A little confused Forum

[RedTop]

In browsing http://www.appreqs.com, schools seem to have different approaches to the personal statement. Most give generic blah-blah-blah and then say it should be no more than two pages. Some suggest 2-5 pages though, and some seem to be asking for other information like diversity or "Why my grades were awful even though I'm really a hard-working genuis."

Keep in mind too, I just started the process of researching applications, and haven't been able to see many actual applications. Most of them aren't available yet.

So is the moral of the story that if you want to apply to 10 different schools with 8 different nuances, you just have to craft 8 different sets of personal statement(s)?

[Knock]

In browsing http://www.appreqs.com, schools seem to have different approaches to the personal statement. Most give generic blah-blah-blah and then say it should be no more than two pages. Some suggest 2-5 pages though, and some seem to be asking for other information like diversity or "Why my grades were awful even though I'm really a hard-working genuis."

Keep in mind too, I just started the process of researching applications, and haven't been able to see many actual applications. Most of them aren't available yet.

So is the moral of the story that if you want to apply to 10 different schools with 8 different nuances, you just have to craft 8 different sets of personal statement(s)?

Most people write a single PS of about 2 pages double spaced, which they may lengthen as necessary if they choose. Some people write entire school specific PS's, and some people edit a paragraph or line to make it school specific. I'm in the single PS to all schools camp. My thoughts are to craft the best statement you can, spend your efforts on that rather than creating multiples. I'm also against school-specific essays for the most part. Schools know you're applying to multiple schools, and I don't think they help much. Better to write a great essay that gives adcomms insight into who you are -- things that can't be gleaned from the rest of your application, in my opinion.

[WestOfTheRest]

In browsing http://www.appreqs.com, schools seem to have different approaches to the personal statement. Most give generic blah-blah-blah and then say it should be no more than two pages. Some suggest 2-5 pages though, and some seem to be asking for other information like diversity or "Why my grades were awful even though I'm really a hard-working genuis."

Keep in mind too, I just started the process of researching applications, and haven't been able to see many actual applications. Most of them aren't available yet.

So is the moral of the story that if you want to apply to 10 different schools with 8 different nuances, you just have to craft 8 different sets of personal statement(s)?

Most people write a single PS of about 2 pages double spaced, which they may lengthen as necessary if they choose. Some people write entire school specific PS's, and some people edit a paragraph or line to make it school specific. I'm in the single PS to all schools camp. My thoughts are to craft the best statement you can, spend your efforts on that rather than creating multiples. I'm also against school-specific essays for the most part. Schools know you're applying to multiple schools, and I don't think they help much. Better to write a great essay that gives adcomms insight into who you are -- things that can't be gleaned from the rest of your application, in my opinion.

Certain schools want school specific PSs, Boalt and Michigan come to mind. Most other schools don't really care if it's generic or not, just make sure it is well done.