I pit Stanford's "Personal History Statement"

[Harmonix]

Why do you think diversity is nonsense? I don’t think it could be further from the truth. Science feeds on new ideas and challenge to the status quo. I think it’s the input from all perspectives, experiences and skills that really helps solve problems quickly.

[Zsofia]

@PlainJain

You had the luxury of me having had to invent language for you!

Urk urk grak!

[RickJay]

Why on earth is a university asking people questions about their race and sexual orientation?

[tdn]

@olivesmarch4th

One of the most important skills you can learn is to write concisely.

Yep.

[Munch]

@Harmonix

I could write just this tiny blurb, but I like to think that I actually have something to say that isn’t the same old trite crap.

Why in the world do you think that blurb isn’t actually “something to say”? As you can see, you can very easily describe your life’s origin and trajectory in an extremely concise amount of space (and with 290 characters to spare!). They’re not looking for a discussion of diversity, they’re looking for a discussion of YOUR diversity.

[Shagnasty]

@Harmonix

Background: This is for a Ph.D application, not undergraduate. I’m expecting to realistically be competing against a hundred people, not 10’s of thousands.

It is in fact 700 characters. You can look for yourself on page 10 of their Ph.D App.

You could distill your essence in Haiku.

[Kobal2]

@Smeghead

“He’s just zis guy, you know?”

zis GUY ! He’s un-fucking-believable !

[QUOTE=RickJay]
Why on earth is a university asking people questions about their race and sexual orientation?
[/QUOTE]

For token purposes.

[friedo]

@olivesmarch4th

I write grants.

Whoa, cool it with the purple prose already.

[Kobal2]

@Shagnasty

You could distill your essence in Haiku.

Hey now, is he applying for college or committing seppuku ?

[Oukile]

@Rhythmdvl

At some point, you’ll be responsible for a division of the company and will need to make innumerable decisions–and will face a host of employees who need your attention in order to transform your plans and ideas into reality. One of them, responsible for developing a crucial aspect of your overall strategy, will need to convey to you the status, direction, outlook, problems, goals, and ideas as developed by her fifteen-person team. Because you have seven similar appointments that day and seven other objectives to accomplish before you can go home, you can afford to give her just 700 seconds–a little over ten minutes–to provide you with enough information to base a series of decisions on.

Nice job !

[Dangerosa]

@Shagnasty

You could distill your essence in Haiku.

Was disadvantaged
Unfocused, experience
Now I found passion

[Marley23]

This seems pretty standard from what I remember about college applications. It’s not enough space to say anything amazingly profound, but then again you don’t have to spend that much time writing it and the admissions office doesn’t have to go insane reading a novella from every applicant. What you already have sounds decent, so fix that up. It has some worthwhile stuff about your background and why it matters.

[Enderw24]

@Harmonix

…(700 characters max)

Really? 700 characters? 700 measly characters?

I’m not sure why you’re complaining. Shakespeare managed to write the entire play of Hamlet with just 19 characters.

[Harmonix]

@Dangerosa

Was disadvantaged
Unfocused, experience
Now I found passion

Facebook Like.

(Perhaps the most concise form of communication of all.)

[Procrustus]

@RickJay

Why on earth is a university asking people questions about their race and sexual orientation?

So they can further their efforts promoting diversity. But you knew that.

[Spice_Weasel]

@friedo

Whoa, cool it with the purple prose already.

For real though, my post about writing concisely is one of the longest in this thread. This is not a skill I often practice on message boards.

[Spice_Weasel]

@John_Mace

But the part about 700 “characters” is very odd. 700 words, maybe. But I’ve never seen an essay like this limited by characters. I’m finding myself not believing it.

I’m seeing character limitations (including spaces) more and more for these kinds of things. There is nothing really that farfetched about it.

[Shagnasty]

@Harmonix

Background: I’m 29, quite a bit older than the average applicant. I grew up poor, went to a top university, dropped out, but got back up and finished. I’ve had a strange career path with internships, jobs and consulting positions in a university, 3 hospitals, no less than 10 biotechnology firms and even a U.S Air Force base. I’ve made good money, but learned it wasn’t what drove me. I gave away all my things and I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world with my life stuffed in nothing but a 35 pound backpack. I could write just this tiny blurb, but I like to think that I actually have something to say that isn’t the same old trite crap.

For sale. Cap and gown. Never worn.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

@Marley23

This seems pretty standard from what I remember about college applications. It’s not enough space to say anything amazingly profound, but then again you don’t have to spend that much time writing it and the admissions office doesn’t have to go insane reading a novella from every applicant. What you already have sounds decent, so fix that up. It has some worthwhile stuff about your background and why it matters.

Most law school “personal statements” are limited to 2 pages.

[Marley23]

@Really_Not_All_That_Bright

Most law school “personal statements” are limited to 2 pages.

Which is a lot more than 700 characters. But 700 characters doesn’t sound that far off from some of the undergraduate stuff I remember doing.