In my introduction to what you should write about in your Personal Statement, I note that college admissions officers are reading your Common App Essay to find out: what you're passionate about; where you've showed initiative; how you've transformed in important ways; in short, what makes you YOU!
But as for actually CONVEYING all that….well, easier said than done, right? There are MANY mental obstacles that come up when it’s time to actually draft the thing. After all, a blank computer screen and a blinking cursor can even feel scary to lifelong writers, let alone high schoolers!
First I’m going to ask you to take a slow, deep breath with me. As someone who’s helped hundreds of students of all stripes write superlative essays, I can assure you that you, too, have PLENTY of things to talk about. We just have to find those gold nuggets in the hills of your experience and personality!
So, open up a blank Word/Google .doc or grab a piece of paper. You’re going to jot down your answers to questions below. Once you’ve answered these 15 prompts, common threads should start to emerge, and you’ll be on your way to a Personal Statement that stands out from the stack while staying true to you!
Article Contents
1. Video version of this article
2. What to ask yourself if you have Personal Statement writer’s block
Video version of this article:
What to ask yourself if you have Personal Statement writer’s block
A. Finding Your Personal Statement subject: How do you spend your spare time?
The answers to these four Qs make up the basic foundation of your life—the water you’d swim in, if you were a fish. For that reason, you might not even realize that not everyone shares these interests. It’s easy to think that all teenagers spend their weekends closely observing nesting owls with binos, or making candles for their friends. But believe me, most people don't surf birding forums or visit apothecary shops just for kicks. This is a YOU thing that makes you—and your application—interesting.
1. In class: What are your academic and intellectual interests?
2. Outside of class: What are your favorite hobbies and activities? What do you enjoy about them?
3. Over the summer: Have you done any programs, classes, interesting trips, or taught yourself anything?
4. To relax: What do you do when you need to take a breather from life’s stresses?
B. Common App essay tip: Consider your special interests
5. Do you have any unusual talents or skills? If so, how did you develop them? How did you get into them in the first place?
6. Are there any global topics or social issues you feel passionate about? Why? What are you doing about it?
Again, you may assume that since you’ve been spending years rehabbing injured squirrels in your neighborhood, everyone else must be thinking about/working on the same thing. They aren't. Or if you're obsessed with watching football and teaching yourself every last detail about player stats, you may think that's just typical teenager stuff. It isn't. It’s special that you taught yourself how to splint a tiny leg from an anatomy book, and you should consider writing about it.
C. Personal Statement inspiration: your achievements.
7. What accomplishment are you most proud of? What did you have to do to accomplish it?
8. What was the most challenging ordeal or event you've gone through? How did you get through it?
9. When or how have you shown leadership?
You don’t have to have won a state championship in a given activity for an accomplishment to say something about you. More than how "big" an achievement appears by external metrics, it's the work you put in that's impressive to the admissions counselors. Not everything you want to do in life (and college) will come easily to you. In fact, even if you were truly born with a "natural" genius for something, you'll still only get better at that thing through hard work. What shows your character is how you put your nose to the grindstone and embrace the challenge—especially when success was not guaranteed and you had to take a risk.
D. Common App essay ideas: pivotal moments.
10. What was the best experience you've ever had? Why was this the "best"?
11. What was the worst experience you've ever had? Why was this the "worst"?
12. How have you changed over the past few years? Was there any event or person who caused/facilitated this transformation?
There aren't always major life events or "Aha!" moments that alter the course of your life and personality. However, if there are, the key is to look for the positive in the situation: how did you make lemons out of lemonade? How did you mature, even though a situation may have been really tough? Or if something wonderful happened, how has this made you a more appreciative and grateful person, someone determined to spread the good fortune you’ve received?
E. College essay brainstorming: your personality.
13. How are you unique or different from other people you know?
14. Is there anything about you that doesn't fit the stereotype, or that's unexpected?
15. Do you have any principles or beliefs that guide your actions? What are they?
The person reading your application wants to know what kind of person you are and where you'd fit in on their campus. They want to know what makes you tick—and bonus points for being self-aware enough to already have some ideas about this in high school! Are you the philosophical type who actively thinks about the values you hold, and how to act on them? That means you think for yourself, which will serve you well into college and beyond. Do you surprise people by being different from what they'd expect, like the varsity swimmer who also closely follows the clarinetist Martin Frost and listens to his concert recordings every night after school? Surprising traits and combinations like this will make you stand out—and help you get into your dream school!
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I hope this brainstorming sesh has helped illuminate some common themes from your life. If one topic has come up several times, chances are, that's what you should write about to let the admissions officers know exactly who you are and why you're special!
More than that, I also want this exercise to assure you that you have several unique qualities that you probably take for granted, but that others would find awesome.
Though I'm able to give out this advice for free, sometimes you need extra one-on-one help to get the guidance and confidence you need. To learn about working together one-on-one to bring out the real YOU in your Common App and supplemental essays, contact me here. Or, if you’re more of a self-study type, check out my full guide to writing a killer Personal Statement here.
