Personal statements which present blanket statements or vague generalizations are not illuminating or compelling in the eyes of a selection committee. Rather, it is a high level of detail that sets an application apart. Hyper-specific writing doubles as a form of self-advocacy, giving you the opportunity to both share your relevant individual experiences, and justify why you would be an asset to the opportunity. Yet, applicants are often reticent to share their accomplishments in personal statements, choosing by default to be humble. Near-Peer Leader, Coleman Snyder will lead this workshop by discussing the importance and practice of self-advocacy within the writing process, sharing techniques to create a confident narrative, and highlighting how this differs from boasting. This conversation will extend to self-advocacy in other aspects of the application process, such as asking for recommendations, the importance of working with recommenders to achieve the best result, and how to balance fellowship applications and coursework by outlining practices to help ease the workload. (Thursday, August 6; 3:30-4:30pm EST/NYC time; Online - no RSVP necessary!)
