Sports – cancelled!
Summer Programs – cancelled!
Activities – cancelled!
Standardized Tests – cancelled!
So what the heck are you supposed to write about? As COVID-19 has impacted all aspects of our lives, it also has fundamentally changed the college application process. Schools now need to “walk the talk” of holistic application review as they evaluate your students’ applications.
Critical components of the holistic review process are the Personal Statement, Recommendations, Supplemental Essays and of course, GPA/Rigor of Coursework. As most schools have pledged not to penalize students for their absence of test scores, the Personal Statement must work even harder to tell the student’s unique story. No matter your topic or direction, the essay accurately should reflect who you are and your interests. The goal of any essay should be to tell a compelling story that illuminates an aspect of your personality/interests/values/experiences that show your unique qualities and perspective.
Here is some Overall Guidance to consider while writing your Personal Statement:
- Find a theme, a quality, or experience that you wish to highlight with specific examples.
- Show a weakness, a vulnerability, a challenge, or a moment that inspires growth.
- Then, show how it was overcome or evolved, but not with some trite victory (e.g. made the team).
- When something knocked me down, how did I shift, redirect, reframe, etc.? Or, how did my thinking or perspective evolve?
- Change has to be an internal growth and awareness. What did I learn from this?
While every student’s journey is different, certain things always remain true. The essay should be well written, grammatically correct, authentic, and revealing. The colleges are looking to build an interesting, diverse, dynamic, and well balanced class so the Personal Statement is an essential component of showing who you are.
