Personal Statement 附件 通识课.docx

Personal Statement 附件 通识课.docx

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PersonalStatement附件通识课

PersonalStatement/StatementofPurpose

Writing

Thepersonalstatement,youropportunitytosellyourselfintheapplicationprocess,generallyfallsintooneoftwocategories:

1.Thegeneral,comprehensivepersonalstatement:

Thisallowsyoumaximumfreedomintermsofwhatyouwriteandisthetypeofstatementoftenpreparedforstandardmedicalorlawschoolapplicationforms.

2.Theresponsetoveryspecificquestions:

Often,businessandgraduateschoolapplicationsaskspecificquestions,andyourstatementshouldrespondspecificallytothequestionbeingasked.Somebusinessschoolapplicationsfavormultipleessays,typicallyaskingforresponsestothreeormorequestions.

Questionstoaskyourselfbeforeyouwrite:

∙What'sspecial,unique,distinctive,and/orimpressiveaboutyouoryourlifestory?

∙Whatdetailsofyourlife（personalorfamilyproblems,history,peopleoreventsthathaveshapedyouorinfluencedyourgoals）mighthelpthecommitteebetterunderstandyouorhelpsetyouapartfromotherapplicants?

∙Whendidyoubecomeinterestedinthisfieldandwhathaveyoulearnedaboutit（andaboutyourself）thathasfurtherstimulatedyourinterestandreinforcedyourconvictionthatyouarewellsuitedtothisfield?

Whatinsightshaveyougained?

∙Howhaveyoulearnedaboutthisfield—throughclasses,readings,seminars,workorotherexperiences,orconversationswithpeoplealreadyinthefield?

∙Ifyouhaveworkedalotduringyourcollegeyears,whathaveyoulearned（leadershipormanagerialskills,forexample）,andhowhasthatworkcontributedtoyourgrowth?

∙Whatareyourcareergoals?

∙Arethereanygapsordiscrepanciesinyouracademicrecordthatyoushouldexplain（greatgradesbutmediocreLSATorGREscores,forexample,oradistinctupwardpatterntoyourGPAifitwasonlyaverageinthebeginning）?

∙Haveyouhadtoovercomeanyunusualobstaclesorhardships（forexample,economic,familial,orphysical）inyourlife?

∙Whatpersonalcharacteristics（forexample,integrity,compassion,and/orpersistence）doyoupossessthatwouldimproveyourprospectsforsuccessinthefieldorprofession?

Isthereawaytodemonstrateordocumentthatyouhavethesecharacteristics?

∙Whatskills（forexample,leadership,communicative,analytical）doyoupossess?

∙Whymightyoubeastrongercandidateforgraduateschool—andmoresuccessfulandeffectiveintheprofessionorfieldthanotherapplicants?

∙Whatarethemostcompellingreasonsyoucangivefortheadmissionscommitteetobeinterestedinyou?

Generaladvice

Answerthequestionsthatareasked

∙Ifyouareapplyingtoseveralschools,youmayfindquestionsineachapplicationthataresomewhatsimilar.

∙Don'tbetemptedtousethesamestatementforallapplications.Itisimportanttoanswereachquestionbeingasked,andifslightlydifferentanswersareneeded,youshouldwriteseparatestatements.Ineverycase,besureyouranswerfitsthequestionbeingasked.

Tellastory

∙Thinkintermsofshowingordemonstratingthroughconcreteexperience.Oneoftheworstthingsyoucandoistoboretheadmissionscommittee.Ifyourstatementisfresh,lively,anddifferent,you'llbeputtingyourselfaheadofthepack.Ifyoudistinguishyourselfthroughyourstory,youwillmakeyourselfmemorable.

Bespecific

∙Don't,forexample,statethatyouwouldmakeanexcellentdoctorunlessyoucanbackitupwithspecificreasons.Yourdesiretobecomealawyer,engineer,orwhatevershouldbelogical,theresultofspecificexperiencethatisdescribedinyourstatement.Yourapplicationshouldemergeasthelogicalconclusiontoyourstory.

Findanangle

∙Ifyou'relikemostpeople,yourlifestorylacksdrama,sofiguringoutawaytomakeitinterestingbecomesthebigchallenge.Findinganangleora"hook"isvital.

Concentrateonyouropeningparagraph

∙Theleadoropeningparagraphisgenerallythemostimportant.Itisherethatyougrabthereader'sattentionorloseit.Thisparagraphbecomestheframeworkfortherestofthestatement.

Tellwhatyouknow

∙Themiddlesectionofyouressaymightdetailyourinterestandexperienceinyourparticularfield,aswellassomeofyourknowledgeofthefield.Toomanypeoplegraduatewithlittleornoknowledgeofthenutsandboltsoftheprofessionorfieldtheyhopetoenter.Beasspecificasyoucaninrelatingwhatyouknowaboutthefieldandusethelanguageprofessionalsuseinconveyingthisinformation.Refertoexperiences（work,research,etc.）,classes,conversationswithpeopleinthefield,booksyou'veread,seminarsyou'veattended,oranyothersourceofspecificinformationaboutthecareeryouwantandwhyyou'resuitedtoit.Sinceyouwillhavetoselectwhatyouincludeinyourstatement,thechoicesyoumakeareoftenanindicationofyourjudgment.

Don'tincludesomesubjects

∙Therearecertainthingsbestleftoutofpersonalstatements.Forexample,referencestoexperiencesoraccomplishmentsinhighschoolorearlieraregenerallynotagoodidea.Don'tmentionpotentiallycontroversialsubjects（forexample,controversialreligiousorpoliticalissues）.

Dosomeresearch,ifneeded

∙Ifaschoolwantstoknowwhyyou'reapplyingtoitratherthananotherschool,dosomeresearchtofindoutwhatsetsyourchoiceapartfromotheruniversitiesorprograms.Iftheschoolsettingwouldprovideanimportantgeographicalorculturalchangeforyou,thismightbeafactortomention.

Writewellandcorrectly

∙Bemeticulous.Typeandproofreadyouressayverycarefully.Manyadmissionsofficerssaythatgoodwrittenskillsandcommandofcorrectuseoflanguageareimportanttothemastheyreadthesestatements.Expressyourselfclearlyandconcisely.Adheretostatedwordlimits.

Avoidclichés

∙Amedicalschoolapplicantwhowritesthatheisgoodatscienceandwantstohelpotherpeopleisnotexactlyexpressinganoriginalthought.Stayawayfromoften-repeatedortiredstatements.

ExamplesofSuccessfulStatements

Statement#1

Myinterestinsciencedatesbacktomyyearsinhighschool,whereIexcelledinphysics,chemistry,andmath.WhenIwasasenior,Itookafirst-yearcalculuscourseatalocalcollege（suchanadvanced-levelclasswasnotavailableinhighschool）andearnedanA.ItseemedonlylogicalthatIpursueacareerinelectricalengineering.

WhenIbeganmyundergraduatecareer,Ihadtheopportunitytobeexposedtothefullrangeofengineeringcourses,allofwhichtendedtoreinforceandsolidifymyintenseinterestinengineering.I'vealsohadtheopportunitytostudyanumberofsubjectsinthehumanitiesandtheyhavebeenbothenjoyableandenlightening,providingmewithanewanddifferentperspectiveontheworldinwhichwelive.

Intherealmofengineering,Ihavedevelopedaspecialinterestinthefieldoflasertechnologyandhaveevenbeentakingagraduatecourseinquantumelectronics.Amongthe25orsostudentsinthecourse,Iamthesoleundergraduate.Anotherparticularinterestofmineiselectromagnetics,andlastsummer,whenIwasatechnicalassistantataworld-famouslocallab,Ilearnedaboutitsmanypracticalapplications,especiallyinrelationtomicrostripandantennadesign.ManagementatthislabwassufficientlyimpressedwithmyworktoaskthatIreturnwhenIgraduate.Ofcourse,myplansfollowingcompletionofmycurrentstudiesaretomovedirectlyintograduateworktowardmymaster'sinscience.AfterIearnmymaster'sdegree,IintendtostartworkonmyPh.D.inelectricalengineering.LaterIwouldliketoworkintheareaofresearchanddevelopmentforprivateindustry.ItisinR&DthatIbelieveIcanmakethegreatestcontribution,utilizingmytheoreticalbackgroundandcreativityasascientist.

Iamhighlyawareofthesuperbreputationofyourschool,andmyconversationswithseveralofyouralumnihaveservedtodeepenmyinterestinattending.Iknowthat,inadditiontoyourexcellentfaculty,yourcomputerfacilitiesareamongthebestinthestate.Ihopeyouwillgivemetheprivilegeofcontinuingmystudiesatyourfineinstitution.

（Stelzerpp.38-39）

Statement#2

Havingmajoredinliterarystudies（worldliterature）asanundergraduate,IwouldnowliketoconcentrateonEnglishandAmericanliterature.

Iamespeciallyinterestedinnineteenth-centuryliterature,women'sliterature,Anglo-Saxonpoetry,andfolkloreandfolkliterature.Mypersonalliteraryprojectshaveinvolvedsomecombinationofthesesubjects.Fortheoralsectionofmycomprehensiveexams,Ispecializedinnineteenthcenturynovelsbyandaboutwomen.Therelationshipbetween"high"andfolkliteraturebecamethesubjectformyhonorsessay,whichexaminedToniMorrison'suseofclassical,biblical,African,andAfro-Americanfolktraditioninhernovel.Iplantoworkfurtheronthisessay,treatingMorrison'sothernovelsandperhapspreparingapapersuitableforpublication.

Inmystudiestowardadoctoraldegree,Ihopetoexaminemorecloselytherelationshipbetweenhighandfolkliterature.MyjunioryearandprivatestudiesofAnglo-Saxonlanguageandliteraturehavecausedmetoconsiderthequestionofwherethedivisionsbetweenfolklore,folkliterature,andhighliteraturelie.ShouldIattendyourschool,IwouldliketoresumemystudiesofAnglo-Saxonpoetry,withspecialattentiontoitsfolkelements.

Writingpoetryalsofiguresprominentlyinmyacademicandprofessionalgoals.Ihavejustbegunsubmittingtothesmallerjournalswithsomesuccessandamgraduallybuildingaworkingmanuscriptforacollection.Thedominantthemeofthiscollectionreliesonpoemsthatdrawfromclassical,biblical,andfolktraditions,aswellasev