Academic Experience Personal Attributes, Situations: Graduate School Planning

Graduate School Graduate School Planning
Personal Statements
The Career Exploration Center has interviewed various You don’t need to have your life mapped out in detail,
professionals involved in the graduate school admissions but be able to delineate some general goals. Admissions
process. These are among the suggestions they have committees are interested in knowing that you have
made regarding the content of graduate personal or thought about what you want to do with your life, and that
goal statements. a graduate education fits in with these plans. Whenever
possible, point out how your goals are congruent with
Academic Experience - Don’t be repetitive by describing the training you will receive in that particular program.
a project you described elsewhere. Write about what
you have learned from working with this project and Personal Attributes, Situations - This is the place to
how this has piqued your interest in further research. mention anything special about your background or
This may also be the place to mention any personal extenuating circumstances relative to your application,
qualities, which would make you a good researcher. such as reasons for a low GPA during a particular
If you choose to do this, however, be sure to back up semester, etc. The important thing is to explain them in
those statements with specific examples documenting a non-defensive, non-apologetic manner.
your skills in these areas.
A few more comments about your statements:
Research Interests - This is most appropriate for
people applying to a research program and not for fields • Be aware that this is a sample of your writing skills.
like law. Again, be as specific as possible and point out Therefore, watch for grammatical errors, typos, poor
how this particular program to which you are applying writing, etc.
for fits with your research interests.
• Graduate school committees are interested in
knowing more about you as a person, and whether
Extracurricular Experiences - This may be particularly
or not you fit the kind of advanced degree program
important in business and law, where leadership
they offer.
qualities are given priority. Again, don’t just describe
experiences. Show how these experiences relate to • Be sure to answer the question they are asking.
your goals and what they have taught you about your Avoid canned answers.
skills in these areas--in other words, analyze these
• You can bring a typed draft of your personal
experiences. Look for any experience which sets you
statement to the Career Exploration Center to
apart from the crowd: e.g., conducting a science project
receive feedback.
in high school, editing the college newspaper, being an
officer of a student organization. • The Career Exploration Center library has resources
to assist you in your writing and provide samples
Career Goals - Indicate how you plan to use your of personal statements for a variety of types of
graduate training. graduate programs.
www.utexas.edu/student/cec 512.471.1217 Jester A115 your future in focus

WRITING THE PERSONAL STATEMENT Specific Language - One of the things we have in
common is, of course, our five senses. We grasp
the concrete better than the abstract. Most all good
Rather than spending a lot of time anticipating and
statements use concrete particulars.
responding to specific questions a committee might
ask, we will mainly focus on how to develop audience- Economy - Committee members value brevity.
awareness as a writer and how this will engage They’ve got a lot to read. Also, it tells them you
your readers. One thing you need to immediately understand constraints, form. Make your statement
understand: Committee members look through memorable, not lengthy. Don’t spend two pages
hundreds of statements during the admissions process. “exploring” what could be said in one. Get across
the same meaning without a lengthy prepositional
Unfortunately, much of the writing brings on sleep.
phrase. For example: “I worked for a dermatologist for
Why is this? Aren’t the statements full of important
nothing for a long time.” becomes “As an experienced
information, much of it potentially interesting? Maybe. dermatology intern...”
But information itself is not enough. We have human
appetites for surprise, emotional connection, and sense Revising - Avoid the 10 most common mistakes below.
perception. When these appetites aren’t whetted, then Have as many people proofread your statement as
satisfied, by the writing, heads begin to droop. possible, to more likely catch errors.
1. Errors and general sloppiness. This devalues

Ways To Engage An Audience
the statement because you didn’t care enough
to proof your work. They’ll assume that you’d
Building a Connection - You need to establish be as sloppy in your graduate work.
yourself as a credible, thoughtful person. It’s kind of
a social contract between the reader and the writer. If 2. Anything like: “I have always wanted to be...”
you make claims that spark some degree of doubt in
3. All words and no action. You sound great on
the reader, you may have lost them for the rest of the
paper, but give no details to back it up.
statement. Be honest. Most of the time, a careful reader
will sense when the writer is piling it on. You’ll find 4. Taking too many or too few risks in your
you do your best writing when the subject is heartfelt. writing. Don’t be timid, but don’t go overboard.
You’ll also get the best reaction from the reader.
5. Stating personal problems and whining.
Challenging Expectations - A surprising opening
6. Too long--indicates a lack of discipline.
usually creates suspense. It does so by playing
against expectations and prompting the reader to raise
7. Too short--indicates a lack of knowledge and/or
questions that presumably will be answered, not all uncertainty of your future in graduate school.
at once, but slowly over the course of the statement.
For example: “When I graduated from college, I ran 8. Saying what you think they want to hear--this is
away with the carnival.” Who spends four years very dangerous. They will sense dishonesty, that
studying to join the carnival? What does this have to this not the real you. You lose credibility.
do with wanting to go to grad school? Obviously, you
9. Avoiding questions.
are responsible for answering the questions raised
in the reader’s mind (the whetting of the appetite). 10. Mixing up schools in your statement,
Unfortunately, if you aren’t aware what questions usually when applying to more than one school.
you’re raising, you can’t possibly satisfy them.

SAMPLE OPENING PARAGRAPHS
The study of classical guitar never bores me, although most of the work is highly technical. I
practice memorization, scales, and finger exercises to build a collection of techniques for playing a
piece of music. At times, the work becomes tedious, and the knowledge seems useless to a certain
extent. But finally, when I’m well versed in the technological aspects of the piece, after I’ve memorized
the notes, accents, tempos, and fingerings, I just play the music. I enjoy the music: The combination
of technology and art, the bridge between the outside world and myself.
*****
While my co-workers stared at the amazing sight of thousands of blacklegged

kittiwakes exploding off the cliff face, I closed my eyes and listened. I had been
working in Prince William Sound, Alaska, for a number of months and had noticed that
when a colony of sea birds was flushed by a predator, they made a particular descending
warble vocalization. If fact, in the hectic life of a kittiwake colony with up to
16,000 birds coming and going, this distinct call seemed to be the trigger for the only
coordinated activity in which I ever saw them participate. Later that afternoon, I
practiced making the “flush call” until the researchers with me were sick of it, then
climbed onto the colony and did my best imitation. The thunder of the entire colony
lifting off, as other birds picked up the call, cemented my long-held intention: I
want to work with sound. My purpose for undertaking doctoral work in acoustics and
animal behavior is twofold. First, my professional goal is to contribute to the
existing research on biological systems, which use sound. Second, my personal goal is
to convey in-depth understanding and love of these systems to the students I teach.
*****
My grandmother was the first political activist I knew. Her form of rebellion was not hunger strikes
at the Capitol; rather, she used song to voice her protests. Trained as an opera singer in the Ukraine, she
sang songs of protest against the Communist regime. She had no higher education, but she understood
the dangers posed by the governments of Lenin and Stalin. She remembered the changes, both positive
and negative, brought about by the Bolshevik Revolution, and she sang the “underground” protest songs
written by artists who would later disappear. My clearest memories of my grandmother are of her singing
in her kitchen in San Antonio, seventy years after the revolution began. She sang in Russian, in Yiddish,
and in Ukrainian, and she explained the songs to me--their hidden political meanings and the dangers
they had once posed for her.

ADDITIONAL RESOUCES
BOOKS
Available at the Career Exploration Center’s Resource Library, Jester A115:

Graduate Admissions Essays: Write Your Way into the Graduate School of Your Choice
Essays That Will Get You Into Medical School
Essays That Will Get You Into Law School
Essays That Will Get You Into Business School
Available at other UT libraries:

The Official Guide to U.S. Law School. Law Library Reference Section. Use in library only.
Medical School Admission Requirements, U.S. & Canada. PCL Stacks.
Barron’s Guide to Law Schools. E-book available through UT Austin’s online library catalog.
WEBSITES
www.gradschools.com - a comprehensive site about graduate school and the application process
www.petersons.com - provides admissions criteria for graduate and professional schools
www2.jobtrak.com/help_manuals/gradschool/essay.html - an online handbook on applying to grad school. The

essay section offers tips on how to get started writing the essay, and explains why it is an important part of your
application.
www.utexas.edu/cola/lacs/pre-law_services - download the Pre-Law Handbook from the UT-Liberal Arts Career
Services. Although geared to law school applicants, their practical tips on how to write a personal statement can be
applied to anyone seeking admission to a graduate program.
OTHER
The Career Exploration Center 471-1217 www.utexas.edu/student/cec

Jester A115A
Fall and Spring semester hours:
M-F 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., extended hours on Tuesdays until 7 p.m. (10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in summer)
The Learning Center 471-3614 www.utexas.edu/student/utlc

Jester A332
M-F 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., all year round
The Undergraduate Writing Center 471-6222 www.uwc.fac.utexas.edu

Flawn Academic Center 211 (Remote Site, ECJ 9.236, 7 to 10 p.m.)
Fall and Spring semester hours:
M-Th 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Writer’s Advice Line: 475-VERB
(Thanks to the Fine Arts Career Services for providing much of the information in this handout.)

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Graduate School Graduate School Planning

www.utexas.edu/student/cec 512.471.1217 Jester A115 your future in focus

1. Errors and general sloppiness. This devalues

www.utexas.edu/student/cec 512.471.1217 Jester A115 your future in focus

While my co-workers stared at the amazing sight of thousands of blacklegged

www.utexas.edu/student/cec 512.471.1217 Jester A115 your future in focus

Available at the Career Exploration Center’s Resource Library, Jester A115:

Available at other UT libraries:

www.petersons.com - provides admissions criteria for graduate and professional schools

www2.jobtrak.com/help_manuals/gradschool/essay.html - an online handbook on applying to grad school. The

The Career Exploration Center 471-1217 www.utexas.edu/student/cec

The Learning Center 471-3614 www.utexas.edu/student/utlc

The Undergraduate Writing Center 471-6222 www.uwc.fac.utexas.edu

www.utexas.edu/student/cec 512.471.1217 Jester A115 your future in focus

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