Personal Statement Strategy and Editing

Whether you're starting from the beginning or already have a draft

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How We'll Work Together:

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Discerning your story: When starting from the beginning, I'll use one or two conferencing meetings to break down the personal statement prompt and interview you on relevant aspects of your background. I'll be asking you "how?" and "why?" A LOT.

 

For example, we'll discuss what motivates you to pursue a specific discipline, why you feel aligned with a school or program, the research gaps you're eager to fill and faculty you envision working with, your career ambitions, personal history, and academic accomplishments. I'll use this to help uncover the potential storylines for the essay. 

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Organizing information: This is where we fine tune the essay's narrative framework and outline the flow of content from your intro, body, and conclusion. We'll also break down the prompt to ensure your sections address the information admissions committees are looking for. For now, we won't worry about word count.

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Outlining: Once we have a sense of the narrative framework, I'll develop an outline for the essay, including specific details from our interview to include throughout the essay's body.

 

Drafting & Revision Cycle: For the first few drafts, we won't worry about word count and just focus on content. Then I'll edit for cohesion, grammar, specificity and detail. 

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