Distinctive

By – Nora Lessersohn

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates

While we probably shouldn’t take this statement as literally as Socrates did, it can help us think about how to tackle one of the most important parts of the college application: the personal statement.

What is the personal statement? In simplest terms, it’s a short essay of creative nonfiction that will run somewhere between 250 and 650 words. Often rooted in a narrative or anecdote, the statement will depict a personal challenge, experience, or trait and explain how it has shaped you and/or your goals. The piece gives you the opportunity to speak directly to the admissions committees at the schools where you’re applying. It is a chance to say to them, “This is who I am, this is what makes me stand out, and this is what I will bring to your campus.”

If you love writing, that’s great. Writing your essay should feel natural and be, dare I say, fun (…just me?). But even if you don’t love writing, the nature of the personal statement means that, whether or not you’re the next J.K Rowling, you can do it, and you can do it well.

To paraphrase a Columbia University admissions officer: “Write about what speaks to you and that will speak to us.”

So, how do you figure out what speaks to you? Think of Socrates: Examine Your Life.

To begin this time-honored process of self-reflection, it almost always helps to ask yourself questions (or have someone ask them of you).

It’s useful to start with questions about traits or values. What are the top five adjectives that you would use to describe yourself? (e.g. Thoughtful? Empathetic?) What are the top five values that drive you? (e.g. Community? Efficiency?) What traits and values do your parents associate with you? (Yes, ask them.) What about your best friend? Your sibling? If it helps to have a list of adjectives to get the juices flowing, google something like, “common personality adjectives,” or “common core values.”

Once you have compiled a list of adjectives that describe you, pick the ones that appear most frequently, or that you think are most unusual, or most intriguing. Then ask yourself: is there a story, a moment, an object, or an activity that, in some way, conveys this part of you? For example, if you know you are at your best when you are being generous, is there a time you did something for someone that reveals your generosity? If you are exceptionally thoughtful, what activity do you frequently do that expresses this?

It’s worth noting: if you have experienced a significant challenge in your life, especially one that has shaped you or your goals, you may want (or in many cases need) to address that in your personal statement. In Part 2, we will talk about ways you can structure a personal statement about a challenge you’ve faced.

After these exercises, if you’re still struggling to frame your essay, examine more. Ask yourself different questions. What gives your life meaning? When do you feel most like yourself? Can you identify a period of significant personal growth? Once again, if you want a list of questions to get you started, try googling, “100 brave and interesting questions.”

After several hours of self-inquiry and examination, you should have at least a vague idea of what you want to write about. Even if you only have a foggy sense of the direction you want to go, start writing. Writing, in its way, is still a part of the brainstorming process.

The first draft of your personal statement will not be your last. Where you end up in that first attempt may, in fact, be a better way to begin the whole piece. Through drafting, you are simply fleshing out your ideas. Like talking something out with a friend, this early-stage writing is simply you “talking” out the topic of your personal statement with yourself.

Whatever you ultimately decide to write about, make sure your essay tells the story of your examined life. If, as you draft, you are not saying enough about yourself and how you think about things and perceive things, keep going, keep writing, keep listening to that internal voice. Keep examining and then express what you’ve examined.

After all, colleges are places where you go to think. Show them (and Socrates) that you know how.

Check back in a few months for tips on writing the personal statement in The Examined Life: Your Personal Statement (Part 2)!