The unique information in your statement should include an opening that will grab the reader's attention. Remember one of the main goals of this essay is to make yourself memorable to the committee. Consider beginning with a particular experience that relates to your career interests. But stay away from wild stories that bear little relevance to your career goals or other main points in the essay. While many applicants like to begin with a quotation, this is overused. Only take this strategy if the quotation is truly meaningful to you or ties in creatively with the rest of your essay. Be sure to include any relevant personal or work experiences, particularly if they do not appear elsewhere in your application. Somewhere in the essay, perhaps towards the end, you should consider pointing out why the specific institution is a good match for you.

The Difference between Professional Schools (Medical, Law, Business) and Graduate Schools:

While graduate school committees certainly expect well-written, thoughtful essays, they are looking for different content from their applicants. For graduate schools, that will likely be funding your education for the next 2-6 years, they want to know about your specific qualifications in your field. In other words, you should spend most of your essay explaining your interest, research experience, and disciplinary goals. Be sure that you research the school well to determine whether your interests align with those of a faculty member. Not only must you convince a committee that you are a qualified applicant, but you must also convince them (and probably also a particular professor) that your interests match the needs of the department; after all, they are about to invest a substantial amount of money and time in your education. With this in mind, limit the personal anecdotes and extracurricular interests to those that pertain directly to your field of interest or career goals.

Audience and Voice

As we've suggested already, it's important to keep your audience in mind as your write your personal essay. While the admissions committee appreciates creative essays, they also know all the tricks. After all, many of them have been reading thousands of applications for decades. So, make yourself stand out, but donat' write what you think the committee wants to hear. First of all, they've heard all that before. Second, they can see through your attempts to please. The most successful essays are those in which the author is honest and genuine. The best advice we can give you is simply to be yourself. That also means paying some attention to voice, or the personality behind your writing. While your high school English teacher may have gone ballistic when you used the first person, you should not be afraid of using "I" in your personal statement. This essay should not be a dry, academic essay, but neither should it be one stand-up comic routine; instead, you should strive for a balance between the two. Admissions committees also complain that many students try excessively hard to create an entertaining voice or write what they deem sophisticated prose. Often, these attempts backfire, making the essay sound contrived and flowery. You can avoid these pitfalls simply by being yourself.

Goals

Forecasting your goals for a career you've not even begun can prove a daunting task, but most admissions committees expect you to do just that. Remember that while they may expect you to complete this unwieldy task, no one is going to hold you to the goals you outline in your personal statement. In fact, committees are really just using this portion of your essay to gauge your motivation, knowledge of the field, and commitment to the course of study. Above all, they want to know that you have carefully considered your reasons for pursuing a graduate degree and the career it eventually makes possible. For many students, this is one of the most difficult portions of the essay to write. Before launching into this section (or any part of the essay, for that matter), you should take some time for self-reflection. Most committees are impressed by essays that express not only motivation and intelligence (your grades can show that as well), but also thoughfulness, maturity, and self-awareness.

Grammar and Writing Tips:

Using proper grammar will not impress the committee, but making errors, overlooking typos, and failing to proofread will severely hurt your chances for admission. Be sure that you spend time revising your essay. See links to grammar and revision tips for useful strategies.
This handout was written and edited by Writing Center staff, with the help of UVa undergraduates, George Garrison, Krista Lindgren, Tejal Suthar, and Mike Tilley.