Developing a Personal Statement
for Summer Research

Purpose:

• To share your interest and enthusiasm for the specific work you are applying to do

• To demonstrate what you can contribute to the program to which you are applying

• To state the specific lab you want to work in and why

• To state your professional goals and what or how you hope to contribute to this program

First Steps:

• Read the personal statement question carefully and analyze what it is asking for

• Visualize your audience: will this be read by a scientist? A physician? An administrator?

• Make yourself as desirable to the selector as possible while being honest about yourself

The Basics:

• Your research interests as they relate to the work you are applying for

• Year of study and current major, related academic and career goals, impressive academic credentials

Experience in the Field:

• Any special connection to this work such as prior experience or family background

• Something unique about your research interests or an idea that fuels your own research interests.

Your Proposed Contributions to the Program and Benefits of the Program to You:

• Personal qualities that would benefit the program, demonstrated through examples

• What you can do for them; what you seek to gain from the opportunity

• How this specific work fits into your academic and research goals

Writing and Mechanics: ~ The correct usage conveys your attention to detail

• Use strong word choices, particularly verbs and adjectives
• Use the more powerful “I am,” rather than “I have always been”

• Make positive statements: “I have experience in…” not “I don’t have experience in x, but do have…”

• Craft clear, engaging opening and closing sentences

• Check that the opening statement is supported in the body and consistent with the closing statement

• Organize the statement so it flows from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph

• Proofread for grammar, spelling, paragraph breaks, and correct punctuation

Ask Yourself:

• Does this statement show my interest in this specific program, or could it be sent to any program?

• Does this statement describe me specifically, or could any good student in my field use this?

Additional Suggestions:

• Reread the personal statement multiple times out loud for clarity, logic, and flow

• Have someone else read the statement. Visit the UMBC writing center.

• Share your finished personal statement with the faculty member writing your recommendations

• Limit the statement to one and a half to two pages with at least one and a half spacing

• Include a header with your name on each page, which will be numbered as well

Avoid:

• Restating the question / topic, Rewriting your transcript or resume

• Clichés such as “to make the world a better place”; instead, explain exactly how such a lofty goal will be achieved

• Providing unrelated information, e.g., explaining when you learned you were not interested in computers

• Using phrases like “this opportunity will be fun and interesting for me”; focus on what you can contribute

• Any background earlier than high school

How to write a personal statement

 

For more information:

Janet McGlynn
Director of Communication and Outreach
mcglynn@umbc.edu | (410) 455-5754