How to write an effective personal statement

Name: How to write an effective personal statement
Rating: 4.2 (32 reviews)

How to assure that your personal statement becomes the centerpiece of your application.

Created byRaymond Coughlin

Last updated 5/2019

English

What you'll learn

how to write an effective personal statement

Course content

2 sections • 18 lectures • 2h 15m total length

Where we are heading: what constitutes a great personal statement8:01
An introduction to our three-step process of writing a great personal statement
Your personal statement potential is HUGE3:59
Why is your personal statement a crucial piece of your application process?
How many programs will read your personal statement attentively?8:43
Understanding the application process is paramount.
A majority of programs: your personal statement is crucial4:34
A majority of programs will be acutely interested in who you are.
Consider two perspectives: yours and the admission directors'6:54
This is why it is so beneficial to spend time and energy on writing your personal statement.

View the process from two perspectives7:39
View the process from your perspective and from the admission directors' and identify specific characteristics of your audience.
Your ultimate goal9:06
Your ultimate goal is to convince your reader to become your advocate and to do that you must create a Golden Nugget.
Apply GROW: Generate5:59
Learn how to generate those important ideas and resist the urge to wordsmith too early.
Writing--especially personal statements--is storytelling.7:59
Your story is precisely what your reader is looking for; a clear, concise, confident expression of your Golden Nugget, it is the logical flow that she is looking for.
Generate: a specific example6:48
A specific example of how to generate effective ideas, both general characteristics and, most importantly, your individual stories.
Relate: how to connect and link your ideas to create a flow of logic10:36
Linking your ideas is crucial in order to write a clear and concise essay; without links your essay is in danger of becoming a hodgepodge of ideas that will defeat the entire purpose of the essay.
Transitions and Segues4:59
Transitions and segues are the glue that holds your essay together, giving it a logical, easy to follow path toward your Golden Nugget that convinces your reader that you are special.
Organize6:36
When you string a concrete set of segues, specifically linking each paragraph to the following one, you have an organization that will impress your reader.
Analyze your transitions and segues8:53
Here is a set of strategies to ensure that your all-important segues lead your reader cleverly and subtly to your Golden Nugget.
Wordsmith5:42
Now you are ready to write your paragraphs, keeping them simple and concise, ever leading to your Golden Nugget and allowing your reader to spend just a few meaningful minutes to appreciate not only who you are but how well you can write (and therefore how well you can think).
A specific example9:21
On the surface, Erin had several problems with her application to medical school, but her exemplary personal statement not only got her into some prestigious programs but also got her significant aid. Here is how she planned her essay.
Erin's segues9:46
See how Erin cleverly led her reader from one key idea to the next, always keeping her Golden Nugget in mind.
Erin's Golden Nugget9:56
How does Erin's entire essay hover around, without concretely stating it, her Golden Nugget, inviting, almost compelling her reader to think of it as her own idea, her conclusion from reading Erin's superb essay?

Requirements

none

Description

Congratulations. Since you are about to write a personal statement it means that you have excelled at your academic career and are ready to reach the next level. I’ve helped hundreds of students to write their personal statements and I know writing a great personal statement is difficult, but I can show you how to skillfully pull it off—and get a boost of self-esteem to boot. I first want to convince you of the importance of the personal statement in your application process; most students don’t understand the huge role it plays. Then I’ll show you who precisely is your audience, who specifically you are trying to impress. Then I’ll take you through my three-step process that will convince you to take the time and energy to insure that you create an outstanding essay.

Who this course is for:

college students

How to write an effective personal statement

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction5 lectures • 32min

Our Three-Step Process13 lectures • 1hr 43min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: