Adam
Alex
Benjamin
Emma
Gill
Jade
James
Rebecca
Ronnie
How to write a PERSONAL STATEMENT for university or college
Everything you need to know to write a personal statement. Are you applying to university or college? You will need to submit documents to tell the admissions committee more about yourself. One such document is the “Personal Statement”. Students spend weeks or months working on their statement, but many make a fundamental mistake: they don’t make it personal. In this video, we will go over the six essential steps of constructing a winning personal statement that will help you get into the school of your choice. I will teach you how to plan and structure your personal statement, how to research for it, and how to edit it. Writing your statement will take you at least a week, so don’t start at the last minute!
Quiz
Test your understanding of this English lesson
Test your understanding of the English lesson by answering these questions. You will get the answers and your score at the end of the quiz.Levels
Lesson Topics
70 COMMENTS
Great explanation about personal statement!
I got learn to write in a nice way.
Hi Adam,
This lesson will play vital role in learner statement.
Another matter that i wanna to watch your embedded clause but unfortunately I don’t found it.
Gracias Adam! Si es personal Statement, es para postular a una universidad, ¿y la “Bio”, es algo más informal?
Hi Marialeonor,
Not really sure what that means,but this is a very formal letter when applying to a university or college. In some cases, it can be written in an informal style, but then you have to be a very good writer with a very clear message. It’s very risky.
i got 79 %
I did a small mistake in a hurry so I tried another time and I got full 100
Thank you very much. TA Adam. Nothing can be written, if it is not known,what is required. You shed light on what school wants from us. I fully understand now. Thank you a gain for your endless help.
This was useful to avoid mistakes in the first university impression.Thanks
Who knows, knows. This is a serious lesson with lots of important advice. I hope that one day I can enroll in a good university, one that I feel good about saying I’m happy to be here. Thanks.
Adam, would you care to make a lesson “When things go wrong”? One about words (and common collocations) such as blunder, bonker, mishap, gaffe, screw up, fcuk up, etc.
Good idea Nutondev. I’ll see what I can do.
Thank you for your teaching about writing personal statement. It really helps me.
I will keep that in mind your advice.
Thanks again.
Thank you very much, Adam.
Congratulations Adam. Great job.
Thanks
A question for Adam.
I a sentence,
They adopted this system as MEANING stop and go.
Is ‘meaning’ a gerund? Why? Why no? What is its function here. Are there any -ing clauses in this sentence? Could you give a similar example with ‘as meaning’?
Thank you so much!
Hi Polluxtroi,
I would need some more context, but it seems it might mean that they adopted this system as a form of stop and go. Anyway, in this case it is a gerund (object to preposition ‘as’).
They adopted this system, meaning stop and go. — …, which means stop and go. In this case, meaning is a participle.
Can you give me the sentence before and after this one?
THANKS
Adam is one of the best English teachers particularly in the area of writing. I get a lot of help in learning English from engVid. By watching videos everyday, I think I practise at least listening. But I also think I can get benefit in reading, writing and speaking from engVid. I believe learning English from engVid helps improve my English potentials. it’s a great luck to find engVid which is not yet very well known in my home country. I’ll keep digging engVid. Thanks!
Thank you Insoo. I hope I can reach more Koreans :)
(by the way, I live in Busan ;) )
Wow. Busan is one of the great travel places in ROK. It’s nice to hear that you live there. I’m digging your lessons and learning a lot. Always thank you!
Hello adam thanks for your lessons.I have a request, can you cover find errors questions?(I’m preparing for MEXT scholarship’s exam)
Hi No0x,
I looked at a sample test. The key is to understand the different parts of a sentence , i.e. clauses, phrases, modifiers, etc.
Anyway, I’ll see what I can do about these question types.
it was bad. In next time I will do the best.
Keep trying Mbuta51 :)
Thanks everyone :)
Adam, what would be a slang (or at least informal) verb for the verb ‘to cover sb’ – as in a situation where you have promised something to person A, based on a promise from person B, but person B failed to deliver, and now you have to somehow explain yourself in front of person A, and perhaps pretend everything is ok.
Something like ‘to cover’ but maybe more emotional :)
In Polish we have a phrase that would literally mean “to shine/flash one’s eyes in front of sb”
An example:
“Hey, you failed again and you made me flash my eyes in front of John for the second time. I’ve had enough of that!”
I hope this gives you some idea of what I am after. :)
Could we say that the person B stood you up, or is it used only for dating no-shows?
Also, how about a series called “At the office” – where you could give us some vocabulary (both formal and informal) about the most common office situations.
In case you were to answer this, Adam, I have made some research, and I am close to believe there is no direct equivalent to what I am looking for. The close matches though would contain: to cover for, to answer for, to do song and dance, to be in a bad spot.
Hi Nutondev,
To be honest, I’m not exactly clear on the situation. If I can’t keep my promise to person A, I would just have to make an excuse or bite the bullet and admit i made a mistake. OR I could kiss up to person A and make a new person and hope he forgives me and gives me another chance.
Anyway, there are a lot of slang expressions for all kinds of situations. I can probably think of more for this one :)
Thanks.
I’ve learning a lot with your lessons! Thank you so much!
How about a vocab and idiom video about skill assessments? such as: to be a greenhorn about/in something, to excel at something, to be a newbie, to master, to suck at sth (actually, how much vulgar is this one?).
to be one’s strong suit
I’ll see what I can do ;)
I really like the way you explain. I am going to start soon. is there any chance you can check and correct me if I am wrong or seems not to the point please.
thanks again
I’ll do my best Zaheer :)
Hi my lovely teacher Adam. I want to improve my writing skill
Adam, thank you for your lesson. I am applying for a master degree studying. Your informative lesson about PS is useful for me.
Adam. What if it is a new field I’m intending of entering?
What if it is a new field I’m entering
Hey Adam, thanks for the detailed video.
I’ve got a problem with the “hook” for personal statement. Frankly, I’ve never had a “wow” moment in my life that affected me. I gradually got interested in the field I study and I’ve had no surprising or catchy moments in my life. I’ve been thinking for weeks. I studied abroad, did some uncommon martial arts etc. but all of them were thought-out decisions. Because of that, I have no idea how to catch the attention of the committee in the very first sentence. Without a hook sentence, I can’t come up with a proper theme.
I know it’s long but I’d really appreciate if you could give me advice on that. Thanks.
hey Adam, Can I send my PS to review it and tell me points to do them?
Hi Adam, Would you be willing to read my personal statement? If so, how can I directly get in touch with you. Thank you.
Thanks you so much for this.
Most of the comments above have some grammatical errors despite the ideas are clear and specific. Making such mistakes can make Adam ashamed of us. Therefore guys, make some edits before you submit the comments as he said.
I got a 100%.
Adam, can you go through my personal statement after my edit?
7/9! This lesson also is a good tip for daily working.
Hi Adam!
Do you help foreign students write their personal statement? And if yes, would you please let me know the fee. I would really appreciate it.
Thanks
Hi Adam, please can I show you my letter of intent. I would like to get feedback on it. Thank you.
I got 100%. I was paying attention. I want this. Thank you
Thank you so much for this! I have a question: Can we quote a phrase in a different language along with its meaning in English? Or do we quote it in its best translated form?
Thanks a lot for the great lesson!
Thanks for the lesson. It was very helpful. Adam, is there any way to check my personal statement with you?
Hello Adam, can you please leave your email address? As I want to check with you for my personal statement.
Hi Adam can you please leave your email address I already done with the personal Statement and could you please Check my personal Statement
Thank you very much Mr. Adam.
Hi Adam,
Do you provide a service of professional assistance for personal statement?
8/9
Thank you Adam (Kazakhstan, 04 october2021);
very usefull information
hello Adam, please how can i contact you
Hi Adam.
I enjoyed your teaching. Can you please shed light on how to write a motivation letter? I anticipate your response, thanks.
Hi!
Can I mention something thats very subjective, like quick leaner, that has no certificate or any other proof to prove it?
THANKYOU.
Hi sir, i like your way of teaching
Thanks
I got 100%
Thank you Adam for the video on Personal Statement. This video has been very informative and has opened my eyes to things I need to incorporate in my personal statement which is why I am asking you to please send me the questions I need to answer to establish a “Theme” for my personal statement and also all the questions I need to answer throughout the course of my story, Thank You.
Should we write “Personal Statement” or “Statement of Purpose” in the heading of these documents?
may i right my personal statement for postgrad education in sort of analogy ? like comparing the journey of discovering myself to an escape room persay ? won’t recuiters find it somehow childish ?
I saw your YouTube video which I am in need of guidance. It was very helpful. I would like to forward my personal statement (involves three questions) and help me correct it in order to be accepted in the MSOT program.
I want to apply for an MSc in International Business in the UK. I got an offer letter from the University. now I want to apply for a scholarship from the University. I should write a personal statement. please give me some guidance. thanks in advance.