The personal essay should be tailored to an applicant's intended graduate school.
The graduate school personal essay is an opportunity to market yourself to the admissions committee, but it should also reflect your preparation for the university you hope to attend. Different programs ask for specific information in the personal essay. Every university deduces from the personal essay your ability to handle rigorous, graduate-level academic study and to complete program requirements in a timely manner.
Purpose
As important as it is to answer the specific questions a program requires, the personal essay must also say why you're applying. Broadly, you should convey what goals the degree you want to earn will help you achieve. Just as important are the college experiences that prepared you for graduate school and influenced your decision to seek further education.
The personal essay should never merely catalog your achievements. Carefully consider which experiences will individuate you from the hundreds of applications the admissions committee reads. Those experiences should involve skills that you will draw from as a graduate student. Demonstrating your purposeful undergraduate career will illustrate, not just relate, your interest in the graduate degree you want.
History
The personal essay should also include telling details about your life history that reflect your ability to persevere through hardship. Graduate school can be tough, and the admissions committee wants reassurance that you have the skills to succeed. Share details about your personal integrity and other aspects that complement your academic achievements. Select personal stories that illustrate how natural it is for you to have chosen your undergraduate major and minor. If there are inconsistencies in your academic record, use your life story to highlight the character strengths that distinguish you from other applicants. Do not ignore mediocre grades or GRE scores. Include them in a story that accentuates how you will succeed as a graduate student.
Field
Admissions committees want to know that your desire to do graduate work in a particular field of study is not random. Particularly if you have earned your bachelor's degree in a different field, your personal essay needs to illustrate your investment in the research you will do as a graduate student.
Highlight an undergraduate course that introduced you to the field or made you understand it anew. Demonstrate your understanding of the particular faculty and facility resources that the graduate program can provide you. Explain how the dissertation or master's thesis project you want to complete needs a specific faculty member's mentoring. When you align your academic interests with the strengths of the program to which you are applying, the admissions committee will appreciate your research. Your personal essay should convey how you will fit into the academic community.
Hook
All of these important details may fall flat if they are not organized by a distinguishing flair, or "hook." Because universities admit only a fraction of graduate school applicants, your personal essay needs to prove to the admissions committee that it should grant you a space in its program.
Remarkable writing matters more than a dramatic life. Make sure that the opening paragraph of your personal essay not only grabs the committee's interest but also provides the framework for readers to appreciate your singular qualities. Avoid cliches and proofread your essay diligently. Adhere to all formatting guidelines. If the graduate program to which you are applying divides the information of a personal essay among shorter questions, make your writing consistent throughout.
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