1. Your purpose in writing a personal statement is to explore the connection between a personal experience and what it says about your life and about the meaning of being human. The Personal Statement

2. I pulled information for this PowerPoint from a variety of sources, including the advice of a UC Reader, and some of my former students who are now enrolled at USC and UCLA. I also found useful information at the websites of CollegeBoard.com, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, and UCI.

3. Now that you have written your first draft, I want you to reflect on what you have written so that you can refine it to meet your goals.

4. “Your personal statement is your chance to tell us who you are and what's important to you. Think of it as your opportunity to introduce yourself to the admissions and scholarship officers reading your application. Be open, be honest, be real. What you tell us in your personal statement gives readers the context to better understand the rest of the information you’ve provided in your application.”

5.  The personal statement is your opportunity to introduce yourself and note the personal things that have happened in your life (what’s made you who you are).  It enables you to make the best case possible for admission.  If you don’t do a personal statement, your application will be thrown in the trash.

6.  “While it is acceptable to receive feedback or helpful suggestions, applicants’ personal statements should reflect their own ideas and be written by them alone.”

7.  Respond to both prompts, using a maximum of 1,000 words total. They are both equally important.  You can split the prompts as follows: 500/500, 600/400, or 700/300 – don’t go any lower or higher.  “Brevity is the soul of wit” (from Hamlet). Do NOT belabor your response. 1,000 words is the limit.

8.  Prompt #1: Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.  The shortcut to this prompt: WHAT do you want to be when you grow up, and WHY?  This prompt is asking who you’ll be later in life.

9.  Prompt #2: Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are ?  The shortcut to this prompt: Pick ONE thing that’s made you who you are, and makes you PROUD.  This prompt is asking who you are now.

10.  Have you conveyed your dreams and aspirations? Your purpose in life? Your goals? Why you chose your major? Or, if you don’t know your major, your goals?  Note: Your goals might include wanting to be a first generation college student, or an example to your siblings or community, etc.

11.  Have you conveyed something that is special, unique, distinctive, and/or impressive about you?

12.  What details of your life (personal or family problems, history, people or events that have shaped you or influenced your goals) might help the admissions board better understand you or help set you apart from other applicants?

13.  Have you had to overcome any unusual obstacles or hardships (for example, economic, familial, or physical) in your life?

14.  What personal characteristics (for example, integrity, compassion, persistence) do you possess that would improve your prospects for success in college? Is there a way to demonstrate or document that you have these characteristics?

15.  Are there any gaps or discrepancies in your academic record that you should explain (great grades but mediocre SAT scores, for example, or a distinct upward pattern to your GPA if it was only average in the beginning)?

16.  If you already know your intended major:  When did you become interested in this field and what have you learned about it (and about yourself) that has further stimulated your interest and reinforced your conviction that you are well suited to this field? What insights have you gained?

17.  Do not use the same answers as other applications.  Do not include stories or achievements from before high school. Seriously!  Do not write about controversial or political topics.  DO NOT LIE!!!  Avoid clichés.  Don’t open with a quotation or other “hook.” This is not the time to get creative. Be straightforward and stay focused on the prompts.

18.  10. Start your application Thanksgiving weekend.  9. Answer Prompt #1 with 1,000 words, and ignore the other one.  8. Talk about singing Britney Spears songs on a family road trip.  7. Use slang, foul language, or “text-ese.”  6. Choose your rough draft readers by picking people who already think you’re perfect. Instead, pick someone who will be critical of you!

19.  5. Be culturally offensive, i.e. “Mexicans are always…Vietnamese are known for…”  4. Discuss an experience from when you were four years old.  3. Try to impress the reader as if you’re a Harvard English professor. It usually doesn’t work. This includes overuse of a thesaurus!  2. Write about how you think this is dumb to write a personal statement.  1. Talk about how you’ve always wanted to be a UCLA Bruin (other campuses will read your statement too!)

20. As with writing any essay, remember these tips:  In addition to checking your spelling, be sure your grammar is correct and your essays read smoothly. You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.  Use paragraphs. Even though this isn’t a traditional essay, you need to follow basic essay formatting.

21.  Draft, revise, rinse, and repeat.  Once you are satisfied with your essays, save them in plain text (ASCII) and paste them into the space provided in the application.  Proofread once more to make sure no odd characters or line breaks have appeared.