To refine your personal statement essay to perfection you should make sure to avoid popular mistakes. Who can teach you how to do it brilliantly if not an essay editing service? Let us share with you our observations regarding mistakes many students make.
1. Forgetting about instructions
Such tasks as writing an essay rarely come without a detailed explanation how to manage it right. Check the list of requirements provided by the admission committee (they may include font, words number, deadline etc.), and only then start working on the text. Otherwise you may overlook important guidelines and lose valuable points down the drain.
2. Ignoring your objectives
A wonderful essay with clear logical structure and free of grammar and spelling mistakes will be of no use unless it answers the question you were asked to elaborate on. When you feel that the issue costs you much effort, look at it from a different perspective, but do not avoid speaking on the given subject. On the contrary, try to get to it as soon as possible, omitting a meaningless preamble and writing instead a short yet intriguing introduction that would make a reader eager to read more.
3. Submitting one essay multiple times
Of course, you have a lot of establishments you wish to impress, but spamming one essay to all of them will not do the job. Every school has its own history and goals, so do not be lazy to adjust your personal statement essay to each of them (naturally, writing several unique texts would be more preferable, but we understand how hard it can get).
For a stronger effect, include specific names of the professors you would like to work with, stating your aims and expectations. Nothing impresses more than personal approach.
4. Failing to talk about yourself
When you put too much focus on the field you are interested in, you may skip the details of your own connection to it. For example, describing the history of IT over the past several decades does not speak of what you have achieved in the sphere. This is a huge mistake because the application committee can read general information on Wikipedia. However, they will not find there your personal statements (at least yet), so do your best to provide it.
5. Getting too pathetic
You must present yourself as a worthy candidate, not a pitiful one. It does not mean you should completely strike out your downs and keep talking only about ups. It is about your approach to the misfortunes – if you can describe how they made you a better man, then go on with it. But when sympathy is the only thing you feel rereading your statements, cross the whole pessimistic thing out.
6. Looping around your past
We are constantly changing, so you do not have to grasp at the person you were several years ago. All your hobbies, skills and achievements are much more valuable and relevant when they are recent. Describing your past self is similar to letting the committee know your childish ambitions of your career (is there anyone who did not want to become an astronaut or an actor?). So, when some information concerns a former version of you, do not include it.
7. Finding pretexts for your failures
If you decided to write about your failures too, do it delicately. You do not want to make any excuses because nobody judges you. People are willing to hear your individual story and what you have learned from it, but do not make them feel critics in your life.
8. Showing off
It mostly concerns formal aspects of your essay, such as writing style and vocabulary. Too many superlative adjectives and adverbs combined with bold epithets will make you look funny and childish. On the other hand, you do not need to appear a meticulous bookworm boasting bookish expressions a normal person would try to avoid.
9. Failing to outline mutual perspectives
When you are writing a personal statement essay you have to think of benefits for both sides. First, you state how you will be of use to the college. This is where you should mention all your academic ambitions and desires. Second, describe what the college will get from you because otherwise it has no point in accepting you. When you reach this balance, the text will look more natural and persuasive.
10. Being unenthusiastic
It is an excellent opportunity to boast about your knowledge of the establishment life. Enumerate what you find interesting and exciting about their programs, professors, materials, elective courses, extracurricular activities and so on. Dry language will turn out your enemy in such pieces of writing. “Moisten” it a bit with the description of your personal attitude, but stay out of employing colloquial phrases – you should pursue the golden mean.
11. Hiding your distinctive features
You surely would not do it on purpose, but sometimes it happens so that you read your essay and cannot find anything distinguishing you from other people. But only because it looks so does not mean it is true. Mull over all your unique achievements and experiences, which may not be connected to your branch of studies, but which show you from an advantageous angle. Then include several of them to the final variant of your work to add a special thrill.
12. Neglecting revision
Grammar mistakes or even minor inconsistencies will not play into your hand. What is more, they can lead to a rejection. Revising your essay carefully will lessen the chance of this unfortunate experience. Remember that mistakes are not your only enemies here. You should also pay attention to your writing vocabulary, which must be rich and appropriate to portray you as an erudite person.
Forewarned is forearmed. Now that you know the most typical mistakes you can avoid or correct them. We hope that your personal statement essay will get you to your dream university, while we are always there for you in case anything goes wrong.