Personal Statement Guide (bonus included at the end…)
The personal statement is a pivotal part of your college application, presenting an opportunity to
showcase a key aspect of your character. It's typically a 500-650 word essay that can
significantly influence your application's success.
1. Deciding on Your Essay Type:
There are various approaches for your personal statement, such as focusing on a key event,
using a metaphorical object to represent your journey, or outlining a timeline of significant
experiences. Selecting the right approach is crucial for setting the tone of your essay.
● Key Event: This essay picks an important life event that occurred in the student's life and
gives insight to why the event was so transformative.
● Metaphorical: This essay picks an important object in the student's life and relates
his/her experiences and transformation of maturity to the object.
● Timeline: This essay picks out multiple key events in the student's life that connect to
one overall theme/event.
2. Picking a Value to Highlight:
To make your essay focused, you need to choose one value you want to highlight about yourself
throughout the essay. Is it your value of community? Family? Autonomy? Compassion?
Teamwork? Equality? There are a lot of values to choose from, and extensive lists can be found
with a simple online search.
3. Creating an Outline:
Your personal statement should include:
● A depiction of your character before a pivotal event.
● The event itself and its immediate consequences.
● How the event transformed you.
● Your future direction, informed by this transformation.
Structure your essay with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion, ensuring each section
supports the overarching theme and value you've chosen to highlight.
4. Crafting an Intriguing Introduction:
You need an interesting hook. This, however, is more simple than it seems. When you
brainstorm your hook, ask yourself, "If someone read just my hook, would they be curious to
read more?". A hook may just be a simple statement, a quotation, a vivid description of the
scenery, etc. (pro tip: AVOID USING A POPULAR QUOTE OR TRUTH AS YOUR HOOK)
5. Describing the Main Event:
As you begin your body paragraphs, you want to descriptively lay out the main event that
resulted in your character transformation. This is where you want to use extremely vivid
sentences. In describing the main event, it is good to include the immediate effects of the
consequence. Not all consequences have to be negative. (pro tip: AVOID SIMPLY STATING
WHAT HAPPENED).
6. Illustrating Growth and Future Aspirations:
This is the absolute most important part of your personal statement. You want to describe how
you changed as a person as a result of the main event. Do not just say, "I became more
passionate about service", but show that you became more passionate about service by
describing the homeless shelters you volunteered for or the elderly couple you helped get
groceries for every weekend. Remember that you need to focus this part on only YOU!
7. Conclusion:
Reiterate how the event has shaped you today and how you'll leverage the lessons learned as
you move forward. This is a MUST. It’s your chance to leave a lasting impression on the
admissions committee, highlighting your resilience, growth, and potential for future success.
Step By Step Essay Outline
Theme: [Write your theme]
Value: [Write your value]
Topic: [Summarize your essay in one sentence]
My essay focuses on: Multiple experiences or one key event (underline one)
Hook: [Write your hook]
Introduction: [Write what your introduction will be about]
Body Paragraph 1:
[Write what your body paragraph will be about]
[Note which one(s) it will focus on: Early experiences, Turning Points, Challenges and
Overcoming Diversity, Epiphanies and Lessons Learned]
Body Paragraph 2:
[Write what your body paragraph will be about]
[Note which one(s) it will focus on: Early experiences, Turning Points, Challenges and
Overcoming Diversity, Epiphanies and Lessons Learned]
… continue for the rest of your body paragraphs if you have more
Conclusion:
[Explain how you will incorporate the introduction/body paragraphs of your essay]
[Explain how you will show confidence with moving forward to the future]
BONUS: Read this letter if you take being college ready
seriously: https://join.ultimateivyleagueguide.com/1-on-1
