Building Blocks of a Personal Statement

Eric Landrum Department of Psychology Boise State University Psi Chi Symposium “Personals Statements for Graduate Applications” Rocky Mountain Psychological Association April 16, 2004 Reno, NV

Background

 Many graduate programs require applicants to submit a personal statement (or statement of intent, or autobiographical statement, or letter of intent). This activity is becoming more and more important in the admissions process. It allows you to provide valuable background information, and it also provides the graduate admissions committee with a writing sample.

Background

 The requirements for completing this task are varied —there is not a uniform method or procedure to follow. Hence, you need to make sure that you completely satisfy the requirements of each school when you are preparing your personal statement.

Background

 Basically what you are being asked for: – A statement of your interests in psychology and how you came to have those interests.

– Your goals and ambitions in the field of psychology.

– How the program to which you are applying can help you to achieve those goals.

Critical Focus

 Try to focus on particular educational and occupational experiences that could account for your interests, rather than personal experiences. Why? Add some detachment, add emotional distance. With goals and ambitions, try to be as specific as possible. You need to be more specific that "I just want to learn--I'm open minded" but not too specific, or you won't be a match at very many schools.

Critical Focus—Volleyball!

 The "trick" is to lob your volley —you have some general areas of interest, but are open to the types of topics that your graduate professors are studying. Don't limit yourself to only one faculty member —faculty leave, have too many students, etc.

Critical Focus

 "Fit with faculty" is more important than most students think. You have to do your homework and find out what the faculty are studying (literature from university web sites, PsycINFO, etc.). Personalize each letter to the graduate program to show that you have done your homework. ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL.

Examples of Personal Statement Instructions

 See the handout for examples of the personal statement instructions for different graduate programs in the Rocky Mountain region.

 Note the variability in the level of detail in the instructions.

 Note the variability for different specializations within the same department.

13 Themes

 In an analysis of personal statement instructions, Keith-Spiegel and Wiederman (2000) found that 13 themes or topics tend to account for most personal statement requests.

 These themes can be seen as building blocks for you to craft your personalized responses for each school you apply to.

13 Themes

 See the handout for each of the 13 themes and some space for you to begin to sketch out the basic building blocks of your personal statement.

 It’s OK, go ahead, look at it now. Really.

Final Instructions and Tips

 Don't start: I was born in a small town in the West...or…I want to help people (too cliché).

 Make sure that your materials are presented appropriately. No typos, no stains, no handwriting. Have somebody proofread for you (spell-checkers don't catch all typos). Use good quality plain white paper. Don't get fancy--print with a dark, easy to read font.

Final Instructions and Tips

 Single-spaced, 1 inch margins, APA format where applicable. Prefer one side of one page--no more than two pages, one piece of paper (back to back). Always remember to follow the instructions of the school —exactly— even if they contradict the above suggestions.

Final Instructions and Tips

 One final note —be sure to answer the questions exactly. Graduate admissions committee members will actually read your personal statement. Answer completely. If you can’t follow the directions for applying to graduate school, what does that say about your chances for success once school?

in

graduate