{"id":65566,"date":"2025-09-30T08:39:04","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T15:39:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=65566"},"modified":"2025-12-10T14:49:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T21:49:00","slug":"5-tips-for-how-to-open-your-personal-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/5-tips-for-how-to-open-your-personal-statement\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips for How to Open Your Personal Statement"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Before founding Gurufi<\/a>, I taught in Harvard University\u2019s Expository Writing Program. While teaching undergrads to write Ivy League-quality essays, we used to joke that an introduction is like a good first date: you want to be interesting, clear about your intentions, and leave the other person wanting to know more. That advice holds true for MBA personal statements.<\/p>\n

Applicants often struggle with introductions, and much of the advice that they\u2019ve been given is either bad or better suited to college personal statements. While I always advise clients not to place undue stress on having a blockbuster introduction, it does play a significant role in how the reader perceives your application. In short, your introduction does more than start your essay; it sets the tone for the entire application. A strong opening can make an admissions reader excited to spend the next two minutes with your essay. A flat one can make even a great story feel like a slog.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, here are five tips for writing a great introduction.<\/p>\n

(1) Forget About Gimmicky Hooks<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

What? But I heard you have to have a GREAT HOOK! The problem with the \u201chook,\u201d as a concept, is twofold. First, the idea mostly comes from magazine or newspaper writing, where there\u2019s a genuine question as to whether the reader will read your article. If you don\u2019t grab them in the first 5 seconds\u2026 they\u2019re gone. That\u2019s just not the case with admissions essays<\/u>. Your reader WILL keep reading. So you have a bit of space to set things up and entice your reader to feel excited about what comes next.<\/p>\n

Second, when most people write hooks, what they actually lean into are inauthentic gimmicks or big, brash text that creates a tone and pace that\u2019s impossible to sustain. Yes, you do want to avoid being overly rote, but it\u2019s ultimately about finding a balance. Many bad MBA essays begin with something like \u201cI am applying to Business School X because I want to transition from consulting to private equity.\u201d That\u2019s accurate, but not engaging. A better introduction uses a moment, story, or image that pulls the reader in. Find a way to tell a story that\u2019s germane, personal, authentic, and compelling<\/a>. A good way to do this is to think of a precise moment and build a short anecdote around it. \u201cAt 3 a.m., I was sitting in a Mumbai call center, translating a customer complaint while the product team frantically debugged the software\u2026\u201d Something like this, if it\u2019s connected to a problem you solved and your mission and vision for the future, can work well. Other approaches are the \u201csurprising fact,\u201d such as \u201cOnly 30% of rural health clinics in my region had access to clean water. That statistic kept me awake at night.\u201d Now, the challenge with this is that you\u2019ll want to find a way to connect this to something important to you and your experiences so that your personal statement is, in fact, personal and not an essay about a topic. Here, for instance, you might say WHY this keeps you up at night, or you may note how lack of access to potable water played a role in your life.<\/p>\n

Similarly, a bold statement or question, such as, \u201cI believe supply chains can be beautiful, and that\u2019s why I want to spend my life improving them,\u201d can work if your essay is about your work within this sector and what you\u2019ve learned from it. Remember, admissions officers read hundreds of essays a week. If you can make them sit up and think, \u201cTell me more!\u201d you\u2019ve done your job. Similarly, if it\u2019s too gimmicky, all you\u2019ll get is a groan and an eye roll, so make sure that whatever your write resonates with your life and aligns with your stated goals.<\/p>\n

(2) Orient Your Reader <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve engaged your reader, give them a quick sense of where this essay is headed. This is NOT the old middle school adage of \u201ctell them what you\u2019re going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you\u2019ve told them.\u201d That\u2019s bad advice that produces bad, rigid writing. I\u2019m not telling you to lay out your entire five-paragraph plan; it just means providing context. For example, take the initial introduction about the Mumbai call center. You\u2019ve told the story, so now you want to tie that story to a specific narrative about your application for business school, such as, \u201cMoments like these, when the stakes were high and the pressure was on, shaped my decision to pursue a career in operations consulting. Now, I\u2019m applying to [School Name] to deepen my skills and expand my ability to solve complex global challenges.\u201d This short bridge tells the reader: here\u2019s who I am, here\u2019s why I\u2019m writing this, and here\u2019s where we\u2019re going.<\/p>\n

(3) Don\u2019t start with your r\u00e9sum\u00e9.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Remember, your application is a PACKAGE, and your goal should be to provide all of the relevant information and tell multiple stories that show you from multiple angles. Your CV already provides a bird\u2019s-eye view, so use this space for something more personal. The purpose of a personal statement isn\u2019t to begin on the day you graduated from college and then walk the reader through your professional journey, step by step. Your essay doesn\u2019t necessarily need to be chronological. Instead, if your resume provides breadth, this essay should provide depth on a few key moments or ideas.<\/p>\n

(4) Going too big or too vague<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beware \u201cever since\u2026\u201d moments or overly grand pronouncements about your life. \u201cEver since I was a child, I wanted to change the world\u2026\u201d risks sounding clich\u00e9. If you find yourself leaning too much on an \u201ca-ha\u201d moment where some event made you instantly aware of how you wanted to spend the rest of your life, then reconsider that framing. Even making a small shift from \u201cand from that moment, I knew I wanted to be a consultant,\u201d to something like, \u201cas I think about my journey to consulting, XYZ Experience played a major role\u2026\u201d This minor tweak, of something that something had meaning and weight in retrospect, makes you sound more thoughtful and reflective\u2026 and it\u2019s also more believable.<\/p>\n

(5) Over-explaining your goals right away<\/strong><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to make clear precisely what you aspire to do in your opening paragraph. Leave some discovery for the middle of your essay. In fact, one of the most common mistakes I see is when people feel like they need to have a single self-sustaining sentence in the opener that\u2019s a direct, rote reply to the prompt. You don\u2019t have to<\/em> open with, \u201cMy long-term goal is\u2026\u201d As long as you get to it and you\u2019re clear about what the goal is and why you hold it, you can give the reader a bit of trust that they aren\u2019t stupid and will read your whole essay. Your introduction is your essay\u2019s invitation. It\u2019s the front door of the house, and you want the reader to feel excited to come inside. Make it irresistible. After you write a draft, ask yourself: If I stopped reading here, would I want to keep going? If the answer is anything but \u201cyes,\u201d rewrite until it shines.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like more tips on how to write a great opening, check out this video<\/a>. Want to craft a winning personal statement? Visit Gurufi.com<\/a><\/strong> to get expert help building, revising, and polishing your application essays. Have a question? Email us anytime at service@gurufi.com. We\u2019re happy to help!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before founding Gurufi, I taught in Harvard University\u2019s Expository Writing Program. While teaching undergrads to write Ivy League-quality essays, we used to joke that an introduction is like a good…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,2170,775,113],"tags":[2868,3708,3712,3707,3706,1030,3703,3709,3704,3369,3705,3701,278,1145,3702,3710,2719,3524,3700,3711],"class_list":["post-65566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-gurufi","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","tag-admissions-essay-help","tag-admissions-reader-engagement","tag-application-essay-improvement","tag-authentic-essay-writing","tag-avoid-gimmicky-hooks","tag-business-school-essays","tag-college-admissions-writing","tag-essay-opening-tips","tag-essay-writing-strategies","tag-graduate-school-applications","tag-gurufi-admissions-consulting","tag-how-to-start-an-essay","tag-mba-application-tips","tag-mba-essay-advice","tag-personal-statement-introduction","tag-personal-statement-structure","tag-personal-statement-tips","tag-storytelling-in-essays","tag-writing-a-strong-introduction","tag-writing-advice-for-applicants","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65566","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\/191"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65566"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66110,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65566\/revisions\/66110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}