Writing a Personal Statement for University: Your Career Goals
A personal statement is a very important aspect of getting into the right university. College and university admissions panels see thousands of applications each year. Yes, they look at the numbers with grades, extracurricular activities and test scores, but what will really set you apart is a great personal statement that highlights not only your personality but also your dedication to attaining a degree that will start you on your way to fulfilling your long term career goals.
- Start by answering each of the questions posed in the application with clear, well thought out and concise full sentence answers. If you ignore even one question that will show a lack of attention to details and automatically be rejected.
- While you are answering the questions describe things like reflections, personal lessons and evens what you gained from whatever you may have accomplished.
- If you encountered any obstacles to achieving your goals then explain what you did to overcome them as well as any lessons that you took away from the situation.
- Anything that you learned or developed from your achievements should be highlighted. These could include initiative, leadership skills or even personal insights.
- Discuss in detail why you are choosing your major and what it will mean in terms of helping you achieve you long term career goals. Also describe any obstacles that you might encounter as well as what you will do to overcome them and reach those goals.
- Make sure that you proofread it before you print it out or send it off. Although spelling and grammar are not graded per se, it will be taken into account and reflect badly on you if there are spelling, punctuation or grammar errors in the personal statement.
Above all with your personal statement remember that it is personal. It is about you, not about a robot without thoughts and feelings. There is no person on earth who has not suffered through some sort of hardship or disappointment. There is no one on earth who has not experienced joy just once in their life. Remember that and your personal statement will get you a long way. Be honest about your hopes and dreams. The more open you are about these things the better it will reflect on you and influence the admissions panel of the school that you are trying to gain entrance too.
