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 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—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 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. UMBC writing center: www.umbc.edu/lrc/writing_center.html

• 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

 

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

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