美國四大名校對PS的要求

01-28

不同大學都有不同的要求，寫作的時候需要緊扣學校的要求，我們列舉了四個學校的要求來看一看：

加州大學伯克利分校：

The University of California at Berkeley is committed tonexcellence and equity in every facet of its mission. Teaching, research,nprofessional and public service contributions that promote diversity and equalnopportunity are encouraged and given recognition in graduate admissions andnfellowships. Guidelines, such as those below, may be considered when composingnthe personal statement for the UC Berkeley graduate application.

?Ⅰ. Potential to bring to one』s academic careernthe critical perspective that comes from annon-traditional educational background or one』s understanding of thenexperiences of groups historically underrepresented in higher education;

?Ⅱ. Demonstratednsignificant academic achievement by overcoming barriersnsuch as economic, social, or educational disadvantage;

?Ⅲ. Communication skills and cross-culturalnabilities to maximize effective collaboration with a diversencross-section of the academic community;

?Ⅳ. Potential to contribute to higher education throughnunderstanding the barriers facing women, domestic minorities, students withndisabilities, and other members of groups underrepresented in higher educationncareers, as evidenced by life experiences and educational background. Fornexample,

1. attendance at a minority serving institution;

2. ability to articulate the barriers facing women andnminorities in science and engineering fields;

3. participation in higher education pipeline programs suchnas UC LEADS, Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP), or McNair Scholars;

?Ⅴ. Academic servicenadvancing equitable access to higher education for women and racial minoritiesnin fields where they are underrepresented;

?Ⅵ. Leadership experience among students from groups that have been historicallynunderrepresented in higher education;

?Ⅶ. Research interests focusing on underservednpopulations and understanding issues of racial or gender inequalities. Fornexample,

1. research that addresses issues such as race, gender,ndiversity, and inclusion;

2. research that addresses health disparities, educationalnaccess and achievement, political engagement, economic justice, socialnmobility, civil and human rights, and other questions of interest tonhistorically underrepresented groups;

3.nartistic expression and cultural production that reflects culturally diversencommunities or voices not well represented in the arts and humanities.

哈佛大學：

1. Whats special, unique, distinctive, and/or impressive about you or your lifenstory?

2. What details of your life (personal or family problems,nhistory, people or events that have shaped you or influenced your goals) mightnhelp the committee better understand you or help set younapart from other applicants?

3. When did you become interestednin this field and what have you learned about it (and about yourself)nthat has further stimulated your interest and reinforced your conviction thatnyou are well suited to this field? What insights have you gained?

4. How have you learned about this field--through classes, readings,nseminars, work or other experiences, or conversations with people already innthe field?

5. If you have workedna lot during your college years, what have you learned (leadershipnor managerial skills, for example), and how has that work contributed to yourngrowth?

6. What are your career goals?

7. Are there any gaps or discrepancies in your academic record that younshould explain (great grades but mediocre LSAT or GRE scores, for example, or andistinct upward pattern to your GPA if it was only average in the beginning)?

8. Have you had to overcome any unusual obstacles or hardships (fornexample, economic, familial, or physical) in your life?

9. What personal characteristics (for example. integrity.ncompassion. persistence) do you possess that would improve your prospects fornsuccess in the field or profession? Is there a way to demonstrate or documentnthat you have these characteristics?

10. What skills (for example, leadership, communicative,nanalytical) do you possess?

11. Why might you be a strongerncandidate for graduate school--and more successful and effective in thenprofession or field than other applicants?

12. What are the most compelling reasons you can give for thenadmissions committee to be interested in you?

康奈爾大學：

The personal statement is an essay, generally under 1,000 words, which is designed tongive the selection committee a sense of who younare and how closely your goals andnstrengths match the ideals of a specific fellowship.nIn this essay you have a great deal of flexibility on how to organize andnpresent your thoughts, but you should be sure to cover the following basicnpoints:

your qualifications for the given fellowship

how thenfellowship fits in with your personal and professional goals

A personal statement is generally most effective when itnconcentrates on:

---an issue or experience that you feel strongly about,nor one that has helped to shape who you are

---a significant accomplishment or contribution you havenmade to your field or community

麻省理工學院：

Personal statement is a textnone or two pages long, about what you want to do and how much you are prepared to pursue yournambitions. You should try to explain your interests. You should connect together differentnworking experiences you have had, to give a perfectnpicture of what you have done and their relevance to what you want to do in the future.

In writing your interests you should not bentoo general or too narrow-minded. It might not be good tonsay ``I love physics. This is a statement which does not carry anyninformation and they already expect you to like your major when you arenapplying for it. Writing something like ``I have done research on Astrophysics,nParticle Physics, and Condensed Matter indicates that you do not know whatnPhysics is or you do not have any idea how wide these branches of physics are.nIt also shows you are just a student who has been to a couple of lectures andnis fascinated by these subjects, but does not have any clue what they are. A morenaccurate statement can be ``considering my background and my interest, I willnfocus on Number Theory in my PhD. You might find better sentences.

The personal statement is your only piece of creative writingnin your application packet. You should cover the following topics in it: Why grad school. Why abroad. Why the school you are applying to. Whynthe major/program you are applying to. What are your strong points? What arenyour weak points? Anynexcuses for any weak points in your application packet, (low GPA, GRE... badngrades in courses and so on). What are you going to do after getting yourndegree? The goal is to convince the admission committee that bynadmitting you over others they produce a better PhD holder at the end. Theynlove hard working people. They love people who can write well in English. Theynare professors and love people who like teaching. They are researchers and lovenpeople who like research. Keep all these in mind when writing your statement.nBut, be honest. It is very easy to smell dishonesty.

You may have the impression that if you claim something aboutnyour interest, they will force you to do work on it during your program. It isnalways good to be honest and straightforward. But sometimes you are not reallynsure what you want to do for your PhD, and then do not be afraid. If you takenup something in the beginning, there is always a chance to later switch tonother subjects in the same department. Also, people do not look at yournpersonal statement every day to see what you have claimed when you werenapplying.

If you are highly interested to get into anspecific university, it is a good idea to prepare a separate Personal Statementnfor them and describe why you are interested to getninto their program and how your skills and experiences are appropriate for thatndepartment.

整理自《上海交通大學留學手冊》2013-2014版

需要專業諮詢的童鞋可添加Lulu的私人微信：XZHENG11.