Last Thursday I attend the Personal Statement Workshop. I’m pretty clueless when it comes to applications, resumes, cover letters, etc. I also wasn’t exactly sure what a personal statement was. I had heard the phrase, and figured they were similar to a cover letter.

As it turns out, a personal statement, especially in the context of graduate school applications in Europe, is more like a business proposal. It seemed to me that the most common presence of personal statements is in applications to graduate school.

Professor Hill described how a personal statement should differ when applying to graduate school in the United States versus Europe. In the United States, graduate school admissions expects a personal statement to describe a students interests and how they became interested in those subjects. They prefer a more moldable student that will graduate as a loyal alumna. However, in Europe they expect applicants to have found a faculty member to work with, and that their statement reflects a research plan, almost like a request for funding.

One interesting tip that Professor Hill had that could be applicable to several different written pieces is the “nugget” method. In this method, you start of a thought towards the beginning of your piece, and leave it unfinished. Then towards the end of the piece bring the thought together. This method is very satisfying to the reader and can work in your favor when writing a personal statement, cover letter, or any other piece of writing.