Step 1. Before you Start Writing
Purpose of the Personal Statement
Who reads your personal statement?
Step 2. Writing your Personal Statement
Using Tone Effectively in Your Personal Statements and Other College Admissions Essays
Appealing to the Reader’s Senses
Insider Tips to Woo the Admissions Officers
Other Do’s & Don’ts for Writing the Perfect Personal Statement
Step 3. What to Do After Your Initial Draft
6 Questions to Ask Yourself After You’ve Written Your First Draft
How to Effectively Revise Your College Admissions Essay
I'm a first-generation college student and have worked for the past couple years as a seasonal college admissions reader for the University of Washington.
During my years as a reader, I’ve gotten the opportunity to read thousands of application files for high school students and transfers from all over the United States, including applicants from every academic and socioeconomic background.
I have a passion for making higher education accessible to all students and this desire as well as my experience has positioned me to provide coaching and advising on the topics of writing personal statements, college admissions and navigating post-secondary education.
As a graduate of one of the top military colleges in the world, West Point, and a two-time earner of advanced degrees, I have the personal experience to understand how difficult it can be to get into top schools and my goal is to help students from all backgrounds succeed in this process.
Founder and Lead Coach, Koodoos
Joy G. Turner
Founder and Lead Coach, Koodoos
Joy G. Turner
I also had a past job as a writing consultant, where I worked with college students at every level helping them craft essays and research papers from multiple academic disciplines. In my job as a writing consultant, I’d wager to say 50-60% of the students I saw, wanted help with personal statements, resumes, or cover letters, so I’ve developed a keen sense on what the average college admissions essays looks like and I know how to make it stand out amongst the thousands of others an admissions officer will read during a typical admissions cycle.
Over the course of the last 10 years:
I’m writing this guide because my goal is to help students and applicants craft personal, one of a kind essays for college applications. With an abundance of tutoring and test-taking prep widely available to students, the test scores among students applying to top schools are virtually identical and provide little means for admissions staff to distinguish candidates from one another. For this reason, the personal statement has become critically important in selecting students for the incoming cohort.
I have multiple years of experience working with writers and applicants to draft the perfect essays for scholarships, internships, and college admissions, and know I can help you craft an essay that is impactful and memorable.
As the personal statement, becomes more and more essential in selecting the incoming class, you’ll want to know that your personal statement stands out as among the best.
Let’s get started.
