PS Tip 60 : How to end a personal statement

Before I discuss how to end a personal statement, I’d like to cover what you shouldn’t do. Under no circumstances should you simply repeat everything you’ve already said in shorter form – It doesn’t add to the statement, it simply wastes space.

With that out of the way, I’ll cover my own personal method, which I use fairly frequently (although by no means always – I did say I take a flexible approach). You’ve already planned your personal statement, so hopefully you know which aspects you’ll be addressing last. Usually this will be an important element, as it’s a perfect opportunity to go out with a bang. Rather than writing a specific ‘conclusion’ paragraph, I like to hit the reader with a few powerful achievements related to the point I’m covering, and then wind up the statement as soon as possible afterwards.

A graceful way to do this is often to leave something you’re truly excited about for the last paragraph, and after your big achievements to simply explain that it’s an exciting prospect for you and that you look forward to getting started if successful with your application. This may seem abrupt, but it negates the chances of boring your reader with a conclusion, and leaves them with a final memory of your biggest achievements.

Don’t forget that there’s no reason to follow a traditional ‘story format’ unless it helps you to achieve your goals – We’ve had a lot of success by writing statements that get straight to the point, and don’t mess around at the close.