How can students effectively detail and evaluate past experiences to persuade admissions officers to admit them?

What is the difference? Entrance essay Personal statement

it's an essay that provides context to an applicant's scholastic record, a face to put in front of the test scores. The goal of the personal statement or essay is to demonstrate that you are a decent writer who is ready for college-level work, and to express something about you that is not obvious from the rest of your application.

What is it about you that you think admissions officers would want to know?

Tips and Tricks Strong, catchy opening ANSWER THE QUESTION DO NOT give a laundry list (curriculum vitae) Big words don’t impress anyone (avoid cliches)

What are Admissions Officers looking for? “We look for ideas that are well thought out, sincerely written, and filled with expressive and descriptive words that create a vivid story. Also, if you’ve dealt with a particular challenge that may have affected your academic performance, the personal statement is your chance to share that information with us. Admissions counselors have your application in front of them, you don’t have to list every activity you’ve been involved in or talk about your grades. Here’s your chance to tell them something they can’t get from your transcript. Get personal!”

What are we learning? How can you effectively detail and evaluate past experiences to persuade admissions officers to admit you? Talk to someone near you about this question.

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence. Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.music A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.

Which two of these will allow you to express yourself most appropriately? Share with a neighbor which two you think would be the easiest for you to create a response.

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.

Science Honor Society was a goal I wished to fulfill during my junior year of high school. I had the grades and hard work, yet I still needed an extra science-related activity to become eligible for admittance. I decided to volunteer at a nearby hospital. At first, I was a little nervous, since I did not know what the experience would be like or the type of work I would be doing. However, after only a couple of weeks on the job, I learned the ropes of the hospital and became comfortable in its environment. As a volunteer, I am a messenger, responsible for picking up patients’ prescriptions at the pharmacy, getting blood from the blood bank, or doing any other favor that a nurse or hospital employee needs. On some days, I work in medical records, sorting patients’ files accordingly, while on other days, I visit patients, bringing them magazines to read or assisting in the discharge process in helping the patients begin a safe trip home. I not only see how important it is to have people willing to help others, but I see how everyone working in the hospital is a family of people who work day in and day out making the lives of patients more comfortable and secure and knowing that their health is in good hands.high school

There are some volunteers at the hospital who have been working for nearly twenty years. I see these individuals as being dedicated, which I too have gained from this experience through my 80 hours and 7 months of work thus far. This drive to help others and succeed in a task is something I will bring with me in whatever situations I encounter in the future. When I graduate from college, I intend to be a part of this magic of working in the health profession as a dietician, making meal plans to meet patients specific needs and teaching patients how to eat right in order to remain healthy, become healthy if not already, and live a life of longevity. I have been interested in nutrition for the past few years. It is important to me that I know which foods are healthy and which are deleterious, so I can in turn eat right, be healthy, and remain this way for the rest of my life. I have and will continue to pass on good habits to my family and eventually to my patients as well.nutrition

Working in the hospital allows me to see the type of environment I will be working in when I get older, since the hospital is one sector in which dieticians work. Even though I began volunteering at the hospital to meet a requirement for Science Honor Society, I now see that volunteering is rewarding to experience the joy of a day’s work, a place of camaraderie to make new friends with people who want to help others just as I do, and it is a way for me to look at my future and see that I will be helping others. It is not just spending time out of the house after school and during the summer, but an adventure that I will treasure forever.

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