Advising Through The Mirror

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Advising Through The Mirror
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Helping Students Develop Statements that are
Personal

• ..without writing the statement yourself!

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Who requests personal statements?

• Health Professional Schools
• Legal Professional Schools
• Graduate Schools
• Fellowship Scholarship Programs

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What is a Personal Statement?

• Its their writing sample.
• Its their interview.
• Its their chance to gain insight about
  themselves.
• Its their . STORY!

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The First Challenge

• Guiding students toward themselves.
• If they dont bring you a draft
• smile and start the conversation.
• If they do bring you a draft
• smile, turn it over, and start the
  conversation!

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Helping them see

• Have them update and narrate their curriculum
  vitae.
• Have them search for thoughts, feelings and
  experiences that are memorable.
• Help them work through the awkwardness of
  self-reflection and self-disclosure.
• Help them identify what matters to them.
• Help them just get started writing, without
  concern about the introduction or the conclusion.

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Helping them see more

• Ask about their ideal job.
• Ask why?
• Ask how they developed this vision.
• Ask about relevant experiences.
• Ask about secondary visions.
• Ask about issues of interest.
• Ask, ask, ask.

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Writing to discover

• Letters to self
• Dead letter box
• Journal entries
• Random notes

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The Second Challenge

• Using conversation to keep the students
  statement evolving even as multiple drafts
  develop.
• If time allows, smile and turn over every draft.
• Ask the student what has been communicated and
  why.
• Ask what the student thinks might still be
  missing.
• Forget about the statement and just talk.

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By the fourth draft. IS THIS US OR
THEM?
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Dos and One Dont

• Do trust your instincts.
• Do keep asking even if the student tires a bit.
• Resist working on drafts that have not
  sufficiently changed between meetings.
• Do recognize when a statement is all that it will
  be.

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Once they can see

• Your questions will make them better able to
  express their passion and direction.
• They will be surprised to discover their
  qualities and strengths.
• They will learn from their writings.
• And they will be inspired by their re-visions.

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Final exercises

• Have the student read it out loud.
• Have the student show it to others not family!
• Turn the statement over one more time and ask the
  student to write a list of messages.

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What makes an effective statement?

• Flawless, interesting writing.
• Positive, relevant messages about self.
• Substantiated claims.
• Naturally developed conclusions.

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Advising Through The Mirror

• Julia Goldberg goldbeja_at_lafayette.edu
• Karen Clemence clemenck_at_lafayette.edu
• Handouts available at
• http//www.nacada.ksu.edu/NationalConf/2007/handou
  ts.htm