When you’re writing a graduate school personal statement, you need to convince the admissions readers that you’re a great fit for the school, and that the school is also the perfect fit for your particular interests. One way to approach these “two main questions” is with an excellent graduate school personal statement outline.

But how do I answer those two main questions? 

The answer lies in your essay’s outline, its basic structure and flow of ideas. While you’re of course free to organize your essay any way you want — so long as it reads well, makes sense, makes a good case, and so on — there’s a particular outline that can send your essay in the right direction. This outline works especially well if you’re applying to a particular school. If you’re writing one essay for a lot of schools, we can tweak it: more on that below. 

Outlining a personal statement

Here’s what I’ve found works well for a graduate school personal statement outline: 

1. Begin with an opening story or “vignette.” 
   • It often works well to start your essay with a brief story. This “vignette” brings your admissions readers into the action of why you’re interested in your chosen field. 
   • Make it memorable, something that can only come from you. When I applied to graduate school in religious studies, I described how my father had given me books by religious studies theorists while I was still in high school, and how studying religion in college not only confirmed and strengthened that interest, but set me on the path to graduate school. I hoped it would be memorable (how many people have their dad giving them books like that in high school?), and I knew it also connected directly to my field of study.
2. Connect your story to your grad school interest.  
   • In your opening paragraph, connect your vignette directly to an interest in studying your particular topic at this particular school and program. If it’s the kind of application that goes directly to a school, actually use the name of the field, the name of the school, and the name of the program.
3. Get back to your basics. 
   • It won’t be obvious why you’re interested in your particular field or program, but you want it to feel obvious for the admissions readers. Your admissions essay should create a compelling narrative about why you should be chosen for a particular program, so show readers what it is about your personal, professional, and educational background that makes graduate school in this particular school/program the logical next step. 
   • Just like when writing a cover letter for a job, you don’t want to rehash everything in your resume or CV. Instead, use this part of the essay to convey your interest in a way that goes beyond a resume list.
   • If you have a gap in your resume or some bad grades on your transcript, this section is an opportunity to address these in a positive way. Describe setbacks in neutral language, or find a way to talk how you overcame them. 
4. Don’t forget to talk about the school! 
   • After giving the admissions readers something about your background, it makes sense to move towards the present. Why this school is a perfect fit for your interests and goals, right now? 
   • What classes, internships, professors, or other strengths make the school or program stand out for you? Connect those special parts of a school back to your goals and interests? 
   • This part won’t apply to all essays; sometimes you need a general essay about your interest in a field or type of program, rather than an essay that goes directly to a particular school.
5. Remember your post-grad goals!
   • What are your goals for after you graduate from this program? Think about the future in this section of your essay. 
   • Admissions committees want to know what you see yourself doing with a degree from their program. How will you be a credit to the field for which they train new colleagues, adding to its knowledge, research, or practice? Talk about your plans after graduation.
   • If you’re applying to a humanities PhD program, talk about what research you might want to pursue, and what kind of teacher or researcher you might like to be. 
   • If you’re applying to a practical program, like counseling, physical therapy, or nursing, what kind of clinician will you be? What kinds of patients will you serve? How will you deal with a diverse clientele or with modern healthcare challenges? 
6. Finish off with an enthusiastic and confident conclusion.
   • (The conclusion is always the hardest part, isn’t it. Don’t worry. You’ll get there.)
   • You’ll want to sound confident (but not too confident! We all still have some learning to do). Sometimes it helps to refer back to an experience you mentioned earlier in the essay, rounding things off.
   • Finally, if you’re writing the essay for a particular school or program, use the name of the school and/or program in your conclusion (and double-check that you use the right school or program name before submitting!).

What if this graduate school personal statement outline doesn’t work for your kind of essay or school? 

if you don’t want to fit your life story into the outline above, that’s totally fine. Most stories don’t fit a neat outline, anyways—especially the stories of our lives. After all, the outline isn’t what’s important. The ideas in your essay are the important part. Most essay prompts have something to do with the the topics addressed above, anyways: your background, your goals, your interest in a field. As long as your essay these in there somehow, you’re on the right track.

Still feeling stuck? I offer a free 1/2 hour consultation to talk about your essays, or to think through how working with a graduate school personal statement coach can help your essay shine.