HOW TO WRITE A WINNING PERSONAL STATEMENT For GRADUATE Anp PROFESSIONAL. . SCHOOL RICHARD J. STELZER Peterson’s Princeton, New JerseyAbout Peterson’s Peterson's isthe country’s largest educational information/communications company, pro viding the academic, consumer, and professional communities with books, software, and or- line services in support ofifelong education access and career choice, Welt known references include Pecercon’s annual guides to private schools, summer programs, colleges and univer- sites, graduate and professional programs. financial aid, international study, adult learning, and career guidance. Peterson's Web sie at petetsons.com ts the only comprehensive—and most heavily raveled-education tesource on the Internet, The site carries all of Peterson's fully searchable major databases and includes financial aid sources, testprep help, job postings, direct Inquiry and application features, and specially crested Virtual Campuses for every 2c- ‘credited academic institution and summer program in the U.S. and Canada. offering indepth ‘narratives, announcements. and multimedia Features Visit Peterson's Education Center on the Internet (World Wide Web) at hup://wonw-petersons.com Copyright © 1997 by Peterson's Previous editions copyright © 1989, 1993 by Peterson’s Guides, Inc All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without written permission from Peterson's. Library of Congress Cataloging in-Publication Data ‘Stelzer, Richard J How (o write a winning personal statement for graduate and professional school 7 Richard J. Stelzer. Pp cm. ISBN 1-56079-855-6 1. College applicationsUnited States. 2. Universities and colleges~Graduate work-Admissions. 3. Professional education—United States—Admission. |. Title, 1B2351.52.U6S74 1997 378'.1056—dcl9 88-37443 cP Editorial direction by Erika Pendleton Composition by Gary Rozmierski Copyediting by Jermifer Stern Creative direction by Linda Huber Proofreading by Joanne Schautfele Interior design by Cynthia Boone Printed in the United States of America 1098765432CONTENTS Se PREFACE Part I: INTRODUCING ... YOU An Important Exercise Questions to Ask Yourself Tell a Story Find an Angle Concentrate on Your Opening Paragraph Tell Who You Are Review Your Personal History ‘What Not to Include Reviewing What's Been Said (Plus a Few New Points) What You Must Know About Business School Applications Part Il: WINNING PERSONAL STATEMENTS Part tll: THE INSIDE PERSPECTIVE Advice from Admissions Representatives of Leading Graduate and Professional Schools The Business Schools Harvard Business School J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management (Northwestern University) a FS oma y39 13 7 79 81 81 81 84