Personal Statement Essay Samples_0

5/28/2018 Personal Statement Essay Samples_0

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Personal Essay Samples for Graduate School Application

Remember: when writing essays you want to be sure and answer all questions and/or

include all information the graduate school has requested. The following four examples

are meant to be just that examples you want your essay to be unique informati!eand personally directed to your life and not a copy of something you read here online

or from any other source.

Example 1

The rapidly growing elderly population is becoming a serious social problem in many

countries. "ome countries ha!e been successful at finding solutions for this problem but

others ha!e not. #apan is one of the latter countries. $lthough #apan has one of the

highest life expectancy rates and a reputation for good quality of life for its elderlypopulation it has been unsuccessful at addressing this problem. %ompared to other

industriali&ed countries #apan lags behind in programs for elders who are physically

disabled bedridden or in need of long term care. The current economic crisis is

exacerbating this situation as the go!ernment is cutting funding for elder programs. This

problem resonates deeply with me and ' hope to someday wor( on finding a solution. 't

is for this reason that ' am applying to the graduate program in social wor( at )oston

*ni!ersity: ' see( the s(ills and (nowledge ' need to return to #apan and wor( for a

social wor( ser!ice.

+y interest in the elderly dates bac( to my childhood. ,rowing up with my grandparents

greatly influenced my !alues and personality: they taught me to be self-moti!ated and

disciplined. Their resilience and support has helped me to perse!ere e!en when

confronted with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. )ecause of their (indness toward

me ' ha!e a deep respect for them and for elderly people in general. This is what

moti!ates me to become in!ol!ed in the field of social wor(.

Traditionally in #apanese society the care of ones parents is belie!ed to be the

childrens duty. $fter orld ar '' such traditions ha!e e!ol!ed due to changes infamily structure. 0o longer is the eldest child the only one to inherit his parents

property and two-income families ha!e become the norm. These changes ha!e left

#apanese people at a loss as to how to care for their aging parents. The current

response to this problem seems to be hospitali&ation.


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1amilies increasingly hospitali&e their elders who are physically disabled bedridden or

in need of long-term care. These indi!iduals are usually transferred to nursing homes

but because of sparse accommodations and a one to two year wait list they end up

staying with family members who are often ill equipped to care for them. $s a result

there are a number of incidences of elder abuse by family members and elder suicide.$lso there are many other elderly people who li!e alone -- e!ery year many of them

die with no one not e!en their family members ha!ing (nowledge of their death.

%urrently there is no social welfare program in #apan that offers assistance to these

elders and their families. 'n the light of these terrible problems the need for such a

program is ob!ious. +y interest in social wor( is to find ways to de!elop and impro!e

the types of ser!ices a!ailable to the elderly in #apan at a systematic le!el. ' want to be

in!ol!ed in the organi&ing managing de!eloping shaping and planning of social

policies related to the elderly. ' belie!e the social wor( program at )oston *ni!ersity willallow me to do that. )y studying macro social wor( at )oston *ni!ersity ' will learn

about established social systems assessment and inter!ention strategies. 'n addition

)oston *ni!ersitys emphasis on urban issues appeals to me immensely. $s ' will be

returning to wor( in 2sa(a the second largest city in #apan graduate wor( in this area

will better equip me for the challenges ' will be facing. To me an urban mission is a

commitment to identify and find solutions to issues faced by urban areas.

' belie!e ' am well prepared for graduate wor(. 3uring my undergraduate study '

acquired the necessary bac(ground (nowledge by ta(ing ad!anced courses in theareas of psychology and sociology including sociological research methods social

theory statistics psychological research and psychotherapy. $long with these courses

' had an internship at the $sian Tas( 1orce $gainst 3omestic 4iolence a non-profit

organi&ation. ' also !olunteered at "awaya(a-en a nursing ser!ice and $sunaro

%hildrens +ental 5ospital in #apan. 1rom this internship and my !olunteer wor( ' ha!e

gained practical experience which ' feel will contribute to my academic and professional

success.

' expect the graduate wor( at )oston *ni!ersity to be demanding challenging andultimately rewarding. ' loo( forward to the experience from an intellectual as well as

social point of !iew -- ' hope to learn and grow as an indi!idual and a macro social

wor(er. ' hope that ' will be allowed to do so at )oston *ni!ersity.


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Example 2

6ittle 6essons '!e learned on my way

6esson 7: 3ont 6ose 8our 9ath'n his poem The Road 0ot Ta(en Robert 1rost wrote Two roads di!erge in the

woods and ' too( the one least tra!eled by/ $nd that has made all the difference. 'nthis poem the narrator had a choice of two roads. 5owe!er '!e disco!ered that life is alittle more complicated. "ometimes the path we embar( on is not always the one wechoose. "ometimes we are pushed or pulled in certain directions and we ha!e to reactto our en!ironment.

+y path to a college education has been filled with bumps potholes detours androadbloc(s. The signs often read yield and do not enter. The path has not always

been clear but '!e (ept my eyes opened focused on the road ahead and theexperience has made all the difference.

3uring my freshman year in high school my mother remarried and ' had to mo!e from%olorado to ;entuc(y. 2ne year later we relocated bac( to %olorado after theydi!orced. 3uring my junior year in high school my mother remarried again and ' had tochange schools again although we remained in %olorado. Thus ' did not ha!e a senseof continuity during high school and although ' recogni&ed that my path would lead meto college ' was not ready to commit myself to school full time. 'nstead ' went to wor(full time as a grocery cler( and wor(ed my way up to assistant manager. ' then mo!edinto customer ser!ice wor( and finally fell into an ad!ertising manager position. ' too(

se!eral night courses during this period until ' was ready to commit to school full time.$lthough ' could ha!e continued with wor( ' (new that it was not what ' wanted to doand once ' committed myself to attending school and reali&ed that ' wanted to study"ociology ' ha!e pro!en myself to be an abo!e a!erage student. This past year 'earned all $


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needs and remedy any self-destructi!e conduct they exhibit. The wor( also in!ol!ed anall out hunt on my part to place these inmates into en!ironments and programs that

would pro!e healthy for them.

' maintained a wor(ing relationship with my friends at the 'nstitute and chec(ed their

progress wee(ly. ' belie!e that the power to empathi&e or the ability to put yourself insomeone elses place begins with an open mind. hen ' say that we must becomeacti!e listeners in order to understand one another ' mean to say that there are subtlemo!ements in our speech certain words that we use certain utterances that are notdirected towards us certain circumstances unre!ealed to us. e must endea!or to hearall of them. ' belie!e that this s(ill will help me greatly as a 9h3 candidate in yourdepartment.

6esson >: 6earn 1rom 8our ?xperiences'n 7@@A my mother was diagnosed with lupus. ' was enrolled in a full course load but 'dropped three classes so that ' could spend more time with my mother and comfort her

as much as ' could. ' felt so helpless because ' did not (now how to help her. ' resol!edto (now more about the diseaseB ' attended 6upus support group meetings and foundout about a diet that helps regulate the bodys immune system. ' also tal(ed to se!eralneurologists and researched se!eral drugs that were 13$ appro!ed. Through ourcollecti!e effort we found a terrific drug and the disease has stabili&ed for almost ayear. This experience has taught me that e!en if a subject is miles away from the reachof your contemplation you can learn much from research and from the (nowledge andexperience of others.

$nd as ' offer myself as a 9h3 candidate in your 9olitical "ociology department ' bringto the table years of wor( experience which includes steady and continuous promotions

an unrelenting pursuit for (nowledge a compassion for children and people and abelief that anything is possible if we can acti!ely imagine it into existence. Throughoutmy adult life ' ne!er lost my path and ' hope that you will allow me to continue this pathat the *ni!ersity of 0ebras(a.


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Example 3

2f all the characters that '

that ' most want to emulate. They are $ttacus 1inch from To ;ill $ +oc(ingbird and 3r.

$rchibald +oonlight ,raham from 1ield of 3reams. They appeal to me because they

embody what ' stri!e to be. They are influential people in small towns who ha!e a direct

positi!e effect on those around them. ' too plan to li!e in a small town after graduating

from college and that positi!e effect is something ' must gi!e in order to be satisfied

with my life.

)oth +r. 1inch and 3r. ,raham are strong supporting characters in wonderful stories.

They symboli&e good honesty and wisdom. hen the story of my town is written ' want

to symboli&e those things. The base has been formed for me to li!e a producti!e helpful

life. $s an ?agle "cout ' represent those things that +r. 1inch and 3r. ,raham

represent. 'n the child/adolescent world ' am +r. 1inch and 3r. ,raham but soon '


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Example 4

1or many years ' ha!e been interested in studying international relations. +y interest in

pursuing this field stems from se!eral factors which ha!e affected me. 1irst ' ha!e been

exposed to international affairs throughout my life. ith my father and two of my

brothers in the "audi 1oreign "er!ice ' ha!e grown up under the shadow of inter-

national affairs. "econd ' am fascinated by history economics and diplomacy. '

belie!e through the study of international relations ' can effecti!ely satisfy my curiosity

in these fields. $ third factor which has affected my interest in international relations is

patriotism.

Through the 1oreign "er!ice ' would not only ha!e the opportunity to ser!e my country

but also ha!e the chance to help bridge gaps between my country and others. 1inally

as a "audi li!ing abroad ' ha!e been bridging cultures throughout my life. This

experience has taught me to loo( for differences to compromise and similarities to

synthesi&e in order to balance different cultures. 'n short ' belie!e that my experiences

in life combined with a rigorous academic education will enable me to pursue a

successful career in the "audi 1oreign "er!ice.

Georgetown, Favorite Class:

$t "t. $lbans especially in our later years we are gi!en the freedom to choose from a

!ast array of classes. *sing this freedom ' ha!e selected classes which ha!e personal

significance to me regardless of difficulty or appearance on my transcript. 5owe!er

from these classes one holds an extraordinary amount of !alue to me. This course is

$.9. 2mnibus 5istory a combination of $merican and ?uropean history. There are

se!eral reasons for my great interest in this class. 1irst ' am fascinated by the cyclical

nature of the past. ' see these recurring political economic and social trends as a

means of loo(ing forward into the future while allowing us to a!oid the mista(es of the

past. "econd history teaches many lessons about the nature of human beha!ior both

past and present pro!iding insight into the actions desires and aspirations of those

around me. 1inally it lays a solid foundation for se!eral disciplines including political

science economics and international relations three fields of great interest to me.

Georgetown, Visual Arts:

$nother major interest of mine which ' ha!e not had the opportunity to express


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elsewhere on my application is the !isual arts. Throughout high school ' ha!e used a

!ariety of media to express myself. ' began with blac( and white photography focusing

on the presence of lines and balance in nature. 1or my wor( in this medium ' recei!ed

an award at the "t. $lbans "chool $rt "how. 1rom photography ' mo!ed on to glass

etching. *sing a sandblaster to etch the glass ' again concentrated on lines andbalance in my wor(s. +oreo!er by arranging se!eral glass panes into a sculpture '

mo!ed my study into three dimensions winning another $rt "how award. %urrently '

am wor(ing on can!as using oil and acrylic in a +ondrian style which is based on lines

and balance. ?!entually ' hope to explore the effects of combining these and other

media creating my own style of artistic expression.

Georgetown, Wrestling:

'n the past four years of my life no acti!ity has affected me more than wrestling. 1our

years of !arsity wrestling and the honor of being a team captain ha!e instilled manyqualities in me. 1irst through years of hard wor( and continuous dieting wrestling has

gi!en me discipline. This discipline has spread to other parts of my personality

including my moral character wor( ethic and perse!erance. $nother quality wrestling

has gi!en me is leadership. $s a team captain ' ha!e learned to lead by example both

on and off the mat. $bo!e all though wrestling has gi!en me a lo!e of life. Through this

sport ' ha!e experienced pain sacrifice ad!ersity and success. ?xposure to these

feelingsE which are in my opinion the essence of beingE has allowed me to truly

appreciate life. ' hope to continue wrestling at ,eorgetown.

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Personal Statement Essay Samples_0