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Personal Statement Support

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The personal statement essay should provide (1) a single, cohesive narrative about what life experiences have shaped you into the scholar you have become, and (2) the scholar you hope to be with the support of this program.

Your essay should not list your accomplishments and experiences, but provide context as to how your background has led you to the research you are interested in, and how your background makes you a good fit for the MMUF program.

How have your experiences shaped you, and how do they shape your research? How will MMUF continue to shape you and your research?

The following template is an example of what the selection committee expects to see in your personal statement essay, but is not intended to be prescriptive.

The Personal Statement Essay should be no more than two (2) pages double-spaced, or 500 words.

Introduction Paragraph

Captivate the reader’s attention, introduce your story, and make an argument about experience and fit.

a. Scene-setting (1-2 Sentences)

  • Identify the moment(s) when you were first set on the path toward your graduate research and future aims.
    • Focus on one moment in your personal history that is uncommon or as close to unique as possible, the thing that makes you *you*.
  • Avoid direct or explicit language
    • ex. “I grew up in an immigrant family.”
  • Present the narrative of that moment like a vignette, with simple, descriptive language and emotional tone.
    • ex. “My father did not meet his first daughter until she was one year old.”
  • Tell a story but not the whole story. Leave the reader wanting to know more.

b. Exposition (2 Sentences)

  • Explain the story further.
  • Offer the background or context that you left the reader wondering about.
  • Connect your story to any recent academic or work history relevant to your future aims.

c. Future Statement (1 Sentence)

  • State what work you want to do in the future after your time with MMUF has ended.
  • Mention the profession and your particular approach to it. Be as specific as you can in a single sentence.

d. Program Statement (1-2 Sentences)

  • State briefly the qualities, features, or values of MMUF that make it the right move as your next step toward that future.

e. Fit Statement | Thesis (2 Sentences)

  • PAST | Summarize the alignment between 1) whom you have been and 2) what you propose to do in MMUF. Assert how this makes you the right person for MMUF.
  • PRESENT | Summarize 3) what MMUF offers. Assert how this makes MMUF the right program for you to do what you propose.
  • FUTURE | Summarize the alignment between 3) the program’s values/offerings and 4) your future career. Assert how this makes you and MMUF the right fit for each other.

First + Second Body Paragraph: Past

Tell the story of (1) whom you have been.

This paragraph describes experiences that helped shape your proposed research and future aims.

a. Topic Sentence (1 Sentence)

  • Restate point (1) of your thesis, in slightly different phrasing, to lay out the first step in your argument.
  • This sentence should also preview what will come in the rest of the paragraph.

b. First Relevant Past Experience (3-6 Sentences)

Tell, in greater detail, the story of this first example from point (b) of your Introduction by:

  • Articulating the questions, or wondering, that led you to undertake that experience,
  • Explaining briefly how you pursued those questions in the experience,
  • Mentioning any challenges you encountered in that experience,
  • Describing what you did to face or overcome those challenges,
  • Sharing what you learned [in response to the original questions that led you to the experience], and
  • Listing what new questions emerged from that learning (what did it make you want to learn next?).

c. Second Relevant Past Experience (3-6 Sentences)

Tell, in greater detail, the story of this second example from point (b) of your Introduction by:

  • Articulating the questions, or wondering, that led you to undertake that experience,
  • Explaining briefly how you pursued those questions in the experience,
  • Mentioning any challenges you encountered in that experience,
  • Describing what you did to face or overcome those challenges,
  • Sharing what you learned [in response to the original questions that led you to the experience], and
  • Listing what new questions emerged from that learning (what did it make you want to learn next?).

d. Third Relevant Past Experience (3-6 Sentences)

Tell, in greater detail, the story of this third example from point (b) of your Introduction by:

  • Articulating the questions, or wondering, that led you to undertake that experience,
  • Explaining briefly how you pursued those questions in the experience,
  • Mentioning any challenges you encountered in that experience,
  • Describing what you did to face or overcome those challenges,
  • Sharing what you learned [in response to the original questions that led you to the experience], and
  • Listing what new questions emerged from that learning (what did it make you want to learn next?).

e. Concluding Sentence (1 Sentence)

  • Summarize how those past experiences shaped the questions you will pursue in the program.
  • Articulate what those new questions are and what you will need to learn or do in order to answer them.
  • This is the transition into your next paragraph.

Third Body Paragraph: Fit

Tell the story of 2) what this program offers.

This paragraph demonstrates your knowledge about the program features and how they will serve your aims.

a. Topic Sentence (1 Sentence)

  • Summarize why this program is the best fit for you to learn what you referenced in the previous paragraph.
  • This sentence should preview what will come in the rest of the paragraph.

b. Program Features (2-3 Sentence)

  • List relevant features or components of MMUF, to demonstrate your understanding of the program.
  • Explain how each feature will support your proposed research project and development toward future aims.
  • Describe how you will contribute to the MMUF community at Princeton and beyond.

Fourth Body Paragraph: Future

Tell the story of 3) your future career.

This paragraph argues that your aims for the future align with the program features and values.

a. Career Aims (2-3 Sentences)

  • Describe in greater detail the future aims that you gestured toward in your introduction.
  • State explicitly what impact you would like your future work to have, and on whom
  • Paint a vivid picture of what you would like your approach to that work to be
  • Explain how the program features described above will help prepare you for that future.

Conclusion Paragraph

Make an argument about fit.

a. Shared Values (2 Sentences)

  • Summarize the program’s goals and values, as articulated in website language or elsewhere.
  • Focus on what are advertised as the key values of the program (e.g., what’s repeated on the website?).
  • Articulate how those values and goals align with your own present values and your goals for the future.
  • Explain how this makes you an excellent fit for the program.