Steven asked:
> A student asked me this morning whether I knew of a place where she
> could find samples of personal statements for graduate school. Any ideas
> (or sites)?
I kinda wonder what the student would do with these samples. The key word in
"personal statement," it seems to me, is "personal." I'm also afraid that (if
one finds anything at all) such statements are likely to be generic and not
persuasive for any particular program.
I am an unapologetic shill--and by now something of a broken record for TIPS
subscribers--for the following. Any student who even remotely imagines
that he or she will ever go to graduate school (or any faculty member who
advises such a student) really owes it to him or herself to read "The complete
guide to graduate school admission," by Patricia Keith-Spiegel and Michael
Wiederman (Erlbaum, 2000). Chapter 19 in that book is devoted entirely to
statements of purpose, how to gather information for them, and how to construct
them.
Best $25 investment (for the paperback) in his/her future the student could
make, and probably a lot quicker than fishing around on the Internet.
Pat Cabe
**************************************************
Patrick Cabe, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
One University Drive
Pembroke, NC 28372-1510
(910) 521-6630
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
Thomas Jefferson
"There is the danger that everyone waits
idly for others to act in his stead."
Albert Einstein
"Majorities simply follow minorities.
Gandhi
