Episode 25: Crafting a Strong Personal Statement

Advice and tips from Malena Rice (with additions from Alex Gagliano and Will Saunders)

  • Keep in mind who your audience is and what they’re looking for.
    • Professors in the field
    • You’re applying for a research program, so they want to see any potential to succeed in such a program
    • That doesn’t have to be exclusively past research experience. Consider:
      • Are you trying to show that you love astronomy and are really engaged with the topic? 
      • Or that you’re able to balance a lot of different tasks (which is something you’ll need to do in grad school)? 
      • And make it really clear what you got out of those experiences and how they will support you moving forward.
  • Personalize your statement to each school that you’re applying to–show why that school is a particularly good fit for you.
    • This can be a great spot to highlight why you would be a great fit with that advisor (although I’d recommend listing a couple of potential people).
    • Does that school have any particular resources that you’d like to use, like great access to high-performance computers or an opportunity to get a joint Master’s degree in a related field along the way? 
    • Do you like anything in particular about the structure of the program?
      • E.g., Yale requires that all students try out two research projects with two different professors before settling on a thesis project. Each program has its own quirks like that.
    • Show rather than tell 
      • E.g. rather than “I am a creative thinker” describe a time when you determined an unusual approach to a research problem that resulted in new results.
  • If you had extenuating circumstances that led to low grades or something of that matter, you can ask your letter writers to address them, but the personal statement is another place where you can address those points 
    • Increasingly I’ve been seeing more programs that conduct interviews for applicants, so you might be able to talk about this then as well.
    • Addressing potential shortcomings will make your application stronger than if you just ignore them. It demonstrates character and can be a great opportunity to show your growth.
  • After you’ve written the draft:
    • My (Malena) personal strategy to proofreading: after drafting, read over each paragraph one at a time and return to the prompt in between every paragraph. Does that paragraph address the prompt? Would it be clear to someone reading this for the first time what that connection to the prompt is?
      • If not, adjust it so that it does directly address the prompt. Typically that means adding a concluding sentence tying it in, or changing the framing.
      • Consider after each paragraph: is it clear what skills you are bringing forward from each experience that you’ve had? That can be a lot of things: perseverance, programming skills, newly discovered motivation in a field, critical thinking skills, etc.
      • If there are specific words or questions in the prompt, feel free to incorporate those into the corresponding paragraph to guide the reader!
    • Another approach I (Will) use: start early and just write. Don’t worry if it’s a disaster. The writing clarifies my thinking and every now and then I actually write something good on the first go. 
      • Sometimes I start in the middle.
      • Sometimes I just write a good sentence I had in my head. 
      • When the goal is just to add another paragraph, I don’t feel the stress of “I have to have a draft done by tomorrow!”
    • I (Alex) try to form the arc of the narrative first, then fill in the sentences over time. I often write a header for each idea or experience I want to get across, and then just start fleshing out sentences under that header. 
      • Bullet points really help, sentence fragments, anything to help you play around with how multiple thoughts come together 
    • Ask friends in the field, and if you can current graduate students, to read over your statements and provide feedback
      • Get as much feedback as you can stomach! Constructive criticism is valuable, and the same comements across multiple people may make it obvious how to revise your statement. 
      • Can also ask advisors, but often graduate students/friends may have more time to go through very carefully and really give you detailed feedback.
      • Not all feedback has to be incorporated. When it comes down to it, it’s your statement!