Submitting a personal statement or essay with your application to American schools is a common requirement. Such essay can be written in many ways and schools generally have their own specific requirements on topics, length requirement and content. The application essay is your opportunity to tell the school who you are; it is your room to express your interests, ambitions, and motivations for your further education in the US.
These guidelines are provided to you as friendly suggestions of what to include in your personal essay, to stand out among other applicants to the school.
Select a topic
Many schools will provide the applicants with a selection of topics to write about. If possible, you should choose a topic where you may tell “your story”, which enable you to write freely about yourself and your background.
What schools will look for in your essay
Again, the essay is your opportunity to tell the school about yourself and express your interests, ambitions, and motivations. With your essay, the school is interested to learn the following about you
Below you will be able to read more about these different angles and how you can present yourself in your essay. You should blend these different angles in your essay and tell your story in your way.
PLEASE NOTE: When reviewing your application, the admission office of each school will mainly look for you academic qualifications and ambitions. Your athletic ambitions and interest are of course worth mentioning in your essay but ensure that you first and foremost tell the admission staff about academic background, interests and qualifications.
Tell the school about your academic passions and interests. Did you enjoy a particular subject in high school? Have you recently discovered a special interest? You should include what field of study you are interested in and why you have an interest in that field. If you are undecided on what subject to study in college, that is perfectly fine, but make sure to tell the school about topics that you may be interested to learn more about and why. Spend some time on elaborating why a particular subject interest you.
There is nothing wrong in being interested in more than one field of study; if you can explain why, it is of interest to you, you should mention it in your essay.
Mention any extracurricular activities that relates to your academic interest, e.g. activities on your free time that has to do with you interest of study. Do you currently spend extra time outside of school for these interests?
Also mention other interests, such as being an athlete and competing in your sport. Tell the school why this is important to you and what the sport does for you.
Tell the school about your talents, both academically and athletically. Don’t be humble; tell the school what you are good at! Being an athlete is a great talent and something you should mention in your essay. It shows that you can juggle your schoolwork with other commitments in a positive way. However, always remember that your athletic interest and passion should not take over your essay!
Schools want to see that you are more than just a student and learn more about your other interests and talents. They want to know who you are and how you will contribute to the campus community outside of classes. Make sure to tell them about what you enjoy on your free time and what makes you special.
Tell the school what you do to develop as a person. You should mention any activity in school or outside of school that has challenged you with regards to your passions and interests and what you do to strive for personal development.
Tips: Going to the US to pursue your higher education is a great example of commitment to your personal developments, which is worth mentioning, but also reflect on previous actions or events that has developed you in life.
Tell them about your extracurricular activities and show that you engage and interact with other people. Tell the school about situations where you have solved a problem, taken action where you wanted to see a change, or showed some type of leadership. It can be in any environment: among friends, in your classroom, at your school, or within your club.
Tell the school about your motivation for the future and how you plan to reach your goals. Why are you motivated to study at a college or university in the US? How do you think you will grow from this experience and adventure? Do you have a plan with your field of study, or a dream job after college? Stay consistent in your essay and relate your motivation with what this school has to offer you. Remember to tell your story; tell the school about what motivates you to take this step in your life!
Authenticity
Finally, remember that college admission staff reads through numerous applications essays every day. They will know from the first paragraph whether you are honest and true in your essay, or whether something is made up to sound right. Being authentic and telling them about yourself in your own words is the best way to do it!
Remember that it is perfectly fine that you don’t know for sure about your choice of major, or field of study in college, but make sure to tell them WHY you are not sure and HOW you plan to find the right path while studying at this school.
Use our help!
We are happy to help you if you have any questions about the essay section of your school application.