|
|
Post by Iris Liu on Oct 5, 2014 23:18:58 GMT 8
I'm going to come clean. I have a personal blog where I just post opinionated and slightly rambling articles about life. Each post centers around the title, though, so although the writing may stray sometimes, it (usually) doesn't stray too far. I've been having a lot of trouble with my personal statement lately. Not only because the deadline is almost in my face (October 15th), but also because my personal statement only shows the serious me. It doesn't show the crazy kid you actually see in school, dashing around like a mad cow is after my pants and cracking weird jokes. Granted, I guess everyone wants to show The College their serious and I-can-contribute-to-society-and-make-it-a-better-place side. But can't we have a little fun and be happier in our personal statements? That's what it's supposed to do, right? Show the human, crazy side of us and not the serious, academically great robot side of us? I've looked at a lot of personal statement examples that are available online. I haven't seen one that doesn't seem dead yet. A person is either talking in the 5-paragraph, intro triple body conclusion template, or s/he just has a very dead tone. See, just the tiny bit I wrote up there has more personality, feels more alive than this kid. I don't know. I guess my real question is |
|
|
|
Post by denise2006 on Oct 8, 2014 11:37:33 GMT 8
I imagine admissions committees get pretty sick of reading those sorts of standard bland toot-your-own-horn essays... thing is, they work because they're basically the safe default road to go - you might not be incredibly outstanding, but at least you won't run the risk of falling flat style-wise or pushing any of your readers' buttons either. To answer your question though, yes, you can be a bit more relaxed than that example! I wrote my essays in a more personal conversational style, though I still incorporated toot-your-own-horn aspects mostly because it's expected. It also helps to get multiple people to look at your essays, and decide what advice to listen to and what to discard XD
|
|
|
|
Post by hlinda2014 on Oct 8, 2014 23:39:26 GMT 8
Serious, yes. Too serious, no. Relaxed, sure. Too relaxed, hell no. Don't just write about yourself. Write your personality out. What makes a personal statement enjoyable to read is always the voice. My English teacher back in high school told us that her friend wrote about her lucky sock. Fact is, try not to write anything about how intellectual/hardworking/studious you are. Talk about a passion, talk about a story. What made you into you? I wouldn't say my personal statement is good, but here's the beginning of it: Shy, quiet, scared, and alone. This was me. Confident, passionate, jolly, and daring. This is me. Successful, lively, brave, and proud. This is who I will be. What changed me? Magic. I personally made two different personal statements and chose the one I liked better. If you're curious, you can hit me up and I can share my two personal statements with you  Hope that helps |
|
|
|
Post by stevenchen1st on Oct 15, 2014 4:10:08 GMT 8
Honestly, you can be relaxed in your essay as long as it is isn't too casual or vulgar, just write like how you would normally write. Forget about English class with those metaphors or flowery vocabulary, if it doesn't sound genuinely like you, don't write it like that!
Also, try to introduce something about yourself that makes you different from other applicants, whether it be something unique about your life, the special little nuances, or simply an unconventional ideal that you really want to share to the world, they can all potentially shine. It is also VERY IMPORTANT that you have actions, tones, or writing styles speaking louder than the words themselves. HMU if you want me to comment on your essays or show you mine!
|
|
Hope that helps 
