How to Get into the Top US Universities

personal statement for admission to us universities

Why Is Writing a Personal Statement for University Admission so Important for Top Schools?

Applying to any of the top universities will require you to provide everything from test results, GMAT waiver letter, final school report, through to your all important personal statement for admission. Knowing how to write a personal statement for university admission is vital as this can be one of the most important parts of your application, especially when you are applying to Ivy League schools. Many of the top schools will admit just a small percentage of those that apply each year.

Even if they accept only a small percentage of applicants it is always best to apply to the top schools. A degree from somewhere like Harvard or MIT is going to look so much better on your resume and will help you to gain a more successful future. If you look at personal statement examples for university admission to these schools however you will see that yours must be really outstanding.

Whether you are learning how to write a personal statement for PhD admission or a personal statement for masters admission you have to proceed with care. Use our sample of personal statement for admission into university and other guidance to help you. Do not however simply copy any personal statement for admission in university sample as that would be plagiarism. Many applicants seek out admission essay writing services due to the difficulties with writing answers to the prompts provided by the top universities:

Stanford Admission Essay

In addition to the coalition or common application essay you will be expected to write three short essays of 100 to 250 words. One of the prompts is:

The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning.

John Hopkins Personal Statement

The additional supplement requires a single application essay written to answer:

Successful students at Johns Hopkins make the biggest impact by collaborating with others, including peers, mentors, and professors. Talk about a time, in or outside the classroom, when you worked with others and what you learned from the experience.

Yale Personal Statement

The Application supplement calls for many short answers as well as essays using prompts such as:

Think about an idea or topic that has been intellectually exciting for you. Why are you drawn to it?

MIT Personal Statement

In addition to your final school report and other documents you will be asked to write several short essays within the MIT supplement. One of the prompts is:

Tell us about the most significant challenge you’ve faced or something important that didn’t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation? (200-250 words)

Cornell Personal Statement

Additional essays for the Cornell supplement are by college and should be less than 650 words. An example is:

College of Engineering: Cornell Engineering celebrates innovative problem-solving that helps people, communities…the world. Consider your ideas and aspirations and describe how a Cornell Engineering education would allow you to leverage technological problem-solving to improve the world we live in.

Penn Personal Statement

The university requests you to provide one additional essay to answer:

How will you explore your intellectual and academic interests at the University of Pennsylvania? Please answer this question given the specific undergraduate school to which you are applying. (400-650 words)

Harvard Admission Essay

Your application for admission is through the Common, Coalition, or Universal application process and you will have to provide an additional University admission essay from within the Harvard supplement. One of the  prompts that you could answer is:

Unusual circumstances in your life travel or living experiences in other countries.

Duke Personal Statement

Additional short essays are by school and include prompts such as:

Duke’s commitment to diversity and inclusion includes gender identity and sexual orientation. If you would like to share with us more about either, and have not done so elsewhere in the application, we invite you to do so here. (250 words maximum)

Columbia University Personal Statement

In addition to writing an essay for university admission according to the coalition or common the supplement calls for a number of answers and essays to several prompts such as:

If you are applying to Columbia College, tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the field or fields of study that you noted in the Member Questions section. If you are currently undecided, please write about any field or fields in which you may have an interest at this time. (300 words)

Personal Statement Princeton

The Princeton supplement for application sets out a number of short questions to answer as well as short admission essays such as:

Using a favourite quotation from an essay or book you have read in the last three years as a starting point, tell us about an event or experience that helped you define one of your values or changed how you approach the world. Please write the quotation, title and author at the beginning of your essay.

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