Hello! I would really appreciate if you could give me tips for writing personal statements/application essays for Master's programs. Inspired by your post on writing scholarship essays.
What are points I need to hit?
How personal should I get?
How personalized do my letters need to be to the schools?
Any other tips for graduate school applications you can think of.
Thank you, I appreciate your time.
Okay, I'm going to try to get some basic tips down before I tackle your specific question. Keep in mind:
Schools care the most about retention. This is not just about bragging rights and numbers - critical funding is tied up in how many students graduate. What a school wants to know most of all is how dedicated you are to finishing your degree. You want to stress why you want that degree, what you plan to do with it, and how you intent to finish it in the timely manner. (Note that this latter point does not matter, once you're in, you're in. I finished my Master's in three years, and a classmate finished it in four. What matters is the intent to finish no matter what comes up in the meantime.)
Schools also care about stats. Again, this has to do with funding. If you're a first generation college student, coming from a low-income background, or can check off any tick mark in a typical background survey, milk the hell out of that shit. If you can't, do not fret about this. This is one component of a multi-layered process, and it is not a deciding factor.
Admissions is looking for people who fit the program. This is probably stating the obvious, but does your undergrad degree align with your intended field of study? Have you completely all the requirements? Some programs require two years of language study, others might require degrees that directly align with the graduate program. Schools may also have different requirements, so check carefully.
It doesn't matter where you get your Master's. It really doesn't. Go to a state school, get those scholarships. Your Master's is a stepping stone into a better career or a higher degree, and once you're in a graduate program, you're going to be on a more focused track with a smaller cohort of students. Get that degree in the best way for you.
However, do thoroughly investigate the program first. Oh, the pages I could write about how inane it was the study Teaching English as a Second Language under the English department and not the Education one. Every one of my classmates still carries a deep-seated rage about how little we got to learn about actually instructing students. Check those reviews before dedicating the next few years to a program that you can't transfer out of.
What points do I need to hit?
This entirely depends on what the school is asking for. Graduate schools may request one (or more) of the following:
A personal statement - This is going to be something that reflects on your career goals, your interest in this particular program, and past experiences that have led you to seeking a graduate degree.
A statement of purpose - This is going to be more focused on why you are applying to the program, with very specific goals and intended career. Think less about your personal life and more about your future goals
A letter of intent - This is very similar to the above in that you're focused on your career goals, but you may want to stress your academic achievements, current and desired skills, and career field interests beyond getting your graduate degree. This may be tied to degrees that are on a PhD track, but it entirely depends on the school
As you can see, there's a lot of overlap in the above, but they are all asking for a different focus. If you're applying to more than one school and they're asking for different statements, make sure to tailor those essays depending on what type is being asked for.
How personal should I get?
Now is not the time to be shy - be as honest as you can about the field of study you want to apply for. If it's a personal statement, citing an inspiration is good. If it's a statement of purpose, discuss what you want your future career to be. You're not likely to be asked to write more than 500 words or a page, so keep it concise and clear. If it would take too many words to say how your uncle specifically inspired you, shift the focus to how that inspiration made you want to study this specific field in order to accomplish ____. If your list of accomplishments is longer than your future goals, try to combine or trim them down.
Remember, the most important thing to that school is that you are dedicated to graduating. Focusing on showing that you're dedicated to finishing that degree and accomplishing your future goals is a good goal to have no matter what kind of essay you're writing.
How personalized do my letters need to be to the schools?
You're not going to have a lot of space to discuss why you want to go to this particular school, but it is a good idea to mention it if you can use it to highlight your potential. "I'm applying to ___ because it has the top-rated ___." "I was inspired by the research from ___." Keep it short and keep it aligned to your goals, because the school already knows why people apply there. They want to know why you're specifically applying.
Please for the love of Prime, don't admit to committing a crime. I wish I was kidding about this. Please don't do it.
On a hopefully more likely note, you want to come off positively. Don't be down on yourself, because you're trying to pitch yourself as an asset to the school (a future graduate!). If your personal story involves a lot of trauma or difficulty, it may be better to stress your future goals instead. If your accomplishments are long, trim them to the most relevant.
Oh, and please don't use AI to write it. Again, I know I'm beating a dead horse, but AI-written essays have a number of tells and recycle cliched language that does not sound natural. If your essay sounds like ad copy, it's going to sound like AI.
Any other tips for graduate school applications you can think of.
Do not hesitate to seek help from any of your current resources (if you're at school), such as the library staff and your professors. Have a favorite teacher? Email them for advice! (Seriously, they love this, you will make their day.) Read your essay out-loud and recruit some friends to give you feedback. Lean on your resources. If you have a relative or family friend who went to this school (or even did the same program), talk to them. This is a hugely stressful process, and it's going to help to have people have your back.
