How to Write a Graduate School Personal Statement [Free]

Strategically analyze ambiguous personal statement prompts

Review formatting best practices for personal statements

Identify the 5-part structure of a perfect personal statement

Use templates to write the 6 key paragraphs of a successful personal statement

Explain how to write a compelling hook to begin your personal statement

Identify the 5 “beats” of a perfect opening paragraph to your personal statement

Properly frame your educational, research, and practical experiences

Effectively address special circumstances such as low grades, transferring, switching majors, changing careers, and having previous graduate school experience

Establish goodness-of-fit between your target program and desired supervisor

Describe your short- and long-term career goals

Specify your biggest strengths and weaknesses

Modify your personal statement to meet maximum word or page count requirements

Avoid the 7 most common mistakes made when writing a personal statement