How to State Your Reasons for Choosing a College

by A Guest Author

A personal statement is your statement of purpose. It is your instrument in letting the admissions committee know why they should select you over another applicant that has similar grades, background, and test scores.
A personal statement should answer the fundamental question, “Why should we pick you instead of another person?” Your essay should revolve around this question as this will summarize all your qualifications, including your skills, aptitude, and behavior towards learning. This is important regardless of whichever college you are applying to because this is the key question that your essay will implicitly answer. Whether you answer another question or seemingly unrelated question, it all goes back to this fundamental question.
Sample Personal Statement

Why are you applying to THIS college?

One of the most common personal statement questions that you would get is why you are applying to a particular college. If you get this question, this is fairly easy to answer. The bottom line is that you have to establish why you would make a good fit for that particular college. You have to demonstrate that you have done some research about the institution. You have to spell out the things that you like about that particular college and then co-relate this with your personal elements from your background and your academic career. This should also include your extracurricular activities.

Mastering the trick of personal narratives

One particular effective way for you to establish a fit between your personal background and the college that you’re applying to is to tell a personal story or incident that led you to become the person that you are now, and how the small set of personal traits that were developed by this incident relates to a particular feature or principle of the college. The key here is to closely draw what the college stands for. Relate your personal story with its mission statement, history, and values . Again, you have to always come back to that fundamental question of whether there is a good fit, because if you are able to demonstrate that, then you have convincingly answered the real fundamental question of why that college should select you over another applicant.
Finish strong by explaining your general view of the college you are applying for. Emphasize your personal wisdom and your hopes and dreams. Again, the focus here is to show your potential; not necessarily your past accomplishments, because if the admission committee wanted to see that they just need to look at your grades and test scores. The personal statement is your secret weapon. You have to show yourself as a full person.

About the Post

This quest post was written by Chris Walker, a professional blogger and writer of personal statement examples using clients' actual biographical details. You can see more of his work at http://www.sampleadmissionessay.com

This post was written by A Guest Author

This post was written by a guest author. If you have high quality, useful information to share with students, send us an email or click Write For Us to learn more. And in case you're wondering - yes, you can promote yourself in this fancy author byline.

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