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The Personal Statement – Your Most Powerful Tool in the College Application
- Allison Grandits
- Aug 4
- 2 min read
What’s the most important element of a college application that the student fully controls? It’s not GPA. It’s not the activities list. It’s not even test scores (if submitted). It’s the college essay—especially the personal statement.
This essay is the one opportunity for students to speak directly to the admissions committee and say, “Here’s who I really am, and here’s why it matters.” A well-written personal statement can become the most memorable—and most human—part of an application.
What Is the Personal Statement?
The personal statement (often called the Common App essay) is a 650-word narrative submitted to most colleges via the Common Application. Because it’s not tied to any one school, it should not focus on a specific college or major. Instead, it should focus on the student—their values, experiences, and growth.
Unlike the five-paragraph essays students write in English class, this isn’t about proving a point. It’s about revealing identity through story. There’s no perfect topic. There’s only one requirement: it must be personal.
Common Missteps
Students often take the wrong approach:
They focus more on the prompt than the story.
They try to write what they think colleges want to hear.
They ask five different people for feedback—and get five conflicting opinions.
They treat the word count like a hard limit instead of a flexible tool.
These strategies often result in safe, generic, or disjointed essays that don’t reflect the student’s true voice.
So What Should Students Do?
Here’s the process I use to help students write essays that actually work:
Start with Reflection
Before choosing a prompt, we go deep: Who are you? What experiences shaped you? What matters most to you? What do you want admissions officers to remember?
Write Before You Edit
Draft without limits. Some of the best first drafts are messy and long—and that’s okay. It’s easier to shape meaning from a full story than breathe life into a sparse one.
Need help editing down? Check out my blog post Forget The Fluff for 16 overused words and phrases to cut from your college essay.
Read It Aloud
Voice is everything. When students hear their own writing, they can tell what feels true and what feels off. This helps ensure it sounds like them—not a teacher, parent, or AI.
Revise for Meaning
Every word should point back to a central message. What do you want readers to remember about you? That clarity becomes the guiding light for revision. My blog post Final Edits: Making Your Essay GRAND shares even more editing strategies.
The Bottom Line
The personal statement isn’t about being impressive—it’s about being real. That’s why it’s also the hardest essay to write alone.
If your student is staring at a blank screen or unsure how to begin, that’s normal. This process works best with guidance.
🎧 Bonus: Watch my recent webinar Using Your Voice in the College Application to learn more about essays and interviews.
Many students acknowledged that they felt confused when attempting to convey who they really were in a personal statement. It seemed daunting to create something important. They gained focus and learned how to transform their ideas into gripping stories with the help of Personal Statement Writers Dubai. It evolved into a reflection of their own selves rather than merely an application. So far, is this helpful?