start personal statement with a quote

100 Quotes to Kickstart Your Personal Statement (with examples)

by Talha Omer, MBA, M.Eng., Harvard & Cornell Grad

In personal statement tips & advice.

Starting your personal statement for university admissions can be a daunting task. It’s the first thing the admissions committee will read about you, and it needs to capture your unique voice, experiences, and aspirations in just a few words. So, where do you begin?

One effective way to start is with a powerful quote that reflects your values, interests, or goals.  

A great quote can set the tone for your essay, grab the reader’s attention, and showcase your personality and potential. In this blog post, I’ll explore quotes that you can draw from. I’ll also provide a couple of examples where successful candidates used quotes to begin their personal statements.

To make the process of selecting the perfect quote for your personal statement even easier, I’ve organized the list into categories that are common themes in personal statements. Whether you’re seeking to showcase your resilience, or creativity, I’ve got you covered with a range of quotes that can help you stand out from the crowd.  

In this Article

• Inspirational Quotes for personal statement 

Leadership Quotes for personal statement

Personal growth quotes for personal statement, academic quotes for personal statement, professional quotes for personal statement, cultural quotes for personal statement, creative quotes for personal statement, perseverance quotes for personal statement, inspirational quotes for personal statement  .

Inspirational quotes can be a great way to show your motivation, resilience, and determination. They can also help you communicate your values and beliefs and demonstrate your commitment to achieving your goals.

• “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
• “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
• “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs
• “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky
• “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – Jimmy Dean
• “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” – Maya Angelou
• “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
• “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.” – Malcolm X
• “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
• “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis 

Here is an example opening paragraph of a personal statement where the candidate used an inspirational quote to begin:

As a lifelong learner and problem-solver, I’ve always been drawn to the field of artificial intelligence. But it wasn’t until I read a quote by Alan Turing that I truly appreciated the transformative potential of this field: ‘We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.’ These words resonated with me deeply, and I realized that the possibilities of artificial intelligence are limited only by our imaginations and our willingness to take risks. Throughout my academic and professional journey, I’ve sought out opportunities to push the boundaries of what’s possible, from pursuing advanced degrees in computer science to working on cutting-edge research projects. Through these experiences, I’ve learned the importance of collaboration, innovation, and perseverance in tackling the toughest challenges facing our world today. And as I look forward to contributing to the field of artificial intelligence, I’m inspired by the limitless potential of this technology and committed to using it to make a positive impact on society.

Leadership quotes can help you showcase your ability to lead and inspire others, and your commitment to making a positive impact in your community. They can also demonstrate your understanding of the importance of teamwork, communication, and collaboration, which are essential skills in many fields of study and careers.

• “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” – John C. Maxwell
• “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” – John F. Kennedy
• “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
• “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” – Ronald Reagan
• “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
• “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” – Warren Bennis
• “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” – Peter Drucker
• “The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” – Jim Rohn
• “The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.” – Tony Blair
• “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” – Ralph Nader

Here is an example opening paragraph of a personal statement where the candidate used a leadership quote to begin:

As an aspiring business leader, I am always striving to develop the qualities and characteristics that will enable me to make a positive impact in my chosen field. To me, leadership is not just about achieving success, but also about helping others to reach their full potential. That’s why I find inspiration in the words of former U.S. President John Quincy Adams, who once said, ‘If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.’ This quote captures the essence of what I believe it means to be a leader – to inspire, to guide, and to empower others to achieve their goals. I am committed to embodying these qualities as I pursue my education and career in business, with the goal of making a meaningful difference in the lives of those around me.

Personal growth is a lifelong process of learning, self-discovery, and personal development, and it’s an important aspect of personal and academic success. Using a personal growth quote in your personal statement can demonstrate your commitment to self-improvement, your willingness to learn and grow, and your ability to overcome challenges and setbacks.

• “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela
• “Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.” – W. Clement Stone
• “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas A. Edison
• “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss
• “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain
• “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas A. Edison
• “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
• “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” – Epictetus

These quotes can be particularly relevant for students who have excelled academically, or who are interested in pursuing a career in academia or research. Academic quotes can be used to demonstrate your knowledge, and intellectual curiosity, as well as your ability to think critically and engage with complex ideas. They can also show your dedication to your field of study and your commitment to academic excellence.

• “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
• “The aim of education is the knowledge, not of facts, but of values.” – William S. Burroughs
• “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” – W.B. Yeats
• “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X
• “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” – Socrates
• “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela
• “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” – B.B. King
• “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” – John Dewey
• “Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
• “Education is the movement from darkness to light.” – Allan Bloom 

These quotes can be used to demonstrate your understanding and passion for your chosen field, as well as your commitment to excellence and professionalism. They can also be used to highlight specific skills or achievements that you have acquired in your professional pursuits, such as teamwork, problem-solving, or leadership.

• “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” – Confucius
• “Success in business requires training and discipline and hard work. But if you’re not frightened by these things, the opportunities are just as great today as they ever were.” – David Rockefeller
• “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.” – Colin Powell
• “Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.” – Chris Grosser
• “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker
• “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

These quotes can help you showcase your appreciation and understanding of cultural diversity, your willingness to learn from different perspectives, and your interest in contributing to the global community. They can also be used to highlight any experiences or achievements that you have had in cultural immersion, cross-cultural communication, or intercultural exchange.  

• “No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive.” – Mahatma Gandhi
• “Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.” – Jawaharlal Nehru
• “Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers.” – Paulo Coelho
• “Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.” – Rita Mae Brown
• “Culture is not a luxury, but a necessity for every society.” – Pearl S. Buck
• “Culture is the arts elevated to a set of beliefs.” – Thomas Wolfe
• “Culture is the sum total of all the things that make a society distinctive.” – Clifford Geertz
• “The beauty of culture is that it evolves through time and generations, shaping our values and beliefs.” – Chinua Achebe
• “The richness of our culture reflects the diversity of our people.” – Unknown
• “Culture is the window reflecting the soul of a nation.” – Wang Meng

They can also be used if you want to showcase your ability to think outside the box or to approach problems in a creative and innovative way, regardless of your field of study.

• “Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought.” – Albert Einstein
• “The creative adult is the child who survived.” – Ursula K. Le Guin
• “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath
• “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” – Albert Einstein
• “Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse
• “To be creative means to be in love with life.” – Osho
• “The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.” – Julia Cameron
• “The chief enemy of creativity is ‘good’ sense.” – Pablo Picasso
• “Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye.” – Dorothy Parker
• “Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.” – Albert Einstein

Perseverance is a universal quality that is admired by all, and demonstrating a strong work ethic and determination to overcome challenges can be valuable in any academic or professional setting. Whether you have overcome personal obstacles or worked hard to achieve academic or professional success, using a perseverance quote can be a powerful way to convey your resilience and determination to admissions committees.  

• “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison
• “I have failed again and again throughout my life. That’s why I am a success.” – Michael Jordan
• “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” – Walter Elliot
• “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan
• “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe
• “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” – Christian D. Larson
• “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison
• “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” – Japanese Proverb
• “The only thing that stands between you and your dream is the story you keep telling yourself that you can’t achieve it.” – Jordan Belfort
• “Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.” – Newt Gingrich
• I hope these quotes provide some inspiration and ideas for your personal statement! Remember, choose quotes that speak to you personally and help showcase your unique strengths and qualities to the admissions committee.

Selecting the right quote to begin your personal statement can be a powerful tool to help you stand out in the admissions process. By choosing a quote that resonates with you and reflects your unique qualities and aspirations, you can set the tone for your personal statement and make a memorable first impression on the admissions team.

Whether you choose a quote about perseverance, leadership, or anything else, make sure it authentically represents who you are and what you hope to achieve. With these inspiring quotes as your guide, you’ll be one step closer to crafting a personal statement that showcases your strengths, character, and potential.

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How to Write a Personal Statement

A personal statement can be a key part of your college application, and you can really make yours shine by following a few tips.

When you're applying to college—either to an undergraduate or graduate program—you may be asked to submit a personal statement. It's an essay that gives you the chance to share more about who you are and why you'd like to attend the university you're applying to.  

The information you provide in your personal statement can help build on your other application materials, like your transcripts and letters of recommendation, and build a more cohesive picture to help the admissions committee understand your goals.

In this article, we'll go over more about personal statements, including why they're important, what to include in one, and tips for strengthening yours.

What is a personal statement?

A personal statement—sometimes known as a college essay —is a brief written essay you submit with other materials when applying to college or university. Personal statements tend to be most common for undergraduate applications, and they're a great opportunity for an admissions committee to hear your voice directly.

Many colleges and universities in the US, especially those using Common App , provide prompts for you to use. For example, "Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea" or "Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time" [ 1 ]. If the school you're interested in attending doesn't require prompts, you will likely want to craft a response that touches on your story, your values, and your goals if possible.

In grad school, personal statements are sometimes known as letters of intent , and go into more detail about your academic and professional background, while expressing interest in attending the particular program you're applying to.

Why is a personal statement important?

Personal statements are important for a number of reasons. Whereas other materials you submit in an application can address your academic abilities (like your transcripts) or how you perform as a student (like your letters of recommendation), a personal statement is a chance to do exactly that: get more personal.

Personal statements typically:

Permit you to share things that don't fit on your resume, such as personal stories, motivations, and values

Offer schools a chance to see why you're interested in a particular field of study and what you hope to accomplish after you graduate 

Provide an opportunity for you to talk about past employment, volunteer experiences, or skills you have that complement your studies 

Allow colleges to evaluate your writing skills 

Bring life to a college application package otherwise filled with facts and figures 

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How to write a personal statement.

As we mentioned earlier, you may have to respond to a prompt when drafting your personal statement—or a college or university may invite you to respond however you'd like. In either case, use the steps below to begin building your response.

Create a solid hook .

To capture the attention of an admissions committee member, start your personal statement with a hook that relates to the topic of your essay. A hook tends to be a colorful sentence or two at the very beginning that compels the reader to continue reading.

To create a captivating hook, try one of these methods:

Pose a rhetorical question. 

Provide an interesting statistic. 

Insert a quote from a well-known person.

Challenge the reader with a common misconception. 

Use an anecdote, which is a short story that can be true or imaginary. 

Credibility is crucial when writing a personal statement as part of your college application process. If you choose a statistic, quote, or misconception for your hook, make sure it comes from a reliable source.

Follow a narrative.

The best personal statements typically read like a story: they have a common theme, as well as a beginning, middle, and end. This type of format also helps keep your thoughts organized and improves the flow of your essay.

Common themes to consider for your personal statement include:

Special role models from your past

Life-altering events you've experienced

Unusual challenges you've faced

Accomplishments you're especially proud of

Service to others and why you enjoy it

What you've learned from traveling to a particular place

Unique ways you stand out from other candidates

Be specific.

Admissions committees read thousands of personal statements every year, which is why being specific on yours is important. Back up your statements with examples or anecdotes.

For instance, avoid vague assertions like, "I'm interested in your school counseling program because I care about children." Instead, point out experiences you've had with children that emphasize how much you care. For instance, you might mention your summer job as a day camp counselor or your volunteer experience mentoring younger children.

Don't forget to include detail and vibrancy to keep your statement interesting. The use of detail shows how your unique voice and experiences can add value to the college or university you're applying to.

Stay on topic.

It's natural to want to impress the members of the admissions committee who will read your personal statement. The best way to do this is to lead your readers through a cohesive, informative, and descriptive essay.

If you feel you might be going astray, ensure each paragraph in your essay's body supports your introduction. Here are a few more strategies that can help keep you on track:

Know what you want to say and do research if needed. 

Create an outline listing the key points you want to share.

Read your outline aloud to confirm it makes logical sense before proceeding. 

Read your essay aloud while you're writing to confirm you're staying on topic.

Ask a trusted friend or family member to read your essay and make suggestions.

Be true to your own voice.

Because of the importance of your personal statement, you could be tempted to be very formal with structure and language. However, using a more relaxed tone is better than you would for a classroom writing assignment. 

Remember: admissions committees really want to hear from you . Writing in your own voice will help accomplish this. To ensure your tone isn't too relaxed, write your statement as if you were speaking to an older relative or trusted teacher. This way, you'll come across as respectful, confident, and honest.

Tips for drafting an effective personal statement.

Now that you've learned a little about personal statements and how to craft them, here are a few more tips you can follow to strengthen your essay:

1. Customize your statement.

You don't have to completely rewrite your personal statement every time you apply to a new college, but you want to make sure you tailor it as much as possible. For instance, if you talk about wanting to take a certain class or study a certain subject, make sure you adjust any specifics for each application.

2. Avoid cliches.

Admissions committees are ultimately looking for students who will fit the school, and who the school can help guide toward their larger goals. In that case, cliches can get in the way of a reviewer understanding what it is you want from a college education. Watch out for cliches like "making a difference," "broadening my horizons," or "the best thing that ever happened to me."

3. Stay focused.

Try to avoid getting off-track or including tangents in your personal statement. Stay focused by writing a first draft and then re-reading what you've written. Does every paragraph flow from one point to the next? Are the ideas you're presenting cohesive?

4. Stick to topics that aren't controversial.

It's best not to discuss political beliefs or inappropriate topics in your essay. These can be controversial; ideally, you want to share something goals- or values-driven with an admissions committee.

Polish your writing skills on Coursera.

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Article sources

1. Common App. " 2022-2023 Common App Essay Prompts , https://www.commonapp.org/blog/2022-2023-common-app-essay-prompts." Accessed January 9, 2024.

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Home › University › How To Write A Personal Statement? 10 Tips + Student Questions Answered › How To Start A Personal Statement: Tips & Examples

How To Start A Personal Statement: Tips & Examples

• Published January 20, 2023

We’re regularly asked the question “ how to start a personal statement ”? It’s a challenging task for anybody but worry not as we’re here to help guide you through the process. 

The introduction is the first thing the admissions committee will read. That’s why the first sentence of a personal statement should be a catchy, attention-grabbing hook or story that grabs the reader’s attention and sets up the main point of your essay.

A lacklustre introduction may lose your readers’ interest, preventing them from reading the rest of your personal statement!

But don’t worry, this article will guide you on writing a personal statement introduction, a few examples of opening sentences and how to captivate the admissions tutors. Without further ado, let’s get started.

Top Tip: Leave Your Introduction For Last

You know what they say, the hardest thing to do is  start . So skip the introduction for now and focus on the main body of your personal statement. If you’re not sure what your main content should be, read out how to write a personal statement guide.

After nailing down the main points, you’ll have a concrete idea of how your introduction can captivate the reader and stay relevant to the bulk of the writing. Go ahead and work on the rest of your personal statement.

Come back when you’re finished! And if you’re worried about your conclusion then check out our advice on  personal statement conclusions .

2. Cut To The Chase

You only have  4,000 characters  to sell yourself as an ideal student candidate. Make each character and paragraph count! That means forget about flowery words and directionless statements. When you start your personal statement, explain your motivations for choosing your course in one or two sentences.

Although you will discuss this in-depth in the main body of content, capturing your reader’s attention with a quick overview of why you’re enthusiastic about your chosen course is crucial. That’s why capturing the reader’s attention by jumping straight to the point is key to starting a personal statement.

3. Be Specific

Never give vague details when expressing why you want to pursue your course. “I always wanted to be an engineer since I was a kid,” or “I want to become a doctor because I enjoy science” isn’t advised. 

On that note, if you’re applying to medicine refer to our guide on  how to write a medical personal statement . We suggest being more specific than that, and you can include your academic achievements too. Here are a few suggestions that may help you:

• You witnessed an inspirational figure in your life solve a massive problem with a specific skill set (doctor, engineer, etc.)
• While you were at a charity event, you encountered a problem that kept people in deprivation. By pursuing this course, you’re a part of the solution.
• You’re good at, and you enjoy a specific skill set. The course you’re eyeing puts great emphasis on this particular skill.
• There was a moment in your life when you succeeded in solving a problem. You felt significant by doing so, and you want to keep doing that for the rest of your life (teaching poor children how to read)
• You watched a movie or read a book that ignited your passion for the course. After doing volunteer work or part-time employment related to your course, you’re determined to pursue it.

Craft a sentence or two that encapsulates the core of your “why.” Do this, and your reader will want to read more!

4. Demonstrate Knowledge In Your Chosen Course

An essential element of starting a personal statement is to express why you’re enthusiastic about taking your chosen course. You need to demonstrate that you’re aware of what you’re getting yourself into in the process. Answer any of these prompt questions for inspiration:

• What do you find interesting about the course?
• How do you believe the course will help you achieve your goals?
• How will you use your chosen course to contribute to society?
• What hurdles do you expect to encounter, and how will you handle them?

Decide which of these questions fits best into the main content of your  personal statement . Write your answer in a sentence or two, weave them into your application essay and think about the help you received from your tutors in the past.

5. Ditch The “Since I Was A Child” Line

We’re often asked  what not to put in a personal statement  and “Since I was a child” is a cliche statement that gets thrown around haphazardly. How many students have said this at least once in their personal statements?

Recalling your childhood passions is a weak “why” for pursuing your course. Why? Because the admissions committee is looking for a relevant and up-to-date reason.

When you were little, you had zero knowledge and little enthusiasm to become successful in your field. You had no idea what skillsets you needed or what other options were available to you.

But if you were to cite a recent event in your life that supports your determination to pursue your course, that screams “educated choice” right there. And  that  is what the admission committee is looking for after reading hundreds, if not thousands of introductions.

6. Brainstorm Several Versions Of Your Opening Lines

The desire to get it right the first time paralyses you from starting. So permit yourself to write freely. Write as many versions of your opening lines as possible.

Don’t worry about the grammar, spelling, or character count just yet. Type everything that goes off the top of your head. When you’re done, take a look at your list.

Cross out the ones you dislike, and encircle the ones you think have potential. Then start piecing the puzzle pieces together to check out if the intro lines fit with the rest of your personal statement. 

If you’ve found three potential opening statements, try reading them aloud together with the rest of your personal statement. Do they flow seamlessly into one another? Make the necessary adjustments. Play around with it until you feel you’ve hit the spot.

7. Make Your Opening Statement Error Free

Your opening statement is your hook line. Spelling or grammatical errors at the start discourage your reader from reading further. If you have errors at the beginning, you’ll most likely have them in your main content!

So make sure your English is simple, flawless, and straightforward. Run your personal statement through a tool like Grammarly to weed out most of the errors.

The Hemingway app is also a helpful tool for checking for passive voice and other writing problems. Take advantage of writing assistant tools, especially if you’re a non-native English writer.

8. Read Examples Of Personal Statements

Read as many personal statement examples as you can. Any that captivated you, keep them in your notes. Figure out  why  these statements stood out to you compared to the others. What elements can you place in  your  personal statement?

When reading personal statements that put you off, find out why. What characteristics do they have that elicit a negative reaction from you? List them down, and make sure you avoid them.

After this exercise, you should have a few more ideas about your personal statement introduction.

9. Ask For Feedback

Never underestimate what feedback can give you. Ask your family, friends, and acquaintances about your opening statement. Does your personality shine through? Is it straight to the point? Does it flow smoothly with the main content of your personal statement?

Listen to what they have to say. Jot down important points. You’ll need their feedback to get a second opinion on whether it works for you or not.

10. Give Yourself Time

Your chosen career depends on your college education. And a first crucial step is to convince the admission committee you’re worth accepting into your university. You have to give your personal statement your best shot. Give yourself enough time to brainstorm and think everything over.

You can’t finish a complete,  well-written personal statement  in a week. Much less overnight!

So make sure you set aside enough time to put your best foot forward. After finishing a complete draft of your personal statement, put it down. Forget about it for a few days. Then come back and reread it.

With a fresh set of eyes, you’ll notice details you may not have seen before! Revise as much as you need.

Do I Need To Write An Introduction For A Personal Statement?

Yes, we recommend writing an introduction for your personal statement as it provides context to the rest of your writing. The introduction is an opportunity to make a good first impression and capture the university admissions officer’s attention.

What is a good opening sentence for a personal statement?

Here are some examples of a good opening sentence for a captivating introduction. Note how it ties into the university degree almost straight away with first-hand experience:

• “Growing up in a small town with limited resources sparked my curiosity and drive to pursue higher education and make a positive impact in my community.”
• “From a young age, I have been fascinated by the intricacies of the human mind and the power of psychology to improve people’s lives.”
• “As a first-generation college student, I am determined to break barriers and pave the way for future generations through a career in law.”
• “My passion for sustainable design was ignited by a volunteer trip to a developing country, where I witnessed the devastating effects of environmental degradation firsthand.”
• “A chance encounter with a blind person and their guide dog inspired me to pursue a career in veterinary medicine, with the goal of improving the lives of animals and their human companions.”

Please do NOT use these in your personal statements, use these to guide you on how you want to start your personal statement.

Can You Open Your Personal Statement With A Quote?

It is a risky move to open your personal statement with a quote and can come across as clichéd or insincere to the university admission officers. However, there are rare occasions when it can work, just make sure the quote relates to your degree and experience you’re writing about.

Get Ready To Write Your Personal Statement

How does one start a captivating personal statement? Take the time to think about what makes an effective introduction.

Read examples of personal statements from other students to glean ideas for how yours might stand out. Once you have read through some good ones, they should be more than just two or three!–look closely at what elements made them so successful. 

Then try applying those same principles on how to start a personal statement! Don’t forget to bookmark this post for future reference.

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101 Inspirational Quotes for Personal Statements: Crafting Your Personal Story

In this article, we’ve compiled a list of inspirational quotes to help you write a compelling and inspiring personal statement that showcases your unique qualities, experiences, and aspirations. From words of wisdom to motivational reminders, these quotes are perfect for inspiring you to stay authentic, embrace self-care, and tell your story with confidence. So, if you’re looking to create a personal statement that stands out and gets noticed or know someone who is, keep reading for 101 uplifting quotes that will inspire and empower you to craft a statement that reflects the best of who you are.

101 Inspirational Quotes for Personal Statements

1. “Your dreams are the blueprints of your destiny; dare to build them with courage and perseverance.”

2. “The greatest adventure you can embark on is the journey to discover your true self.”

3. “In the face of adversity, remember that your strength lies within your ability to rise again.”

4. “Life’s challenges are not stumbling blocks but stepping stones towards greatness.”

5. “Be the master of your fate, the captain of your soul, and the architect of your dreams.”

6. “Embrace uncertainty, for within it lies the potential for extraordinary growth.”

7. “Your past does not define you; it prepares you for the brilliance of your future.”

8. “Success is not measured by your accomplishments but by the positive impact you leave on others.”

9. “The pursuit of knowledge is a lifelong endeavor that fuels the fire of wisdom within.”

10. “Believe in the power of your unique voice, for it has the potential to change the world.”

11. “Cherish the present, for it is the canvas upon which you paint your future.”

12. “When you embrace authenticity, you radiate a light that inspires others to do the same.”

13. “It’s in the darkest of nights that the stars within you shine the brightest.”

14. “Kindness is a ripple that can turn into a wave of transformation and love.”

15. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”

16. “Every step forward, no matter how small, propels you closer to your aspirations.”

17. “Be the conductor of your life’s symphony, guiding it with passion and purpose.”

18. “The more you love yourself, the more you have to give to others.”

19. “Dare to see the world as a canvas of possibilities and let your imagination paint the future.”

20. “Your journey may be unique, but your destination is always within reach.”

21. “Embrace failure as a stepping stone, and you’ll pave a path to success.”

22. “The greatest joy is not in receiving but in giving with a compassionate heart.”

23. “Your mind is a garden; cultivate thoughts that bloom into greatness.”

24. “The seeds of success are sown with patience, nurtured by determination, and harvested with gratitude.”

25. “Choose courage over comfort, and you’ll unlock the door to transformation.”

26. “In the tapestry of life, your individuality weaves a thread of brilliance.”

27. “Adopt a mindset of abundance, and you’ll attract boundless opportunities.”

28. “Rise above the noise of doubt, and let your faith guide you to victory.”

29. “Every sunrise brings a new chance to embrace the extraordinary in the ordinary.”

30. “The key to unlocking your potential is within your willingness to take risks.”

31. “Success is not a destination but a continuous journey of self-improvement.”

32. “You are the author of your story; wield the pen with purpose and passion.”

33. “The world needs your unique gifts; don’t hide them, but let them shine.”

34. “A single act of kindness can ignite a spark that brightens the lives of many.”

35. “Look beyond the horizon of doubt, and you’ll discover a realm of endless possibilities.”

36. “Your thoughts shape your reality; choose them wisely to create a masterpiece.”

37. “Life’s challenges are opportunities in disguise, leading you towards growth and resilience.”

38. “The pursuit of knowledge is not a race but a beautiful journey of self-discovery.”

39. “Embrace your imperfections, for they are the brushstrokes that make you a masterpiece.”

40. “Courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it; be brave and stand tall.”

41. “The secret to success lies in finding joy in the process of becoming.”

42. “Celebrate the small victories, for they fuel the motivation to achieve greater triumphs.”

43. “Live with intention, and you’ll find purpose in every step of your journey.”

44. “Your potential knows no bounds; unlock it with unwavering self-belief.”

45. “The power of a positive mindset can turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones.”

46. “Seize the present moment, for it is the gift that shapes your future.”

47. “In the depths of struggle, you’ll discover the strength that resides within you.”

48. “Kindness is the language that transcends barriers and unites hearts.”

49. “Cherish the lessons of the past, but let the present define your future.”

50. “The road to success is often winding, but every turn brings valuable lessons.”

51. “Believe in your dreams, for they hold the seeds of a future yet to bloom.”

52. “Success is not an accident but the result of purposeful dedication and hard work.”

53. “Life is a canvas; paint it with the vibrant colors of love and compassion.”

54. “Let your actions be the song of inspiration that resonates with the world.”

55. “In the dance of life, let passion be your guide, and purpose your partner.”

56. “The power of resilience lies in bouncing back stronger after every setback.”

57. “Your potential is limitless; it is the courage to pursue it that sets you free.”

58. “The greatest gift you can give to the world is the true expression of yourself.”

59. “Embrace the journey of self-discovery, for it leads to profound transformation.”

60. “Success is not found in perfection but in the beauty of imperfection.”

61. “Your story is a tapestry woven with threads of perseverance and triumph.”

62. “Rise above the noise of doubt, and your wings will carry you to great heights.”

63. “The ripple effect of kindness can change the world one heart at a time.”

64. “In the pursuit of knowledge, you’ll find the treasures that enrich your soul.”

65. “Celebrate the uniqueness that sets you apart, and let it be your guiding star.”

66. “The path to success is carved with purpose, passion, and an unyielding spirit.”

67. “Your dreams are the seeds of possibility; water them with action and dedication.”

68. “The key to happiness lies in embracing the journey rather than the destination.”

69. “Be the architect of your dreams, and your vision will become a reality.”

70. “Life’s challenges are stepping stones leading you to the strength within.”

71. “Kindness is a beacon of light that illuminates even the darkest paths.”

72. “Your potential knows no limits; it is bound only by the depths of your belief.”

73. “In the symphony of life, play the melody of your heart with purpose and passion.”

74. “The pursuit of knowledge enriches the soul and opens doors to endless possibilities.”

75. “Success is not defined by accolades but by the impact you leave on others.”

76. “Life’s journey is a canvas; let your actions paint a masterpiece of love and compassion.”

77. “The path to success may be challenging, but your determination will lead you to triumph.”

78. “Embrace the lessons of the past, the opportunities of the present, and the promise of the future.”

79. “Your uniqueness is your superpower; embrace it and let it shine brightly.”

80. “The road to success is paved with resilience, determination, and unwavering faith.”

81. “In the garden of life, cultivate seeds of positivity to bloom into greatness.”

82. “Success is not a destination but a continuous journey of growth and improvement.”

83. “Your story is a masterpiece in the making; create it with purpose and passion.”

84. “The power of kindness can heal wounds and bridge divides.”

85. “Life’s challenges are opportunities to discover the strength within you.”

86. “Your dreams are the compass guiding you to the life you’re destined to lead.”

87. “Embrace the uncertainties of life, for they lead to remarkable discoveries.”

88. “Success is the art of turning setbacks into stepping stones for progress.”

89. “In the grand tapestry of life, your uniqueness weaves a thread of brilliance.”

90. “Cherish the moments of struggle, for they shape the person you become.”

91. “Let your light shine brightly, inspiring others to ignite their own flames.”

92. “The pursuit of knowledge is a journey that fuels the fire of wisdom within.”

93. “Your potential is a vast ocean of possibilities; dive into it with courage.”

94. “In the orchestra of life, let your passion play the sweetest melody.”

95. “The power of resilience lies in rising stronger after every fall.”

96. “Kindness is a language that transcends barriers and brings hearts together.”

97. “Your dreams are the stars guiding you towards your true purpose.”

98. “Life’s challenges are opportunities for growth and self-discovery.”

99. “Believe in yourself, for your potential knows no bounds.”

100. “Success is not found in the destination but in the journey itself.”

101. “Embrace your uniqueness, for it holds the key to your greatness.”

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How to Write a Personal Statement (with Tips and Examples)

Hannah Yang

Table of Contents

What is a personal statement, 6 tips on how to write a personal statement, personal statement examples (for college and university), faqs about writing personal statements, conclusion on how to write a personal statement.

How do you tell someone who you are in just a few hundred words?

It’s certainly no easy task, but it’s one almost every college applicant must do. The personal statement is a crucial part of any college or university application.

So, how do you write a compelling personal statement?

In this article, we’ll give you all the tools, tips, and examples you need to write an effective personal statement.

A personal statement is a short essay that reveals something important about who you are. It can talk about your background, your interests, your values, your goals in life, or all of the above.

Personal statements are required by many college admission offices and scholarship selection committees. They’re a key part of your application, alongside your academic transcript, standardized test scores, and extracurricular activities.

The reason application committees ask you to write a personal statement is so they can get to know who you are. 

Some personal statements have specific prompts, such as “Discuss a period of personal growth in your life” or “Tell us about a challenge or failure you’ve faced.” Others are more open-ended with prompts that essentially boil down to “Tell us about yourself.”

No matter what the prompt is, your goal is the same: to make yourself stand out to the selection committee as a strong candidate for their program.

Here are some things a personal statement can be:

It can be funny. If you have a great sense of humor, your personal statement is a great place to let that shine.  

It can be vulnerable. Don’t be afraid to open up about hardships in your life or failures you’ve experienced. Showing vulnerability can make you sound more like a real person rather than just a collection of application materials.  

It can be creative. Candidates have got into top schools with personal statements that take the form of “a day in the life” descriptions, third-person short stories, and even cooking recipes.

Now we’ve talked about what a personal statement is, let’s quickly look at what a personal statement isn’t:

It isn’t a formal academic paper. You should write the personal statement in your natural voice, using first-person pronouns like “I” and “me,” not in the formal, objective language you would use to write an academic paper.

It isn’t a five-paragraph essay. You should use as many paragraphs as you need to tell your story instead of sticking to the essay structure you learned in school.

It isn’t a resumé. You should try to describe yourself by telling a clear and cohesive story rather than providing a jumbled list of all of your accomplishments and ambitions.

Here are our top six tips for writing a strong personal statement.

Tip 1: Do Some Serious Self-Reflection

The hardest part of writing a personal statement isn’t the actual process of writing it.

Before you start typing, you have to figure out what to write about. And that means taking some time to reflect on who you are and what’s important in your life.

Here are some useful questions you can use to start your self-reflection. You can either answer these on your own by writing down your answers, or you can ask a trusted friend to listen as you talk about them together.

What were the key moments that shaped your life? (e.g. an important friendship, a travel experience, an illness or injury)

What are you proud of? (e.g. you’re a good listener, you always keep your promises, you’re a talented musician)

How do you choose to spend your time? (e.g. reading, practicing soccer, spending time with your friends)

What inspires you? (e.g. your grandmother, a celebrity, your favorite song)

Doing this self-reflection is crucial for figuring out the perfect topics and anecdotes you can use to describe who you are.

Tip 2: Try to Avoid Cliché Topics

College application committees read thousands of personal statements a year. That means there are some personal statement topics they see over and over again.

Here are a few examples of common personal statement topics that have become cliché:

Winning a tournament or sports game

Volunteering in a foreign country

Moving to a new home

Becoming an older sibling

Being an immigrant or having immigrant parents

If you want to make a strong impression in the application process, you need to make your personal statement stand out from the crowd.

But if your chosen personal statement topic falls into one of these categories, that doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t use it. Just make sure to put a unique spin on it so it still delivers something the committee hasn’t seen before.

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Tip 3: Show, Don’t Tell

One common mistake you might make in your personal statement is to simply tell the reader what you want them to know about you, such as by stating “I have a fear of public speaking” or “I love to cook.”

Instead of simply stating these facts, you should show the committee what you’re talking about through a story or scene, which will make your essay much more immersive and memorable.

For example, let’s say you want the committee to know you overcame your fear of public speaking. Instead of writing “I overcame my fear of public speaking,” show them what it was like to be onstage in front of a microphone. Did your palms get clammy? Did you feel light-headed? Did you forget your words?

Or let’s say you want the committee to know you love to cook. Instead of writing “I love to cook,” show them why you love to cook. What’s your favorite dish to cook? What does the air smell like when you’re cooking it? What kitchen appliances do you use to make it?

Tip 4: Connect the Story to Why You’re Applying

Don’t forget that the purpose of your personal statement isn’t simply to tell the admissions committee who you are. That’s an important part of it, of course, but your ultimate goal is to convince them to choose you as a candidate.

That means it’s important to tie your personal story to your reasons for applying to this specific school or scholarship. Finish your essay with a strong thesis.

For example, if your story is about overcoming your fear of public speaking, you might connect that story to your ambition of becoming a politician. You can then tie that to your application by saying, “I want to apply to this school because of its fantastic politics program, which will give me a perfect opportunity to use my voice.”

Tip 5: Write in Your Own Voice

The personal statement isn’t supposed to be written in a formal tone. That’s why they’re called “personal” statements because you have to shape it to fit your own voice and style.

Don’t use complicated or overwrought language. You don’t need to fill your essay with semicolons and big words, unless that’s how you sound in real life.

One way to write in your own voice is by speaking your personal statement out loud. If it doesn’t feel natural, it may need changing. 

Tip 6: Edit, Edit, Edit!

It’s important to revise your personal statement multiple times in order to make sure it’s as close to perfect as possible.

A single typo won’t kill your application, but if your personal statement contains multiple spelling errors or egregious grammar mistakes, you won’t be putting your best foot forward.

ProWritingAid can help you make sure your personal statement is as clean as possible. In addition to catching your grammar errors, typos, and punctuation mistakes, it will also help you improve weaknesses in your writing, such as passive voice, unnecessary repetition, and more.

Let’s look at some of the best personal statements that have worked for successful candidates in the real world. 

Harvard Personal Statement Example

Love. For a word describing such a powerful emotion, it is always in the air. The word “love” has become so pervasive in everyday conversation that it hardly retains its roots in blazing passion and deep adoration. In fact, the word is thrown about so much that it becomes difficult to believe society isn’t just one huge, smitten party, with everyone holding hands and singing “Kumbaya.” In films, it’s the teenage boy’s grudging response to a doting mother. At school, it’s a habitual farewell between friends. But in my Chinese home, it’s never uttered. Watching my grandmother lie unconscious on the hospital bed, waiting for her body to shut down, was excruciatingly painful. Her final quavering breaths formed a discordant rhythm with the steady beep of hospital equipment and the unsympathetic tapping hands of the clock. That evening, I whispered—into unhearing ears—the first, and only, “I love you” I ever said to her, my rankling guilt haunting me relentlessly for weeks after her passing. My warm confession seemed anticlimactic, met with only the coldness of my surroundings—the blank room, impassive doctors, and empty silence. I struggled to understand why the “love” that so easily rolled off my tongue when bantering with friends dissipated from my vocabulary when I spoke to my family. Do Chinese people simply love less than Americans do?

This is an excerpt from a personal statement that got the applicant admitted to Harvard University. The applicant discusses her background as a Chinese-American by musing on the word “love” and what that means within her family.

The writer uses vulnerable details about her relationship with her grandmother to give the reader an understanding of where she comes from and how her family has shaped her.  

You can read the full personal statement on the Harvard Crimson website.

Tufts Personal Statement Example

My first dream job was to be a pickle truck driver. I saw it in my favorite book, Richard Scarry’s “Cars and Trucks and Things That Go,” and for some reason, I was absolutely obsessed with the idea of driving a giant pickle. Much to the discontent of my younger sister, I insisted that my parents read us that book as many nights as possible so we could find goldbug, a small little golden bug, on every page. I would imagine the wonderful life I would have: being a pig driving a giant pickle truck across the country, chasing and finding goldbug. I then moved on to wanting to be a Lego Master. Then an architect. Then a surgeon. Then I discovered a real goldbug: gold nanoparticles that can reprogram macrophages to assist in killing tumors, produce clear images of them without sacrificing the subject, and heat them to obliteration. Suddenly the destination of my pickle was clear. I quickly became enveloped by the world of nanomedicine; I scoured articles about liposomes, polymeric micelles, dendrimers, targeting ligands, and self-assembling nanoparticles, all conquering cancer in some exotic way. Completely absorbed, I set out to find a mentor to dive even deeper into these topics. After several rejections, I was immensely grateful to receive an invitation to work alongside Dr. Sangeeta Ray at Johns Hopkins.

This is the beginning of a personal statement by Renner Kwittken, who was admitted into Tufts University as a pre-medical student.

Renner uses a humorous anecdote about being a pickle truck driver to describe his love for nanomedicine and how he got involved in his field. You can feel his passion for medicine throughout his personal statement.

You can find Renner’s full essay on the Tufts Admissions page.

Law School Personal Statement Essay Example

For most people, the slap on the face that turns their life around is figurative. Mine was literal. Actually, it was a punch delivered by a drill sergeant at Fort Dix, New Jersey, while I was in basic training. That day’s activity, just a few weeks into the program, included instruction in “low-crawling,” a sensible method of moving from one place to another on a battlefield. I felt rather clever for having discovered that, by looking right rather than down, I eliminated my helmet’s unfortunate tendency to dig into the ground and slow my progress. I could thus advance more easily, but I also exposed my unprotected face to hostile fire. Drill sergeants are typically very good at detecting this type of laziness, and mine was an excellent drill sergeant. So, after his repeated suggestions that I correct my performance went unheeded, he drove home his point with a fist to my face. We were both stunned. This was, after all, the New Army, and striking a trainee was a career-ending move for a drill sergeant, as we were both aware. I could have reported him; arguably, I should have. I didn’t. It didn’t seem right for this good sergeant, who had not slept for almost four days, to lose his career for losing his temper with my laziness. Choosing not to report him was the first decision I remember making that made me proud.

These are the first three paragraphs of an anonymous personal statement by a Wheaton College graduate, who used this personal statement to get into a top-25 law school.

This statement describes a time the applicant faced a challenging decision while in the army. He ended up making a decision he was proud of, and as a result, the personal statement gives us a sense of his character.

You can find the full essay on the Wheaton Academics website.

Here are some common questions about how to write a personal statement.

How Long Should a Personal Statement Be?

The length of your personal statement depends on the specific program you’re applying to. The application guidelines usually specify a maximum word count or an ideal word count.  

Most personal statements are between 500–800 words. That’s a good general range to aim for if you don’t have more specific guidelines.  

Should Personal Statements Be Different for Scholarships?

Many scholarship applications will ask for personal statements with similar prompts to those of college applications.

However, the purpose of a personal statement you’d write for a scholarship application is different from the purpose of one you’d write for a college application.

For a scholarship application, your goal is to showcase why you deserve the scholarship. To do that, you need to understand the mission of the organization offering that scholarship.

For example, some scholarships are meant to help first-generation college students get their degree, while others are meant to help women break into STEM.

Consider the following questions:

Why is this organization offering scholarships?

What would their ideal scholarship candidate look like?

How do your experiences and goals overlap with those of their ideal scholarship candidate?

You can use the same personal anecdotes you’d use for any other personal statement, but you’ll have a better chance of winning the scholarship if you tailor your essay to match their specific mission.

How to Start a Personal Statement

You should start your personal statement with a “hook” that pulls the reader in. The sooner you catch the reader’s attention, the more likely they’ll want to read the entire essay.

Here are some examples of hooks you can use:

A story (e.g. When the spotlight hit my face, I tried to remind myself to breathe. )

A setting description (e.g. My bedroom floor is covered with dirty laundry, candy wrappers, and crumpled sheet music. )

A funny anecdote (e.g. When I was a little kid, my friends nicknamed me Mowgli because of my haircut. )

A surprising fact (e.g. I've lived in 37 countries .)

There you have it—our complete guide to writing a personal statement that will make you stand out to the application committee.

Here’s a quick recap: 

A personal statement is a short essay that shows an application committee who you are

Start with a strong hook that pulls the reader in

Tell a story to engage the reader 

Write in your own voice, not in a formal tone

Good luck, and happy writing!

Hannah is a speculative fiction writer who loves all things strange and surreal. She holds a BA from Yale University and lives in Colorado. When she’s not busy writing, you can find her painting watercolors, playing her ukulele, or hiking in the Rockies. Follow her work on hannahyang.com or on Twitter at @hannahxyang.

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How to Start a Personal Statement

One of the first hurdles students encounter when writing college essays is how to start a personal statement. As a core element of many applications, understanding how to write a personal statement is crucial. Learning how to write a personal statement that is an authentic representation of yourself can be challenging. However, mastering this skill will help you craft personal essays that make a lasting impact on admissions officers. 

Specific, actionable college essay tips can help you learn how to write a personal statement for college. If you spend time learning how to start a college essay, you’ll feel even more confident as you begin the process. So, let’s demystify just exactly how to start a personal statement. 

In this guide, How to Start a Personal Statement, we’ll cover everything you need to know about personal statements, including:

• Personal statement meaning, goals, and expectations
• Common personal statement formats
• The importance of a hook and how to write one
• Steps for how to start a personal statement
• Tips for how to write a personal statement
• How to approach the editing phase
• Coming up with personal statement ideas
• Examples of personal statements and how to use them

Remember, any writing process takes time. This applies whether you’re figuring out how to start a college essay or how to write a personal statement for college. No matter what approach you take, the key to how to write a great college essay is to start early! 

Now, let’s start with the basics: what is a personal statement?

What is a personal statement?

Simply put, a personal statement is a type of college application essay. But, if you’re looking for answers to, “What is a personal statement?” you probably already know that. At its core, the personal statement should be the essay that most clearly reflects your application narrative . By reading your personal statement, colleges should gain a better understanding of who you are. That means having a clear sense of your strengths, values, and interests.

However, this doesn’t mean that your personal statement needs to capture your entire life story. In fact, often, your personal statement will likely center around just one particular moment or experience. Specifically, one that has defined your identity, passions, or personal growth. 

If you search for a personal statement meaning by school, you may find slightly varying definitions. However, all personal essays have the same goal. Personal essays show colleges your authentic voice while highlighting a part of yourself that isn’t captured elsewhere in your application. You’ll notice this if you read any example of a personal statement for college. 

Engaging in self-reflection

To understand the personal statement meaning in the simplest terms, think of two words: self-reflection . Identifying pivotal life moments, values, and skills are all a part of how to write a great college essay. However, the process of how to write a personal statement for college takes more than just describing an experience. Instead, it forces you to find the balance between contextualizing what happened and expressing how it impacted you.

Successful personal essays will generally do two things. One, they’ll capture the meaning of your past experiences, specifically the ways you were changed and the lessons you learned. Two, they’ll connect your past experiences to your current and future goals. For many students, college applications are the first time they’ve been asked to write about themselves. So, the process of making these personal connections may seem daunting.

Preparing for the future

Knowing exactly what is a personal statement and how to write a personal statement can also help you in other facets of life. For example, consider the overlap between the college application process and the job application process. When applying to jobs, you need to highlight pertinent skills, values, and beliefs—just like in a college application essay. You can even use the skills and principles for writing a personal statement to write a cover letter (with certain nuances, of course).

For more information on the personal statement meaning, check out the application/essay page for schools on your college list. Their advice and resources can help students understand exactly what’s expected from them in these types of essays. And, many colleges will even provide their own tips for how to write a great college essay. They might also provide an example of a personal statement for college. 

We’ve answered the question, “What is a personal statement?” So, now, let’s get into the personal statement format.

Personal statement format

When learning how to write a personal statement, you’ll encounter some different personal statement formats. While there is no singular or “best” personal statement format, most personal essays share a few key attributes. So, understanding these key features can greatly help students learning how to write a great college essay.

Many students’ personal statements tell stories. In fact, discovering these important stories forms a key component of how to start a college essay. Much of the work that goes into discovering how to write a personal statement starts before you even begin writing. (We’ll discuss brainstorming ideas in a later section of this guide.)

Before we dive into how to start a personal statement, we need to pinpoint the starting point for your personal statements: the prompts.

Common/Coalition Application Personal Statement

In many cases, the personal statement refers to the Common App essay or Coalition Application essay. While there are some differences between the two application portals, both follow the same personal statement format. Students will choose from a selection of college essay prompts and write an essay (650 words max). Then, they will submit that essay to every school they apply to via that particular portal. In these cases, the process of how to start a college essay begins with reading through the provided prompts.

Learning how to write a personal statement for college includes learning how to choose the best prompt for you. The personal statement topic you ultimately choose is extremely important; your topic is essentially the soul of your essay. You’d be hard-pressed to find a well-written example of a personal statement for college that wasn’t based on an impactful topic. 

The Common App essay

Let’s take a closer look at how to start a college essay for the Common App. In the Common App, students have seven college essay prompts to choose from. Each of these college essay prompts allows students to share important anecdotes from their lives. Most of these college essay prompts ask specific questions, however, the seventh prompt is slightly different. Prompt #7 actually allows students to choose any topic for their essay.

10 Exceptional Common App Essay Examples

The coalition app essay.

The Coalition Application offers a similar personal statement format. Prompt #6 also asks students to submit an essay on any topic. You might think that responding to such an open-ended prompt would change your approach for how to write a great college essay. However, you can still use the college essay tips provided in this guide, no matter what prompt you decide to respond to.

The Common App and the Coalition Application are the most common personal statement formats you’ll encounter. However, some schools have their own unique personal statement format and requirements.

Coalition Essay Prompts 2023-24

Other personal statements

The method you take when figuring out how to write a personal statement will largely depend on your personal statement prompt. However, a personal statement for college isn’t always based on specific college essay prompts. You might simply be asked to share more about yourself. However, even if your personal statement format doesn’t directly ask you for a particular narrative, your essay still needs a focus. So, you should still aim to have your personal statement tell a story about some critical aspect of your identity. 

That being said, always double-check the specific personal statement format and requirements for each program you apply to. For instance, if you apply to universities in the UK, the UCAS personal statement is far different from other personal essays. Namely, these personal statements focus almost entirely on academics. 

When considering how to start a personal statement, look to admissions websites or university blogs for advice. Often, they’ll have a page dedicated to helpful college essay tips with insight into what they look for from students’ personal essays. For example, check out this blog from UChicago that provides tips on how to approach their quirky prompts. Additionally, check out this personal statement webinar in which an admissions officer shares helpful college essay tips. 

Now, let’s define an important attribute of how to start a personal statement: the hook.

How to start a personal statement: Understanding the “hook”

It’s impossible to learn how to start a personal statement or how to write a personal statement that “wows” without a hook. A hook is an opening statement that catches the reader’s attention. It draws them in and makes them want to keep reading to see how the story unfolds. In personal essays, the hook is key to getting your reader invested in your story. 

But, if the idea of coming up with a compelling hook intimidates you, don’t panic! The hook isn’t necessarily the step you need to start with when learning how to start a college essay. That being said, it forms a crucial component of the personal statement introduction. You’ll notice that almost every successful example of personal statement for college has an engaging hook.

Let’s check out some hooks that impressed to help give you a better idea of how to start a personal statement.

College Personal Statement Examples

Example of personal statement for college: hook #1.

My life is as simple as a Rubik’s Cube: a child’s toy that can be solved in 20 moves or less IF and only if enough knowledge is gained.

In this personal statement introduction, this student intrigues the reader by comparing their life to a toy. Simply by reading this hook, we can see this student’s self-reflection as well as their creativity. And, most importantly, we’re intrigued to see the connection of how and why this person is fascinated by a Rubik’s cube. In this example, the Rubik’s cube is both unique and genuinely important to the writer. Moreover, by the end of the essay, we gain some valuable insight into how this person navigates the world. And, it all started with this hook. 

Example of Personal Statement for College: Hook #2

When I joined the high school swim team, I never expected to go to school dressed as Shrek.

After reading this hook, you’re probably left with more questions than answers. “What does having to be on the swim team have to do with dressing up as Shrek?” We don’t know yet! And, that’s the point. This surprising hook has the reader curious about the connection the writer will make. However, when figuring out how to start a personal statement, don’t go overboard with the shock factor. Keep in mind that personal essays can’t come from wild statements alone. Rather, they need to connect to a meaningful moment in the writer’s life. 

Example of Personal Statement for College: Hook #3

At six years old, most kids I know get excited to help Blue find clues or recite Elmo’s songs on Sesame Street. So you can imagine my family’s surprise when they saw me ignoring the other kids to go belt alongside my grandfather’s mariachi trio in the backyard.

Your hook doesn’t have to be just one sentence. Rather, it might be a couple of sentences or even the first paragraph, like in this example. Keep in mind that there are no definitive rules to how to start a personal statement—other than sharing important information about yourself that will stand out to admissions officers.

Students who want to master how to write a personal statement need to learn how to craft an engaging hook. This particular hook shows how the writer is different from their peers. As the reader, we can learn a lot from just these few sentences. We already know that this writer isn’t afraid to be themselves and do what they love from a young age. This college application essay gets into much deeper themes as the narrative continues. However, the most important part of the personal statement introduction—the hook—has already done its job of pulling the reader in to learn more. 

Using these examples

These are just a few successful hooks that students have used in their approach to how to start a personal statement. Each of these comes from a strong example of a personal statement for college. As you can see from each example of a personal statement for college, the best personal statement topics are unique. However, even the most quirky hooks always lead the reader into an essay of substance.

Use each example of personal statement for college to help inspire your “how to write a personal statement” journey. When considering how to write a great college essay, analyzing examples of what works can help. 

Want to see how others figured out how to start a personal statement? Check out these personal statement examples as well as these Common App essay examples for inspiration.

When to write your hook

Having a hook is a crucial part of how to write a personal statement that impresses. However, coming up with your hook won’t necessarily form the first step in your process. Just as there’s no one right way of how to write a personal statement, there’s no one right way to write a hook. 

When considering how to start a personal statement, you don’t need to dive into the hook right away. You may even write a whole draft of your essay before figuring out the best hook for your personal statement introduction. 

So, if a hook doesn’t jump to your brain as you consider personal statement ideas, just start writing! Sometimes, it’s best to write a straightforward beginning (maybe even dry!) and then work your way backward. Remember, it doesn’t matter when you come up with it. Just be sure to add that sparkly hook to your personal statement before submitting your final draft.

Do all colleges require a personal statement?

It’s more than likely that you will need to know how to write a personal statement during the college application process. However, not every college requires a personal statement—though most top schools do. 

So, before stressing about how to start a college essay, check the requirements of the schools on your college list . However, keep in mind that most of the nation’s top schools require applicants to submit a personal statement for college.

Additionally, you might want to adjust your personal statement for different programs. You’ll still submit the same personal statement for college for each school you apply to through the Common App. However, other specialized programs and applications might request a slightly different personal statement format. So, always check the admissions requirements and do your research on every school and each individual program. Your approach to how to start a college essay will depend on each program’s prompts and formats. You can also always look at an example of a personal statement for college for inspiration. 

33 Colleges Without Supplemental Essays

Do colleges care about the personal statement? 

A strong college application essay is extremely important in the admissions process. So, put simply, yes—colleges really do care about the personal statement. Understanding how to start a personal statement means understanding the weight that it carries. Of course, you shouldn’t let yourself get overwhelmed by the process. Rather, try to feel excited by the opportunity to truly show off your personality, skills, background, future goals, and more.

That being said, the extent to which your personal statement impacts your admissions decision will likely vary by school. For instance, some larger state schools may focus foremost on your grades or standardized test scores (due to the fact that they receive such a large volume of applicants and have more spaces available). While these schools will still care about your personal statement, other factors may have a more immediate impact on their admissions decisions. 

On the other hand, top universities with smaller enrollments often place a considerable amount of emphasis on the personal statement. These schools receive more qualified applicants than the places they have available. Your personal statement lets you highlight what makes you unique and how you’ll enrich their campus community. 

How to write a personal statement – Step-by-step guide

A successful personal statement for college will read as passionate and authentic. You’ll notice this in each example of personal statement for college that you read. But how exactly do you write a passionate and authentic essay?

To begin, you’ll likely brainstorm personal statement ideas and decide on your personal statement topic.  However, understanding how to write a personal statement will require more than simply knowing how to start a personal statement. And remember, you can always check out an example of a personal essay for college if you’re feeling stuck. 

How to write a personal statement isn’t a strict process—as seen in this personal statement webinar about rethinking your essay . However, you should follow certain key steps as you craft your essays. Following each step, and allotting yourself sufficient time to do so, will make the writing process all the better. (Tips about staying on track are just as important as the best college essay tips about writing!)

Next, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of how to write a personal statement. This includes brainstorming personal statement ideas, exploring personal statement topics, and reviewing and submitting your personal essays.

Ready to learn just how to write a personal statement? Let’s get started!

How to start a personal statement – First steps

Now, let’s dive into how to start a personal statement. The first steps to how to start a personal statement can be broken down into two parts:

During these steps, you’ll generate personal statement ideas and select your personal statement topics. Without a strong topic, you’ll struggle to write a genuine essay. So, let’s talk about how to generate an essay topic that highlights your passion. 

Step 1: Brainstorm

How to start a personal statement begins with brainstorming a list of ideas. Each stellar example of a personal statement for college likely came from a brainstorming session. But, why is brainstorming so important? 

While some personal statement requirements won’t provide specific prompts for applicants, many will, including the Common App essay. So, you should make sure to choose a great topic that directly answers the prompt. 

Let’s check out some brainstorming exercises that can help you get the great ideas flowing. 

The best way to choose a great topic for a personal statement for college is through your passions. If you’re stuck when it comes to pinpointing your passions, try answering this question: If you were going to host a TED talk, what would it be and why? We all know that TED talks are addicting—that’s because they’re engaging. And they’re engaging because the hosts are talking about their passions. 

So, think about something you would be excited to spend 30-40 minutes discussing in front of an audience. What would you say about it? You might find using voice notes and recording yourself is easier than writing out your ideas. For some students, talking about something may feel easier than immediately putting pen to paper. 

If a TED talk doesn’t get your creative juices flowing, try a classic essay brainstorming method: mind maps. You’ve likely done mind maps in your high school English class. But for those who haven’t, let’s break down the process. 

First, take the prompt for your essay. For instance, maybe it asks about a challenge you’ve faced. Set a timer for 10 minutes and write the prompt on a sheet of paper. Then, next to the prompt, start writing every experience you’ve had that relates to the prompt. This is not the time to get into the details—just focus on potential topics. Even if you’re not sure if something is a perfect fit, include it! At this stage, all ideas are fair game. Later, you can narrow them down to find the topic that you have the most to write about. 

Defining values

Another useful brainstorming exercise for a college application essay, especially when it comes to how to start a personal statement, has to do with defining your values. Most successful personal essays center around a value that students have. Think about the values that are most important to you (loyalty, kindness, empathy, honesty, etc.). Then, create a list of 4-6 values. After that, for each of your values, come up with a list of experiences that reflect them. You can even set a timer for each value. 

Alternatively, you might work backward by coming up with a list of experiences that you find were the most impactful in your life. From these experiences, you can identify values that they instilled or that you embodied. Make sure to focus on an experience that highlights something critical about who you are as a person, student, or community member. You might also consider doing this same activity for qualities or skills depending on the essay prompt. 

Step 2: Free-write

Once you have your topic, it’s time to flex your writing muscles. Don’t feel constrained by the word count at this stage. In fact, forget about a hook, a conclusion, and other literary details. Now is just the time to get your ideas on paper stress-free. 

Struggling with Step 2 in how to start a personal statement? You might benefit from doing a timed free write. Set a timer for 20 minutes and don’t stop writing about the topic until the time is up. Don’t stress about writing the perfect sentence or having the right flow–just keep writing on the topic at hand. You may want to do this step a couple of times if you’re still deciding on the best prompt to respond to. You won’t always find the perfect personal essay topic on the first try, and that’s okay.

However, keep in mind that some topics may read as inappropriate or cliché. If you end up choosing an overused essay topic, you may struggle to come up with a unique angle. (But that doesn’t mean these topics are entirely off-limits!) However, you should not talk about illegal or illicit behavior and never use explicit language. 

While you have free range to pick an essay topic, there are certain errors you can make. Make sure you don’t join the club of students who missed the mark with their personal essays. Learn from this personal statement webinar reviewing common mistakes that students make in their personal essays. Then, you’ll know what to avoid when deciding how to start a personal statement.

How to start a personal statement – Writing & editing

You’ve gotten some answers to the question “what is a personal statement?” and learned how to start a personal statement. Now, it’s time to start a draft. 

For some students, figuring out how to start a college essay is the most stressful part of writing their personal essays. Indeed, you may have to write four to six drafts of your college application essay before you’ve written a personal statement for college that makes you feel proud. 

This is why our top piece of advice for how to write a great college essay is to start early. If you start early, you’ll have plenty of time to learn how to write a personal statement. You’ll also have the flexibility to write multiple drafts of your personal essays. Additionally, you’ll be able to read an example of a personal statement for college. 

Time also allows you the freedom to try out multiple personal statement topics. That way, you can find the personal statement format that makes for a powerful college application essay.

In this section, we’ll provide some college essay tips for outlining your personal statement, an important step for how to start a personal statement.

One idea for how to start a college essay is to draft an outline. An outline is simply a list of the ideas that will go into each part of your essay. You can format your outline in any way that makes sense for you. 

By outlining, you can remove some of the pressure around how to start a personal statement. Instead of putting pen to paper to write a whole essay , you just have to jot down what order you want your ideas to go in. Think of an outline as a sketch of a picture you want to draw. Once you have that sketch, drawing the rest of the picture is usually easier.

However, outlining is not for everyone. Some students find outlining stressful, limiting, or confusing. If you’d rather jump into writing your personal statement on a blank page, do so. At the end of the day, when figuring out how to start a personal statement, you should follow the writing process that works best for you.  

Drafting Your College Essay

Regardless of whether you choose to outline your ideas, here are some tips for how to start a college essay draft:

Find a beginning, middle, and end to your story.

As we’ve shared, a strong personal statement for college tells a story about who you are and demonstrates what you would bring to a college campus. 

To write a strong example of a personal statement for college, you must have a beginning, middle, and end. By this, we mean that your essay should introduce and build upon ideas until they lead to some kind of resolution usually related to your personal growth. Think about your favorite book or movie – how did the story develop and resolve itself? Make sure your personal essays do the same.

Develop your hook.

The key to how to start a personal statement is with a hook. As we shared above, a hook is an engaging personal statement introduction that catches the reader’s attention. In your outline, consider adding some ideas for potential hooks. 

A hook can include, but is not limited to, any of the following types of opening sentences:

• A piece of dialogue (i.e. “Do you remember the summer we went to Turkey?” said my mother.)
• A description of a scene (i.e., The Alaskan lake was warm that summer, the sun gleaming off its gentle ripples.)
• A thought-provoking question (i.e., What makes a house feel like a home?)
• A relevant and powerful quote (i.e., When Steve Jobs said “You can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking back,” he gave words to a struggle I have long faced.) 
• An unexpected thought (i.e., I am the fourth of eleven children in my family and the first one to dream of going to college.)

Each of the above personal statement introductions is unique and original. Additionally, all of these hooks make the reader wonder what else is coming in the essay. Indeed, each of these hooks is a great idea for how to start a college essay. 

When thinking about how to start a college essay, avoid using cliché or generic personal statement introductions. In general, don’t directly answer college essay prompts like “A challenge I have faced is…”. These types of personal statement introductions are so common that they tend to lose the reader’s attention quickly.

Jot down details.

After identifying a hook, begin telling your story. In your outline, include any details that make your story unique. While some students assume that personal statement topics must be very rare or ground-breaking, in most cases the details are what set essays apart. 

What do you remember that can help the reader experience your story vividly? How can you evoke their senses or emotions in a way that makes them feel and remember your story? Keeping these questions in mind will unlock many tools for how to write a great college essay.

Identify reflections.

Stories are powerful not only for how they make us feel but for what they teach us. When you jot down your outline, consider what reflections or lessons you have to share. Why does your story matter? What does it demonstrate about who you are? 

Your essay should be descriptive and show us what you were experiencing. However, you can also include a few lines that tell the reader what you want them to take away. Usually, these reflections come towards the end of the essay, but they can also be sprinkled throughout. 

How to Write a Personal Statement – Polish and Revise 

Now that you’ve learned how to start a personal statement, let’s discuss what some consider to be the most critical part of writing an essay – revising. Polishing and revising an essay are the keys for how to write a great college essay. When you look at an example of a personal statement for college, remember that the student probably spent many hours revising that essay.

When revising your personal essays, avoid getting frustrated by how long the process takes. The key for how to write a personal statement without getting too overwhelmed is to be gentle and compassionate with yourself. Just like living your story takes time, energy, and resilience, so does writing your story in a college application essay. Rather than getting frustrated, celebrate how much you have learned about how to start a college essay.

In the next section, we’ll dive deeper into college essay tips for revising your personal essays. 

Step 4: Revise

If you’re wondering how to write a personal statement for college, you’re probably also wondering how to revise one. Revision is the process during which you review what you have written for errors and to check whether the ideas make sense. You might also revise to find ways to shorten your essay if it is too long or expand on ideas that you didn’t fully flesh out. 

Here are some college essay tips for revision:

College Essay Revision Tips

1. take breaks.

After you write your first draft, step away from it for at least 24 hours. When we spend a long time working on a piece of writing, sometimes our brains find it hard to focus. Stepping away will give you time to let your brain rest and return to it with fresh eyes.

We also recommend taking breaks whenever you feel stuck, a condition sometimes called writer’s block. While you might feel that pushing through is the best option, stepping away for a glass of water or a stretch can rejuvenate your body and give new energy to your mind as well. Taking care of yourself is actually one of the keys for how to write a personal statement that represents your best work. 

2. Make a revision checklist

Create a list of items to look for as you revise. That way, you won’t miss anything. Here are some ideas for what how to start a personal statement revision checklist:

• Structure/flow – Does the structure of my essay support its meaning? A structure can refer to the length of paragraphs, the order of ideas, or the format. Maybe your essay has a lot of dialogue, but now you have realized the dialogue is distracting. 
• Repetitive language – Do you use the same words or phrases over and over again? While you may have fallen into repetition when figuring out how to start a personal statement, try varying vocabulary or rephrasing sentence structure to keep the reader interested.
• Spelling/grammar/syntax – Run your essay through an app like Grammarly and always use spell check. Look for ways to remove unnecessary words or shorten sentences. Generally, the fewer words you use to express an idea, the easier it will be for the reader to understand.
• Narrative voice – This refers to the voice you use to tell your story. Is it very informal? Do you sound like you are texting with friends? One of the keys for how to write a personal statement is to use your own voice while still remembering that you are speaking to a college admissions officer. As experts in how to write a great college essay know, avoid slang and spell out contractions for added formality.

3. Read your essay aloud

Reading your essay out loud can help you find mistakes. Even more importantly, it can also help you feel if the essay captures your voice. When you read it out loud, does your essay sound like you? Are there words in your essay that you would never use in real life? These questions can help you determine if you need to adjust the narrative voice of your essay. After all, admissions officers want to hear what you sound like, not a parent or friend.

4. Get help

Whether you’re stuck on how to write a personal statement or not, it’s always a good idea to get another set of eyes on your essay. Just be careful who you select. Make sure you are asking someone who knows how to write a personal statement and can give you the right kind of feedback. 

Also, consider asking both someone who knows you well and someone who does not know you well. The person who knows you well, like a teacher, parent, counselor, or college advisor (like our team of experts at CollegeAdvisor) can make sure your voice comes across. A person who does not know you well can provide input from an outsider’s perspective. Ultimately, when you submit your college essay, you will be sending it to someone who has never met you. As such, it should make sense to people who don’t know you as well.

5. Don’t be afraid to start over

Sometimes, during the revision process, you may realize that your topic doesn’t work for you. Perhaps you realize that you were so worried about how to start a personal statement that you chose a topic you thought others wanted to read instead of one that really resonates with you. Or, maybe you just thought of a new idea for how to start a personal statement that you like a lot better. It is totally normal to redraft entire paragraphs or simply throw out the essay and start over . Even though it may seem like you have wasted time, you were learning throughout the entire process about how to write a personal statement. 

Starting over might be the best approach for you and allow you to write an essay that feels more authentic . However, do not simply start over because you are being hyper-critical of yourself. Focus as much on what you like about your essay as the parts that you do not. Do not let perfectionism cause you to throw away a perfectly good essay.

On average, students learning how to write a great college essay need to write four to six drafts until they are ready to submit. However, if you have done your research on how to write a personal statement, it may take you less. After six drafts, ask yourself if you really need to keep working on the essay, or if you are letting perfectionism get the best of you. Remember, no essay is perfect. As long as your personal statement reflects your true voice and shares a compelling story about how you became who you are, you’re likely ready to submit it.

In the next section, we will dive deeper into the final steps for how to write a great college essay that you should take before hitting submit.

Step 5: Final Review & Submit

Congratulations! You’re almost ready to submit your personal statement for college. You’ve learned how to write a personal statement, brainstormed and drafted one, and revised it. Before you hit submit, here is a final checklist of questions to ask yourself: 

1. Did I answer the prompt fully?

Just like you plug your answer back into a math equation to see if it works, plug your essay back into the prompt. Make sure each part of the question is being answered.

2. Did I meet the word or character count?

While it is okay to be a bit under the word count, as long as you answer the question fully, going over the word count will usually mean you cannot submit your essay. 

3. Does my essay paste neatly into the application?

Before pasting your essay into the online application, we recommend pasting your essay into a Word document or Google document. Make sure to remove any formatting like bolding, italics, or comments. Left-align your essay so that it is easy to read. And, double check that spacing between sentences and paragraphs is uniform. 

While these might seem like small details, they all add to the impression you make upon admissions officers about how prepared you might be to attend their school.  Take advantage of the option to download the PDF summary of your application, if it exists, to ensure everything looks neat before you submit it.

If you can answer all these questions with a yes, you’re probably ready to submit your essay. Now, you can teach others how to write a personal statement, too. 

How to start a personal statement

At this point, you have reviewed all the steps for how to write a personal statement for college. We’d like to remind you of some important parts of this process that will help ease any stress related to writing your college essays.

First, try brainstorming first. Writing a college essay is a lot different than most academic writing you’ll have done, and it’s natural to face some writer’s block. By taking advantage of brainstorming exercises, you can get used to the idea of writing about yourself in a low-pressure environment. Some students want to skip brainstorming because they find this step unnecessary or a waste of time. 

In fact, brainstorming can help you write your essay faster because your personal statement ideas will already be on paper. Brainstorming can also help you avoid writing an essay and then realizing you do not like your topic, leading to you having to write a whole new draft.

Another key point in how to start a personal statement is to write a good “hook.” However, this doesn’t need to be the first thing that you write as you begin the drafting process. Just like writing a title sometimes is easier after you have written a paper, it can be easier to find your hook after you have fleshed out other parts of your essay.

Starting early

Regardless of what approach you take, remember that the most important piece of advice for how to start a personal statement is to start early. If you begin the process early, you’ll have time to learn about personal statement format and personal statement meaning, brainstorm essay ideas, watch personal statement webinars, and review sample essays. All of these steps will help you learn how to write a personal statement that is strong and clear.

Below, we’ll help you learn more about how to start a personal statement by providing brainstorming exercises to come up with personal statement ideas.

Generating personal statement ideas

The first question many students ask when learning how to start a personal statement is how to come up with personal statement ideas. As we have mentioned, brainstorming forms a key part of this process.

Importantly, there are many ways to brainstorm. So, even if you think you do not like to brainstorm, consider revising these brainstorming methods. One of them might open up ideas for how to start your personal statement that you had never considered.

One important note is that you do not have to use college essay prompts as the starting point for your brainstorming process. While they can certainly jog your thinking, sometimes they can also limit your creativity. Since most of the Common App and Coalition App prompts are open-ended, you can usually turn most ideas into a great response to college essay prompts.

Keep reading for activities that can help you brainstorm your personal statement for college. 

Here are some ideas for brainstorming personal statement topics:

Brainstorming Activities

1. make a timeline of important life events.

Students who ask “what is a personal statement?” are often concerned that they have to tell their entire life story in 650 words. While this is not true, your personal statement should highlight key life events. A life event can include a big change, an accomplishment, or a time of deep personal growth. 

For this activity, consider making a timeline of important life events. Do so without judgment or filtering. No event is too small to include. After you have completed your timeline, consider if any event is one that you want to share in your college application essay. One of these events might be a great hook for your personal statement introduction and give you ideas for how to start a personal statement.

2. Make lists

Lists are an excellent way to brainstorm personal statement topics. Try making lists of accomplishments, challenges you have faced, people who have taught you important life lessons, values, fears, hobbies, or mistakes you have made. Remember that it is perfectly fine to talk about times when you feel you failed or made mistakes if you can show how you learned and grew from the experience.

3. Ask trusted people for ideas

Brainstorming does not have to happen alone. Ask friends, family, mentors, teachers, classmates, or others who know you well to tell you what your most important character traits are. You’d be surprised what people will share. Perhaps one of your friends sees you as adventurous because you like to take new routes to school every day, and you had never considered that to be a noteworthy trait of yours. This feedback could be the inspiration you need for how to start a personal statement.

4. Free-write

Rather than trying to find an idea, allow yourself the freedom to free-write. Set a timer for 10 minutes and write without stopping. Write a response to any of the following questions :

• What matters to you?
• What do you want others to know about you?
• What is the hardest thing you have ever gone through? How did you get through it?
• What brings you joy?
• How have you grown or changed in the past few years?

If you feel at a loss for words, write “I don’t know” over and over until a new idea pops into your head. The idea is to allow your brain to flow without restriction or pressure. Do not judge what you write, just allow it to be. When you have completed your free-write, look through what you wrote looking for meaningful stories or learnings you might want to share.

Undoubtedly, these are just a few ideas for how to start a personal statement and find a good personal statement introduction. If none of these work, do not despair. Instead, try a different route for coming up with personal statement topics. For instance, you may try reading an example of a personal statement for college or checking out this personal statement webinar. 

In the next section, we’ll discuss how to use sample essays when figuring out how to write a personal statement.

Using personal statement examples

When looking for answers to questions like “What is a personal statement?” or “How to start a personal statement?” college application essay examples can be very helpful. In this section, we’ll look at how to write a personal statement for college and identify college essay tips with the help of sample essays .

Sample Personal Essays

In this article , we review ten essays that provide ideas for how to start a personal statement. Whether writing about books or gymnastics, each example of a personal statement for college highlights a unique important aspect of a student’s life. In addition, each student provides meaningful insights into how their thinking developed over time.

How to Write a Personal Statement: 5 Personal Statement Examples

Check out this resource to see five excellent responses to the Common App college essay prompts. Note how each essay has a unique hook that captures the reader’s attention.

College Essay Examples: 10 Best Examples of College Essays and Why They Worked

Wondering how a personal statement format impacts the essay’s meaning? This essay compilation answers that question and much more, providing college essay tips based on what worked in these personal essays.

How to Analyze an Example of a Personal Statement for College

If you’re looking for ideas on how to start a personal statement, then reading sample essays is an excellent idea. However, be careful not to copy others’ work. In this section, we’ll discuss how to use these samples when you develop your own personal statement meaning and personal statement format.

First, be authentic. While it is important to find inspiration in others’ work, copying topics or phrases is dangerous. At best, it will come across as disingenuous to admissions officers, who read thousands of essays. At worst, it can get you into serious trouble. 

Instead, use these samples to learn about how to write a personal statement. As you read them, ask yourself questions such as:

• Why did the writer choose this topic?
• How does the first sentence of the essay engage the reader?
• What structure does the personal statement use?
• How does this personal statement format add to the essay’s intrigue?
• What does this essay teach us about the writer?
• In what ways might this essay be an expression of the writer’s personal brand ?

Take notes as you read each example of a personal statement for college. In your notes, identify general thoughts regarding the questions “What is a personal statement?” and “How to start a college essay?” If you can answer these questions fully after reading sample essays, you’re on your way to acing your college essay.

How to Start a Personal Statement: Final Thoughts

With this article, we answered the question: “What is a personal statement?” By breaking the personal statement meaning, we found tips for approaching many kinds of college essay prompts. We also identified why personal statement meaning is important to colleges and how to write a great college essay that will help your application shine.

Even skilled writers struggle with how to write a personal statement. Personal essays are difficult not only because they require a certain level of vulnerability , but also because the personal statement format is not something we use often in our day-to-day lives. For that reason, it is difficult to know how to start a college essay.

Throughout this guide, we provided resources like personal statement webinars and sample essays. We also highlighted how to use an example of a personal statement for college in your own process. Within these samples, you’ll find lots of ideas for how to start a personal statement.

Whenever you feel overwhelmed by thinking about how to start a personal statement, remember that you are not alone. Our team can provide you with additional insights and individualized coaching about how to write a personal statement for college. With support, you will be able to express who you are and ace your personal statement. Good luck!

This article was written by Sarah Kaminski and senior advisor, Courtney Ng . Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.

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How to Start a Personal Statement: Crafting a Compelling Introduction

Reviewed by:

Former Admissions Committee Member, Columbia University

Reviewed: 4/26/24

If you’re wondering how to start a personal statement, you’ve come to the right place. This guide will go over everything you need to know. 

Your personal statement is your opportunity to shine in the competitive world of college applications, and it all begins with a captivating introduction. Crafting an engaging opening is essential to grab the admissions committee's attention and leave a lasting impression. 

In this guide, we'll explore the art of starting a personal statement, providing you with valuable tips and examples to help you create a compelling introduction that sets the stage for your unique story.

How Important Is the Opening in a Personal Statement

The opening of a personal statement is a crucial element in the college application process. It serves as your initial opportunity to capture the attention of the admissions committee. It can be likened to the "hook" that draws the reader into your narrative.

While a strong opening for your personal statement is vital, the rest of it should be equally well-crafted, engaging, and meaningful. Every part of your statement, from start to finish, should work together to create a compelling story that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

Defining the Purpose of a Personal Statement Introduction

The introduction of a personal statement serves several key purposes:

• Engages the Reader : It is designed to engage the reader's interest from the outset, whether through a compelling story, a thought-provoking question, or a powerful statement. It functions as the opening act that sets the stage for the entire narrative.
• Hints at the Theme : The introduction often provides a glimpse of the central theme or message you aim to convey throughout your personal statement. It serves as an initial preview of what's to come.
• Reveals Your Identity : It offers a brief insight into your identity as an applicant, going beyond mere achievements to reveal your personality, values, or passions.
• Creates Curiosity : A well-crafted introduction sparks curiosity, motivating the reader to explore further and discover why you're a standout candidate.
• Demonstrates Your Writing Skills : Additionally, it serves as a showcase for your writing abilities, demonstrating your capacity to communicate effectively.

In essence, the introduction acts as a gateway into your personal statement, inviting the admissions committee to delve deeper into your experiences, values, and aspirations as they read through your narrative.

Selecting the Right Approach

Choosing the approach for your personal statement's introduction is key. It's a decision that sets the tone for the entire narrative. While there are various approaches to consider, the key is to choose the one that aligns best with the unique story you aim to convey in your personal statement.

Crafting an Anecdotal Introduction

Starting your personal statement with a personal anecdote is like opening a door to your life, and welcoming the reader in. Anecdotes provide a glimpse into a specific moment or experience that left a mark. 

This approach makes your narrative relatable and forges an instant connection with the reader. It lets you convey your emotions, personal growth, and lessons clearly and engagingly.

Using a Thought-Provoking Question

A well-crafted question can pique the reader's interest and encourage them to explore your story further. It can also hint at the main message you want to convey in your personal statement.

Starting with a Relevant Quote

Including a quote from a respected figure or author in your intro for your personal statement can add depth and authority. It's like tapping into the wisdom of those who have paved the way before you. 

A thoughtfully selected quote encapsulates the core message of your personal statement and has the potential to resonate with the reader. It acts as a bridge, connecting your personal narrative to a broader world of knowledge and insight.

Employing an Intriguing Statistic or Fact

If your personal statement is about a particular topic, you can start with an eye-catching statistic or fact. 

Showing strong evidence right at the beginning helps to grab the reader's attention and set the stage for your story. Just make sure your introduction fits well with the rest of your personal statement.

How Can I Determine Which Approach Is Most Suitable for My Personal Statement?

Determining the most suitable approach for your college application personal statement depends on several factors, ensuring you present the most authentic and compelling version of yourself to admissions officers. Here's how to decide:

• Reflect on Your College Journey : Think about your high school experiences, academic achievements, extracurricular involvement, and any personal challenges you've faced. Consider what aspects of your journey you want the admissions committee to know.
• Understand the Admissions Committee : Get to know the audience that will be reviewing your application – the admissions officers. Research the college's values, mission, and what they seek in prospective students.
• Review Successful Examples : Study successful personal statements from students who gained admission to your target colleges. Analyze their introductions to see which approach resonates with you and aligns with your own story.
• Assess Your Writing Style : Reflect on your natural writing style. Are you a storyteller, a thinker who asks thought-provoking questions, or someone who effectively uses quotes or statistics to make a point?
• Match Approach to Your Message : Ensure that the chosen introduction approach matches the central message or theme you want to convey. It should set the stage for the story you aim to tell about your journey, goals, and aspirations.
• Seek Feedback : Share your draft introduction with teachers, mentors, or peers who are familiar with college application processes. They can offer insights on which approach best showcases your strengths and uniqueness.
• Edit and Refine : Don't hesitate to revise your introduction multiple times. Experiment with different approaches until you find the one that captures your essence and engages the admissions committee.
• Reach out for Help : Don't hesitate to reach out for help. Quad Education offers personalized personal statement support that can help you craft an introduction that truly stands out.

Remember, the goal is to select an approach that authentically represents you, resonates with the college's values, and captivates the admissions committee's attention. Your personal voice and narrative should shine through in your chosen approach.

How Long Should the Introduction of a Personal Statement Be?

The length of the introduction in your personal statement should align with the word limit guidelines provided by the specific application platform you are using. Here are the recommended word limits for some common application portals:

• Common Application : The Common Application typically allows for a personal statement ranging from 250 to 650 words. For the introduction, aim for brevity, usually consisting of two or three sentences.
• Coalition Application : The Coalition Application recommends a personal statement of 500 to 650 words. Similarly, for the introduction, keep it concise, typically two or three sentences.
• QuestBridge Application : The QuestBridge Application typically has a word limit of 650 words. In this case, you can include a slightly longer introduction, but it's still important to maintain a concise and engaging opening, often consisting of two to three sentences.

Remember that the goal of your introduction is to grab the reader's attention and set the stage for the rest of your personal statement, so keeping it focused and impactful is key. 

Dos and Don'ts of Personal Statement Openings

Let's explore the essential dos and don'ts when it comes to crafting the opening of your personal statement. These guidelines will help you understand how to begin a personal statement that stands out from the crowd. 

• Understand the Essay Prompt : Make sure you have a good grasp on the essay prompt to address it effectively, as it guides the direction of your personal statement and demonstrates your ability to follow instructions.
• Start Strong : Begin with a compelling hook that immediately grabs the reader's attention in your opening sentence for your personal statement. You want to make a memorable first impression.
• Express Passion : Showcase your genuine enthusiasm for your chosen field of study or topic. Let your excitement shine through in your opening lines.
• Stay True to Yourself : Be authentic and let your unique voice come through. Admissions officers appreciate honesty and authenticity.
• Set the Tone : The best way to start a personal statement is to use it to set the tone for the rest of your personal statement. Whether it's reflective, emotional, or informative, make it clear from the start.
• Show Motivation : Share what motivates and inspires you in your chosen path or major. Explain why you are passionate about it and what drives your interest.

Don'ts

• Avoid Clichés : Stay away from overused phrases or clichés in your opening. Aim to stand out and be original.
• Don't Start with a Quote Without Context : If you use a quote, ensure it's relevant to your story, and provide context for why you've chosen it.
• Steer Clear of Over-Formality : While your writing should be polished, don't make your opening overly formal or academic. Keep it engaging and relatable.
• Avoid Jargon : Refrain from using technical or field-specific jargon that the admissions officers may not understand. Keep your language accessible.
• Don't Begin with Apologies : Resist the temptation to start with apologies or self-deprecating statements. Focus on your strengths, aspirations, and what makes you stand out from the crowd instead.

Remember, your opening should entice the reader, offer a glimpse of your unique qualities, and build interest in your personal statement. It's your chance to make a strong first impression.

Examples of Personal Statement Starters That Worked

Let's dive into examples of personal statement starters that have proven to be effective in capturing the attention of admissions committees. These real-life openings can serve as inspiration for your own introduction.

Statement Example 1

“We stood in a circle on stage, introducing ourselves with our names and experience. The other students had lengthy lists, shows I hadn’t even heard of. Barely audible, I mumbled “I was [THE LEAD PROTAGONIST] in [A PLAY] five years ago.” I expected a laugh, this new kid who thought he could compete. Instead, a voice spoke up: “No way, I remember that show! Remember how we put the kids in their spots before curtains?” It was [FRIEND’S NAME] from elementary school, who had been opposite me as [THE ANTAGONIST].”

Statement Example 2

“I’m not good at making friends. In fact, if there was an award for the person who’s been the most unlucky with friends, it would go to me. I was shy when I was a little kid and that was only amplified when I moved across from [STATE] to [STATE], and then back to [ANOTHER CITY IN HOME STATE]. The constant move put me in six different schools, ranging from private to public to charter. During that time period, I rotated between three different homeschools. 

When it came to making friends, I would latch onto anyone who would take me. A bad habit yes, but it was the only way I knew how to make friends. Unfortunately, the ones who I latched onto the most were the ones who bullied me both verbally and physically.

It wasn’t until my freshman year of high school that I just stopped trying to make friends.

During my second semester of [CLASS] was when I first met an individual named [NAME]. I showed him a video of some adult getting stuck on a kid slide, and he thought I was weird. After that incident, he didn’t talk to me much after that, until a week later when I caught him walking his dog. I called out to him and we had a little conversation before going our separate ways. After that, we hung out more and more. The pandemic certainly brought us together as we lived close and it was convenient.

One afternoon, we were talking about how he was having motivational issues at school. He didn’t care anymore and just wanted to be done with it. He was debating whether or not he was dropping out of high school and I was trying to calm him down. I was trying to get him to see all sides before making a decision. Towards the end, after we’d talked through it all, we were both crying which was weird. Neither of us ever cried, especially not in front of others. I hadn't cried in front of someone who wasn’t family since I was six. It was one of the many things we had in common.

At the end of the call he said, “I love you [NAME], you're my best friend.” 

At that moment I just felt so happy it was honestly one of the kindest things I’d ever been told. It’s so weird because that’s something that people just say to one another right? It was the first time I heard that from someone outside of my family.

I’ll always love [NAME] for giving me that standard of what a friend should and could be. It wasn’t until I heard it from him that I understood the impact it could have on a person not hearing it. It’s such a gift to hear the appreciation one has for you.

It had been so long since I had a good friend, that when he told me about his appreciation for me, I just couldn’t stop crying. I was so happy to have a true friend who I could call my best friend.

Now, I don’t let people go below what I like to call the [NAME] standard’. If I feel like someone is not treating me or my friends fairly, I don’t entertain their company.

What [NAME] did wasn’t anything extravagant. He didn’t give his kidney and he didn’t race down the 101 to save me from some terrible tragedy. However, the appreciation that [NAME] showed for me and how he vocalized who I was to him, meant all the difference to me.

Now, I always let my friends know that I appreciate them and that I am thankful to have them in my life. This gift has helped me with choosing better friends who I love and appreciate. Thanks to Ben, he’s shown me how great life is when you're not alone.”

Statement Example 3

“In the summer of [YEAR], my sister was graduating college. My family and I drove to [CITY] to give our unconditional love and support and to celebrate. We ate dinner at a beautiful restaurant together and shared an amazing cake the day before. Unfortunately, it became the most tumultuous time in my life. The 8 hour drive back was brutal on my workaholic dad; he neglected his health to keep a bright future for me and my sister. A few days after coming home, my dad went to the doctor with aggravating chest pain. Soon after, the doctor dropped the news: my dad suffered a heart attack. I was [AGE], the youngest in my family, and refused to believe that my dad’s life could be cut short. Around this time, I was irresponsible and jaded; uncomfortable being empathetic, and always wishing problems to go away. The news weighed heavily on my shoulders. As I studied my dad’s condition, I soon realized and understood the great lengths he had worked to provide me a better future. Ultimately, I knew I had to change to be better for myself and for my dad. Post procedures, my dad returned home. Consequently, I was more empathetic, open to being vulnerable, and affectionate towards family which I had previously been too afraid to express. I would regularly hug my family members, didn’t hesitate to speak up if I was feeling scared or frustrated, listened to my dad more attentively, and I smiled more. Over the summer, I took care of my dad: I paid attention to his sodium intake, made sure he drank enough water, started doing his laundry, and slept in his room in case anything happened. There was nothing else that mattered more to me. I’m proud to say I can be vulnerable and act on my insecurities. I became an amicable, self-aware, and social person gaining respect and friendship amongst teachers and peers. Throughout college, I make sure to spend time with my family by cooking dinner for them once a week, sending them silly texts of cute animals, or just giving them a call. My transition to becoming more open has ultimately led to my career path as an [JOB TITLE] - creating better lives for marginalized communities. Understanding what other people go through and being susceptible will allow me to properly achieve my goals and assist those in need. It’s [YEAR], and my dad is in the best shape of his life. I show my gratitude by accompanying him during his checkups and scolding him for trying to eat poorly.”

Now that you know how to start a personal statement, examples can provide valuable insight. Use these examples as inspiration to write your own personal statement intros. 

Understanding how to start a personal statement is crucial to making a strong first impression. Keep reading to learn more about how to go about it. 

1. Is It Acceptable to Use Humor or Unconventional Methods Personal Statement Intro?

Yes, you can include humor or unconventional approaches in your personal statement introduction, but make sure to use them thoughtfully. If you decide to add humor, ensure it's appropriate and aligns with the overall tone of your essay. 

Similarly, unconventional methods should add to your narrative rather than take away from it. Always keep in mind the context and the preferences of the college or university you're applying to.

2. How Do I Capture the Reader's Attention in the First Few Lines of My Personal Statement?

To grab the reader's attention right away, consider starting with a captivating anecdote, a thought-provoking question, a relevant quote, or an intriguing statistic or fact. These techniques can spark the reader's curiosity and encourage them to dive deeper into your personal statement.

3. What Are Some Common Mistakes to Avoid When Starting a Personal Statement?

Some common blunders when starting a personal statement include:

• Using overused clichés or melodramatic statements that lack originality.
• Including irrelevant details that don't contribute to your narrative.
• Creating an excessively long or vague introduction that fails to engage the reader effectively.
• Focusing solely on personal experiences without connecting them to your chosen field of study or the values of the college or university.

Final Thoughts

To sum it up, your personal statement's opening is crucial in your college application, but it shouldn't overshadow the rest of your narrative. Choose an approach that suits your story, stay within word limits, and make a strong but concise first impression. 

Your goal is to engage the reader while being authentic and avoiding common mistakes. Now that you know how to start a personal statement, you can make your mark on the admissions committee. Good luck with your college applications!

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How to Format Your Personal Statement (& Example Essays)

Admissions committee members who are reading personal statements all expect an essay to flow logically from one section to the next. 

But this can be a challenge when core aspects of our lives often don’t occur to us in straightforward or linear ways. And some of those aspects may feel fundamentally disconnected: Is it even possible, for example, to write a personal statement that includes your career goals following a step by step approach in a way that is still personal ?

We think so. Most stories have some kind of arc: a satisfying sense of conflict, growth and change, and resolution. The personal statement format, structure, and content tips below can help you select an approach that helps you find and express the arc in your life, whether you’re working on undergraduate college admissions, law school, medical school, or other graduate schools.

What is the Correct Personal Statement Format?

There’s no single required format for the Common App or Coalition , but we’d generally recommend keeping it simple and standard. Regarding font choice, things like Times New Roman or Georgia (what this is written in) won’t fail you. Just avoid things like Comic Sans or other informal/casual fonts that will be distracting or show poor taste.

What about size? 11- or 12-point is fine.

And color? Black. 

Going with something other than the above could be a risk, possibly a big one, for fairly little gain. Things like a wacky font or text color could easily feel gimmicky to a reader.

To stand out with your writing, instead of risks with basic format, take some risks in what you write about and the connections and insights you make .

Can I use things like italics and bold?

Possibly: keep in mind that if you’re pasting text into a box online, it may wipe out your formatting. So if you were hoping to rely on italics or bold for some kind of emphasis, double check whether you’ll be able to. (And as a general guideline, try to use sentence structure and phrasing to create that kind of emphasis anyway, rather than relying on bold or italics—doing so will make you a better writer.)

What if I’m attaching a document (rather than pasting)?

If you are attaching a document rather than pasting into a text box, all the above still applies. Again, we’d recommend sticking with standard fonts and sizes—Times New Roman, 12-point is a standard workhorse. You can probably go with 1.5 or double spacing. Standard one inch margins.

Basically, show them you’re ready to write in college by using the formatting you’ll normally use in college.

Learn more format tips here .

How Long Should a Personal Statement Be?

Fortunately, colleges and application systems usually give you specific personal statement word counts. The Common Application and Coalition Application, which are the most prevalent applications, will give you a word count of 650 words for your main personal statement, but will usually give a smaller word count for school-specific supplemental essays . Other application programs or schools will usually give the specific word count maximum—for example, the UC PIQs are 350 words max. If the application or college doesn’t specify how long your essay should be clearly in the application directors or on the site (and make sure to do your research), you can email them to ask! They don’t bite.

Some people have asked us: Should I use all of my allotted space in an essay? 

As a general guideline, yes, we think it can be smart to use most of it. You likely have a lot to say about yourself, so not using all the space offered might be a missed opportunity to tell your story. While you don’t have to use every single word allowed, shoot to use most of what they give you. But fair warning: Don’t just fill space if what you’re writing doesn’t provide more insight into the story you’re telling.

There are also some applications or supplementals with recommended word counts or lengths. For example, Georgetown says things like “approx. 1 page,” and UChicago doesn’t have a limit, but recommends aiming for 650ish for the extended essay, and 250-500 for the “Why us?” 

You can generally apply UChicago’s recommendations to other schools that don’t give you a limit: If it’s a “Why Major” or “Why Us” supplement, 650 is probably plenty (and shorter is generally fine), and for other supplements, 250-500 is a good target to shoot for. If you go over those, that can be ok—just be sure you’re earning that word count (as in, not rambling or being overly verbose). Your readers are humans. If you send them a tome, their attention could drift.

How to Find Your Topic

To clarify at the outset, your topic is always you —you’re showing the admissions readers who you are and what you value. So what we’re exploring here is how best to do so.

And because we have other posts that offer a step by step approach to writing a personal statement , we’ll give the shorter version here.

We think there are two structural approaches that can work for anyone writing a personal statement for college admissions:

Montage Structure —a series of experiences and insights that are connected thematically (so, for example, 5 pairs of socks that connect to 5 different sides of who you are).

Narrative Structure —classic western culture story structure, focusing roughly equally on a) Challenges You Faced, b) What You Did About Them, and c) What You Learned. Paragraphs and events are connected causally.

Which approach may work best for you depends on whether you have a clear, significant challenge you’d want to write about, or not. (And to make sure it’s clear: you don’t have to write about a challenge, even if you have experienced one.) Narrative works well for challenge-based essays; montage offers a great way to demonstrate who you are without (primarily) focusing on challenges you’ve faced.

We’ve found these brainstorming exercises can be great for building content for a montage or a narrative:

Essence Objects Exercise : 12 min.

Values Exercise : 4 min.

21 Details Exercise: 20 min. 

Everything I Want Colleges to Know About Me Exercise : 20 min.

The Feelings and Needs Exercise : 15-20 min. 

How to Start Your Personal Statement

We’ve seen plenty of strong essays that don’t use a hook, so don’t stress out or spend more time on this than on other, generally more important parts of your essay. But an interesting opening can be a nice way to intrigue your reader and show them that you’ve worked on your ability to write. To that end, here are three (of many) ways to start a personal statement :

Begin with information that creates certain expectations before taking us in a surprising direction.

Growing up, my world was basketball. My summers were spent between the two solid black lines. My skin was consistently tan in splotches and ridden with random scratches. My wardrobe consisted mainly of track shorts, Nike shoes, and tournament t-shirts. Gatorade and Fun Dip were my pre-game snacks. The cacophony of rowdy crowds, ref whistles, squeaky shoes, and scoreboard buzzers was a familiar sound. I was the team captain of almost every team I played on—familiar with the Xs and Os of plays, commander of the court, and the coach’s right hand girl. But that was only me on the surface. Deep down I was an East-Asian influenced bibliophile and a Young Adult fiction writer.

Why It Works: We’re introduced to the author as a basketball superstar, the queen of the court, a sports fanatic—and at this point the reader may even be making assumptions about this author’s identity based on her initial description of herself. However, in one sentence, the writer takes us in a completely unexpected direction. This plays with audience expectations and demonstrates that she has a good degree of self awareness about the layers of her identity. After having our expectations thrown for a loop, we can’t help but wonder more about who exactly this person is (and if you want to know like I did, read the rest of this essay here ).

Another example: 

I am on Oxford Academy’s Speech and Debate Team, in both the Parliamentary Debate division and the Lincoln-Douglass debate division. I write screenplays, short stories, and opinionated blogs and am a regular contributor to my school literary magazine, The Gluestick. I have accumulated over 300 community service hours that includes work at homeless shelters, libraries, and special education youth camps. I have been evaluated by the College Board and have placed within the top percentile. But I am not any of these things. I am not a test score, nor a debater, nor a writer. I am an anti-nihilist punk rock philosopher. And I became so when I realized three things:

Why It Works: He basically tears up his (impressive) resume from the first few sentences and says, “That’s not me! Here’s the real me…” and as a result we wonder, “How does one become an anti-nihilist punk rock philosopher? And what are the three things??” (Read the rest here .)

THE PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION

Ask a question that you won’t (and probably can’t) answer in your essay. This gives you a chance to show how your brilliant brain works, plus keeps us hooked as you explore possible answers/solutions. 

Example: 

Does every life matter? Because it seems like certain lives matter more than others, especially when it comes to money.

Why it Works: This question raises a controversial and troubling idea: that we treat some lives as though they matter more than others. We wonder: “Is that true? Could it be? Say more…” Heads-up: This one can veer into the “Overly Grand Ambiguous Statement” opening if you’re not careful. Click here to read the rest of the essay mentioned above, which by the way took him a long time to refine—as this approach is not easy to pull off.

THE CONFESSION

Begin by admitting something you might be judged (or judge yourself) for. 

Example:  

I have been pooped on many times. I mean this in the most literal sense possible. I have been pooped on by pigeons and possums, house finches and hawks, egrets and eastern grays. (Read the rest here .)

Why it Works: Shows vulnerability, but also in many cases intrigues us to learn more. 

Here is a secret that no one in my family knows: I shot my brother when I was six. Luckily, it was a BB gun. But to this day, my older brother Jonathan does not know who shot him. And I have finally promised myself to confess this eleven year old secret to him after I write this essay.

Why It Works: This is super vulnerable to admit and raises all sorts of questions for us: Why did he shoot his brother? Why hasn’t he confessed it to him? What will his brother say once he tells him? (Fun fact: This essay actually breaks the “don’t start with a quote” rule. Here’s the rest if you wanna’ read it.)

Learn about six more ways to start a personal statement .

Showcase your Values, Skills, Qualities, and Insights

The personal statement is one of the primary ways a college gets to know who you are, through seeing the values, skills, qualities, and insights you’ll bring to that community. Both montage and narrative offer you a chance to demonstrate those aspects to your reader.

In a narrative, you’ll explore actions you took in response to the challenge you faced, and what you learned from those choices and experiences.

In a montage, you’ll explore different moments and experiences that demonstrate different core values through your actions and insights.

The in-depth guide we mentioned above can help you develop and revise those elements.

Build a Strong Ending 

A great ending often has two qualities: surprise and inevitability . H/T Aristotle

Think about a great film ending—usually you feel some combination of “Whoa, I totally didn’t see that coming,” and “Ah, right, it probably had to end like that.”

We’re talking about The Sixth Sense , Inception , or Titanic . And totally j/k re: Titanic because that was a TERRIBLE ending—both Jack and Rose could’ve totally fit on that door. The boat sinking was a shocker, though, right?

Does every great movie have both those qualities? No. And must you have both those qualities to get into a great college? No. But these are two good qualities to keep in mind as you read this post and write your essay.

1. CONNECT TO YOUR VALUES

This one is one of the easiest. It basically works like this: Look back through your essay and ask yourself, “What values am I showing?” 

Then don’t name those values too much in the body of your essay, but do name them explicitly in your conclusion. 

Here’s an example (note the values in bold ): 

Upon reflection, I found that my answer didn’t exist in books or research, but somewhere very close from the beginning—my intuition. In other words, I didn’t need an elaborate and intricate reason to prove to myself that health is an inalienable right for every human being—I needed self-reflection. So I ask again, “Does every life matter?” Yes. “Do I have solid, written proof?” No. Paul Farmer once said, “The thing about rights is that in the end you can’t prove what is a right.” To me, global health is not merely a study. It’s an attitude—a lens I use to look at the world—and it’s a statement about my commitment to health as a fundamental quality of liberty and equity .

To read the entire Does Every Life Matter essay, click here. 

Why This Ending Works:

If you read the entire essay (at link above), you’ll see the author touches on a few different themes in his essay—heritage, community, moral behavior, etc.—but he doesn’t make them super explicit until the end. Once he names them at the end, we (as readers) go, “Ah, that’s what we thought you were talking about.” 

Ending with values is also a pretty good idea because a) it shows your ability to self-reflect, and b) highlights some qualities that, oh, by the way, will be useful in college and beyond. 

Heads-up that this doesn’t work quite as well if you’ve already clearly named the values earlier in the essay—in fact, it can feel repetitive. So, if you’re trying this approach, a) make sure you didn’t already explicitly name the values earlier and, if you did, b) delete or rephrase those parts of your essay so that when you name the values at the end, it won’t feel as repetitive. 

And by the way—did you notice how the whole paragraph above felt repetitive? That’s because, if you were reading carefully, we already wrote before the example, “Then don’t name those values too much in the body of your essay, but do name them explicitly in your conclusion.” So, to edit, we should cut that sentence (and that’s what we’d have you do in your essay).

You’ll find another example of this type of ending in the Makeup essay (check out the mentions of “scientific inquiry,” “voice,” “connect me with others,” and more in those last lines).

2. THE BOOKEND OR CALLBACK

Bookending involves referring to something you’ve set up earlier in the essay. It’s something comedians do a lot and refer to as a “callback.” For a few examples, check out How Dave Chappelle Delivers a Callback starting at 1:05. (Trigger warning: There’s some adult language in that video. If you prefer, here’s the Wikipedia link explaining the same concept.)

Here’s an example of a callback in a personal statement: 

The essay begins ... 

I have been pooped on many times. I mean this in the most literal sense possible. I have been pooped on by pigeons and possums, house finches and hawks, egrets and eastern grays.

And the essay ends ... 

The upshot is that I simply cannot walk away from injustice, however uncomfortable it is to confront it. I choose to act, taking a stand and exposing the truth in the most effective manner that I think is possible. And while I’m sure I will be dumped on many times, both literally and metaphorically, I won’t do the same to others.

To read the entire “Poop, Animals, and the Environment” essay, click here.

What We Like about This Ending/Why It Works:

This one is great because, on the one hand, the ending catches the reader by surprise (we didn’t see that coming!). But it also feels inevitable (because she’s calling back to something she set up at the start). That’s that surprise + inevitability we mentioned a minute ago. (Thanks, Aristotle.)

One thing that’s cool about this tactic is that you can do this once the rest of your essay is already written. And, if you do it well, it’ll feel like you planned it all along. 

Learn about 8 other ways to end your personal statement .

Example #1 of a Good Format

Montage essay: settlers of catan.

Sprinting home from school and bursting through the door, I exclaimed, “Want to solve a puzzle today, Pati?” My grandmother looked up from her favorite TV show, saying in reluctant Tamil and broken English, “Maybe just one. You must have homework today. I heard fourth grade is quite demanding.” I yanked the thousand-page crossword book off the shelf and sat beside her. While shopping the day before, the book had caught my eye; it seemed like the perfect way for me to teach her English. Slowly, we solved the first problem, and came across one clue that read “Person who cuts men’s hair.” I taught her how to pronounce the word “barber” and described what the typical American barbershop looked like. She paused, committing the definition to memory, and once again reminded me to not cut my hair at night. When I asked why, she responded, “you never know where pieces of your hair might fall. It may even fall into your food!” As we continued day after day with these crossword puzzles, I came to understand that the meaning behind our time together was much deeper than my desire to teach her. It was about exchange. I taught her English; she taught me about my heritage. With every crossword, our shared sense of joy and belonging grew.  The two-way street of teaching and learning brought us closer and deepened our respect for one another. Six years later, I was teaching advanced math to a third-grade class. I took great care to explain new principles, and all of my students were doing well; I felt proud of them and of myself. Then, we reached the long division section. Despite my methodical descriptions, one student often stared back at me with a glazed-over look of confusion. I took her aside, trying yet again to explain the steps of long division, to no avail. Exasperated, I thought to myself, “This is my last try before kicking her out of the advanced class.” Taking a deep breath, I asked myself if I really was describing it in the best way. Realizing that mere repetition was futile, this time I explained it to her by connecting division to the basics of addition and subtraction. The glaze over her eyes disappeared, and in a small voice she exclaimed, “Oh!” My student mastered long division and scored excellently on the test - and I witnessed how patience allowed me to learn from my student and become a better teacher. While crosswords with my grandma illuminated the two-way nature of teaching and learning, this experience enriched my understanding of exchange with patience. This young girl also changed my view of patience: it isn’t only about waiting quietly for something to happen out of the blue, but can also be an act of service that I do for others. Now, I mentor elementary and middle schoolers in robotics and lead the programming committee on my high school’s robotics team. I’m constantly answering questions from both the younger students and my peers like, “How do I code a follow-the-line program?” or “How do I get data from an accelerometer?” Rather than simply answering, I contextualize their questions in the relevant theory and explain how the hardware and software bring that theory to life. Although it would be faster to explain the steps, I practice patience and engage them in an exchange. This way, they arrive at an answer on their own, allowing them to ingrain the new information in their memory. Mentoring robotics has solidified my notion that teaching is an exchange, and that patience is an integral part of that exchange. But most significantly, I understand that the dynamic pair of teaching and learning must come hand in hand for it to be effective. And the only way to have this kind of relationship is by helping each other solve our respective crossword puzzles. — — —

We think a strong personal statement demonstrates values, insight, vulnerability, and craft , so those are the aspects of these two sample essays we’ll focus on.

Values —This montage allows the author to illustrate many of the values that have shaped her: family, growth (her own and others’), heritage, connection, teaching, patience, curiosity…

Insight —There are several moments that show the author has worked on the ability to reflect. For example, “The two-way street of teaching and learning brought us closer and deepened our respect for one another.” demonstrates insight she has gained into how to develop strong supportive relationships

Vulnerability —Moments like “I asked myself if I really was describing it in the best way” in which we acknowledge when we may have failed at something or lacked understanding can be a nice way to demonstrate maturity

Craft —The author has clearly spent several drafts revising and thinking through their choices. The clarity of phrasing and sentence structure demonstrate that this author is ready to write in college.

Example #2 of a Good Format

Narrative essay: figuring out what really mattered.

"Perfect as the wing of a bird may be, it will never enable the bird to fly if unsupported by the air." —Ivan Pavlov  Upon graduation, I will be able to analyze medieval Spanish poems using literary terms and cultural context, describe the electronegativity trends on the periodic table, and identify when to use logarithmic differentiation to simplify a derivative problem. Despite knowing how to execute these very particular tasks, I currently fail to understand how to change a tire, how to do my taxes efficiently, or how to obtain a good insurance policy. A factory-model school system that has been left essentially unchanged for nearly a century has been the driving force in my educational development. I have been conditioned to complete tasks quickly, efficiently, and with an advanced understanding. I measured my self-worth as my ability to outdo my peers academically, thinking my scores were the only aspect that defined me; and they were. I was getting everything right. Then, I ran for Student Government and failed. Rejection. I didn’t even make it past the first round of cuts. How could that be? I was statistically a smart kid with a good head on my shoulders, right? Surely someone had to have made a mistake. Little did I know, this was my first exposure to meaning beyond numbers. As I was rejected from StuGo for the second year in a row, I discovered I had been wrongfully measuring my life through numbers--my football statistics, my test scores, my age, my height (I’m short). I had the epiphany that oh wait, maybe it was my fault that I had never prioritized communication skills, or open-mindedness (qualities my fellow candidates possessed). Maybe it was me. That must be why I always had to be the one to approach people during my volunteer hours at the public library to offer help--no one ever asked me for it. I resolved to alter my mindset, taking a new approach to the way I lived. From now on I would emphasize qualitative experiences over quantitative skills.  I had never been more uncomfortable. I forced myself to learn to be vulnerable by asking questions even if I was terrified of being wrong. My proficiency in using data evidence could not teach me how to communicate with young children at church, nor could my test scores show me how to be more open to criticism. The key to all of these skills, I was to discover, happened to be learning from those around me. Turns out, I couldn’t do everything by myself. The process of achieving this new mindset came through the cultivation of relationships. I became fascinated by the new perspectives each person in my life could offer if I really took the time to connect. Not only did I improve my listening skills, but I began to consider the big-picture consequences my engagements could have. People interpret situations differently due to their own cultural contexts, so I had to learn to pay more attention to detail to understand every point of view. I took on the state of what I like to call collaborative independence, and to my delight, I was elected to StuGo after my third year of trying. Not long ago, I would have fallen apart at the presence of any uncertainty. As I further accept and advance new life skills, the more I realize how much remains uncertain in the world. After all, it is quite possible my future job doesn’t exist yet, and that’s okay. I can’t conceivably plan out my entire life at the age of 17, but what I can do is prepare myself to take on the unknown, doing my best to accompany others. Hopefully, my wings continue enabling me to fly, but it is going to take more than just me and my wings; I have to continue putting my faith in the air around me. — — —

Values —Again, we get a bunch of core values threaded throughout the essay: intellectual curiosity, perspective, growth, relationships…

Insight —There are several nice moments of reflection in here. One example: “I discovered I had been wrongfully measuring my life through numbers--my football statistics, my test scores, my age, my height (I’m short). I had the epiphany that oh wait, maybe it was my fault that I had never prioritized communication skills, or open-mindedness (qualities my fellow candidates possessed).” demonstrates an ability to step back and reflect, to understand where he may have gone wrong, and to grow.

Vulnerability —Moments like “I currently fail to understand how to change a tire, how to do my taxes efficiently, or how to obtain a good insurance policy” add a bit of humor to the essay while also being vulnerable—it can be a little scary to acknowledge what others might perceive as weakness or shortcomings. But doing so actually demonstrates strength on the author’s part.

And there are a few of these: losing the election, realizing they had been measuring their life incorrectly, “Maybe it was me”…

Craft —The author does a nice job demonstrating their ability to write. The hook is interesting and effective, and is bookended nicely at the end. There’s a clear structure and flow to the essay. And there are nice little metaphorical turns of phrase like “I have to continue putting my faith in the air around me.”

Special thanks to Andy for contributing to this post.

Andrew has worked as an educator, consultant, and curriculum writer for the past 15 years, and earned degrees from Stanford in Political Science and Drama. He feels most at home on mountain tops and in oceans.

Top Values:  Insight/Growth | Truth | Integrity

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• How to Write Your Personal Statement | Strategies & Examples

How to Write Your Personal Statement | Strategies & Examples

Published on February 12, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on July 3, 2023.

A personal statement is a short essay of around 500–1,000 words, in which you tell a compelling story about who you are, what drives you, and why you’re applying.

To write a successful personal statement for a graduate school application , don’t just summarize your experience; instead, craft a focused narrative in your own voice. Aim to demonstrate three things:

• Your personality: what are your interests, values, and motivations?
• Your talents: what can you bring to the program?
• Your goals: what do you hope the program will do for you?

This article guides you through some winning strategies to build a strong, well-structured personal statement for a master’s or PhD application. You can download the full examples below.

Urban Planning Psychology History

Table of contents

Getting started with your personal statement, the introduction: start with an attention-grabbing opening, the main body: craft your narrative, the conclusion: look ahead, revising, editing, and proofreading your personal statement, frequently asked questions, other interesting articles.

Before you start writing, the first step is to understand exactly what’s expected of you. If the application gives you a question or prompt for your personal statement, the most important thing is to respond to it directly.

For example, you might be asked to focus on the development of your personal identity; challenges you have faced in your life; or your career motivations. This will shape your focus and emphasis—but you still need to find your own unique approach to answering it.

There’s no universal template for a personal statement; it’s your chance to be creative and let your own voice shine through. But there are strategies you can use to build a compelling, well-structured story.

The first paragraph of your personal statement should set the tone and lead smoothly into the story you want to tell.

Strategy 1: Open with a concrete scene

An effective way to catch the reader’s attention is to set up a scene that illustrates something about your character and interests. If you’re stuck, try thinking about:

• A personal experience that changed your perspective
• A story from your family’s history
• A memorable teacher or learning experience
• An unusual or unexpected encounter

To write an effective scene, try to go beyond straightforward description; start with an intriguing sentence that pulls the reader in, and give concrete details to create a convincing atmosphere.

Strategy 2: Open with your motivations

To emphasize your enthusiasm and commitment, you can start by explaining your interest in the subject you want to study or the career path you want to follow.

Just stating that it interests you isn’t enough: first, you need to figure out why you’re interested in this field:

• Is it a longstanding passion or a recent discovery?
• Does it come naturally or have you had to work hard at it?
• How does it fit into the rest of your life?
• What do you think it contributes to society?

Tips for the introduction

• Don’t start on a cliche: avoid phrases like “Ever since I was a child…” or “For as long as I can remember…”
• Do save the introduction for last. If you’re struggling to come up with a strong opening, leave it aside, and note down any interesting ideas that occur to you as you write the rest of the personal statement.

Once you’ve set up the main themes of your personal statement, you’ll delve into more detail about your experiences and motivations.

To structure the body of your personal statement, there are various strategies you can use.

Strategy 1: Describe your development over time

One of the simplest strategies is to give a chronological overview of key experiences that have led you to apply for graduate school.

• What first sparked your interest in the field?
• Which classes, assignments, classmates, internships, or other activities helped you develop your knowledge and skills?
• Where do you want to go next? How does this program fit into your future plans?

Don’t try to include absolutely everything you’ve done—pick out highlights that are relevant to your application. Aim to craft a compelling narrative that shows how you’ve changed and actively developed yourself.

My interest in psychology was first sparked early in my high school career. Though somewhat scientifically inclined, I found that what interested me most was not the equations we learned about in physics and chemistry, but the motivations and perceptions of my fellow students, and the subtle social dynamics that I observed inside and outside the classroom. I wanted to learn how our identities, beliefs, and behaviours are shaped through our interactions with others, so I decided to major in Social Psychology. My undergraduate studies deepened my understanding of, and fascination with, the interplay between an individual mind and its social context.During my studies, I acquired a solid foundation of knowledge about concepts like social influence and group dynamics, but I also took classes on various topics not strictly related to my major. I was particularly interested in how other fields intersect with psychology—the classes I took on media studies, biology, and literature all enhanced my understanding of psychological concepts by providing different lenses through which to look at the issues involved.

Strategy 2: Own your challenges and obstacles

If your path to graduate school hasn’t been easy or straightforward, you can turn this into a strength, and structure your personal statement as a story of overcoming obstacles.

• Is your social, cultural or economic background underrepresented in the field? Show how your experiences will contribute a unique perspective.
• Do you have gaps in your resume or lower-than-ideal grades? Explain the challenges you faced and how you dealt with them.

Don’t focus too heavily on negatives, but use them to highlight your positive qualities. Resilience, resourcefulness and perseverance make you a promising graduate school candidate.

Growing up working class, urban decay becomes depressingly familiar. The sight of a row of abandoned houses does not surprise me, but it continues to bother me. Since high school, I have been determined to pursue a career in urban planning. While people of my background experience the consequences of urban planning decisions first-hand, we are underrepresented in the field itself. Ironically, given my motivation, my economic background has made my studies challenging. I was fortunate enough to be awarded a scholarship for my undergraduate studies, but after graduation I took jobs in unrelated fields to help support my parents. In the three years since, I have not lost my ambition. Now I am keen to resume my studies, and I believe I can bring an invaluable perspective to the table: that of the people most impacted by the decisions of urban planners.

Strategy 3: Demonstrate your knowledge of the field

Especially if you’re applying for a PhD or another research-focused program, it’s a good idea to show your familiarity with the subject and the department. Your personal statement can focus on the area you want to specialize in and reflect on why it matters to you.

• Reflect on the topics or themes that you’ve focused on in your studies. What draws you to them?
• Discuss any academic achievements, influential teachers, or other highlights of your education.
• Talk about the questions you’d like to explore in your research and why you think they’re important.

The personal statement isn’t a research proposal , so don’t go overboard on detail—but it’s a great opportunity to show your enthusiasm for the field and your capacity for original thinking.

In applying for this research program, my intention is to build on the multidisciplinary approach I have taken in my studies so far, combining knowledge from disparate fields of study to better understand psychological concepts and issues. The Media Psychology program stands out to me as the perfect environment for this kind of research, given its researchers’ openness to collaboration across diverse fields. I am impressed by the department’s innovative interdisciplinary projects that focus on the shifting landscape of media and technology, and I hope that my own work can follow a similarly trailblazing approach. More specifically, I want to develop my understanding of the intersection of psychology and media studies, and explore how media psychology theories and methods might be applied to neurodivergent minds. I am interested not only in media psychology but also in psychological disorders, and how the two interact. This is something I touched on during my undergraduate studies and that I’m excited to delve into further.

Strategy 4: Discuss your professional ambitions

Especially if you’re applying for a more professionally-oriented program (such as an MBA), it’s a good idea to focus on concrete goals and how the program will help you achieve them.

• If your career is just getting started, show how your character is suited to the field, and explain how graduate school will help you develop your talents.
• If you have already worked in the profession, show what you’ve achieved so far, and explain how the program will allow you to take the next step.
• If you are planning a career change, explain what has driven this decision and how your existing experience will help you succeed.

Don’t just state the position you want to achieve. You should demonstrate that you’ve put plenty of thought into your career plans and show why you’re well-suited to this profession.

One thing that fascinated me about the field during my undergraduate studies was the sheer number of different elements whose interactions constitute a person’s experience of an urban environment. Any number of factors could transform the scene I described at the beginning: What if there were no bus route? Better community outreach in the neighborhood? Worse law enforcement? More or fewer jobs available in the area? Some of these factors are out of the hands of an urban planner, but without taking them all into consideration, the planner has an incomplete picture of their task. Through further study I hope to develop my understanding of how these disparate elements combine and interact to create the urban environment. I am interested in the social, psychological and political effects our surroundings have on our lives. My studies will allow me to work on projects directly affecting the kinds of working-class urban communities I know well. I believe I can bring my own experiences, as well as my education, to bear upon the problem of improving infrastructure and quality of life in these communities.

Tips for the main body

• Don’t rehash your resume by trying to summarize everything you’ve done so far; the personal statement isn’t about listing your academic or professional experience, but about reflecting, evaluating, and relating it to broader themes.
• Do make your statements into stories: Instead of saying you’re hard-working and self-motivated, write about your internship where you took the initiative to start a new project. Instead of saying you’ve always loved reading, reflect on a novel or poem that changed your perspective.

Your conclusion should bring the focus back to the program and what you hope to get out of it, whether that’s developing practical skills, exploring intellectual questions, or both.

Emphasize the fit with your specific interests, showing why this program would be the best way to achieve your aims.

Strategy 1: What do you want to know?

If you’re applying for a more academic or research-focused program, end on a note of curiosity: what do you hope to learn, and why do you think this is the best place to learn it?

If there are specific classes or faculty members that you’re excited to learn from, this is the place to express your enthusiasm.

Strategy 2: What do you want to do?

If you’re applying for a program that focuses more on professional training, your conclusion can look to your career aspirations: what role do you want to play in society, and why is this program the best choice to help you get there?

Tips for the conclusion

• Don’t summarize what you’ve already said. You have limited space in a personal statement, so use it wisely!
• Do think bigger than yourself: try to express how your individual aspirations relate to your local community, your academic field, or society more broadly. It’s not just about what you’ll get out of graduate school, but about what you’ll be able to give back.

You’ll be expected to do a lot of writing in graduate school, so make a good first impression: leave yourself plenty of time to revise and polish the text.

Your style doesn’t have to be as formal as other kinds of academic writing, but it should be clear, direct and coherent. Make sure that each paragraph flows smoothly from the last, using topic sentences and transitions to create clear connections between each part.

Don’t be afraid to rewrite and restructure as much as necessary. Since you have a lot of freedom in the structure of a personal statement, you can experiment and move information around to see what works best.

Finally, it’s essential to carefully proofread your personal statement and fix any language errors. Before you submit your application, consider investing in professional personal statement editing . For $150, you have the peace of mind that your personal statement is grammatically correct, strong in term of your arguments, and free of awkward mistakes.

A statement of purpose is usually more formal, focusing on your academic or professional goals. It shouldn’t include anything that isn’t directly relevant to the application.

A personal statement can often be more creative. It might tell a story that isn’t directly related to the application, but that shows something about your personality, values, and motivations.

However, both types of document have the same overall goal: to demonstrate your potential as a graduate student and s how why you’re a great match for the program.

The typical length of a personal statement for graduate school applications is between 500 and 1,000 words.

Different programs have different requirements, so always check if there’s a minimum or maximum length and stick to the guidelines. If there is no recommended word count, aim for no more than 1-2 pages.

If you’re applying to multiple graduate school programs, you should tailor your personal statement to each application.

Some applications provide a prompt or question. In this case, you might have to write a new personal statement from scratch: the most important task is to respond to what you have been asked.

If there’s no prompt or guidelines, you can re-use the same idea for your personal statement – but change the details wherever relevant, making sure to emphasize why you’re applying to this specific program.

If the application also includes other essays, such as a statement of purpose , you might have to revise your personal statement to avoid repeating the same information.

If you want to know more about college essays , academic writing , and AI tools , make sure to check out some of our other language articles with explanations, examples, and quizzes.

College essays

• College essay examples
• College essay format
• College essay style
• College essay length
• Diversity essays
• Scholarship essays

Academic writing

• Writing process
• Avoiding repetition
• Literature review
• Conceptual framework
• Dissertation outline
• Thesis acknowledgements
• Burned or burnt
• Canceled or cancelled
• Dreamt or dreamed
• Gray or grey
• Theater vs theatre

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By Nik Taylor (Editor, The Uni Guide) | 18 August 2023 | 22 min read

How to write an excellent personal statement in 10 steps

Stand out from the crowd: here's how to write a good personal statement that will get you noticed

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Your personal statement forms a core part of your university application, and the sooner you get going, the better you can make it. You may think that your personal statement won’t matter as much to unis as your grades and experience but a great personal statement could make all the difference between you and a candidate with the same grades. Sure, your application might not reach that deal breaker stage. But is it something you want to leave to chance?  Here we’ll take you through the process of planning, writing and checking a good personal statement, so you end up with something you can submit with confidence. And to make sure the advice we're giving you is sound, we’ve spoken to admissions staff at loads of UK universities to get their view. Look out for video interviews and advice on applying for specific subjects throughout this piece or watch our personal statement playlist on YouTube .

• Are you looking for personal statement examples? Check our library of hundreds of real personal statements, on The Student Room

Personal statement deadlines

You'll need to make sure you've got your personal statement written well in advance of your application deadline. Below are the main university application deadline dates for 2024 entry.

2024 entry deadlines

16 October 2023: Deadline for applications to Oxford and Cambridge universities, along with most medicine, dentistry, and veterinary courses.   31 January 2024: Deadline for applications to the majority of undergraduate courses. After this date, universities will start allocating places on these courses –   but you can still apply after the 31 January deadline , as this article explains . 30 June 2024:  Students who apply after this date will be entered into Clearing .

• Read more: Ucas deadlines and key application dates

What is a personal statement?

A personal statement is a central part of your Ucas application, where you explain why you’ve chosen a particular course and why you’ll be good at it. It's your chance to stand out against other candidates and hopefully get that all-important offer. You only write one personal statement which is then read by each university you apply to, so if you are applying for more than one subject (or it's a combined course) it's crucial that you include common themes or reference the overall skills needed for all subjects. Personal statements are especially important if you’re trying to get on a very competitive course, where you need to do anything you can to stand out to admissions tutors. Courteney Sheppard, senior customer experience manager at Ucas, advises that your personal statement is "the only part of the application that you have direct control over. Do lots of research to demonstrate your passion, curiosity and drive to pursue your chosen subject." There’s a limit on how much you can write: your personal statement can be up to 4,000 characters (including spaces) or 47 lines of 95 characters (including spaces); whichever is shorter. This may appear generous (read: long) but once you've got going you may find yourself having to edit heavily.

• Read more: teacher secrets for writing a great personal statement

1. Plan what you want to cover

The first thing you need to do is make a plan. Writing a personal statement off the top of your head is difficult. Start by making some notes, answering the following questions:

• What do you want to study?
• Why do you want to study it?
• What is there about you that shows you’re suited to studying this subject at university? Think about your personality, as well as your experiences.
• What are your other interests and skills?

These few points are going to form the spine of your personal statement, so write them in a way that makes sense to you. You might want to make a simple bulleted list or you might want to get all arty and use a mindmap. Whatever you choose, your aim is the same. You want to get it clear in your own head why a university should offer you a place on its course. Getting those details down isn't always easy, and some people find it helpful to make notes over time. You might try carrying a notebook with you or set up a memo on your phone. Whenever you think of something useful for your personal statement, jot it down. Inspiration sometimes comes more easily when you’re thinking about something else entirely. It might help to take a look at The Student Room for some sample personal statements by university and sample personal statements by subjects , to give you an idea of the kind of thing you want to include. 

• Read more: personal statement FAQs

2. Show off your experience

Some things are worth adding to your personal statement, some things are not. Firmly in the second camp are your qualifications. You don’t need to mention these as there’s a whole other section of your personal statement where you get to detail them very precisely. Don’t waste a single character going on about how great your GCSE grades are – it’s not what the admissions tutor wants to read. What they do want to see is: what have you done? OK, so you’ve got some good grades, but so do a lot of other applicants. What have you done that’s different, that shows you off as someone who really loves the subject you’re applying for? Spend some time thinking about all the experience you have in that subject. If you’re lucky, this might be direct work experience. That’s going to be particularly appropriate if you’re applying for one of the more vocational subjects such as medicine or journalism . But uni staff realise getting plum work experience placements is easier for some people than others, so cast your net wider when you’re thinking about what you’ve done. How about after-school clubs? Debating societies? Are you running a blog or vlog? What key skills and experience have you picked up elsewhere (eg from hobbies) that could be tied in with your course choice? Remember, you’re looking for experience that shows why you want to study your chosen subject. You’re not just writing an essay about what you're doing in your A-level syllabus. Use this checklist as a guide for what to include:

• Your interest in the course. Why do you want to spend three years studying this subject at university?
• What have you done outside school or college that demonstrates this interest? Think about things like fairs/exhibitions, public lectures or voluntary work that is relevant to your subject.
• Relevant work experience (essential for the likes of medicine, not required for non-vocational courses such as English )
• Skills and qualities required for that career if appropriate (medicine, nursing and law as obvious examples)
• Interest in your current studies – what particular topics have made an impression on you?
• Any other interests/hobbies/experiences you wish to mention that are relevant either to the subject or 'going to uni'. Don't just list your hobbies, you need to be very selective and state clearly what difference doing these things has made to you.
• Plans for a gap year if you’re deferring entry.

Read more: 6 steps you need to take to apply to university

3. Be bold about your achievements

Don't be bashful about your achievements; that’s not going to help you get into uni. It's time to unleash your inner Muhammed Ali and get all “I am the greatest” with your writing. Do keep it focused and accurate. Do keep your language professional. But don’t hide your qualities beneath a layer of false modesty. Your personal statement is a sell – you are selling yourself as a brilliant student and you need to show the reader why that is true. This doesn’t come naturally to everyone, and if you’re finding it difficult to write about how great you are it’s time to enlist some help. Round up a friend or two, a family member, a teacher, whoever and get them to write down your qualities. Getting someone else’s view here can help you get some perspective. Don’t be shy. You are selling your skills, your experience and your enthusiasm – make sure they all leap off the screen with the way you have described them.

• Read more: the ten biggest mistakes when writing your personal statement  

4. How to start your personal statement

Type your personal statement in a cloud-based word processing program, such as Google Docs or Microsoft Word and don’t copy and paste it into Ucas Hub until it’s finished.  One of the benefits of doing it this way is that you can run spell check easily. (Please note, though, that Word adds "curly" quotation marks and other characters (like é or ü) that won't show up on your Ucas form, so do proofread it on Ucas Hub before submitting it to ensure it is how you typed it.)  Another big benefit is that you'll always have a backup of what you've written. If you're being super careful, you could always save your statement in another place as well. Bear in mind that extra spaces (eg adding spaces to the beginnings of paragraphs as indentation) are removed on Ucas. In your first sentence, cut to the chase. Why do you want to do the course? Don’t waste any time rambling on about the daydreams you had when you were five. Just be clear and concise – describe in one line why this course is so important to you. Then, in the rest of your intro, go into more detail in demonstrating your enthusiasm for the course and explaining how you decided this is what you want to do for the next three or more years. However you choose to start your statement, just avoid the following hoary old chestnuts. These have been some of the most used lines in personal statements over the years – they are beyond cliche, so don’t even think about it.

• From a young age I have (always) been [interested in/fascinated by]…
• For as long as I can remember, I have…
• I am applying for this course because… 
• I have always been interested in… 
• Throughout my life I have always enjoyed… 
• Reflecting on my educational experiences… 
• [Subject] is a very challenging and demanding [career/profession/course]… 
• Academically, I have always been… 
• I have always wanted to pursue a career in… 
• I have always been passionate about…   

5. Focus your writing on why you've chosen that subject

So you’ve got your intro done – time to nail the rest of it. Bear in mind that you’ve got to be a little bit careful when following a personal statement template. It’s easy to fall into the trap of copying someone else’s style, and in the process lose all of your own voice and personality from your writing. But there is a rough order that you can follow, which should help keep you in your flow. After your opening paragraph or two, get into any work experience (if you’ve got it). Talk about extracurriculars: anything you've done which is relevant to the subject can go here – hobbies, interests, volunteering. Touch on your career aspirations – where do you want this course to take you? Next, show your enthusiasm for your current studies. Cite some specific examples of current work that you enjoyed. Show off your relevant skills and qualities by explaining how you’ve used these in the past. Make sure you’re giving real-world examples here, not just vague assertions like “I’m really organised and motivated”. Try to use examples that are relevant.   Follow this up with something about you as a person. Talk about non-academic stuff that you like to do, but link it in some way with the course, or with how it shows your maturity for dealing with uni life. Round it all off by bringing your main points together, including a final emphasis of your commitment to studying this particular course.

• Read more: how to write your personal statement in an evening  

6. How long should a personal statement be?

You've got to work to a very specific limit when writing your personal statement. In theory you could use up to 4,000 characters – but you’re probably more likely to be limited by the line count. That's because it's a good idea to put line breaks in between your paragraphs (to make it more readable) and you only get a maximum of 47 lines. With this in mind, 3,500 characters is a more realistic limit. But when you’re getting started you should ignore these limits completely. At first, you just want to get down everything that you feel is important. You'll probably end up with something that is far too long, but that's fine. This is where you get to do some polishing and pruning. Keep the focus of your piece on the course you’re applying for, why you want to do it and why you’re perfectly suited to it. Look through what you’ve written so far – have you got the balance right? Chop out anything that goes on a bit, as you want each point to be snappy and succinct.

• Read more: universities reveal all about personal statements  

7. Keep it simple

8. Smart ways to end your personal statement

Writing a closing line that you’re happy with can feel as tricky as coming up with your opener. What you’re looking for here is a sign-off that is bold and memorable. The final couple of sentences in your statement give you the opportunity to emphasise all the good stuff you’ve already covered. Use this space to leave the reader in no doubt as to what an excellent addition you would be to their university. Pull together all your key points and – most importantly – address the central question that your personal statement should answer: why should you get a place on the course?

• Read more: universities explain how to end your personal statement with a bang  

9. Make sure your personal statement has no mistakes

Now you’ve got a personal statement you’re happy with, you need to make sure there are no mistakes. Check it, check it a second time, then check it again. Once you’ve done that, get someone else to check it, too. You will be doing yourself a massive disservice if you send through a personal statement with spelling and/or grammatical errors. You’ve got months to put this together so there really is no excuse for sending through something that looks like a rush job. Ask your teachers to look at it, and be prepared to accept their feedback without getting defensive. They will have seen many personal statements before; use what they tell you to make yours even better. You’ve also got another chance here to look through the content of your personal statement, so you can make sure the balance is right. Make sure your focus is very clearly on the subject you are applying for and why you want to study it. Don’t post your personal statement on the internet or social media where anyone can see it. You will get picked up by the Ucas plagiarism checker. Similarly, don't copy any that you find online. Instead, now is a good time to make your parents feel useful. Read your personal statement out to them and get them to give you feedback. Or try printing it out and mixing it up with a few others (you can find sample personal statements on The Student Room). Get them to read them all and then try to pick yours out. If they can't, perhaps there's not enough of your personality in there.  

10. Don't think about your personal statement for a whole week

If you followed the advice at the very start of this guide, you’ve started your personal statement early. Good job! There are months before you need to submit it. Use one of these weeks to forget about your personal statement completely. Get on with other things – anything you like. Just don’t go near your statement. Give it a whole week and then open up the document again and read through it with fresh eyes. You’ll gain a whole new perspective on what you’ve written and will be well placed to make more changes, if needed.

• Read more: how to write your personal statement when you have nothing interesting to say  

10 steps to your ideal personal statement

In summary, here are the ten steps you should follow to create the perfect personal statement.  

Personal statement dos and don'ts

• Remember that your personal statement is your personal statement, not an article written about your intended field of study. It should tell the reader about you, not about the subject.
• Only put in things that you’re prepared to talk about at the interviews.
• Give convincing reasons for why you want to study the course – more than just "enjoying the subject" (this should be a given).
• For very competitive courses, find out as much as you can about the nature of the course and try to make your personal statement relevant to this.
• Be reflective. If you make a point like 'I like reading', 'I travelled abroad', say what you got from it.
• Go through the whole thing checking your grammar and your spelling. Do this at least twice. It doesn’t matter if you’re not applying to an essay-based course – a personal statement riddled with spelling mistakes is just going to irritate the reader, which is the last thing you want to do. If this is something you find difficult then have someone look over it for you.
• Leave blank lines between your paragraphs. It’s easier for the reader to get through your personal statement when it’s broken into easily digestible chunks. Remember that they’re going to be reading a lot of these! Make yours easy to get through.
• Get someone else's opinion on your statement. Read it out to family or friends. Share it with your teacher. Look for feedback wherever you can find it, then act upon it.
• Don’t write it like a letter. Kicking off with a greeting such as "Dear Sir/Madam" not only looks weird, it also wastes precious space.
• Don’t make jokes. This is simply not the time – save them for your first night in the union.
• Don’t criticise your current school or college or try to blame teachers for any disappointing grades you might have got.
• Be afraid of details – if you want your PS to be personal to you that means explaining exactly which bits of work or topics or activities you've taken part in/enjoyed. It's much more compelling to read about one or two detailed examples than a paragraph that brushes over five or six.
• Just list what you're doing now. You should pull out the experiences that are relevant to the courses which you're applying to.
• Mention skills and activities without giving examples of when they have been demonstrated by you or what you learnt from them. Anyone can write "I have great leadership skills" in a PS, actually using a sentence to explain when you demonstrated good leadership skills is much rarer and more valuable.
• Refer to experiences that took place before your GCSEs (or equivalent).
• Give explanations about medical or mental health problems. These should be explained in your reference, not your PS.
• Apply for too many different courses, making it difficult to write a convincing personal statement which supports the application.
• Write a statement specific to just one institution, unless you're only applying to that one choice.
• Copy and paste the statement from somewhere else! This means do not plagiarise. All statements are automatically checked for plagiarism by Ucas. Those that are highlighted by the computer system are checked manually by Ucas staff. If you’re found to have plagiarised parts of your statement, the universities you apply to will be informed and it could jeopardise your applications.
• Use ChatGPT or another AI program to write your personal statement for you. Or, if you do, make sure you thoroughly edit and personalise the text so it's truly yours. Otherwise you're very much at risk of the plagiarism point above.

You may want to look at these...

How to write your university application.

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It might feel like it's taking forever for your uni offers to come through. Find out what's going on, and when you should hear back

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Why Quotes Should Be Avoided in a Personal Statement

Written by David Lombardino   |  Updated February 23, 2024

How Do I Stand out?

One of the greatest challenges—and for many the single greatest challenge—in applying for medical residency is deciding what to write in the personal statement. How do I stand out? What can I write to catch the program director’s attention?

These are questions that plague every one of the 45,000 applicants for medical residency across the U.S. and Canada every year, and they are ones that both U.S. and Canadian medical graduates and international medical graduates (IMGs) have to answer.

The Greatest Obstacle to Writing a Personal Statement

I have been editing, proofreading and critiquing personal statements for medical residency since 2008. It started as a favor I would do for friends and acquaintances, and has grown to overseeing, as editor in chief, the 1,000+ personal statements DLA Editors & Proofers reviews annually.

From what I have seen, the greatest obstacle preventing candidates from knowing what to write in their personal statements is not actually understanding what a personal statement is.

What Exactly Is a “Personal Statement”?

To understand what a personal statement is—and therefore to avoid the common pitfalls in writing one—it is necessary to consider first what the words “personal” and “statement” mean.

Let us start with the word “statement,” since it is the noun and therefore the foundation of the term.

According to Webster's Third New International Dictionary , a “statement” is “a report or narrative (as of facts, events, or opinions),” an “account” or “recital.” A “narrative,” or “narration,” is “the act or process of telling the particulars of an act, occurrence, or course of events.”

For candidates applying for medical residency, both the “act” and “occurrence” is the process of applying for medical residency, and the “course of events” is the path that has led to the candidate's now applying for medical residency.

When we add the definition of “personal” to this description, we get an even clearer picture.

“Personal” means “of or relating to a particular person.” It is “not public or general.” The “particular person,” of course, is the candidate preparing for medical residency.

Applying this meaning to that of “statement,” we can see that the “path” that is to be described by the “personal statement” should be the one of the applicant, and no one else.

The Challenge of Being “Personal” in a “Personal Statement”

Of the two components of the “personal statement,” by far the one that most applicants struggle with is the “personal” aspect.

Our clients are smart, driven individuals who excel at gathering, analyzing and prioritizing information to find possible solutions to a problem. The process is one in which they have been well trained, as the foundation for taking an effective patient history to arrive at the most likely differential diagnosis.

The greatest difficulty they have when needing to write their personal statements is not in their ability to approach a problem logically, but in being able even to know how to approach the problem of what to write, which for many defies logic.

This is particularly true for applicants raised outside the U.S. or Canada in cultures in which they were taught never to focus on themselves or to divulge any personal details, no matter how trivial.

Why Candidates Use Quotes in Their Personal Statements

No matter whether the candidates are U.S. or Canadian medical graduates or IMGs—and therefore for various reasons—they tend just the same to want to use quotes in their personal statements, with the quotes they want to use tending to fall into one of three categories.

The first and most common is a quote from someone famous. Examples of this are quoting Mohammed, Nelson Mandela or Thomas Jefferson.

The second is a quote from what a professor, attending or public speaker said in front of a class or group.

The third is a quote from a close friend, family member or otherwise particularly influential individual that has had a profound effect on the candidate.

In most cases, the quote is used in the introduction, and in most of these the candidate uses it in the first sentence. The reason for this is quite simple: the candidate is stuck on how to start, they do not have enough confidence in their own words, they believe such a device will attract the attention of an otherwise disinterested program director, or all of the above.

Why Using a Quote in a Personal Statement Is Almost Always a Mistake

What many candidates do not realize is that quoting someone else—particularly in the introduction and especially in the first sentence—is almost always a mistake.

There are several reasons for this.

Most commonly—as in the first two types of quotes described above—the quote has had no direct influence in shaping the candidate’s personal or professional path.

For a quote from Mohamed, Mandela or any other person to be effective, it must be crucial to the point in the narrative at which it occurs.

If it occurs in the first sentence, for example, it must be that the quote, above all the other candidate’s influences, has been foundational in their path. This is rarely likely, except in the case in which the candidate first heard the quote at a very young age and replayed it over and over again in their mind every—or almost every—day since.

Such quotes are more likely to have come from a parent or close family member or family friend than from a famous person.

When the quote occurs somewhere in the introduction after the first sentence, or elsewhere in the personal statement, it must similarly have had a profound effect on the candidate's individual path, or it must be otherwise crucial to the narrative.

In the first case it would be from someone particularly influential in the candidate’s life. This could be from a close family member or from some other individual close to the candidate. It could be from a professor or attending if it represents a key moment in the candidate's development.

What I mean by “gimmick” is something that someone writes as a crutch in place of what should actually be written.

In most cases the candidate does not realize that what they have written will come across as a gimmick, or they—at least before using our services—are at a loss with regard to what else to write.

When evaluating whether a quote is being used effectively, we come back to the key pillar of the personal statement, which is that it must be “personal.”

Too often, the quotes come across as either filler material or as a result of the candidate's, for whatever reason, not taking the effort simply to tell their own story.

What Candidates Should Write in Their Personal Statements Instead of a Quote

One problem we see is that there is a lot of misleading advice—and, even worse, examples—on how to write a personal statement that encourage the candidate to start with a famous quote. For almost every candidate, this is, by contrast, the worst place to start.

What is easy, though, is to ask one simple question to help decide whether starting with a quote is a good idea. This is: “Where did I get the idea for using this quote?”

If the answer is not that “it has had a profound effect on me since I heard it” or, in other words, that “there is no other way for me to tell my story without it,” then chances are it will not be successful to use it in the personal statement.

What a candidate should write instead is simply their own path in their own words.

Instead of trying to find a quote to use for the first sentence, the candidate should reflect on what exactly was the beginning of their path, and start with describing that.

One way to start could be: “As far back as I can remember, I have had a strong desire to help others” or “I will never forget the first time my uncle took me to visit the slums.”

Opening with a clear, direct statement like this from the candidate's own point of view will always be the most effective way to gain the attention of the program director, and to encourage them to read past the first sentence.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published January 30, 2017, and last updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness June 16, 2022.

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How To Start A Personal Statement: An Expert View

Starting a personal statement can often be the hardest challenge that applicants face. The prospect of starting with a blank page can be daunting, and it can often lead to people not starting in good time. This post will give you the tools you need to get started in the right way…

There are 9 steps to starting a personal statement, and apart from the first and last, you can work on them in any order. Do not write the first draft from scratch or try to write the opening paragraph first. Instead, gather key information and make comprehensive notes before creating the content.

Here are those nine steps in greater detail…

1 Make a Resource Document with Relevant Sections

The very first step when starting work on your personal statement is to create a single resource document. This can be in pages, word or in-app; whatever works best for you. All of your research, notes and writing will go into this one document, so make sure you’re comfortable with the software you use. The rules for this document are simple and if you stick to them, your personal statement will have a far higher chance of success.

Firstly, make sure your document is available across your devices. If you have reliable cloud storage, keep it there. Secondly, if you have connectivity or security issues, or you’re not comfortable with working online, make sure you regularly save a local copy. Back it up, but only work on one version and make sure you know exactly which version is which. Lastly, organise your document into specific, well-planned sections, and be disciplined about adhering to this structure. If you’re not sure how to divide your document, you can see an example below, based on the headings in this post.

If you’re more comfortable with pen and paper planning, a simple workbook like this will suit you perfectly.

2 Research Courses and Gather Key Vocabulary

Research a range of courses that focus on your chosen subject or speciality. You can do this incredibly easily and comprehensively here in the UK or here in the US . Once you have identified courses offering core components and modules that interest you, and with descriptions that engage you, take the time to make a list of the top 10 common or closely related vocabulary used to describe not only the course but also the attributes of a potential student.

You should end up with a list of powerful buzzwords that apply across the spectrum of courses you’re applying for. You should be ready to use a mix of these words, if appropriate and relevant, in your personal statement. This will show the reader that not only have you done your research, but that you are exactly the right fit for their program.

3 Consider Personal Inspirations and Anecdotes

Some consider this heading to be contentious, but in the early stages of starting your personal statement, it is vital that you prioritise writing about yourself. Regardless of whether you think they’re trivial or profound, note down as many of the reasons why you want to study a particular subject or go into a particular industry as you can. You might only use a sentence from this section in your final document, but having a pool of notes about what drives you is important; it will provide the reader with a tangible insight into your motivations and ambitions.

You might list personal experiences that inspired your interest in a subject or consider individuals or groups that have fostered your interest. You might have a desire to make a change in a particular field, or to work on overcoming a challenge faced by others. You might even have seen something as a child that has stayed in your mind. For now, write it all down. At a later point in the process, you will want to distil your motivation into an effective, relevant passage.

4 Evidence Your Knowledge, Skills and Suitability

One of the most important elements to include in a personal statement is evidencing your academic and personal suitability for the course you are applying for. At the start of the process, this might feel like a bit of a list, but you can develop it later, when you start to shape the material. Lots of the content in this section is likely to come from what you’ve explored and been inspired by during current or previous courses of study.

For now, make a list of all the skills you have that you think will be relevant to your application. You’ll want to think about specific subject-related knowledge, wider academic skills and your personal suitability for the course. I’ve given you some examples in the table below to get you started. Think as deeply as you can about what the subject would demand of you at a higher level, and how you can show that you meet the appropriate standard, rather than just telling the reader that you do. Here’s a great video going into that in a bit more detail:

Use your planning document as a space to write down everything that occurs to you, as long as it follows the structure in the table below. You could even insert a table of your own into your document, if it helps. You can always remove the table and turn the points into logical, well-crafted prose later in the process.

5 Evidence Wider Reading, Activities and Opinions

When you start your personal statement, it is important to keep an accurate record of the wider reading you do in preparation for the course. Some of this is likely to be related to your current courses of study, but specifically, admissions teams are looking for evidence that you have researched, read and participated in activities that extend your knowledge of the subject beyond your current syllabus, and by extension, make you a more suitable candidate for study at a higher level.

You should be able to evidence a range of books you’ve read that relate to the subject you want to study, but also trade publications you’ve seen, videos and lectures you’ve watched, workshops, conferences or seminars you have attended live or online and ways in which you have sought out opportunities to deepen your knowledge in general. This can seem like a lot of work, but if you are dedicated to deeper study of a subject, it should naturally be ongoing and enjoyable.  

It is also good practice, along with notes of what you read or experienced, to give your informed opinion of it. This will be very useful in your personal statement, as you’ll be able to make comparative points to demonstrate your knowledge as well as your academic potential. There are some excellent pointers for improving your academic research here .

6 Gather Information About the Subject or Industry

Regardless of your intended field of study, you will be able to gather some key information about contemporary movements or opinions in the field, or opportunities and challenges within the industry that are relevant to your course. Take some time to move beyond the information in your current course texts and use your own research to develop a few specific, clear examples. You will want to refer to some of these in your personal statement, but only when doing so is relevant to the point you want to make.

Remember, you should evidence your suitability by showing your knowledge, opinions and ambition, not by listing the top three answers to a quick Google search.  As an example, if you were applying for a degree in Medicine, you might gather the following kinds of information:

7 Explain Your Ambitions in Relation to the Course

This can be a challenging thing for some people to write about but is exactly what admissions officers and course leaders want to see. So, having thoroughly researched the content of the courses you are applying for, make a list of the specific ambitions you have for your studies.

Rather than saying “I want to learn more about Physics”, which doesn’t really mean anything, perhaps you could say “I am particularly interested in deepening my understanding of fluid dynamics, in advance of applying for an Aeronautics placement later in the course.” By writing like this, you are showing that you understand the course content, and making your application purposeful; there’s a specific reason for your choices, which is important to universities.

You could also show a wider level of ambition by linking the specialisms of study on a particular course with your career aspirations. If you want to go into Events Management as a career, then talking about the value of studying a module in Venue Risk Management connects your goals to the course content incredibly clearly.

8 List Your Relevant Co-Curricular Experiences

This section should list all the things you have done in addition to your studies that might be relevant or valuable to your application. When you are starting your personal statement, it’s alright to pour lots of thoughts and examples into this document. You will need to review and edit later, but for now, it’s alright to include as much content as you can.

What makes an experience relevant or valuable? It needs to have a direct bearing on your ability to successfully complete a higher level of study in your chosen field, or it needs to evidence sympathetic skills which will be of value to you during the course.

For example, saying that you enjoy swimming has no immediate relevance to an application to study Archaeology. However, if you have developed a self-disciplined and motivated mindset due to regular and demanding training, then that’s a skill worth mentioning, as it could be related to your potential success as a student. If you intend to study Interior Design, and you have experience of a part-time job in retail, that’s not a particularly valuable inclusion. Explaining what you learned about visual design as a result of creating a successful window display in the store would evidence relevant skills as well as indicating that you can balance study and work effectively.

9 Edit and Structure Relevant Content Carefully

It will take you a long time to research and note down all of these elements, but it is worth persevering, being accurate and thorough, and giving yourself the time to go through these steps in full. Once you have all this information, you’ll find you’ve got a large document, and it might seem like quite a challenge to edit it down. However, once you’ve gathered everything, you’ll find the hardest part of the process has been completed.

If you need some help with proofing and editing, you should check out Grammarly . I often recommend this free, intuitive software to students as it really helps get personal statements to a high level of accuracy, and it’s great for university study as well. You can click here to find out more about it , or hit the banner.

Depending on the context you’re writing your personal statement for, you’ll need to edit down to a specific word or character count. Even if you don’t have a word count to work to, it will be important to edit your notes to make your personal statement compelling and engaging. If you’re stuck on getting your first paragraph right, you can pick up some great advice here , and you can check out how to structure your content successfully over at this post .

Good luck with your personal statement, and don’t forget to contact me if you’d like some 1-1 support. You’ve got this! D

Research and content verified by Personal Statement Planet.

David Hallen

I've worked in the Further Education and University Admissions sector for nearly 20 years as a teacher, department head, Head of Sixth Form, UCAS Admissions Advisor, UK Centre Lead and freelance personal statement advisor, editor and writer. And now I'm here for you...

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• Personal statement dos and don'ts

Applying to university

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Shona Barrie – Director of Admissions, University of Stirling

UCAS asked admissions tutors – the people who read and score your personal statement – for their advice on what you should and shouldn’t do when writing your personal statement. 

The most common piece of advice was not to worry about it – and don’t be tempted to copy anyone else’s.

Read our step-by-step guide to writing your personal statement

Then follow our simple tips below.

• Do talk about why you’re a good candidate – talk about you, your motivations and what brings you to this course.
• Do be enthusiastic – if you show you’re interested in the course, it may help you get a place.
• Do make it relevant . Connect what you’re saying with the course and with your experiences.
• Do outline your ideas clearly .
• Do avoid the negatives – highlight the positives about you, and show you know your strengths.
• Do expect to produce several drafts of your personal statement before being totally happy with it.
• Do ask people you trust for their feedback.
• Don’t be modest or shy . You want your passions to come across. 
• Don’t exaggerate – if you do, you may get caught out in an interview when asked to elaborate on an interesting achievement.
• Don’t use quotes from someone else, or cliches.
• Don’t leave it to the last minute – your statement will seem rushed and important information could be left out.
• Don’t let spelling and grammatical errors spoil your statement , but don't just rely on a spellchecker. Proofread as many times as possible.
• Don’t copy and paste – make yours original.
• Don’t post your personal statement on the internet or on social media or share your personal statement with anyone including your friends and family, unless asking for feedback from people you trust.
• Don’t worry about it – we have all the advice you need to help you stand out in your personal statement. 

The personal statement tool image

Don’t be tempted to copy or share your statement.

UCAS scans all personal statements through a similarity detection system to compare them with previous statements.

Any similarity greater than 30% will be flagged and we'll inform the universities and colleges to which you have applied. 

Find out more

Ana ghaffari moghaddam – third year law student and careers coach, university of liverpool.

You’ve got this. Follow those simple steps and use your personal statement as your chance to shine .Use the below as a checklist to make sure you've avoided all common pitfalls.

Want more tips on what to include in your personal statement? Use the links below.

• Get started with our personal statement builder . 
• Five things all students should include in their personal statement. 
• See how you can turn your personal statement into a CV, apprenticeship application or covering letter. 
• Read How to start a personal statement: The attention grabber .

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• 2024 Elections

These Are the Biggest Moments in the First Presidential Debate

A wkward exchanges, personal jabs, and falsehoods dominated the first presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Thursday in Atlanta.

The evening saw Biden and Trump go back and forth on the topics at the top of many Americans’ minds— abortion , inflation, immigration, and climate , among others. The two candidates for the highest elected office in the U.S. also took time to call each other “whiners” and “complainers,” while trading jabs on stage at their opponent’s age, mental alertness, and even golf skills.

Here are the biggest moments from the night.

Biden’s stumbles

President Biden’s performance at the debate was the subject of much scrutiny. Just mere minutes after the debate started, Biden’s voice appeared raspy and at times he completely rambled off on a nonsensical tangent. (Biden allies have claimed he’s recovering from a cold.)

Read More: Trump’s Debate Strategy: Let Biden Bury Himself

The 81-year-old Biden took a lengthy pause while talking about Medicare. At one point when moderators asked Biden questions on immigration and border security, he appeared to misspeak while concluding his statement, giving Trump an opportunity to retort: “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence, and I don’t think he knows what he said either.”

Read More: Calls for Biden to Step Aside Are About to Get Deafening

Biden and Trump, 78, are the two oldest major party candidates for U.S. President, and their ages have become liabilities, with some polls questioning—particularly about Biden—their effectiveness as leaders.

Trump and Biden clash over abortion

The candidates took swings at each other when asked where they stood on abortion. Biden committed to restoring Roe v. Wade —the landmark Supreme Court decision that gave Americans the constitutional right to an abortion in 1973 but was overturned in 2022. Trump, meanwhile, applauded the repeal of Roe, and falsely claimed that the Biden Administration would “take the life of the baby in the ninth month, and even after birth.”

Trump’s comments prompted outrage from reproductive rights advocates online, many of whom pointed out that abortions don’t happen “after birth”—that would be infanticide, a crime in every state. And abortions later in pregnancy are very rare.

Trump took credit for the overturning of Roe, pointing out that he appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who sided with repealing the ruling—which Biden lambasted him for. Trump also claimed that “everybody” wanted Roe to be overturned so that states could make their own laws on abortion—which Biden called “just ridiculous,” citing many scholars who supported Roe when it was first decided.

Criticism over CNN’s lack of fact-checking

Throughout the 90-minute debate, the candidates lobbed claims related to inflation, border crossings, and abortion policies—many of which were untrue or misleading.

For instance, Trump said that “all of these people coming in,” in reference to migrants who have entered the U.S. through the Southern border, would “destroy Social Security.” Politifact previously fact-checked this claim, which Trump has mentioned on the campaign trail, as false.

Read More : Our Exclusive Interview with Donald Trump

When asked about Trump’s plan to address the climate crisis, Trump also falsely said that he had the “best environmental numbers ever,” even though he pulled out of the Paris Climate Accords. Meanwhile, Biden claimed that no troops died under his watch, but 13 U.S. service members died in a suicide bombing attack at the Kabul International Airport during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

CNN had said before the debate that moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash would not be providing real-time fact-checking, opting to let the candidates speak. (CNN did post fact-checks online .)

But critics took to social media to call for better fact-checking during the event to combat misinformation. “This debate is meaningless without fact-checking,” wrote one user on X. “It’s just a big, free national platform for Trump to spout whatever he wants with a veneer of respectability,” the user added in a follow-up tweet. Others said the lack of on-air fact-checking was an “ enormous disservice to democracy .”

Trump calls Biden a “bad Palestinian ”

Moderators pressed Biden about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where more than 20,000 children are missing, according to a recent report . Five Americans also remain under hostage control by Hamas.

The U.S. has stood by Israel, Biden said when asked about possible solutions to end the war. He added that Hamas has to be eliminated but that “you’ve got to be careful” about using certain types of weapons in Palestinian population centers. Meanwhile, Trump was critical about the billions spent by the U.S. on foreign conflicts before saying that the U.S. should let Israel “finish the job.”

“He’s become like a Palestinian,” Trump said of Biden. “They don’t like him because he’s a very bad Palestinian. He’s a weak one.”

Read More : Our Exclusive Interview with President Joe Biden

The issue has been contentious among many Americans—prompting calls for a ceasefire and student protests across numerous college campuses , while also generating conversations about anti-semitism in the country.

When asked whether Trump would support an independent Palestinian state, Trump simply said, “I’d have to see.”

In an attempt to challenge the competency of his opponent, Trump questioned Biden’s golf abilities when asked about concerns over his own capability to serve.

“He can’t hit a ball 50 yards,” Trump claimed, after saying he himself aced two cognitive tests.

“You can see he is six-foot-five and only 225 pounds,” Biden responded facetiously . “Just look at what he says he is, and take a look at what he is.”

Biden also said he would be happy to compete against Trump, so long as they carried their own golf bags. “I got my handicap,” Biden said, referring to his average best score (above par), “when I was Vice President, down to a six.”

“That’s the biggest lie—that he’s a six handicap—of all,” Trump said. “I’ve seen you swing.”

Trump, who was criticized during his presidency for the amount of time he spent at his golf courses, took to Truth Social to share a short clip of him playing the sport.

Mentions of Trump’s criminal conviction—and Hunter Biden’s

Trump’s recent felony fraud conviction in relation to hush-money payments made to adult-film actor Stormy Daniels—the first criminal conviction of any former U.S. President—was briefly but hotly brought up during the debate by both Trump and Biden.

“The only person in this stage [who] is a convicted felon is the man I’m looking at right now,” said Biden, in the first mention of Trump’s conviction more than 45 minutes into the debate, as the two candidates accused each other of having poor responses to the violence during the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riots and the protests that broke out after the killing of George Floyd.

“When he talks about a convicted felon, his son is a convicted felon at a very high level,” Trump responded, referencing Hunter Biden, who was found guilty earlier this month for lying about his drug use when buying a gun in 2018.

When Biden later brought up Trump’s legal battles, including his affair with Daniels, Trump denied having “sex with a porn star” and said that his hush-money case, which he claimed was presided over by a “terrible” Democratic judge, would be “appealed and won.”

Trump says Ukraine would not have been invaded if he were President

More than two years since Russia first invaded Ukraine, with deaths in the hundreds of thousands, moderators asked Trump if he agrees with the conditions Russian President Vladimir Putin set—Ukraine abandoning its NATO bid and Russia keeping four of the Ukrainian territories it has annexed—before Moscow stops its assault on the eastern European state. 

Trump said those conditions were “not acceptable” but that he would have settled if he were President while not providing specifics. Trump also suggested that the chaotic end of the U.S. occupation in Afghanistan—which saw thousands of Afghans trying to escape from the Taliban and U.S. service members killed outside the airport in Kabul during the exodus—encouraged Putin to start the war in Ukraine.

“If we had a real President, a President that was respected by Putin, he would have never invaded Ukraine,” Trump said. “The difference is [Putin] never would have invaded Ukraine, never, just like Israel would have never been invaded in a million years by Hamas. You know why? Because Iran was broke with me.”

Biden—whose administration has backed Ukraine through consistent military aid packages—stood firm against Putin: “The fact is that Putin is a war criminal. He’s killed thousands and thousands of people. And he has made one thing clear: he wants to reestablish what was part of the Soviet empire, not just a piece. He wants all of Ukraine. That’s what he wants. And then you think he’ll stop if he takes Ukraine?”

The legacy of Jan. 6 

Former President Trump evaded questions about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, downplaying his role in the devastating 2021 riot and denying that he failed to uphold his oath to defend the Constitution.

“On Jan. 6, we had a great border… On Jan. 6, we were energy independent, we had the lowest taxes ever, we had the lowest regulation ever,” Trump said, adding that the U.S. was “respected all over the world.” Trump then doubled down, saying the reputation of the U.S. has been tarnished under Biden’s leadership and claiming that he wanted his supporters to act “peacefully and patriotically” on Jan. 6.

Biden responded by saying that Trump encouraged his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol.

“I could see what was happening. Everybody was saying they’re going to be there on Jan. 6, they’re going to be there. And I said, ‘You know what? There’s a lot of people coming.’ You could feel it,” Trump said. “You could feel it, too, and you could feel it. And I said they ought to have some National Guard or whatever.”

Trump is currently facing four federal charges for his involvement to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Trump will accept the results—“if it’s a fair and legal and good election”

Moderators asked Trump about a “specific concern” that many voters have regarding him: whether he would pledge to accept the results of the 2024 election, regardless of the winner, and condemn “political violence in any form.”

“Well, I shouldn’t have to say that, but of course, I believe that it’s totally unacceptable,” Trump replied. “But the answer is—if the election is fair, free, and I want that more than anybody.”

The former President went on a long tangent about how he wished Biden was “a great President,” because then he wouldn’t have to be on the debate stage running for election again. He said Biden is “so bad as a President” that America is “a failing nation,” criticizing Biden’s military policies and accusing him of dragging the U.S. “closer to World War III.” The two candidates then traded jabs back and forth, prompting moderators to intervene and to repeatedly press Trump on whether he would accept the results of the election.

“If it’s a fair and legal and good election, absolutely. I would have much rather accepted these, but the fraud and everything else was ridiculous,” Trump asserted. “There’s nothing I’d rather do. It would be much easier for me to do that than running again. I wasn’t really going to run until I saw the horrible job he did. He’s destroying our country. I would be very happy to be someplace else.”

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Six Takeaways From the First Presidential Debate

In a testy, personal clash, President Biden failed to ease worries about his age, Donald Trump forcefully made his case (with wild claims and exaggerations) and the moderators held their fact-checking fire.

The debate stage in Atlanta on Thursday night. Credit... Kenny Holston/The New York Times

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By Shane Goldmacher and Jonathan Swan

Shane Goldmacher reported from the debate in Atlanta, and Jonathan Swan from Washington.

• June 28, 2024

President Biden struggled through his first debate of the 2024 campaign against Donald J. Trump, meandering and mumbling through answers as the former president pressed his case for a second term with limited resistance from his rival.

They disagreed on abortion, inflation, climate change, foreign affairs and immigration. But the sharpest contrast was in their presentation.

Mr. Trump was confident and forceful, even as he let loose a stream of misleading attacks and falsehoods. Mr. Biden spoke with a hoarse and halting voice, closing his eyes occasionally to gather thoughts that sometimes couldn’t be corralled. Democratic anxiety rose by the minute. About halfway through, people close to Mr. Biden put out word that he had a cold.

Mr. Trump relentlessly hammered Mr. Biden on areas of vulnerability, sending exaggerations and embellishments — he was the “greatest” and his opponent the “worst” — flying unchecked through the audience-free CNN studio in Atlanta.

Here are six takeaways:

Biden stumbled over his words as he answered a question on the national debt.

“We’d be able to wipe out his debt. We’d be able to help make sure that all those things we need to do child care, elder care, making sure that we continue to strengthen our health care system, making sure that we’re able to make every single solitary person eligible for what I’ve been able to do with the — with, with the Covid, excuse me. With dealing with everything we have to do with — look, if — we finally beat Medicare.” “Thank you, President Biden. President Trump.” “He was right. He did beat Medicaid, beat it to death, and he’s destroying Medicare.”

The debate exposed Biden’s biggest weakness.

Mr. Biden’s allies desperately hoped he could turn in a commanding performance to calm voters’ persistent concerns about his age.

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