcome tough challenges?
    • Which of your hobbies do you hold most dear?
  3. Write down your thoughts:
    • Keep it short—one or two words, not full sentences. For instance, if you worked at a summer camp, just write down the name of that camp.
    • Draw a circle around each entry, to keep it separate from the others.
    • Fill the page with as much information as you can.
    • Do not try to organize your entries, and do not censor or edit what you're writing. Anything that comes to mind should go on the paper—even if it seems trivial or silly, and even if it has nothing to do with becoming a health professional.
  4. Once you come to a stopping point on your "brain dump," look back through what you've written down (but you can always add more entries as you think of them) and "connect the dots" of your life experiences.
    • Look for underlying themes that different entries have in common. For instance, if you were the captain of a sports team in high school, served as a dorm RA in college, and then worked as a teacher in your first career, you might identify "leadership" or "mentoring" as the motivating factor they all had in common.
    • When you identify a theme, write it down ("leadership," etc.) on the side of the page in a certain color, and then use that same color to circle all of the entries on the page that fit that theme.
  5. Finally, write down 3-5 of the top motivations or themes that you have uncovered. You can now start to think about how you might want to convey those themes in your professional school applications, essays and interviews.

​Personal statement mapping exercise adapted from an exercise presented by Dr. Katharine Brooks in You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path from Chao to Career, as presented in Eileen Tom's 2014 article in The Advisor 1.

One of the keys to writing an excellent personal statement is storytelling. Space is limited, but the best personal statements typically include two or three vignettes from relevant and meaningful experiences in the person's life. Tell your stories with enough detail that the reader will be able to imagine the scene unfolding as you describe it. In addition, it is important to reflect upon the ways in which your life experiences have changed you and have shaped your motivations.

Avoid using buzzwords; for instance, rather than saying, "I am a compassionate person" (which is something that anyone could say, so it's not particularly compelling), tell an engaging story from a meaningful life experience that illustrates your compassion in action and then share your thoughts on the ways in which experiences like that one have helped you understand your own value system.

By telling illustrative stories from your life experiences and sharing thoughtful reflections upon the ways in which your experiences have shaped you, you will end up with a personal statement that not only helps the reader truly get to know you but also will be truly unique to you. 


Within most personal statements for professional schools, the same two main themes will arise: “I like science,” and “I want to help people.” That’s okay! Everyone considering a career in the health professions should like science and want to help people. Do not avoid these themes just because they seem cliché; instead, develop them according to your personal experiences.

 

"Some of the best statements I have read focus on ordinary events that many other people may have experienced. What makes the essay stand out are the writer's unique insights and ability to reflect on these experiences."
(Dr. Rachel Tolen, Assistant Director of the Health Professions Center at Indiana University2)

What fires you up about science and learning? Why do you find it rewarding to help others? Tell stories that help the reader understand your motivations. Your personal stories and reflections will be different from everyone else’s.

When you are ready to start working on your personal statement in earnest, you can start scheduling your 1:1 application coaching sessions with Jessica Talbot. You may want to use your first session for brainstorming, to explore ways to describe your motivations and can help you identify meaningful anecdotes to include in your writing. You can use your subsequent coaching sessions to review drafts of your written materials. (Each coaching session must be focused on either your personal statement, your set of application experience descriptions, or a representative set of your supplemental application essays.) Jessica will provide you with candid feedback on what is working well in your current draft and will help you identify topics you may want to add, change, or delete. We recommend you complete your first personal statement coaching session relatively early in your writing process.

Visit our Preparing Your Written Application Materials webpage for details on scheduling your coaching sessions.

Most people end up writing 10 or more drafts of their personal statement before they are happy with the final version. In addition to your coaching sessions with Jessica Talbot, ask several other people to read subsequent drafts. Include people who know you well in addition to those who know you in a more limited fashion. Ask each reader to provide you with the following feedback:

  • What are the key impressions of me that came across in this essay?
  • Are there any sections you found especially compelling or that fell flat?

We suggest you provide your reviewers with our Personal Statement Writing Tips handout as a reference tool.

Before submitting your application, have a well-qualified person proofread your personal statement for flow, word choice, grammar, and punctuation. (In fact, you should have that person proofread all of your entries for the Activities section of your application, as well.) Even if you are excellent at grammar and punctuation, you should have another person check for errors that you may have missed. The Writing Center in Norlin Library is a good resource.

 

References

  1. Mapping Out The Personal Statement: A Visual Thinking Strategy for Students (Eileen Tom, The Advisor, September 2014)

  2. Personal Statement Writing as a Developmental Process: Reflections from One Advisor (Rachel Tolen, The Advisor, March 2016)