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The Rhodes and
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Writing your story: The application essays |
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When you consider that only one out of eight or ten applications will survive the first filter, you need to create an application that sings. And you want it to sing opera, not country western.
Many of the best applications indeed "write a story." That is, the selector comes away from the application knowing where you have come from (which may include any hardships you overcame), they see where you are, and they understand where you are going. You want to direct your story in such a way that the U.K. program (which you have researched and with which you have formed personal contact) seems a natural "next chapter" in your narrative. Students often fail to see this narrative element because they answer one question on the application, go for lunch, answer the next, write some e-mail, answer the next, etc. The answers may all be accurate and may individually be strong and thoughtful, but as a whole, they might not leave a lasting impression on the selector. In the end, you want to leave the selector thinking, "I want to meet this person."
That is why an interesting story with a protagonist who shows ongoing growth is important. Several selectors have drawn attention to this story line, this consistency in who you are, how you reach out, what degree you are pursuing and propose to pursue in the U.K., and what the evidence is to back all this up. You want it all to dovetail together as much as possible.
But it's your story. We will help you as much as we can, but we can be of most help by playing devil's advocate or inquisitor, by questioning the assumptions you make, by encouraging you to think through the gaps. In the end, your autonomy is paramount. Be detailed, be humorous, be colorful, and be honest. Think of varying sentence length, eliminating useless verbiage, avoiding an overuse of "I," and removing that opening set of sentences which sounds so much like a cliché. (The last is incredibly common, even among good writers, because it may be the first time one has ever been asked to write about oneself in a thoughtful and sustained manner.)
To use a metaphor other than "writing a story," think about "painting a portrait." Paula Warrick at the American University in Washington, D.C. uses this fruitful image for the personal statement because it must say as much as possible within a very small space but still retain a clean, cohesive quality. A quality portrait is not just an image but has an agenda. Does your personal statement justify funding to develop your skills and knowledge, and through it are you successfully juggling both primary and secondary themes? A quality portrait is selective in the information it presents, and things that are extraneous don't get brushed in. Does your family background directly relate to your long-term career and academic goals? A quality portrait relies upon conventions. Are you making full use of literary conventions such as the rhetorical techniques of storytelling? Take a moment right now to think of a portrait that most impresses you and think about how its individual components relate to one another. Now ponder ways in which you can create a true likeness of yourself on paper that forwards your agenda, selects what is best about you and relies upon the conventions that can be put to best use. Yet always remember that, aesthetics aside, it must always be a true likeness of yourself. Never exaggerate your claims because this is not the place for caricatures.
For initial guidance, go to
and click on "scholarship information" in the blue box on the upper left-hand side. Near the bottom of this page, pay particular attention to "The Rhodes Scholarship: Notes for Truman Scholars and Other College Students." There is a great deal of useful information here and not just on writing the essays.. Furthermore, see Mary Tolar's advice which is given on the main Reed web page for Fellowships and Awards.
The Rhodes' personal statement asks for the candidate's "academic and other interests" (along with reasons for wanting to study a particular program at Oxford), and similarly the Marshall asks for the candidate's "academic and other interests and pursuits" (leaving a separate essay for justifying program and university choice). Both of these thousand-word statements leave much to your discretion, but think through the implications of everything you write. Remember not just to claim your passions but to prove them as well. That is, anyone can claim a passion for physics, but the more attractive candidate justifies his/her passion with, for example, concrete examples of summer research programs at CERN. Anyone can love the environment, but the more attractive candidate is out on Mt. Hood doing impact studies on proposed ski lifts. Demonstrate those academic interests with concrete examples, detailed color or past recognitions of achievements. At the same time, don't go overboard. Remember that you will have an opportunity to list many of your past achievements elsewhere in the application. So be selective, but after being selective, be detailed.
The content of your personal statement is of course most vital, but keep in mind that the way you write up that content in itself demonstrates something about yourself. Are you organized? Are you thoughtful? Are you creative? Are you evidential?
All this is well and good, but you may be asking yourself, "How do I get started?" Answer: Just start. Consider free writing at first about the significant moments in your life. Don't worry about punctuation and refinements. Ask yourself what is unusual, special or distinctive about you. What drives you? What do you care about, and what are you doing about it? Some people work better starting from lists of things they've done, arranging them in hierarchical groups of importance to them. Don't write to impress, and be honest. Finally, don't be attached to anything you've written as the first drafts rarely resemble the last ones.
For human resources at Reed, see Julie Kern Smith in the Careers Center, see
the Writing Center, and see any professors with whom you have formed a
rapport. Because I am not a voting member of the internal selection
committee, I am allowed to help you in any way that I can throughout the
process, and I will warn you now that candidates frequently write 15+ drafts.
You might seek several different opinions on your drafts, but don't be
surprised if the comments disagree with one another. Ultimately you must decide which advice to heed, if any. It is your own work, and comments
should be limited to giving you questions to consider or asking you to analyze
certain points you've raised. It
cannot be overemphasized that this personal statement is your personal
statement. We have both successful
and unsuccessful past statements we can show you, but you are strongly urged to
look at them only after you have completed several drafts of your own so that
your own voice is not compromised. (This is one of the reasons why we are now
encouraging jurions in the spring semester to start looking at these
scholarships so that we are not so rushed near the end.) Writing this
essay requires a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but the process can also be a
great deal of fun as we give voice to your passions. It is hoped your
essay will rival Carmen.
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Wadham College, Oxford |
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