The Personal Statement: Strategies for Supporting Students

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The Personal Statement Strategies for
Supporting Students
UC Counselor Conference 2007
2
Overview

• Purpose of the personal statement in UC
  admissions
• Case study (two parts)
• New instructions and questions
• Writing strategies for students
• Feedback strategies for educators

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Purpose of the Personal Statement

• Part of UCs comprehensive review process
• Opportunity to provide information that supports
  and augments the review process
• Helps readers know and understand applicants

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Purpose of the Personal Statement

• Adds clarity, depth and meaning to information
  collected in other parts of the UC application
• Completes the application for admission
• An admission decision will never be based on the
  content of a personal statement alone

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A Message From UC Faculty

• While it is acceptable to receive feedback or
  helpful suggestions, applicants personal
  statements should reflect their own ideas and be
  written by them alone.

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Case Study Part I

• Read the personal statement (case study)
• Think about these questions
• Whats important to this applicant?
• What qualities/characteristics define this
  applicant?
• Which of these qualities/characteristics is most
  prominent?
• Do these qualities appeal to you? Why?

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Instructions

• Two questions
• Students respond to both questions.
• A maximum of 1,000 words total
• Students should stay within the word limit as
  closely as they can. A little over1,012 words,
  for exampleis fine.
• Students choose length of each response.
• If they choose to respond to one prompt at
  greater length, we suggest the shorter answer be
  no less than 250 words.

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Prompt 1

• Freshman Applicants Describe the world you come
  from for example, your family, community or
  school and tell us how your world has shaped
  your dreams and aspirations.  
• Transfer Applicants What is your intended
  major? Discuss how your interest in the field
  developed and describe any experience you have
  had in the field such as volunteer work,
  internships and employment, participation in
  student organizations and activities and what
  you have gained from your involvement.

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Prompt 2

• All Applicants
• Tell us about a personal quality, talent,
  accomplishment, contribution or experience that
  is important to you. What about this quality or
  accomplishment makes you proud and how does it
  relate to the person you are?

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Additional Comments

• Use Additional Comments box for clarification,
  expansion on important details
• Additional names
• Visa issues
• Additional IB exams
• (New) Describe anything else that you have not
  had the opportunity to include elsewhere in your
  application.
• 500-word limit

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Steps to Writing an Effective Personal Statement
Draft, Get Feedback, Revise
Develop Topic and Thesis
Read Critically
Gather Information
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Personal Statement Writing for College

• College
• Unknown audience Students write for a community
  of scholars.
• Writer-determined topics Students choose the
  topics.
• Dig deep Analysis and reflection are key.

• Personal Statement
• Unknown audience
• Writer-determined topics
• Analytical and reflective response

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Important Strategies

• Students are encouraged to write about special
  circumstances that have influenced their
  educational experience
• Re-entry
• Small or alternative learning environments
• Learning and/or physical challenges
• Veterans
• Read critically and write analytically.
• Think like an admissions reader by capitalizing
  on the relationship between readers and writers.
• Use a writing process.
• Get good feedback.

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Think Like an Admissions Reader

• All readers have expectations of writers,
  revealed in readers questions, observations and
  interpretations of the application.
• Writers fulfill readers expectations by
  addressing these questions, observations and
  interpretations in the personal statement.
• Writers can anticipate readers expectations by
  completing and critically reading their
  applications prior to writing a personal
  statement.

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Critical Reading and Analytical Writing

• Level one Facts
• Level two Interpretation
• Level three Meaning and significance

• Answers to L1 questions provide details in
  paragraphs.
• Answers to L2 questions are topic sentences of
  paragraphs.
• Answers to L3 questions are thesis statements of
  essays.

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Case Study Part II

• Student Profile Use the Levels of Questions
  strategy with this profile.
• What data do you find?
• What patterns do you see?
• What questions would you ask?
• What inferences would you draw?
• How well does the essay align with the profile?
• How would you advise this student to proceed?

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Writing Process

• Read the application critically using levels of
  questions.
• Draft.
• Get feedback give readers at least a week to
  respond.
• Revise for organization, clarity and meaning.
• Proofread.

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The Educators Role

• Help students
• Understand the role of the personal statement in
  the admissions process
• Recognize the relationship between reader and
  writer
• Understand the reading and writing tasks of the
  personal statement
• Use a writing process
• Obtain appropriate feedback

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How to Give Feedback to Students

• Request the application and the personal
  statement, not just the statement.
• Ask students to provide you with a list of
  questions they would like you to answer.
• Comment on ideas and the level of persuasiveness,
  not grammar.
• Help students find readers who resemble their
  target audience.