Writing a Personal Statement

One of the schools that I am applying to requires that you write a personal statement.  If you are anything like me then you may feel like you do not have anything to say.  However, if you begin asking yourself a few questions then you might find that you are a lot more intriguing than you first thought.  Now is a great time to talk about your uniqueness and try to stay away from cookie cutter responses.  You want to stand out from the pack.  This is exactly how I began my process.  I asked myself the following questions:

• Why do I want to study Speech Language Pathology?
• What skills or personality traits do I possess that will be useful in this field?
• What life experiences have I had that may have contributed to my desire to study SLP?
• What do I like about SLP?
• When did I first become interested in SLP?

These are just a few examples of the questions I asked myself.  I also completed several career assessments and I did research on writing personal statements. Purdue OWL provides a lot of useful online resources for writing like https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/642/01/ which covers writing academic personal statements.

Lastly, I would encourage you to find someone to read over your essay and critique it honestly before you send it in.  Think of your application process like a job interview.  It is important to put your best foot forward in all that you do because you only get one shot at making a great first impression.

Deciding On A School

If you are thinking about attending graduate school then you need to have a game plan.  The earlier the better.  While you are an undergraduate, you should begin to research your career options.  You may find that you would rather enter the work force first.  I decided to attend a university close to home while I attempt to attain a bachelors degree.  On the plus side, this decision allows me to be close to home and spend more time with my family.  The negative side, this decision requires that I spend an additional year in graduate school because my university does not offer a B.S. in Speech Pathology.  This works for my family and me though.  Decide what is most important to you.  Make a list of what your needs are.  Know what  you want to get out of your graduate school experience.  

During my junior year, I began to research the application process for my first choice and I found out what tests and forms I needed to complete.  I also took note of the deadline dates and in which semester the program requires new entrants to begin.  This particular school also offers an open house for perspective Speech Language Pathology graduate students.  I was able to attend this fall and it was a great opportunity.  I was able to speak with the faculty and learn more about the program and the facility.  If you have an opportunity like this then I would suggest that you go prepared.  This is a great time to ask questions.  Remember, that you want to make sure the school is a great fit for you as well.  I was truly impressed by the faculty and I left feeling as though I wanted to be a part of this organization.  I genuinely felt as though they desired to see us succeed.