What is a Personal Statement?
The purpose of submitting a personal statement is for the admissions and academic departments to gain a deeper and more holistic understanding of who you are as a candidate separate and apart from your education and work experience. The statement should explain why you are the right fit for the program, a worthwhile applicant, actions, and strategies that you will incorporate to be successful in your graduate school journey. This is your best opportunity to highlight important factors that may not be readily available in the rest of your application.
Instructions
Please explain why you feel you are the right fit for the graduate program in which you are applying. Please highlight important factors that may not be readily available in your application and explain any areas in which you may be deficient or do not currently meet the minimum admission requirements. For example, if your CGPA is less than a 3.0, what has changed to better prepare you for this next step in your educational endeavors? Finally, please provide insights into how your life experiences, career achievements, societal contributions and educational attainments have prepared you for graduate level study.
Please answer the following questions in your personal statement:
- What is special, distinctive, unique, or impressive about you or your life story?
- How did you learn about the field? What stimulated your interest in this field?
- What characteristics and skills do you possess that enhance your prospects for success?
- What actions you will take to be successful in graduate school?
Personal Statement Instructions for Clinical Mental Health Counseling Applicants ONLY:
The personal statement allows us to get to know you better beyond document submission and enables you to demonstrate your ability to communicate your thoughts and experiences clearly and succinctly in a professional manner. Please provide responses to the 5 questions below. (Each question should be one paragraph in length and no more than 250 words). Your personal statement should also be well-organized and written professionally.
- Tell us about your interest in pursuing a degree in mental health counseling.
- What are your relevant career goals as they relate to your interest in mental health counseling?
- Tell us about your ability to engage in graduate-level study. Please include your understanding of the program demands and your ability to complete online masters-level coursework and attend and in-person residency).
- Describe your potential for forming effective counseling relationships. Please include characteristics and qualities you possess or would need to develop to form effective counseling relationships.
- Demonstrate your awareness of respect for cultural differences and how you will incorporate that in how you form effective counseling relationships with diverse populations.
*Please note: These items are in line with the CACREP 2024 Standards required.
For your convenience you may submit your personal statement online via the form below or you may submit it via email in a word document format.
