Tips For Personal Statement For Graduate School?

[iheartscience]

I''m going to be writing my personal statement tomorrow for my application to a Master of Public Health program (Epidemiology track), and I would love any and all tips PSers have! I''m apparently much better at writing papers and essays that aren''t all about myself and my career goals, because I''m having a hard time coming up with what to write!

If any background info will help with the tips, I''m currently a research assistant on a social/behavioral health focused study, but I''m more interested in epidemiology as a career, possibly focusing on infectious diseases. I think part of the problem is that I''m not positive what I want to do when I graduate and what I want to study, but I''m very interested in epidemiology in general...

I would greatly appreciate any tips the PS grad students (and prospective grad students) have! Thank you in advance!

 

[mousey]

It all depends on how many words they want from you. If its very short (under 500 words) then (obviously) be as concise as possible. Explain why the course is right for you (career goals etc) , and why you are right for the course (experience, etc). If it is over 1000 words, I would make sure to have a good structure so that the reader doesn t get lost half way through (i.e. an introduction stating what you are going to say, a body, and a conclusion that sums up). Someone told me once to try to come across as a nice person (so not TOO cut-throat competitive), as they want a nice atmosphere in the classes, but also to come across committed as their nightmare is when you don t get through the course. My rule of thumb is to not be too wordy, and not too sycophantic.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 12/12/2009 7:23:08 PM
Author:thing2of2
I''m going to be writing my personal statement tomorrow for my application to a Master of Public Health program (Epidemiology track), and I would love any and all tips PSers have! I''m apparently much better at writing papers and essays that aren''t all about myself and my career goals, because I''m having a hard time coming up with what to write!


If any background info will help with the tips, I''m currently a research assistant on a social/behavioral health focused study, but I''m more interested in epidemiology as a career, possibly focusing on infectious diseases. I think part of the problem is that I''m not positive what I want to do when I graduate and what I want to study, but I''m very interested in epidemiology in general...


I would greatly appreciate any tips the PS grad students (and prospective grad students) have! Thank you in advance!

Thing, is it supposed to be more of an abstract Personal Statement (like tell us what you do for a hobby?) or a Statement of Purpose (tell us your career plans and why you''re interested in the program?). I had to write both for law school admissions and found that they were very different (including writing style).

 

[mousey]

ps, good luck with it!!!!!!

 

[iheartscience]

Thanks, mousey! And BEG, it''s more of a Statement of Purpose.

 

[WishfulThinking]

Definitely take into consideration what BEG mentioned-- do they have any information about what they want you to include? I know depending on the school what they are looking for in a personal statement vs. a statement of purpose can be VERY different, and the difference is important.

I think one important thing is to lay out very specific, solid career goals and how the program you are applying to in particular will prepare you for those goals. Show you know about the strengths of the program. Even if you don't *really* know exactly what you want to do I have heard it is better application-wise to lay out a solid plan, even if you end up changing it later. Lots of people change their goals while in grad school, but that you can articulate specific goals is what they like to see.

Also, I know close to nothing about Masters in Public Health programs, but is it the kind of program where you write a master's thesis or paper and specialize in something specific? If so, and you haven't done this already, look through their faculty and see which have research areas most consistent with your own. Then, drop those faculty members an email telling them that you are applying to the program, what you plan to study, and that you would be interested in working with them. I am not sure if this is how your field operates, but this is apparently KEY for grad programs in my discipline [political science/gender studies/interdisciplinary legal studies] so it's something to think about. If they like the sound of you they can advocate for you during the application process! You can even mention in your application who in the program you are interested in working with.

Also, regarding the background info, your experiences as a research assistant might be a good way to establish that you've enjoyed learning about blah blah blah aspect of ____ field, but find yourself more interested in blah blah blah other area now that you've had some hand-on experience. Okay, that was vague, but hopefully makes sense.

Good luck!! I am not applying this year but I've been researching the heck out of it since before I graduated undergrad and have sought advice from a lot of people so I figure I might as well pass it along.

 

[audball]

I was admitted to an MPH Epidemiology track (before I switched to Environmental health). I had to write a statement of purpose.
Mine was set up like so:

Par 1 - Why you want to be an epidemiologist
Par 2 - Why you want to pursue an MPH in epi at (fill in the blank) University
Par 3 - Discuss your personal achievements and special experiences (publications, conference presentations, etc)
Par 4 - Your strengths
Par 5 - Weaknesses in your record (a random C from freshman year, not a strong GRE score, things like that)
Par 6 - Wrap it up, why you''re a good candidate for their program and school

Mine was just over 600ish words, about a page and a half. All my advisors recommended not exceeding 2 pages (unless specified) because they have to read soooo many of them, you want them to actually read what you write and not give up before you make your case.

Good luck! I know it''s hard.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

I remember during my interviews I got a ton of complements on my personal statement. This is what I usually did for these:

1) Started with a brief paragraph telling a story about an personal experience in the past. For you, maybe an event that happened that made you interested in infectious disease (a childhood experience with an illness, if you experienced any sort of situation where people in your city had to be evacuated because of a disaster, visiting another country and seeing diseases that are not common here).

2) The next paragraph explained how the story influenced by choice to go into the chosen field. Than go into the other reasons you want to go into the field.

3) Possibility talk about skills you gained doing your research as strengths and talk about it as a positive experience. Than you could say something like "while I learned a lot and was thankful for the experience I gained, I realized where my true interests lie..."

4) For the career, you could say that there are several areas of epidemiology you are interested, and have yet to narrow down a specific field and are hoping that your time in grad school will help you figure that out.

5) Close with a brief summary statement

Some basic stuff
1) Be prepared to write several drafts
2) Do not go over the space they give you. Be mindful of the fact they have a lot of these to read
3) Even if you are the best with spelling and grammar, have someone look over it. This is the one of those times 1-2 small errors will really stick out.
4) If you interview, be ready to expand on points you made on your essay.

 

[iheartscience]

Wow, thank you Wishful, audball and LtlFirecracker for all of your awesome tips and information. It''s all very, very helpful! I''m going to go write it...right now, actually! I was feeling pretty lost as to how to approach it and your advice is all great.

It''s due Tuesday

, which is the same day I take the GREs! Double

! So I''m going to get it done today (hopefully it won''t take me too long!) and then keep studying for the GREs.

Thank you again!

 

[neatfreak]

I am with the other ladies and their advice re: structure and making sure you state your goals (make them up if you aren't sure). Mine was very similar in structure to LTF's and I got in everywhere I applied (and applied to some of the best schools in my field). And I cannot emphasize enough three more things.

1. DO NOT TALK IN THE PASSIVE VOICE. Take charge and sell yourself a bit. And you can't do that in the passive voice which will make you sound wimpy and unsure.

2. Put it down by Monday morning, leave it until Tuesday, and then do a final edit with fresh eyes.

3. Have as many other people as possible read it!

I know my statement was one of the things that got me in AND got me so many funding sources because I saw my file later on in my master's career and the personal statement had all kinds of notes from the committee on it that commenting on my statement.

GOOD LUCK!!

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 12/13/2009 11:47:41 AM
Author: neatfreak
I am with the other ladies and their advice re: structure and making sure you state your goals (make them up if you aren''t sure). Mine was very similar in structure to LTF''s and I got in everywhere I applied (and applied to some of the best schools in my field). And I cannot emphasize enough three more things.

1. DO NOT TALK IN THE PASSIVE VOICE. Take charge and sell yourself a bit. And you can''t do that in the passive voice which will make you sound wimpy and unsure.

2. Put it down by Monday morning, leave it until Tuesday, and then do a final edit with fresh eyes.

3. Have as many other people as possible read it!

I know my statement was one of the things that got me in AND got me so many funding sources because I saw my file later on in my master''s career and the personal statement had all kinds of notes from the committee on it that commenting on my statement.

GOOD LUCK!!

Thank you, nf! This is very good advice, especially about the passive voice-I''ll make sure not to do that! (I catch myself doing it in e-mails sometimes and I hate it!)

I have a question for you (and everyone else) about the specificity of the career goals. I''d like to be a research epidemiologist, probably for a university or health department. Is it enough to state that I hope to use the MPH to become a research epidemiologist with a focus on infectious diseases? (Obviously I''ll expand it a bit more.) Or do I need to get super specific as far as what diseases I''m interested in researching? I''m not positive about which diseases I want to study, but if it''s important I can definitely pick something and go with it.

Thank you all for your help! I have no one IRL to ask because none of my friends are doing (or have done) anything similar! My one friend is applying to Masters programs in Art History, several others have their Masters in Literature, etc. Apparently I don''t hang out with scientific/public health people!

 

[havernell]

You have gotten some great advice already, but here's one tip that worked for me in writing my SOPs (which was hinted at by Wishful and others above, but that deserves fleshing out). I don't know if this applies to MPH programs as much as it does to PhD programs, but I figured I'd throw it out there anyway.

If you can, stress that you NEED to go to this particular school in order to get the training you want because this school has X or Y resource, certificate program, or whatever that other schools don't have. This strategy is good for two reasons: 1) it shows that you took the time to research their school fully and know about their program, which they really like and 2) it makes it sound like if they admit you, you will definitely come. Programs like to admit “sure things”, not people who are likely to go elsewhere.

For example, for me, I wanted to conduct my field research in a specific country. Only two universities in the US offer language classes in that country’s language. So, for those two schools, I was able to say in my SoP that I NEED to come to your program because it’s the only place I can get the language training I need to do my research. For you, maybe certain MPH programs have a special internship or have a unique course sequence or some other resource that other MPH programs don’t have. If so, mention those in your SOP and how your education and career would benefit from having access to that program’s special asset.

As for your question regarding how specific to be with your career goals, it's hard to strike a balance between sounding like you are super rigid and only open to doing one thing (not open to learning/evolving in grad school) and sounding like you have no idea what you want to do (unfocused). Instead of naming one disease you'd like to research in the future, could you say you are interested in some category of disease (i.e. tropical diseases, diseases of a certain body system/organ) but that you hope to use grad school to narrow down your specific focus within that category?

Best of luck with your applications!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/13/2009 12:16:33 PM
Author: thing2of2

Date: 12/13/2009 11:47:41 AM

Author: neatfreak

I am with the other ladies and their advice re: structure and making sure you state your goals (make them up if you aren''t sure). Mine was very similar in structure to LTF''s and I got in everywhere I applied (and applied to some of the best schools in my field). And I cannot emphasize enough three more things.


1. DO NOT TALK IN THE PASSIVE VOICE. Take charge and sell yourself a bit. And you can''t do that in the passive voice which will make you sound wimpy and unsure.


2. Put it down by Monday morning, leave it until Tuesday, and then do a final edit with fresh eyes.


3. Have as many other people as possible read it!


I know my statement was one of the things that got me in AND got me so many funding sources because I saw my file later on in my master''s career and the personal statement had all kinds of notes from the committee on it that commenting on my statement.


GOOD LUCK!!

Thank you, nf! This is very good advice, especially about the passive voice-I''ll make sure not to do that! (I catch myself doing it in e-mails sometimes and I hate it!)


I have a question for you (and everyone else) about the specificity of the career goals. I''d like to be a research epidemiologist, probably for a university or health department. Is it enough to state that I hope to use the MPH to become a research epidemiologist with a focus on infectious diseases? (Obviously I''ll expand it a bit more.) Or do I need to get super specific as far as what diseases I''m interested in researching? I''m not positive about which diseases I want to study, but if it''s important I can definitely pick something and go with it.


Thank you all for your help! I have no one IRL to ask because none of my friends are doing (or have done) anything similar! My one friend is applying to Masters programs in Art History, several others have their Masters in Literature, etc. Apparently I don''t hang out with scientific/public health people!

Nope-I think that''s fine. You don''t need to go into specifics on diseases just be specific about what it is about THAT SCHOOL that can help you attain your goals. And also what is special about you that you can add to their program.

 

[katamari]

I wholeheartedly agree with neatfreak that you can never be too specific in terms of the opportunities you will capitalize on at that particular institution or with particular faculty to meet your goals. Academics are narcissists and the best way to pique their interest in you is to show them that you are interested in them.

Although I agree with havernell that you want to sound flexible, you also want to make absolute sure that you don't come off as a candidate who would be using graduate school to buy time, so to speak. There are a lot of people running to the academy right now because they are afraid of the economy (or simply cannot find a job). These are the exact people a department is trying to avoid. Especially if you are applying for a funded position and even if not, you need to show the search committee you will be worth their investment. Since you are a serious applicant, this should come through.

Also, they will be ultimately interested in your ability to do independent research. Highlight these skills at ever possible opportunity. You should strongly focus on your current work and discuss how those experiences have taught you skills you will use to formulate research questions, analyze data, etc on your own and in your own projects. If you have ideas for projects (particularly with data available in the department) state them and your plan for conducting them.

Finally, and I only say this because there is such a gendered truth to it--be proud of your accomplishments and do not use any sort of guarded or unsure language. This should NOT be an exercise in modesty. Not using passive voice and writing in first person will help this, but make sure to be matter-of-fact with your accomplishments and plans to meet your goals. As a related point, only talk about limitations if you are certain that they can be unequivocally viewed as limitations. For instance, if you got one C, the admissions committee may not even notice. If it is in an unrelated class, they will likely not care. Let them find the flaws in your application--don't give the SC a roadmap of them. If there is something you truly would benefit from by explaining (e.g. having a quarter where you withdrew from every class), then you should mention it, but otherwise, don't highlight it.


ETA: GOOD LUCK with your application and your GRE!

 

[mrscushion]

I think it''s totally OK that you don''t know for sure what you want to do when you get out. Many people that think they''re sure change their minds anyway.

However, for the purpose of the application, I recommend that you pick one potential path and shape your story around that: why your existing background prepares you well, why you need this graduate degree, what you have to offer to the class, why this school is the right school for you.

Think about it as though you were creating your own "brand" for this application. Every piece should fit together and make for a tight story.

 

[iheartscience]

I just wanted to come back and say thank you to everyone I didn''t get a chance to thank the other day! Havernell, neatfreak again, katamari and mscushion-thank you!

I really appreciate all the awesome advice and good luck wishes!

I think my personal statement was pretty darn good if I do say so myself and I would have been lost without all your great advice! (I also got some extra special help from a certain PSer buddy of mine and she really helped me make it great!)

And I took the GREs today and did pretty well on them. I scored higher than the minimum asked for by my program, so I guess that''s all I can ask for!

Thanks again, everyone-I really appreciate you all taking the time to help me out!