Admissions essay, letter of intent, personal statement? Whatever you call it, a good one can mean the difference between getting an offer into your dream Master’s degree and being rejected. It is your chance to show the university skills and experiences that don’t show on a transcript, and also show a bit of your personality!
What should you include?
The key to writing your personal statement is, ironically, not to make it too personal. It’s really important to keep these three things as the overarching theme throughout the essay:
1. The program (degree) you’re applying for, and why you want to study it
2. Why you think you’ll be successful in the program
3. And what evidence you have to back that up
UK universities are largely interested in your academic narrative, rather than your personal one, so keep this in mind as you write. Are you showing your academic prowess at the best level?
Here are some key things you can include:
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Relevant study from undergrad (this could be specific papers, classes, etc.)
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Show your soft skills! These are just as crucial to completing a degree as subject knowledge
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Explain who your main influences have been and why- extra points if you can call on research from someone in your subject are at the university
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Notable achievements: are you a member of a society, have you written any papers or won any awards, scholarships or prizes?
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Talk about your career plans and how taking the degree is going to get you there.
Don’t forget Admissions teams will be assessing your ability to complete a degree successfully, so this is who you need to be targeting with your statement.
Structure and Grammar
Most universities won’t ask you to cover specific content in your personal statement, which does give you some free reign. The length of the piece will vary depending on the university (University of Sussex asks for about 500 words), but conciseness is important.
At Sussex, we suggest thinking about these questions to help focus your piece:
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Why do you want to study a Masters and how will it benefit you?
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How does the course fit your skill set?
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How do you stand out from the crowd – i.e. work experience?
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What are you aspiring to be/do in your future career?
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How can your work contribute to the department/University/society?
These ideas can be useful to think about when you’re planning or giving your notes some structure before you’ve even started your first draft.
When you’re thinking about structure, it should be formal and essay-like. You should have a clear introduction, a substantive middle section, and a strong conclusion. It should use a standard sentence structure, with accurate punctuation and grammar, and be upbeat in tone. You’re talking about the best bits of yourself- if you’re not excited by that, then it’s likely admissions teams won’t be either!
If you follow these steps, you should have a really strong personal statement to go with your application, giving you the best chance of acceptance into a Masters at a UK university. For more tips, and a sample statement, head over to the University of Sussex’s website.
Kasia Symons is the International Officer for the Americas at University of Sussex.
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