{"id":62320,"date":"2024-04-22T03:56:56","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T10:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=62320"},"modified":"2024-04-15T04:02:23","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T11:02:23","slug":"the-most-common-personal-statement-mistake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/the-most-common-personal-statement-mistake\/","title":{"rendered":"The Most Common Personal Statement Mistake…"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cartoon<\/a>
Avoid the Frankenstein Essay by being thoughtful about how you get help!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After nearly 20 years of reading, assessing, revising, and consulting on personal statements<\/a>, I have seen every variety of mistake an applicant can make. More importantly for you, though, is that I am pretty good at identifying the upstream source of the problem and providing guidance on how to fix it. One of the most common mistakes might seem counterintuitive: the author sought too much help\u2026 or at least too much of the wrong kind!<\/p>\n

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Once you\u2019ve finished your personal statement, you may feel a little apprehensive about what you have written, and as such it is only reasonable to seek out second and third opinions to make sure that you have overlooked nothing, the prose is tight, and you have made a compelling case for your candidacy.\u00a0 But, just as an excellent revision and editing can make an average essay excellent, bad editing can wreck an essay.\u00a0 On such occasions, one is smart to heed the old aphorism that \u2018too many cooks spoil the broth.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Once you have completed your first draft, you need to think carefully about how you go about using advice from other people.\u00a0 Here are six pointers for how to get the best advice in order to turn your draft into an excellent final version you are proud of and happy with.<\/p>\n

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1.)\u00a0 Be careful about who you pick.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Obviously, you want to get advice from someone who writes well, can be frank with you, and has some understanding of the field to which you are applying.\u00a0 If you choose to get advice from a boyfriend or your mother, for example, then be careful because they might give you an overly glowing review because of their esteem and love for you or may lack the qualifications to point out minor problems with your approach.\u00a0 Similarly, asking your English major friend to look at your Engineering graduate school essay is not a bad idea, but if you go that route, also have someone involved in Engineering (preferably in an academic capacity) is a good idea.<\/p>\n

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Good people to talk to are your academic advisor (if you are applying to graduate or professional schools) or guidance counselor (if you are applying to college).\u00a0 I know that many people will take their essays to message boards and post them to see what people think of it.\u00a0 The problem here is that you have no real way to gauge someone\u2019s level of expertise and you may get too much feedback from too many sources.<\/p>\n

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Which leads us to point #2\u2026<\/p>\n

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  1. Don\u2019t give it to too many people.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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    If you get critiques on your essay from 8-9 different people and you incorporate all of their suggestions, you will be pulled in too many directions and the essay will lose its sense of voice and focus.\u00a0 The old joke that a camel is a horse designed by committee applies here.\u00a0 Your essay cannot be everything to everyone, and you have to accept this fact.\u00a0 There will always be something that someone would have done differently, so they will often naturally advise you that you should do something different than what you are doing.<\/p>\n

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    1. Ask follow-up questions<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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      Whenever someone suggests a change, don\u2019t be afraid to ask them about it.\u00a0 Sometimes you will agree with their rationale, but disagree with the execution of the change.\u00a0 Also, through a conversation people will often help you see larger problems that you may have missed.\u00a0 People are often hesitant to give tough advice, and a friendly conversation can help you to avoid this problem because by talking to someone, the person will see that you are serious about valuing their advice.<\/p>\n

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      1. Don\u2019t be afraid to ignore advice.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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        At the end of the day, this is *your* personal statement, and *your* future depends on how well you execute it.\u00a0 When someone suggests changes, consider their level of expertise, think about it carefully and if you disagree, then don\u2019t do it.\u00a0 Not every piece of advice given is good; often, you will receive terrible advice.<\/p>\n

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        The final decision is yours, so take your role as the gatekeeper of advice seriously, and only let the best suggestions that work well with your theme, tone, approach and goal through.<\/p>\n

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        1. BUT, try to avoid pride of authorship<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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          In my capacity as an admissions essay consultant, I often encounter customers who are furious when I tell them that they have things that they need to work on.\u00a0 It is almost as if they paid me $200 for me to tell them that their work was perfect, and they should not change a single letter.<\/p>\n

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          Because a personal statement is so, well, personal, it can sometimes sting when someone gives you some pointed advice.\u00a0 Try to see the bigger picture and embrace the process that will help you to move towards a better and stronger essay.\u00a0 Do your best not to see a critique of your essay as a criticism of you as a person, and rather see it as a positive moment that moves you one step closer to your goal.<\/p>\n

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          1. Consider using an essay editing service<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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            They can be a bit expensive, but in the end, it makes sense to spend a hundred dollars to give yourself a better chance of getting into the graduate program of your dreams. Getting into a top school, as opposed to an average one, is worth investing in, especially when the cost is less than a pair of fancy Nikes or a new purse.<\/p>\n

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            Some things to consider:<\/p>\n

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            -Make sure that they guarantee your satisfaction.<\/p>\n

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            -Ask if they will work with you beyond just receiving a single revision back from you.\u00a0 Often, it will take 2-3 exchanges with your editor to completely understand what you want to say, how you want to say it, and what core message you want to convey.<\/p>\n

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            At Gurufi, we don\u2019t put a cap on the number of revisions you get, and we\u2019re not happy until you are. That\u2019s why we get such consistently excellent reviews<\/a>!<\/p>\n

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            For more help with your personal statement, check us out at Gurufi.com<\/a>. Our personal statement editors and consultants have decades of experience helping clients get into top Masters and Ph.D. programs in STEM, humanities, fine arts, and social sciences. Our specialty is helping you craft compelling personal statements that move the needle in your admissions process! For questions, shoot us an email at service@gurufi.com<\/a>. Check us out on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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