{"id":20668,"date":"2013-09-12T13:11:42","date_gmt":"2013-09-12T20:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=20668"},"modified":"2013-09-15T01:47:46","modified_gmt":"2013-09-15T08:47:46","slug":"3-essential-components-of-a-personal-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/3-essential-components-of-a-personal-statement\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Essential Components of a Personal Statement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/info.accepted.com\/personal-statement-flaws\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-20715\" alt=\"MAP1\" src=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/MAP1-300x187.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"187\" \/><\/a>While listening to a podcast, I started thinking about the essential components of a strong <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/grad\/personal-statement.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">personal statement<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/grad\/personal-statement-topic.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">statement of purpose<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/goalsessay.aspx\">MBA goals essay<\/a>. Basically, the adcoms want a map of where you\u2019ve been, where you are, and where you\u2019re going for the statement of purpose and the goals essay. For a personal statement your readers will want to know your current location and how you got here; clear plans for the future are secondary and usually not required.<\/p>\n<p>MAP has a double meaning for those of you writing statements of purpose and goals essays. It stands for Motivation, Aspiration, and Perspiration.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>\u2022 Motivation:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2013\/03\/15\/what-is-passion-in-admissions-2\/\" target=\"_blank\">What makes you tick<\/a>? Why have you made the decisions you have made? Why do you want to go into your chosen field?<br \/>\n<strong> \u2022<\/strong> <strong>Aspiration:<\/strong> Where are you headed? What do you aspire to immediately after you complete your degree and sometimes long term.<br \/>\n<strong> \u2022<\/strong> <strong>Perspiration:<\/strong> When in the past have you sweated to achieve? When have you dedicated yourself to a cause or goal? When have you worked hard to make an <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2010\/02\/03\/what-should-i-write-about-making-a-difference\/\" target=\"_blank\">impact and contribute<\/a>?<\/p>\n<p>When you write your statement of purpose or MBA goals essay, check it for MAP. If it has these three critical elements, you have started down the right path.<\/p>\n<p><em>If you would like us to check whether you have MAP in your essay or you want us to work with you so you take the right road, please explore <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/services\/\" target=\"_blank\">Accepted\u2019s services<\/a>.<\/em><!--HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><br \/>\n<span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-4c211e19-b12d-4cf0-855d-29da0eaa11f1\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-4c211e19-b12d-4cf0-855d-29da0eaa11f1\" id=\"hs-cta-4c211e19-b12d-4cf0-855d-29da0eaa11f1\"><br \/>\n<!--[if lte IE 8]>\n\n\n<div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div>\n\n\n<![endif]--><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/58291\/4c211e19-b12d-4cf0-855d-29da0eaa11f1\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-4c211e19-b12d-4cf0-855d-29da0eaa11f1\" style=\"border-width: 0px;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/58291\/4c211e19-b12d-4cf0-855d-29da0eaa11f1.png\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<script charset=\"utf-8\" type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hubspot.com\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\nhbspt.cta.load(58291, '4c211e19-b12d-4cf0-855d-29da0eaa11f1');\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-4169\" style=\"border: 0pt none;\" title=\"Accepted.com\" alt=\"Accepted.com\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/logo-small-for-SF.jpg\" width=\"111\" height=\"61\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"author\">Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best <\/a><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; color: #1f497d;\">Accepted.com's <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/aboutus\/AboutUs.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">experienced admissions consultants<\/a> can help you create the most impressive application possible with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/Services\/MBAProgramServices.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">comprehensive packages<\/a>,<b><i> <\/i><\/b>or provide targeted assistance from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/services\/mba\/admissionsconsulting.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">picking perfect programs<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/admissionsresume.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">designing a dazzling resume<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/essayediting.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">constructing engaging essays<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/interviewservices.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">preparing for intense interview<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/interviewservices.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">s<\/a>\u2026and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top MBA programs since 1994 \u2013 we know what works and what doesn't, so <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/contactus.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">contact us<\/a> to get started now!<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; color: #1f497d;\"><em>This article originally appeared on the <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2013\/09\/12\/3-essential-components-of-a-personal-statement\/\" target=\"_blank\">Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog<\/a>, the official blog of Accepted.com.<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While listening to a podcast, I started thinking about the essential components of a strong personal statement, statement of purpose, or MBA goals essay. Basically, the adcoms want a map&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,939,775,113],"tags":[227,87,121],"class_list":["post-20668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","tag-application-tips","tag-personal-statement","tag-tips","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20668"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20714,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20668\/revisions\/20714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}