This is me: Personal statement Questions, Advice Plz, and Troubles

[scienceisbeauty]

MODS: If this can be attached to another post, please feel free to move it.

Ok, so I'm wondering you guys....this personal statement business. How specific should I be about my research interests? I can't be too too specific, because say if there are 2-3 people at one school that I'm interested in. They all look at problem X from different angles. But then they often write together.
But then, what about places where there is only 1 person, should I be so specific so as to pretty much outright say I want to do XYZ?

What about saying things - what I was inspired by, the research work I've done... where and how would that work? I mean, they have my CV, what do I say?

MOST IMPORTANT: Say I want to be accepted to the clinical program, but a school says 'anyone in the faculty can be a mentor', should I just talk about how I'm also interested in developmental (for eg) research and its integration with clinical work?

I'm so darned frustrated!

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[MrPsych]

Although I was accepted to a clinical psych program, if i had to go back and redo this entire application process, I would edit my personal statement to include a more detailed, better focused section on my research interests. I think most faculty members that are going to read your paper are looking for signs that you've got a pretty good idea of what you want to work on if you're admitted. So, personal opinion, but I would recommend that you be as specific as possible. If you want to work with more than one prof, i would recommend you include a number of research ideas that would tickle each potential supervisor's fancy.

good luck

 

[CatoftheCanals]

My question is related in that it's about the personal statement.

Did anyone inject humor into theirs? And if so, do they feel like it helped or harmed them?

I've got a solid personal statement, it's just that it feels generic. And I figured that since I'm not generic, I should ease into the essay with a bit of appropriate humor. I just want to know if I'm going to be shooting myself in the foot.

 

[cara susanna]

I think I read somewhere that you shouldn't try to be funny.

 

[myelin]

Let me throw an interesting twist into this. I sent a professor an e-mail yesterday explaining how we share similar research interests and that I was interested in working with them. They replied back that my first concern should NOT be research interest fit with a specific faculty member, rather it should be overall program fit.

This is a rather interesting twist as I've never heard a professor state this before. Most that I've contacted prefer to have a research fit with their incoming student. This program, however, wants their students to put the program first, then pick the professor that they would like to work with second. Their reasoning was what if the professor you come to work with goes on sabbatical, retires, dies, etc. Then what are you left with? The professor also told me that it's too early for me to know what my reserach interests are. I beg to differ on that.

How does this relate to this thread? I'd suggest to not only focus on your research interests in your PS, but also talk about the overall program fit with your needs. Nothing big, but still something to consider.

 

[scienceisbeauty]

YAA that's also important I think. Ok, so I figure that mentioning overall pgrm fit is a good thing too, in fact, I think Dr.ClinPsy mentioned it too --

 

[scienceisbeauty]

My question is related in that it's about the personal statement.

Did anyone inject humor into theirs? And if so, do they feel like it helped or harmed them?

I've got a solid personal statement, it's just that it feels generic. And I figured that since I'm not generic, I should ease into the essay with a bit of appropriate humor. I just want to know if I'm going to be shooting myself in the foot.

I think that's a very RISKY idea... some can do it well, most can't. Some profs won't appreciate it. They'll think you're trying to be cute.
Maybe you aren't "generic" but its better to prove that in your interview (I mean from the way you interact, ask about things...) rather than maybe have it misconstrued in your PS

 

[NeuroNeuro]

I was pretty specific with my intentions. At most schools I had 1 person who I really wanted to work with, but if applicable I mentioned one or two others sort of as back-ups. I think the art of the statement of purpose is to successfully write a story of how you got from A to B, A being when you first became interested in the field, and B being 20 years from now. I talked about my influences from undergrad, my fantastic mentors, my lab experience, my academic experience, what I want to do in graduate school, and what I want to do after graduate school (teach? be a clinican? be a researcher? this is important!). I feel that it came across that these are my plans and I'm sticking to them, it's just a matter of where I go to graduate school. I think you need to be very aware of the distinction between a statement of purpose and a personal statement, unless specifically stated I would do a statement of purpose. A personal statement would talk about how your uncle's psychological illness made you want to be a psychologist, a statement of purpose would talk about how your coursework and internship in a research lab helped you find your calling. I was always told to make your statement of purpose very, well, purposeful. I did not mention any past hardships (and I did have some legitimate ones) or anything like that. I opened with a very brief personal anecdote (like 2 sentences) and the rest was pure business. I can't speak for anyone else, but it seemed to work pretty well for me. Good luck!!

 

[NeuroNeuro]

I think that's a very RISKY idea... some can do it well, most can't. Some profs won't appreciate it. They'll think you're trying to be cute.
Maybe you aren't "generic" but its better to prove that in your interview (I mean from the way you interact, ask about things...) rather than maybe have it misconstrued in your PS

I just saw this after I posted, but I definitely agree. If done well, I think the readers should remember your statement not because it was funny, but because you were so impressive. A bad movie that had some funny parts is still a bad movie, you know? Have people read it, you may just think it's generic because you've read it 10200393 times and know it all by heart.

 

[cara susanna]

Hope it's okay that I'm bumping this; I have another question about research interests in the SOP.

Do you talk in detail about each research interest that you have, or do you go into detail about just the main ones, and then mention the other ones briefly?

Thanks!

 

[psychanon]

Here's my take with research idea specificity: It's OK to be specific, if only to demonstrate your ability to generate research ideas (in addition to fit), but be sure to write it to show that you're not married to looking at any one idea. There's always a risk that a lab has moved away from looking at a particular idea, or they don't have the exact data you would need, so that could make them think you're a bad fit. As for humor, I would only do it if you're extremely confident in your humor writing abilities (e.g., you're Woody Allen or David Sedaris). Humor doesn't always translate, and a bad joke that falls flat is extremely awkward to read, and may have people questioning your judgment.

 

[cara susanna]

How do you mention your specific interests without sounding like you're married to them?

 

[psybee]

How do you mention your specific interests without sounding like you're married to them?

i mentioned my interests in a broader context -- very broadly, how sociocultural and individual factors impact the expereince of illness -- then focused it a bit when mentioning the 2 or so professors who i really wanted to work with (especially interested in SES and illness, like prof X works on, and also how psychiatric distress or MI impacts the expereince of illness, like prof Y). usually when i was mentioning 2 profs i wanted to work with there was some connection between what they did, maybe the illness focus, maybe SES and coping, maybe a particular aspect of coping with trauma, and also connections to my prior coursework, clinical, and / or reseach experience, this making a narrative out of my CV and showing how i got to where i was, which was being awesome and applying to thier program to study what specifically what i wanted to study with profs who were lookng at aspects of this broader problem. that way i not only animated my previous expereinces and illuminated them a bit, but i made the case why THIER program was a logical conclusion. if there was only 1 prof studying what i wanted to study, then i was more explicit and focused with my research interests and tried to match my self extra well with them.

I'd also have a paragraph or so about how my interests meshed well with other aspects of the program (interests in SES meet community mental health center, focus on serious illness, affiliation with medical center).

i found applying to a program because you want to work with just prof X extra risky, because if they're not taking students that's that. and i know it's been said, but if there's 1 prof and only 1 that you'd just love to work for, do make sure they're accepting students -- i got a nice ding letter and wasted my app money when i applied to a program for 1 prof w/o checking, only to later find that he was not taking new students that year.

 

[cara susanna]

Hmm, so, here's what I have: three paragraphs about why and how I came to be interested in mindfulness, my broad interest. Then I'll have a paragraph or two about my specific interests within it when discussing the school/faculty. Sound good?

 

[psybee]

MOST IMPORTANT: Say I want to be accepted to the clinical program, but a school says 'anyone in the faculty can be a mentor', should I just talk about how I'm also interested in developmental (for eg) research and its integration with clinical work?

I'm so darned frustrated!

i can just speak for me, but for programs that i applied to where you don't need to specify a mentor off the bat i did anyway, but more broadly. my experience was that these schools were more clinically focused (though one was not, but it's program was very focused and faculty all had overlapping related interests), and since i found their clinical training so strong, i really made sure i made it clear what i great fit i was with their clinical philosophy, training, resources available, etc. since i am interested in research, i only applied to these programs if there were really several profs i could have happily worked for (and who had labs that were busy, grants, publishing). like i said, i did mention profs that i could work with, to show my interest and make those connections, but i changed the focus a bit of my statement to more about the program, since that was what the schools were emphasizing.

 

[psybee]

Hmm, so, here's what I have: three paragraphs about why and how I came to be interested in mindfulness, my broad interest. Then I'll have a paragraph or two about my specific interests within it when discussing the school/faculty. Sound good?

totally! and then maybe something (if you're clinically oriented) about how you can further you interests (could be mindfullness stuff, but doesn't have to be, could be specific populations too) through all the (specific) awesome clinical opps that are available to you.

many also recommend havng a bit (doesen;t have to be long but can be) about how ultimately you want to be a ______ (insert clinician and researcher, teach and research, research at a medical facility, private practice, whatever), and school X's research and those clinical opps you just mentioned will all help you reach your goal. what do others think? i had this and i think it was a nice touch. i'm a big writing person, used to act, so for me it was all about a narrative underlying and linking my story, but i'm sure other folks had other approaches too.

have you checked your word limits for the statements? mine varied GREATLY, from 500 words to 4 pages.

okay, off to eat snacks and enjoy my last weekend without homework!