You are about to embark on another academic milestone as you prepare to proceed to the next level and pursue advanced studies. Whether you want to pursue graduate studies locally or abroad, you'll have to go through a rigorous application process that requires you to submit a variety of documents, the most important of which is the Personal Statement (PS).
A PS is one of the most critical parts of your application because, if written properly, it will give your readers, namely the admissions committee members, a quick glimpse into your life so far and the path you intend to take. As you reveal who you are as an applicant, you also invite the reader to share your experiences. You're giving them a general picture of your background and qualifications through your PS, which will help them accurately assess your suitability for admission to their institution.
Because a PS can make or break your application, it's important to spend time carefully writing and editing your essay. Consider utilizing an editing service from one of the professionals listed below if you're still unhappy with what you've done so far or simply want to improve your chances of being accepted by creating the perfect PS for your application needs. Also, if this is your first time writing a personal statement, there's a good chance you've overlooked a few details.
Contents
- 1. Proofread & Deep Edit Your College Application Personal Statement by Claudia
- 2. University Application, Personal Statement Editing by Elizabeth Doyle
- 3. Professional Personal Statement Editing by Navya
- 4. College Application Essay or Personal Statement Editing by LittleRedPen
- 5. Professionally Edit Your Personal Statement or Statement of Purpose by Robin
- 6. Professional Personal Statement Editing by Chrissy Cutting
- 7. College Application Essay, Personal Statement Editing by Standford_Editor
- 8. Statement of Purpose or Personal Statement Editing by Zac
- 9. Admissions Essay or Personal Statement Editing by Matthew
- 10. Essay or Personal Statement Editing by Mary
- The Elements of a Successful Personal Statement
1. Proofread & Deep Edit Your College Application Personal Statement by Claudia
About
Claudia (@claudiamak) studied English and Comparative Literature at St Andrews University. She has assisted clients with website copy, email marketing, sales pages, high-converting blog posts, and business reports, and her work is consistently praised.
Service Highlights
Claudia will proofread and deeply edit your personal statement to improve its clarity and expression, as well as provide feedback or suggestions on content gaps.
- Basic: Up to 750 words.
- Standard: Up to 1000 words.
- Premium: Up to 1500 words.
Check out Claudia's service here
2. University Application, Personal Statement Editing by Elizabeth Doyle
About
Elizabeth Doyle (@elizabethdoyle) has served on admissions committees for ten years. She understands the factors that determine whether or not a candidate is accepted, the common errors to avoid in your application, and how strategic editing and targeted feedback can transform a mediocre statement into one that wows an entire committee. Elizabeth holds a PhD and has worked as a university instructor for seven years.
Service Highlights
- Basic: Heavily edit up to 400 words.
- Standard: Heavily edit 401-650 words.
- Premium: Heavily edit 651-850 words.
Check out Elizabeth's service here
About
Navya (@navya_r) received her MSc degree from the London School of Economics. Due to her extensive experience as a freelance editor, she was able to write a compelling personal statement that helped her secure full scholarship admission to LSE. Currently, she works as a strategy consultant. She assists Fortune 500 companies in capitalizing on their strengths to achieve success.
Service Highlights
- Proofreading for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.
- Comprehensive line and structural editing for coherence, flow, and logic, as well as rephrasing for clarity; extensive feedback and suggestions to increase the impact of your statement.
- Consultation to assist you in the development of your draft, which includes in-depth editing.
Check out Navya's service here
4. College Application Essay or Personal Statement Editing by LittleRedPen
About
LittleRedPen (LRP) spent 12 years as an admissions officer in the United States and is now a professional writer, editor, and publicist based in beautiful coastal Mexico.
Service Highlights
LRP will proofread and edit your essay (one essay of up to 1,000 words) for spelling, punctuation, grammar, and style.
Check out LittleRedPen's service here
5. Professionally Edit Your Personal Statement or Statement of Purpose by Robin
About
Robin (@robinoo) is a professionally trained editor and writer from Canada who has assisted hundreds of students with their admission applications. Among her most notable clients are Google and Coursera.
Service Highlights
- Basic: Correcting basic spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, as well as highlighting major issues.
- Standard: Clarity, logic, flow, and conciseness will be heavily revised, with proper spelling and grammar.
- Premium: Deep revision of your admissions essay (3 editing rounds) + 2 letters of recommendation and 1 resume (1 editing round).
Check out Robin's service here
6. Professional Personal Statement Editing by Chrissy Cutting
About
Chrissy Cutting (@ccutting) graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) at the top of her class, with degrees in English and Political Science. With over 15 scholarships, full-ride scholarships to five colleges, and admission to every UC and Ivy League institution, she knows what makes an admission essay great.
Service Highlights
Chrissy will edit, revise, and provide feedback on your Admissions Essay personally. Each essay is thoroughly reviewed to ensure that it satisfies the requirements and expectations of admissions teams at universities worldwide.
Check out Chrissy's service here
7. College Application Essay, Personal Statement Editing by Standford_Editor
About
Standford_Editor (@stanford_editor) is a Stanford University graduate who has worked as a professional college admissions consultant and essay editor for over eight years. He has assisted hundreds of domestic and international applicants in gaining admission to the most prestigious colleges and universities in the United States, including Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, Cornell, Columbia, Caltech, and many others.
Service Highlights
Standford_Editor will assist you in writing a compelling and memorable application essay that will set you apart from the competition. He's personally edited thousands of college essays and graduate school personal statements, as well as gained rare insider access to admissions records. He'll make sure your essay doesn't get lost among the thousands of other applications.
Check out Standford_Editor's service here
8. Statement of Purpose or Personal Statement Editing by Zac
About
Zac (@zaceinerson) is a researcher, educator, editor, and proofreader who is hardwired to assist others in effectively and correctly communicating their opinion, vision, research, and interests in academic and business environments.
Service Highlights
- Basic: If you're reasonably confident in your writing but want to make sure it's free from errors.
- Standard: Ideal for non-native English speakers.
- Premium: When you need your statement deeply edited quickly to meet a deadline.
9. Admissions Essay or Personal Statement Editing by Matthew
About
Matthew (@matthewiharvey) has a knack for fine-tuning and strengthening arguments and ideas, whether they're for academic theory development or brand storytelling. He has the academic credentials and research experience to back up his talent, as well as the writing ability to put it to good use.
Service Highlights
- Basic: Edit, revise, and reorganize a short application essay or personal statement (up to 700 words).
- Standard: Edit, revise, and reorganize a mid-length application essay or personal statement (700 to 1,200 words).
- Premium: Multiple rounds of revision and rewriting, including back-and-forth on style, content, and strategy (Up to 1500 words).
Check out Matthew's service here
10. Essay or Personal Statement Editing by Mary
About
Mary (@maryjmurphy22) received a bachelor's degree in Dramatic Writing from New York University and a master's degree in Nonfiction Writing from Columbia University. Her essays have been displayed and read at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and The Kennedy Center. Currently, she is in charge of hiring and on-boarding at Modern Martial Arts NYC.
Service Highlights
- Basic: Detailed feedback on how to improve your personal statement (edits not included) – Up to 500 words.
- Standard: Edit, reorganize, and rewrite your content for clarity, using correct spelling and grammar – Up to 500 words.
- Premium: Edit, reorganize, and rewrite your content for clarity, using correct spelling and grammar – Up to 1200 words.
The Elements of a Successful Personal Statement
A good PS is one that is brief but substantive, informative and interesting, and leaves an impression on the reader. To avoid the essay becoming merely an enumeration of facts, a PS, like other forms of discourse, should demonstrate a central underlying theme that will support the narration of details. Let's look at the essential elements of a solid PS:
A well-crafted outline.
Without a doubt, an effective PS should be informative, but it should be more than a simple enumeration of relevant data like grades, awards, and the like. A PS should be a unique way of presenting information in an engaging and coherent manner. If you want to include more specific information like the titles of papers, awards, internship experience, and extracurricular activities, you should do so in your Curriculum Vitae (CV).
A fantastic introduction.
Each day, members of an admissions committee sift through thousands of applications. Only a few of these will capture their attention right away. They don't have time to read each of these essays, so an essay's introduction should be compelling enough to entice readers to keep reading. If you want your PS to stand out from the crowd, you'll need an excellent introduction.
A solid body.
The essay's body is where you put all of the information you want the admissions committee to know. This section makes up the majority of the essay, so it should be well-written with the necessary transitions to ensure cohesion between the introduction and the conclusion. This is the section of the PS where you should show off your abilities and make a strong case for why you should be admitted. Volunteering, internships, employment, and involvement in student organizations and activities are all possibilities. It is also critical to include what has been gained as a result of one's participation.
A concluding paragraph that ties everything together.
Lastly, the essay is neatly wrapped up in the concluding section, and the reader is reminded of its purpose. All of the information presented should be cleverly integrated into the conclusion. The PS should always end on a positive note, summarizing the statement's main points. It's crucial to restate the personal statement's main message and express gratitude to the audience for their time and consideration. This will (hopefully) leave them with a positive impression of the applicant.
