The personal statement is an opportunity for high school students to “sell” themselves to the college admissions officer for admission. In most cases, there’s a template to follow, one which Elijah, an Uncommon Charter High School senior, recognized as troublesome.
“Every time I wrote, and then discarded and then redrafted, I didn’t feel good. It felt as if I were trying to gain pity. I knew what I went through was tough and to overcome those challenges was remarkable, but was that all I had to offer?”
Read Elijah’s reflections on the college admissions process in the New York Times here.