College Admissions: Personal Statement
When deciding which students to admit, colleges consider many factors about each
student. After all, colleges are interested in building a student body that is academically curious, but also diverse
and actively engaged in a range of productive, creative activities.
Write a personal statement to be read by a college admissions officer. In this statement, discuss how your
academic interests, extracurricular activities, and life experiences will benefit the college community.
As you write, remember your essay will be scored based on how well you:
develop a multi-paragraph response to the assigned topic that clearly communicates your controlling idea to the audience.support your controlling idea with meaningful examples, reasons, and information based upon your research or readings.organize your essay in a clear and logical manner, including an introduction, body, and conclusion.use well-structured sentences
and language that are appropriate for your audience.edit your work to conform to the conventions of standard American English.
Use any of the tools available to you, such as the Checklist, Spellchecker,
or Graphic Organizer.
