Personal Statement Tutoring in Chico and near you
The graduate school personal statement can seem like the most daunting and difficult part of your application.
Silver lining, though: a well-written essay can:
- Wake up a bored admissions committee (most essays they'll read are extremely similar)
- Convey your real personality and make you come alive to your readers
- Depict your experiences in movie-like clarity and detail
- Show your best qualities and values
- Help the reader see why you and their program are such a great fit
Simply put, the essay is not a to-do; it's a powerful tool to help you get accepted!
Vince Kotchian is our grad school admissions essay expert tutor right here in Chico and has been helping people write their graduate school personal statements and statements of purpose for many years. Whether you just want some feedback on a draft, or you're staring at a blank Word doc and don't know where to begin, he is happy to help! All personal statement tutoring sessions are $45 for 45 minutes.
Contact Vince directly at 760-542-8395 (phone or text), or send us an email.
TESTIMONIALS
"Vince really helped the most in helping me to brainstorm possible ideas to write about as well as editing later in the process. It was very helpful to have someone to bounce ideas off of, especially as he is highly knowledgable on what grad schools are looking for and the structure of a polished essay. Vince was great in drawing out the best possible essay out of my existing narrative. Very helpful and cut down a lot of time and anxiousness in the essay writing process. I was very satisfied with how my essay turned out and in the end I did get into all the schools I applied to." - Jamie Y.
"Use Vince if you need help with your personal statement for undergrad/grad school! He is very caring and attentive even if communication is only through email. His help can really elevate your application! I would give Vince 10 stars if I could! I was stuck and did not know what to write about in my personal statement, but Vince helped navigate my thoughts into creating an amazing personal statement. Overall, I highly recommend him and his services." - Priscilla M.
"I loved that Vince was so patient with me! He took the time to hear out what I wanted to include in my essay and the message I wanted to transmit to the admissions committee. From there he helped me brainstorm and extract the important information that I should include in my essay and that would make me stand out as an applicant communicate my best qualities.
My essay had a completely different turn out than where it started. Working with Vince was just awesome because he was always very prompt, professional and detailed with his feedback. He always replied to me as soon as he could or kept me updated if he needed more time on revising my essay. Needless to say, I was accepted to my #1 choice for the Industrial Organizational Psychology Ph.D. Program and will be starting this Fall. Also, I received admission offers to 4 other graduate programs I applied to....Sooo EXTREMELY HAPPY!!!" - Minnelly R.
"I was in the process of applying to several graduate programs and was having trouble finding direction with my statement of purpose. I met with Vince and after telling him a little bit about what I wanted to write about he helped me outline the ideas I wanted to include. He was clear, concise, and very knowledgable. I met with Vince a a few times for revisions, ended up writing a pretty great statement of purpose, and got into 5 graduate programs! Vince is your guy if you need guidance in the graduate school application process." - Gabbi R.
"I came to Vince for help with my grad school personal statements because I had absolutely no idea where to start. In the short amount of time we had, he was able to help me organize my thoughts and write out all the points I needed to hit in the statement. His guidance and suggestions helped me form a strong essay and I was accepted into not just one, but a couple of schools that I had applied to! It was an extremely good experience working with Vince, and he makes sure to keep in touch and see your progress throughout the application process, which I think was a very nice personal touch. I highly recommend Vince when it comes time to think about graduate school!" - Nicole N.
"I enlisted Vince's help on writing my statement of intent for grad school. I got into my dream program, which is very competitive, and I owe a lot of that to the fabulous advice I got from him. He is always available via email, and responds quickly which is so important during stressful times like wondering what is the most important thing to focus on in your statement, wondering if what you wrote is just not jiving with the reader (he's totally honest with the kindest of deliveries). Really guys, Vince is the real deal and totally worth the cost when making it into your dream program on your first try is of the utmost importance." - Chelsie S.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How long should I spend writing my personal statement?
We generally recommend about 4-8 weeks - 6 weeks is a good sweet spot. It takes time to come up with ideas and get those ideas onto paper in a compelling form.
Where can I find some good examples of personal statements?
Other than Google, I really like the sample admissions essays in Graduate Admissions Essays by Donald Asher. If you're a DIY kind of person, Asher's advice for the entire graduate admissions process is very good.
Note: The above links are Amazon affiliate links and I earn a commission if you purchase things through them. However, any commission I earn comes at no additional cost to you, and you pay nothing extra. My recommendation is based on extensive experience using this book's advice with dozens of people over the years, and I recommend it because it's helpful and useful, not because of the small commission I receive if you choose to buy it.
How can I make my personal statement stand out?
MOST personal statements are BORING! Not because the person writing them is boring, but perhaps because:
- Their focus is too broad. They try to cover everything they've done, and nothing ends up standing out.
- They're impersonal. It's a personal statement - the reader needs to get a sense of who you are and what you're actually like - not some sanitized "professional" version of you.
- They're too safe. Ironically, a statement that takes no risks can be the riskiest thing you can do. We're not applying to a program with the intent of blending in with all the other applicants!
Granted, the above things can be overdone, or done wrong. But most statements make no impact, so it's worth thinking about how yours actually can.
For more personal statement tips, check out Vince's video: 7 Ways to Write a Crappy Graduate School Personal Statement.