Application documents, such as the personal statement, can be every bit as important as your GPA or TOEFL score or the two combined in your effort to seek an offer of acceptance and financial aid from a Western university. While Chinese students are accustomed to taking and passing exams, Western universities do not typically assess the qualifications of their applicants through traditional exams. This is not to say that their standards of acceptance are not stringent. But foreign professors do first lend their ears to you to hear what you have to say about yourself as they try to determine whether you are the kind of student they are looking for. As you perforce talk about yourself through the application documents, you may find that, in writing those documents, you face your biggest challenges as well as greatest opportunities.
Writing winning application documents requires more than the mere ability to write clearly and concisely, which are, after all, basic threshold skills required for any type of writing. An effective application document, however, requires the applicant to ably communicate his/her unique characteristics and experiences in a way that will distinguish himself/herself from the rest of the applicant pool. This is a very demanding, often onerous, task, not just for the Chinese. Native speakers of English do chafe and puff under the formidable job of such writing, too, although we the Chinese have to clear the added hurdle of language barriers. But you should know that you can accomplish the task, and do it no less well than the native speakers. When you do, you will find that the efforts you have put in extremely rewarding.
"You are special, I am special, and everyone is special, each in his or her own way." This is part of a song that my daughter used to sing in Canada. It is also the basic tenet you the applicant have to remember if you have any trouble coming up with ideas for your document. When faced with the task of writing application documents, a lot of applicants, especially the younger ones, say that they do not know what to write about. They lament that they have not done anything great in the two dozen or more years of their drab existence. If you feel so, it is only because you have not done enough work, and you have not fully examined yourself. Take the following steps:
- analyze your personality and personal history,
- prioritize, organize and tailor your personal traits, experiences and accomplishments to meet school admission criteria/requirements,
- fit all this prioritized information into a narrative structure, and
- craft a convincing essay that highlights all your uniqueness. As long as you probe deeply enough into your life experiences and your inner world, you will discover that you are special, very special, in your own way.
The composition of a set of application documents is a process of self-examination. The successful applicant focuses on substantive strategies and concerns in this process so as to stand apart from those who have approximately the same GPA, TOEFL scores, comparable accomplishments, awards and/or life experiences. While the rest of the candidate pool may be able to write clearly and competently, the smart candidate writes with the intent to beat the competition by differentiating him/herself from others. This is where creative, purposeful, and engaging writing comes into play.
Step 1: STRATEGY
Research!
Research the schools you are applying to. Most schools will provide you, upon request, with a brochure that gives information about the school's expectations from its applicants. Talk to people you know who attended that school, if at all possible. Most Chinese students are not able to call international long-distance, and therefore not able to talk to admissions counselors and other school officials. But you may be able to take advantage of the school's alumni program to network with graduates. The more you know about the school, its programs, and its faculty members, the better you will be able to structure your essay and show that you are truly interested in the school. Additionally, this extra research effort may pay off by notifying the reader that you have taken more time to learn more about the school than other applicants. Extra research leaves the readers with a favorable impression of your diligence, dedication and interest in their institution. This extra knowledge and information does not have to be mentioned in every sentence or otherwise be overstated, but be sure that you mention it in your personal statement or some other document. A clever way of making such a mention is to convey the specific impression that you have got by going the extra mile.
Know the Stakes Involved!
Understand the importance of the Application Documents. hey are needed in place of the admission exams in the Chinese system of education. Always remind yourself of the high stakes involved in being admitted into the school of your choice. Whether you are successful in obtaining an offer of acceptance or financial assistance can spell the difference between two life paths in diametrical contrast. Be aware of the impact this will have on your future career trajectory, earnings expectations, and career options. Instead of feeling overwhelmed or anxious, use the gravity of the process to motivate yourself and write the best essay you possibly can.
Know the Question Being Asked!
Some schools lay out their specific requirements for a personal statement and other documents. Others, particularly business schools, mandate answers to carefully crafted essay questions. These questions and requirements vary according to the type of school, department, or reputation of the school you are applying to. But, in order to make your statement engaging, memorable, and distinctive, you must apply the basic strategy of isolating and focusing on the central theme asked in each question -- answer it! Read the questions and requirements carefully, and think them through. What exactly are they asking for? What is the scope of the question? Application questions often range from the extremely specific [e.g., what are the personal challenges regarding interpersonal matters that you feel brought out your conflict mediation and management skills?] to the open-ended and amorphous [e.g. tell us something about yourself regarding your desire to become an attorney]. Whatever the wording is, use them as your guidelines in your writing.
Some question formats pose one general question and several more specific questions. Don't let your answer to the general question be a mere repetition of the specific queries. Pay close attention to the precise question asked and avoid being repetitive. Reserve all other information worthy of some detail for the general personal statement. Make your general statement a "catch-all" document which gives the Admissions Committee the impression that there is more to you than you have previously revealed.
Avoid redundancies among the different parts of your application package. Don't just recite your GPA and/or courses taken in your personal statement. These will probably be given adequate consideration elsewhere in the application. However, you may mention your GPA and courses taken if you believe they require explanation or elaboration. For instance, you may state that your GPA discrepancy was due to an illness that required hospitalization or due to family problems. Do not make "excuses" for your poor grades. Or you may state that the GPA you got in a particular year was the second highest in a class of 200 students. Do not just say that you are an excellent student. Give the Admissions Committees some new information about yourself in every document, and help those foreign devils make sense of the information you have provided.
Beware of a "one size fits all" attitude!
Once you have decided the substantive parameters of an essay or statement, you must discern the type and structure of an essay that would be the most efficient and responsive to the concerns that the Admissions Committees have. With this in mind, beware that there is no ONE generic statement that could possibly meet all the concerns harbored by all the schools you are applying to. Most schools vary in the personal mix of the people they wish to admit. You should, to the largest extent possible, tailor your statement closely to the questions or requirements contained in the application package. In the absence of explicit requirements or questions, you still have to assess, on the basis of whatever information you have, what the Admissions Committees are dying to know. Although one personal statement might generally meet the requirements of more than one school, a separate personal statement should, ideally, be written specifically for each and every school.
The Bottom Line
Your personal statement is your chance to shine. Plan it accordingly. Discuss accomplishments, not failures; valuable experiences, not defeats. When you do have to discuss setbacks in your life, discuss them in a way that demonstrates your resilience. Emphasize the positive and empowering, do not bore or depress the reader. Make sure your personal statement is bright, involved, engaging and motivated. Remember that the Admissions Committees are composed of experienced professionals who have probably combed through thousands of personal statements over the span of their careers. Chances are that they are already very bored of generic personal statements that can be applied to everybody and used for every school. You will do yourself a great disservice if you allow your statement to fall among those tiresome documents the Admissions Committee members would love to hate.
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