Customer Reviews

How to Write a Winning Personal Statement 3rd ed (How to Write a Winning Personal Statement for Graduate and Professional School)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Like just about everyone else that would purchase this book, I bought it to try to get a sense of what the 'personal statement' is supposed to be all about for a graduate school application. It accomplishes its goal. However, I found it very repetitive. The book is divided into three sections. Section one is simply and introduction, section two contains sample essays. Section three contains interviews of Directors of Admissions of (mainly) MBA, Law and Medical Schools, although there is also one or two from other professional graduate programs. Section Two's essays was probably the most helpful as they helped me overcome my writer's block. Section Three said the same thing over and over again -

1. Dont's send "And that's why I want to go to Harvard..." essays to Yale.

2. Spell-check and edit thoroughly for readability and grammar

3. Follow the page-limits stated

4. Personalize it, be natural, make it interesting, and don't write the same generic essay for all schools or try to give the admissions people what you think they are looking for.

5. The essays are important and are read by at least three people evaluating the applications.

As noted above, I haven't given anything away - the most useful part of the book are the sample essays that illustrate these points. As I read them, I started the process of self-examination which is what the admissions people what to see you doing in this essay. In short, it helps get your creative 'juices' flowing to overcome the writer's block that inevitably accompanies the task of writing these things. I can't compare this to other books of the same variety, but I can say that I was satisfied with this book, and can't imagine that any other book could say something this one dosen't.

This book seems to be most useful for MBA program essays. It lacks information about general graduate school essays, in particular the sciences and humanities. I was a bit disappointed that it focused so intently on business, law, and medical school essays while touting to be a book for graduate school as well.

The two stars go in honor of the questions asked early in the book, which do suggest many useful things to include in your statement. Very quickly, however, the book takes a one-way street that only the extreme cases can follow. The example essays include people who have escaped the communist regime of Cuba, been haunted by the Russian KGB, lived in a car, and an Olympic Skier. If you do have an extreme tear-jerker for the academy, buy this book--but that is the only style of essay discussed. If you happen to be among the average applicants, though, and you trying to get an edge, this may not be the right place to look. I am applying to Public Health school, and found more useful info in a book on getting into Law schools. I would suggest checking out the Degree of Difference Series over this book.

After struggling many days to write some decent admission essays, I was very happy I found this book, a well-conceived, easy-to-read, first-rate guide whose usefulness explains its popularity. The author is apparently a consultant who works with graduate applicants, and he brings a very pragmatic, non-theoretical approach to his numerous on--the-mark suggestions for effectively composing these important essays. (As an MBA applicant, I was really glad Stelzer addressed some of the unique challenges of the B--school essays,) The many examples of successful essays are varied and terrific, showing us both ordinary stories interestingly told and more inherently interesting stories presented in a way that maximizes their impact. The applicants come across as very real and likab1c, rather than just clich6-sprouting, run-of-the-mill candidates. The exceptional interviews (presented cleverly in a non-Q-&-A format) with more than two dozen admissions officials --from every top school you can imagine --provide excellent insights, specifics on what these men and women are looking for and, quite wonderfully, some useful information I never saw anywhere else. The interviews also give the reader a clear sense of the intelligence of the individuals deciding who gets in. Reading their comments and the author's, and having a large batch of "winning personal statements" to examine and study, gave me the knowledge and confidence to do a good job for myself. This book really helped me understand the path I needed to follow and opened my eyes to options I otherwise wouldn't have considered.

An excellent, broad-based resource no graduate applicant should miss. While clearly useful for individuals seeking admission to law, business and medical schools (which attract the largest numbers), the book lives up to its title by also providing a wealth of valuable information for those of us applying to other types of graduate programs. Included among the excellent essays, for instance, are examples from candidates for public administration, English and American literature, science, dentistry and geology. The author's advice, and that of a multitude of admissions officials, obviously applies to all applicants and offers exceptional direction.

Of all the tasks we usually face when applying to graduate and professional schools, from choosing universities to preparing for and taking admission and standardized tests, from soliciting recommendations to having transcripts send out, writing a good personal essay is among the most important and difficult to accomplish. The strong competition for admissions to grad schools, the personal statement often becomes a crucial element of your application package. It is the one element that can set you apart from the competition and open the door to your successful application.

This book describes the mistakes that applicants commonly make, and offer advice on how to make your statements as effective as possible. The book dedicates 60 pages to display 40 winning personal statements, as practical examples of what should be included and what not in order to write the essay that could give you the unconditional acceptance to the grad school or program of your choice.

Absolutely a must have for anyone applying to graduate and professional school.

My big gripe, which someone has already wisely brought up is that this book emphasizes that one does not need incredible stories to write a great personal essay. However, the example essays are pretty incredible with the whole KGB scenario or a parent having AIDS just before taking the LSATS. Moreover, this book is best for law, business, or med school, and the book is probably more useful for those with a few years of post undergraduate professional work. If you're like me, and you're applying to a general/regular graduate school right after undergaduate school, you will have to really fight hard to extrapolate the concepts needed to write a good essay. My closest example in the book was for an international affairs graduate school with an applicant that had about 10 years of professional drug use.........

In "How to Write a Winning Personal Statement for Graduate and Professional School", Mr. Stelzer concisely elucidates how one must bring out an original yet refreshing personal statement. 90% of the sample essays are geared towards the Big 3- Law, Medical, and Business. For students interested in other programs like myself, there are several takeaways one could get from this book. I would strongly suggest using the questionnaires in the Appendix. I learned several things from the pages on advice from admissions representatives. I would also suggest reading all the sample essays first and then the introductory chapter which would help one lay out the groundwork for an original personal statement. Real Essays for College and Grad School by Anne McKinney is another helpful book. Good Luck!

I was frustrated that there was only one chapter of very general instructions. It was interesting to read successful applicants personal statements, but a lot of them reflected extreme situations that most people have not experienced in their lives. The last chapter has poorly written letters from admissions reps and Deans of Admission that I did not find useful in the slightest. I would have to say that the samples are a good way to get ideas and are the only redeeming quality of the book.

This book was EXCELLENT. I had read two other books before this one, and was disappointed. Though they claimed to be good for grad apps, they were clearly geared toward undergraduate application essays. This book asks thought-provoking questions that help to bring to light relevant experiences and skills that you may have left out. It is great as far as taking you through the process of brainstorming, writing, and revising, but also explains how to write a good essay even if the deadline is looming. It was very good at helping me to organize my thoughts and feel like a good essay was just around the corner - which did wonders for calming my anxiety about the process. The examples in the book were also very helpful, and this is the first book I have seen that had sections dedicated to specific programs (medical, law, business, etc.) THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!