Writing the Perfect Personal Statement for Your Master's Application

Alongside the usual university application materials - testing requirements, transcripts, CV, and recommendations - graduate and post-graduate programmes will always require you to include a ‘personal statement’ when applying to a university abroad. But what is a personal statement, anyway? Why is it important? And how to write a good personal statement for your graduate school application?

What is a personal statement letter?
Think of it as if you’re on trial, and the university admissions committee is the jury. Except in this case, you’re not trying to prove your innocence to a crime. You’re simply trying to prove that you are the perfect candidate that should be admitted to a Master's or Ph.D programme at your preferred university.

To do this, you will have to write write a short essay with concrete examples and evidence about your experience and motivation, all pointing to what kind of student you are and why you're a good fit for the chosen degree.

Your personal statement is an invitation to the admission committee to get to know who you are. It should also be the result of self-reflection, the outcome of you taking time to figure out who you are and what your goals for the future should be – both in terms of what you want to study, but also what your career should lead to after graduation.

Your personal statement should answer questions like:

• What contribution do you plan to make to society if you follow the programme?
• Why is the programme you are applying for the right one?
• Why is this programme the logical next step considering your personality and previous studies?

What a personal statement is not a Job Application
You shouldn’t confuse a personal statement for your university application with one for a job application. It’s more about you and how the university fits into your plans rather than why the university is great and you can’t live without it.

It’s also not a good idea to use your essay to try to impress the application committee. Don’t write things that you think they want to hear. Just tell them your story, be authentic and offer them the opportunity to get to know a person, not just a set of achievements.

Speaking of which: don’t just present your application documents in your personal statement. Your letter shouldn’t be just a repetition of information, but rather a map that puts all that you’ve done together and gives it personal meaning.

Finally, your personal statement is not a scientific paper, or your journal. Keep it professional, but be a person. Just present yourself the way you would to a total stranger, but be friendly. You can be open and frank, but leave some things out, because you don’t know that person well enough.

How to start and end a personal statement letter?
The key is to grab your reader’s attention from the very beginning. How?

Start with the degree you are interested in, then set the stage for why you want to study it. In two sentences explain what you’re interested in and how you became interested in it! In the next two sentences, give an overview of your background in this field! Now conclude with what you intend to do with your graduate degree!

Make sure to grab the reader's attention from the opening paragraph and tell them exactly what they need to know from the start.

Think of it like your 'elevator pitch': you catch one of the committee members before getting into an elevator. You step into the elevator with them and, between the bottom floor and the floor where they are getting off, you must convince them why you would be the right choice.

Planning your time for writing a personal statement
How long should your personal statement be? And how much time should you invest in writing it?

Personal statements are generally short in length: approx. 700 words; 1-2 pages. However, you should take extra special care to make sure that it is written well and edited thoroughly for grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors. Every sentence should be carefully thought out, and every single word should contribute to your overall statement of purpose.

Give yourself a few weeks to think about what you want to say (and how you want to say it). You should also allow time to double and triple check your statement for any glaring mistakes. Send it to a colleague, your thesis mentor, a teaching assistant, or your friendly neighbourhood copy-editor to have them look over it for clarity.

Reflect on what led you to apply for this programme. An encounter you had with a particular scholar, an inspiring course you took, a pivotal moment during your studies – there isn’t space for these kinds of things on your CV, but at least your personal statement gives the space to share these personal experiences.

Expect to go through a few drafts before you get to the final version that is ready for submission. Don’t expect miracles! You shouldn’t be able to get a good final version over one weekend.

All of this takes time. So start early on your personal statement.

Researching the programme you are applying to
Part of doing post-graduate research (especially in a DBA) is proving that you understand the field you are entering; and there are ways for you to prove how familiar you are with the scholars who work in that area.

In your personal statement, show that you’ve given thought to the actual programme you’re applying to. Don't tell them that you applied to their school because it is the highest-ranking school, or that it’s in a city you’d love to live in.
Almost every university department website has details about each faculty member - what they specialise in and what they’ve published. Use this information to your advantage. Show that your interests align with those who already work in that department and that your research will find a comfortable home there. Then, include a sentence or two about it in the personal statement: ‘I have contacted Professor Xavier, who has agreed to oversee my research during my post-graduate studies’.

Avoiding useless clichés, junk, and too many details
How do you keep the reader engaged while they go through your letter? Your personal statement is an opportunity to express yourself, but wasting the admission committee’s time is considered a capital sin.

Amateur writers fall into the trap of excessive, unnecessary preambles. It looks something like this: ‘Since the beginning of time, mankind has utilised principles of mathematics to measure objects in the world…’.

As a general rule for good writing, this kind of statement is, frankly, useless and annoying. Someone reading this sentence thinks you're either trying to fill space or just trying to show off. Committee members are just trying to find information about you that will let them decide your suitability for the programme. The last thing you want to do is bore them with unnecessary junk.

Only present your life-story if it adds to the statement
Students writing personal statements always feel tempted to present stories from their personal history. But you can leave this kind of information out if it doesn't highlight the purpose that you’re presenting.

For example, if you’re applying to a Master’s programme in English Literature, you can leave out the ‘I’ve been a bookworm from the time that I learned how to read’ section. This kind of statement doesn’t set you apart from other applicants.

Similarly, if you’re applying to a medical school, you needn’t include statements about how you’ve ‘always wanted to help people’ or that you ‘had a calling to be a doctor since age 7’.

Don't use the same statement for 10 different applications
One mistake that applicants often make is thinking that when they’re applying to multiple study programmes, they only need to send the same details, written the same way, to 5 or 10 different universities. I’ve heard advisors and tutors recommend ‘writing one personal statement’ and ‘changing the name of the university’ for each one.

This is an enormous mistake!

For one thing, every programme has its own unique set of questions that they want answered in your personal statement.

• Some want extra-curricular activities you’ve participated in
• Some want a clear proposal for your project
• Some want you to just explain why you are applying to their school
• Some want to see what is unique about you and the research you’re doing

At Mantissa College, we deliver the part-time EMBA Programme and MBA programmes Master of Business Administration programme, a programme in collaboration with Paris Graduate School of Management, France case studies comprise an impressive 50 percent of assessments while the remaining 50 percent is designated for assignments. The takeaway? When it comes to an active, engaging and hands-on business degree, you’d be hard-pressed to find one better than this MBA. 

Mantissa College’s MBA program boasts a dynamic global network of more than 80,000 alumni. One recent alumnus, Harrison Jub, says, “I took the 15-month Master of Business Administration course and in the first week, I was discussing the Real Case Study with groups of working professionals from different fields. And so I was learning from real people with real problems. Thanks to the case study based learning approach I am now capable of taking up more projects because I had been exposed to a wider perspective on handling matters from my learning experience.”

Certainly, evidence attests to the tremendous value of case studies in business education. Between its focus on this learning style and many other desirable attributes, Mantissa College’s Master of Business Administration offers an invaluable inside edge for aspiring business leaders.

Join, Like, Follow, Subscribe to our social media channels to get the up to date insights (Mantissa Facebook Page) / (Mantissa Instagram) / (Mantissa Linked) / (Mantissa Twitter)

Documents needed

i) Scan copy of your Degree Certificate  AND ii) Scan copy of your Degree Transcripts 

To apply for the programme, please provide us with the required documents to info@mantissa.edu.my or Click Here to Submit your documents

More Articles: you may also like to read up on

• MBA Degree Duration: 1 Year or 2 Years?
• Rising Demand for One-Year MBA Program
• What Will MBAs Look Like in the Future?
• Can Your Job Help You Get an MBA?
• What Makes Millennial Managers Different?
• How Can You Select the Perfect MBA Program For You?
• Why an MBA Will Make You Stand Out in the Post-COVID-19 Job Market?
• Why an MBA is a Smart Choice for an Uncertain Future?
• Why Study International Economic Policy?
• What is the Current COVID Situation for Institutions Around the World?
• The relevance of an MBA
• How to Choose the Right Business School For You
• Can you pursue a Part Time Mba Malaysia while working full-time?
• What Careers Can You Go Into With an International Business Degree?
• The Advantages of Pursuing an executive master Program
• 4 Top Reasons Why You Should Study in Malaysia
• Differences: Executive Masters of Business Administration vs MBA
• Writing the Perfect Personal Statement for Your Master's Application
• The Future of Industrial Revolution 4.0
• The Advantages of Pursuing an executive master Program
• What is an IEMBA and Why Should you Study It?
• Everything You Should Know Before Study MBA
• International Executive Masters Differences: Executive Masters of Business Administration vs Master of Business Administration
• Why Case Study Business Learning Can Give You the Edge
• What is an IEMBA and Why Should You Study It?
• IEMBA vs MBA: Things You Need to Know Before Deciding to Pursue a Master Degree
• Can you pursue a Masters and work full-time at the same time?