The importance of a strong personal statement cannot be overemphasized. As has been seen by admissions counselors, essay coaches, and others concerned with student applications, the personal statement is the applicant's chance to substantially add to the information provided by his or her test scores, transcript, resume, and letters of recommendation. The personal statement provides an opportunity for you, the applicant, to show the admissions committee why you'd be a good fit for their institution. Your grades and letters of recommendation already give the admissions committee an idea about your work ethic, intellectual capabilities, academic potential, and ability to work with others. While your resume lists your achievements, awards, and other experiences, with the personal statement, you are given the chance to go beyond that information.

Ivy Research has seen that an effective personal statement is one that gives the admissions committee a comprehensive look at the applicant without actually needing to meet him or her. A good personal statement relates what qualities you have that make you capable of significantly contributing to the diversity of an institution, as well as how you can further enrich the academic (and perhaps social) life of the same institution.

Simple, right? Just state your good points, gloss over your bad ones, and you have a personal statement that shows what a potentially great student you are. Unfortunately, as Ivy Research has seen time and again, it can't be that easy. Some applicants do sabotage their personal statements, and here are some of the most common ways to do so:

Failure to proofread

This one goes right on top of the list, because it's the easiest pitfall to avoid, yet people keep on doing it anyway. By submitting a personal statement that contains grammatical, spelling, and typographical errors, you've given the admissions committee plenty of reasons to reject you. Such personal statements show that you're unable to express yourself clearly, as well as sloppy, careless, and inattentive to important details--all negative qualities that no institution wants to see in its students. Worst of all, failure to proofread tells the admissions committee that you don't take their institution seriously. So why should they do the same for you?

Failure to stay focused

Ivy Research has seen many students with the misconception that to write a personal statement, all they have to do is list their achievements, come up with some clever stories or personal anecdotes, and they're done. This means that academic institutions receive personal statements that are all over the place. Remember that your personal statement is not your resume in paragraph form, nor is it a condensed autobiography. A student who provides irrelevant and redundant information when specifically asked for something else is not the student universities are looking for. A student who can organize their thoughts clearly to make a point, on the other hand, makes a good candidate. Pick a theme for your personal statement--what is the main point you want the admissions committee to walk away with after they've read your statement? Once you've done that, make sure everything in your statement supports that theme, and wrap it up with a strong conclusion.

So what's the lesson to be learned? Pay attention to how your statement is written and organized, and the chances of giving a favorable impression increase significantly.