<p>I have to write a personal statement to accompany my PhD application. I am totally stuck. I can say my field interests me etc , but is there a correct structure?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>The structure can be anything that reflects your personality. However the structure is, it should basically show how you’ve come to decide to pursue the PhD program and how it relates to your personal background (financially, geographically, etc.). You can google for some samples.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Assuming this is for programs that don’t require personal statements AND statements of purposes (SOP), as the terms are often but not always interchangable… </p>
<p>My SOP traced the development of my research interests and how they related to the particular professors I wanted to work with at each program/my future goals in relation to that work and the program. You need to make your SOP very specific to the faculty at each program.</p>
<p>It just needs a personal statement. Any tips?</p>
<p>Be mature. Don’t use cliches. Don’t pretend like you know exactly what you want to do in life. Don’t lie. Write intelligently. Showcase your experience. Talk about your goals. Differentiate yourself from other applicants. DON’T talk about your childhood and how you wanted to be an X since you were 7. Don’t talk about precollege unless it was extraextraordinary.</p>
<p>Be creative if your writing style lends itself to being both communicative and creative at the same time. I don’t think the adcom members enjoy reading resume-style biographies over and over again. </p>
<p>I wrote about drinking beer at a corner cafe in Nürnberg while reading journal articles about semiconductor nanocrystals, and then described how those specific articles shaped my idea about exploiting certain properties of these crystals for other nonconventional uses… </p>
<p>I think it helps to communicate your interest in the specific subject in a manner which also indicates you have outside interests… try to work in secondary morphemes that complement the primary morpheme. For example in the above, I communicated that I: A) Am interested in the subject matter, B) enjoy beer, C)speak german, D) have traveled and lived in foreign lands, E) am able to integrate existing knowledge and creatively adapt it to new use, F) can write well.</p>
<p>And I did all this with just a few extra sentences… in addition to the dry technical “I like blah blah blah because blah blah blah” which was also included, but end-capped with a story and setting… just like an aqueous quantum dot could be end-capped with a functionalized group. Lol. </p>
<p>I can’t say that this was a great idea, but I didn’t receive a single rejection from any of the schools I applied to (USNWR ranking of these schools ranged from #1 - #45 in my field)</p>
<p>Typical structure:</p>
<p>1) PAST: Details about your preparation for your intended subfield of specialization. (Not the general field, but the subfield. Please avoid the horrors of “Ever since I was a little girl I have been interested in history.”) This should be the most substantial part of the statement.</p>
<p>2) PRESENT: Your intentions upon arrival. How you will approach your subfield. In the humanities, current methodological interests and inclinations belong here.</p>
<p>3) FUTURE: Short term and long term goals can be articulated here. It helps to explain HOW you intend to achieve these goals. Avoid ridiculous “blue sky” statements like “Ten years from now, I hope to secure a tenure track position in my subfield at MIT.”</p>
<p>Thanks guys.</p>
<p>I have been applying for scholarships which are way competitive. I am 0-2 so far. I’m good, above average grades but obviously not good enough. Arts funding is much less here then in the US. So I am thinking of paying from my own humble pockets.</p>
<p>Have a few scholarship applications left to hear from, but 50/50 at best.</p>