And So We Face the Final Curtain: Personal Statements and Next Steps

            The end of your internship is looming and with it, dear scholar, your next step. Now is the time to be applying to Masters programs. You've done your research, you gained your experience. Now you need to tell your future Masters supervisor all about it. This blog deals with the dreaded Personal Statement (or Statement of Purpose).

            I say dreaded because that is what it is. You have to find away to write about yourself and your assets so that you don't sell yourself short, nor exaggerate your abilities, nor sound shy, nor – even worse – like a braggart. Luckily there are some helpful guidelines online. Unluckily every university has specific desires. Even worse: they don't tell you what they want online.

            Fear not hopeful historian, there are some simple ways to write your Personal Statement that highlight skills from your internship. For example: I needed to organize my notes from my internship at the ROM in a way that other people can read at a glance. I taught myself some basic excel during my free time one weekend and now I know how to make a spreadsheet.

            “But how do I write that out in a personal statement?” I hear you ask. This my second draft, there will be more edits in my future:I have the drive and desire to learn new skills to aid others and myself in our work. I seek out opportunities to utilize these skills. For example I learned Excel so that we can easily access information on a selection of ostraca.

            From this I hit on a number of strengths: drive, team work, organization; I placed my research in the Mediterranean without being too specific by referencing ostraca; and I highlighted the use of Excel, a program that is very common in schools and in the workplace. It is one of the most commonly sought after computer programs on resumes and CVs. I managed to do all this without bragging or coming across as shy.

            The type of document desired is in the title 'Personal Statement', it's not a story or an essay. They are often short and to the point so I did not write about the two or three hours it took me to learn the basics of Excel or the Word document I attempted first. I didn't write about how proud I felt after finishing the spreadsheet or how happy I was that my supervisor liked the way it worked out.

            Personal statements range in length from two pages to 6000 characters (spaces included). It is critical that each scholar pay attention to the requirements of each institution she or he applies to. I, for example, am applying to three universities for their MS programs. Each one has different length requirements so I cannot simply submit the same statement three times. Each program is subtly different as well and these are things I have to address in my statement. It wouldn't do to reference a thesis for a non-thesis program after all.

            Good luck dear Scholar.

 

Photos by N. Chomitz