出国留学,个人陈述(PS)可能是你的敲门砖,也可能是你的绊脚石。
想象一下,国外学校的招生官每天都要面对一堆堆的申请材料,他们的眼睛都快看花了。
他们怎么能在有限的时间和名额里,挑出最合适的学生呢?
你需要一份让他们眼前一亮的PS!
怎么写好PS
最近,《卫报》这本英国知名杂志发表了一篇文章,内容关注的是招生官如何审阅申请者的个人陈述。
根据英国高等教育政策研究所(HEPI)的一项针对招生专业人员的调查,结果显示,招生官平均只花2分钟的时间阅读一份个人陈述,而在罗素集团的大学中,这个时间甚至缩短到了90秒。
令人惊讶的是,在接受调查的113位招生官中,近40%的人承认他们阅读个人陈述的时间甚至不超过1分钟。
所以,在这么短的时间里,一份独特的PS一定是吸引考官的关键。
PS是你向招生官展示自己的机会,是你讲述自己故事的舞台,是你证明自己与众不同的武器。
招生官想要看到的,不仅仅是你的成绩和证书,而是你的个性和潜力。
所以,在你的PS里,你要告诉他们:
你是谁?你有什么特点和优势?
你为什么想留学?你有什么动机和目标?
你为什么选择这个专业?你有什么相关的经验和兴趣?
你为什么适合这所学校?你能为这个学习环境带来什么贡献?
这些问题看起来很简单,但要回答好并不容易。
你需要从自己的人生经历中,挑选出最能体现自己的亮点。
怎么挑选呢?怎么写呢?别着急,接下来我会给你详细的指导和建议。赶紧收藏这篇文章吧!
知己知彼
要写出一份好的PS,你首先要明白PS的目的是什么。
PS不是简单地罗列你的成绩和证书,而是展示你的个性和特色,让招生官看到你和你想申请的专业是多么合适。
招生官在读你的PS时,他们想知道:
你对这个学科有多热爱(enthusiasm);
你为了学习这个学科付出了什么努力(motivation);
你在这个学科上有什么成果和价值(results),
你有什么未来的潜力(potential)
你对自己的职业规划有什么想法(career plan)
个性化是PS写作的核心。最糟糕的PS就是千篇一律,没有特色,没有亮点,没有说服力的PS。
最优秀的PS就是通过具体的例子和细节,有效地说明“你”为什么是最佳的候选人,为什么“你”应该被录取。
补充说明:分数只是客观的信息,只能反映你的水平,不能反映你的特质。如果只靠分数,你和其他申请者都没有区别,都是85分,只不过一个叫85A,一个叫85B。
通过提供PS等主观材料,招生官可以更深入地了解申请者,比如A擅长数学,参与过什么项目,取得了什么效果,B没有明确的职业目标,缺乏批判性思维等。
总之,让他们知道你是一个有血有肉有故事有想法的人。
对症下药
既然你已经明白了PS的重要性,那就要根据招生官的期待来写你的PS。
一般来说,一篇优秀的PS应该包括以下内容:
Enthusiasm and motivation 你对这个学科有多么热爱,多么好奇,多么有动力,即使你遇到了很多困难,也没有放弃。
Understanding and /or experience of the subject 你通过什么样的生活学习经历,对这个学科有了什么样的理解和思考。
Academic engagement with the subject 你有什么学术方面的准备(读过哪些书籍,参加过哪些活动),你有什么学习成绩,科研成果,工作经验等。
Relevant knowledge and skills for the subject 你在其他方面(工作或者兴趣爱好)所获得的相关经验,技能,品质等。
Originality and independence of thought 你对这个学科有什么独特的见解和创新的想法。
Career Plan 职业规划 你毕业后想做什么?是否要继续深造?或者找工作?你有什么短期和长期的职业目标。
理清逻辑
写PS不仅要有内容,还要有逻辑。招生官不会有时间和耐心去梳理你的PS的逻辑,所以你要写得清楚明了,让他们一目了然。
你要注意,中文和英文的表达逻辑是不一样的,中文比较含蓄,英文比较直接。不要用中文的思维方式来写英文,最好也不要先写中文,再翻译成英文。
一般的PS写作结构如下:
重点突出学术内容(80%) 你为什么对这个专业感兴趣; 你目前的学习情况如何; 你做过哪些课外阅读; 你参与过哪些课内活动; 你通过什么方式拓展了你的知识和视野; 这些知识/经验如何帮助你申请这个专业。
学术无关内容(5%-10%) 你有哪些其他方面的技能或素质(transferable skills),或者哪些活动培养了你的品格和性格。 【举例说明:如果你申请金融专业,英国大学其实不太关心你会不会弹钢琴。但是你可以在PS中适当提到你通过学习钢琴培养了哪些品质,比如说坚持,钻研精神等。】
未来的计划(10%-15%) 你毕业后想做什么?申请这个专业可以如何帮助你实现你的计划?
Tips:对任何材料要有批判性思维,保证所写内容真实可信,并检查语法和拼写。
举例说明
一、关于学科相关知识和技能的掌握
Relevant knowledge and skills for the subject
❌ Less convincing example
I am currently a College Prefect and am also in the process of completing my Duke of Edinburgh Gold award. I regularly play football to maintain fitness and am working towards my grade 6 in piano.
申请专业:Finance
✅ Good example
Studying both Economics and Sociology has given me a good theoretical understanding of social science perspectives. This will prove particularly useful when studying an interdisciplinary course. My AS level Maths this has helped me to apply and develop my numerical skills which means that I can readily evaluate and analyse quantitative data.
申请专业:Social Policy
点评:优秀案例说明了自己在学习的过程中获得的技能,已经该技能对未来学习的帮助。问题案例所讲技能对未来学习无帮助,不相关。
二、学习热情和动力 Enthusiasm and motivation
❌ Less convincing example
I have a strong interest in history, politics and international relations. University study will allow me to explore and develop my enthusiasm for these subjects.
申请专业:International Relations
✅Good example
When I studied the upheavals of the 19th and 20th centuries, I began to see how this period is key to understanding the modern era. As I examined the Industrial Age and the growth of global trade, I focused increasingly on economics. I believe that the analytical tools of both fields are essential for a deep understanding of the world.
申请专业:Economic History with Economics
点评:优秀案例有细节,描述自己具体做的事情和自己的思考,证明了自己对学科感兴趣,并且具有行动力。问题案例太空泛。
三、关于学科的学术成就 Academy engagement with the subject
❌ Less convincing example
A lecture I attended by Michael Sandel encouraged a rigorous philosophical style, and studying Spanish independently has also illustrated how expression affects meaning. Literature at A level, has strengthened my precise phrasing of arguments. Simon Blackburn's "Being Good" has stimulated my views on moral behaviour. I have been inspired to act according to these beliefs: I set up my school's first feminist society.
申请专业:Politics and Philosophy
✅ Good example
Having read "End This Depression Now" by Paul Krugman I gained a deeper understanding of Keynesian theory. I found his argument convincing because…
申请专业:Philosophy, Politics and Economics
In my Royal Economics Society competition essay I drew on econometric analysis to argue that high levels of inequality can have a negative effect on growth. This was backed up by reading "The Price of Inequality…
申请专业:Economics
点评:优秀案例有详细描写自己在学习理论知识后的再创造,对知识的反思。问题案例单纯的叙述事件。
四、个人的观点看法等 Originality or independence of thought
❌ Less convincing example
The universe around us is in a constant forward and backward spiral to reach one ultimate goal, equilibrium; a state of dynamism but steady due to the equality between opposing forces.
申请专业:Economics and Economic History
A twelve-year-old girl got home from school one day and decided to pick up a book in the family office room that was entitled 'Torts'. Puzzled, she began to read out of genuine curiosity. That girl was me.
申请专业:Law
✅ Good example
I believe that Hart's conception of the law is more convincing as it recognises human limitations.
申请专业:Law
Although many conservative economists have already dismissed such suggestions, I think that disregarding any certain factor is against the essence of economics, as every factor plays an important role towards the happening of every event.
申请专业:Economics
点评:“我认为”的表达是很重要的。
五、对学科的理解和经历 Understanding or experience
❌ Less convincing example
I have been fascinated by the idea of becoming a lawyer ever since I watched the TV drama Suits.
申请专业:Law
My love for the subject began in Year 6, when I conducted independent research for a project on natural hazards, which introduced me to tectonic theory.
申请专业:Geography
✅ Good examples
"I am particularly interested in how law interacts with morality. To what extent laws should govern and regulate people's wellbeing? For instance would we be able to justify stem-cell research without defining when life begins?"
申请专业:Law
"I am also involved in the Values Versus Violence youth project, which enabled me to visit Belfast as part of a group of European young people. I learned much about social and political conflict on the trip, and saw the relevance of history as the divisions between communities over historical issues remains to this day"
申请专业:History
点评:优秀案例有自己独到的见解,而非顺承别的思想。
问题案例没有表达自己的具体想法。
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