Wri$ng  Your    Personal  Statement  

Sean  &  Jessi  

Guest  Speaker  

Elyse  Oyama  –  1st  year  law  student  

 

Agenda  

• What  is  a  Personal  Statement?  

• Wri$ng  Your  Personal  Statement  

• Timeline  and  Process  

• Review  Sample  Personal  Statements  

What  is  a  Personal  Statement?  For  Yourself:  • Reflect  and  understand    

Your  Task:  • Introduce  yourself  • Explain  and  humanize    yourself  • Set  yourself  apart    

Reader:  • Evalua$on  

Specific  to  Applica$on  Personal  statement  prompts    vary  depending  on  the  field.      For  example…    Why  are  you  interested  in  this  specific  field?    Give  a  background      Describe  any  experiences  related  to  the  field    Future  career  plans    

How  Should  I  Write?  • Tell  YOUR  story.  

•  Be  honest  •  State  facts  •  Show,  don’t  tell  • Give  examples    

   • Write  in  YOUR  voice.  

• Reflec$on  • Personalize  • Professional  

Brainstorming  Ac.vity!  

Brainstorming  Ac.vity!  Pick  one  of  the  bullet  points  from  one  of  the  six  boxes.  Share  your  answers  

to  the  following  ques$ons  with  your  neighbor.  

• What  did  you  do?  

• Why  did  you  choose  to  do  it?  

• What  have  you  learned  from  your  experience?  

• How  has  it  changed  you?  How  will  you  use  it?    

Have  a  Plan!    

1) Learn what a personal

statement is

2) Review C.V., Pick pertinent experiences

3) Think about what you learned

from them 4) Write an

outline

5) First draft

6) Revisit errors, Condense for word count

7) Send for feedback

8) Revise for feedback

9) Review and submit

1)  Learn  What  is  a  Personal  Statement  (Start  at  least  6  months  before  PS  is  due)  

Warm  up!        

By…  •  A^ending  tonight’s  workshop!  • Ways:  

•  Online  •  Books  •  Other  Resources  

•  e.g.  PAC,  Wri$ng  Center,  Mānoa  Career  Center,  etc.  

•  Look  for  strong,  clear  examples  

2)  Review  Curriculum  Vitae  (CV)  (Start  at  least  6  months  before  PS  is  due)  

Résumé                

 

CV                    

 

Pick  Per$nent  Experiences                  CV  

               

Everything  You’ve  Done                                                      

 

Résumé                

Targeted    

3)  Reflect  on  your  CV  (Start  at  least  6  months  before  PS  is  due)  

• Expand on your experiences

• Give a brief description of what you learned

4)  Make  an  Outline  (Start  at  least  6  months  before  PS  is  due)  

• Plan  out  what  you  want  to  say  • Establish  your  main  points  • Make  sure  the  message  you  are  trying  to  convey  is  clear  

•   Tip:    Just  write!  

Ignore  the  word  limit!      Get  out  everything  you  have  to  say!  

 Connect  your  paragraphs!  Make  sure  it  flows  well!  

 Start  at  least  3  months  before  PS  is  due  

5) First Draft (Start  at  least  3  months  before  PS  is  due)

6)  Revisit  Errors  and  Structure  P.S.  

Review  mechanics  and  gramma$cal  errors    Go  back  and  see  main  points.  

•  Recurring  themes  •  Especially  important  events  •  Relevant  events            

 

Review  Mechanics  

• Professional  &  easy  to  read.      •  Examples:  

•  Grammar  mistakes  are  very  common,  they’re  hard  to  find.  •  Every  one  of  these  mistakes  appear  unno$ced  by  many.  • Where  are  they  at?    

• Don’t  try  to  fix  this  as  you  write!    Just  write  the  way  you  talk!        

Review  Mechanics  

• Make  it  professional  and  easy  to  read.      •  Examples:  

• Grammar  mistakes  are  very  common,  so  they’re  hard  to  find.  • Every  one  of  these  mistakes  appears  unno$ced  by  many.  • Where  are  they?  (Delete  at)    

• Don’t  try  to  fix  these  as  you  write!    Just  write  the  way  you  talk!        

Commas  need  conjunc.ons!  (FANBOYS)  

Tip:    Condense  without  losing  any  informa$on!  Make  every  word  count!  

6) Condense

C o n d e n s e T h i s:  Joe  was  an  honest  and  hard  working  man.  Basically,  he  never  gave  much  considera$on  to  signg  idly  about,  doing  nothing  construc$ve.  (21  words)      

Honest  and  hard  working,  Joe  was  never  idle.    (8  words)    

Condensed!

7)  Get  Feedback  and    8)  Integrate  (Give  reviewers  at  least  2  weeks  to  review  your  PS)  

Le^er  Writers                    

Editors  (e.g.  Wri$ng  Center)  

                 Professionals;  Advisors  

Friends  &  Family  Yourself  

9)  Review  and  Submit!  

         

 

Admission  Commi*ee

Tip:    Type  your  PS  in!    Don’t  copy  +  paste.  

Tip:    Read  the  FAQs!  

From  AMCAS  (Allopathic  Medicine):  

Ques$ons?  

Resources • Pre-Health/Pre-Law Advising Center (PAC)

• Sinclair Library Room 108 • 808-956-8646 •  uhpac@hawaii.edu • MWRF 8:30-4:00, T 10:30-4:00

• Mānoa Career Center (MCC) • QLC 212 • http://manoa.hawaii.edu/careercenter/

• Writing Center • Kuykendell Hall 411 • https://sites.google.com/a/hawaii.edu/writingcenter/

Upcoming  Workshops  Mul.ple  Mini  Interview  

Workshop  March  10,  WEB  203    5:00pm-­‐6:30pm    

Financing  Your  Medical  Educa.on    Workshop  

March  12,  WEB  203    5:00pm-­‐6:30pm    

Thank  You!  Please  turn  in  your    

evalua.ons  in  the  basket!