PS and DS independent? Forum

[GreekOmega12]

Hey, so are the PS and DS suppose to stand alone and be independent of each other? Or could I possibly write my DS as if someone already had some of the knowledge of what I wrote in my PS? Hope my question is clear.

[Scalvert]

Not sure that I'm answering the question, but I think the DS is an opportunity to talk about aspects of yourself that were not detailed in the PS. It's probably ok to write in depth about something you mentioned in passing, but I wouldn't repeat myself either. Don't waste an opportunity to give as much info as you can.

[debdeb2]

Hi - some thoughts -

Some schools may ask that you squash DS-type content into your PS, and some schools may ask that you submit a separate, often shorter DS (500 words).

When trying to decide what content should go where, I usually recommend this:

PS: Who you are now; forward looking; goal oriented; focus on one story as a metaphor for your character; some quality reflection and analysis. Less childhood, more adulthood.
DS: Where you came from; your history; your parents' history; your upbringing; notable difficulties; unusual cultural experiences. Childhood through adulthood, as applicable.

Sometimes the topic chosen for the PS requires a brief allusion to DS-type content. For example: You decide to write about the time a friend tried to talk you into stealing a car and all of the ramifications that followed, and you feel you need to give the reader context - i.e. where you were living, that stolen cars were commonplace, and kids did that sort of thing. How much should you repeat across essays? Answer: not much. Maybe 2 sentences worth of overlap, max.

The essays are stand alone essays. You should not make the reader need to reference essay 1 to make sense of essay 2. However, if you repeat too much content across essays, that can hurt in two ways: one, you lose valuable word space, and two, the adcomms will notice that you are repeating yourself, and possibly feel that their time has been wasted. Holistically, they are searching for applicants who demonstrate good writing, which in turn demonstrates good thinking. Repeating oneself thus comes across as sloppy.

The best way I have seen to handle the two essays is to ensure that the content of each is not too close in nature. If you're going to have a tear-jerker DS, make sure your PS is lighthearted, or professional, or thoughtful. If your personal statement is already significantly steeped in the story of what makes you a diverse candidate, the diversity statement becomes unnecessary, and you should consider skipping it.

NB: The diversity statement can be very important if you are hoping for particular types of merit aid or scholarship aid. If you have a real, robust diversity story, and you're hoping for a generous aid package, make sure you spend some time on this essay. Because some schools may not request a DS, you may find that you need to work with multiple versions of your PS as you apply to different schools. One of the versions may need more of your personal backstory, so you can send that version to the schools which do not ask for a DS. (Plan for version control now, so you can ensure you submit the correct essays to the correct schools when you're ready to upload.)

[GreekOmega12]

Thank you for the advice Deb!