Personal statement. Statement of purpose. Personal-ment of the state you’re in. No matter how the words were rearranged, it still loomed large and confusingly in my mind. Being well into my junior year, I’m now approached more seriously by professors to discuss my future plans and options for life after Pomona, and the college’s career development office keeps sending me reminders to update my resume and CV. I spent an hour this past Saturday searching for my old resume…I became so desperate that I checked my mini fridge for no reason at all, hoping that I’d tucked it behind the apple juice. The personal statement is generally a 3-5 explanation of your research interests, education and work experience, research experience and skills, as well as the specific reasons that you’d like to attend that particular graduate school and work with designated outstanding professors.
To make matters worse, it’s only one piece of the seemingly MUCH larger application process, which also includes recommendations, supplemental questions, official transcripts, CV/resume, and GRE scores. Several mentors have mentioned that applying to graduate school and doing a good job of it is basically like having another full-time job…a 40-hour full-time job.
Before you comment on my blog and tell me that I should jump ship and possibly consider stand-up comedy instead, let me mention the positive lessons I’ve learned this semester.
- Professors are amazing and will guide and support you, just as teachers will in high school…even better–they’ve been there and done that…literal experts in the field.
- All the work I’ve put in during the past two/three years shows on my transcript and within my (new) resume…turns out I’ve been participating in some worthwhile activities!
- With enough organization and dedication, everything will work out.
- I can do it. And you can, too!
Wherever you are in the college process (most likely in the “awaiting decisions and applying for scholarships” phase), don’t allow the piles of work and endless amount of things “to-do,” to get you down. Reach out to others for support and set smaller goals that will ultimately help you reach your larger ones. Fully applying to ten scholarships on a Wednesday night may be too much, but writing an essay for two of those scholarships is possible…and then continue to tackle the others step-by-step.
Although I can’t reach out to every person who reads the CSO blog or visits our site, I fully believe that you are on your way to higher education. You’ve already made one positive step by seeking out an opportunity. In the meantime, I’m going to keep working on my personal statement. Statement of purpose. Personal-ment of the state I’m in. (Reminding self—I can do it)