. A personal statement should be a narrative giving a picture of you as an individual. It should deal with your personal history, family background, influences on intellectual development, the educational and cultural opportunities (or lack of them) to which you have been exposed, and the ways in which these experiences have affected you. Include your special interests and abilities, career plans, and life goals, etc. It should not be a recording of facts already listed on the application or an elaboration of your statement of proposed study. - Personal statements are short; identify a few points (3-4) that you want to develop; let the other aspects of your application present other important information. Use your personal statement to say what others could not say. -Personal statements are read quickly and often in bulk; yours should be a pleasure to read: it should start fast, quickly taking the reader into the heart of your discussion. - Maintain focus; establish a consistent story line. Consider one or two anecdotes that can help you focus and give a human face to your discussion. -Use this discussion to present a compelling snapshot, of who you are and what contributions you want to make, and to indicate what your priorities are and the kinds of intelligence and passion you bring to your work. -In this regard, you may also want to weave in some mention of any skills or resources that may particularly recommend you. (But again, beware of merely telling when you might be better able to use a moment from your experience to show a number of the qualities you want to convey.)