essay personal profile

How to Write a Profile Essay: Comprehensive Guide

Table of contents

• 1 What is a Profile Essay?
• 2 The Purpose of a Profile Essay
• 3 Difference Between Profile Papers and Other Essays
• 4.1 Introduction
• 4.2 Body Paragraphs
• 4.3 Conclusion
• 5 Tips to Write an Outstanding Profile Essay
• 6.1.1 Early Childhood
• 6.1.2 Olympic Fame
• 6.1.3 Fighting for a Social Cause

Over their high school and college years, students have to write various essays on different subject matters. While some are narrative and literary, others are more technical and detail-oriented. However, be they persuasive, expository, or argumentative, papers follow specific rules of academic writing.

Among other types, profile essays are some of the most common that professors assign. These assignments come in almost all disciplines, so it’s vital to understand the basics of the writing process.

What is a profile essay, and what features does it cover? Why is it critical to observe and discuss various individuals, events, or places? How do these literary works differ from other essay types ?

This guide will help you grasp the fundamentals of profile essay writing and deconstruct its content with a clear overview of what each part contains. It will also highlight essential hacks you should consider when writing, plus a qualitative example.

What is a Profile Essay?

In short, writing profile essays focuses on a narrow-scoped description of a famous individual, location, event, or activity. Your work should profile the topic you selected and provide qualitative information about the importance of the subject. Therefore, the writer must present vivid descriptions and thorough explanations through various methods.

You may choose to interview your subject to collect the necessary data. Alternatively, you can survey or research the topic to gather relevant insight if the person you’re discussing died. Observing a fair or visiting a town and then writing about it is also viable. Another unusual aspect of a profile assignment is that you can include objective facts and subjective or interpreted ideas.

In most cases, the essay will be factual. It will introduce valid and relevant questions and answers. For example, you may write about a distinguished USA president, civil rights activist, or athlete. Similarly, you can depict an ancient city, historical landmark, or high-rated festival. Last, consider dedicating your work to a local business, musical performance, or community service project.

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The Purpose of a Profile Essay

This essay type aims to offer the audience a comprehensive perspective of a particular topic and help them understand the concept. Hence, all data must be well-structured and presentable not to confuse the reader and raise doubts.

Moreover, anyone reading your work must be able to make informed judgments on the theme. In many cases, writing a short essay is a wise idea to portray the case or individual you’re discussing. Besides your writing skills, you will also showcase your organization and presentation abilities.

Difference Between Profile Papers and Other Essays

Most importantly, writing a profile essay will rely on valid and accurate facts. In short, focus on using first-hand information by conducting an interview, survey, or personal observation and involvement. Presenting amusing and authentic ideas will urge your target audience to enjoy your piece.

Unlike other essay types, these avoid using a secondary source. For instance, while writing a good opinion essay will involve your standpoints on a topic, the profile paper will concentrate on genuine insight supported by evidence. However, biographies and studies written by others are helpful when verifying the facts you collected yourself.

Overall, finding secondary sources is less demanding and time-consuming than establishing your pool of bibliographical information. Still, primary materials are ideal for writing a profile essay. Also, you must draft it in the third person to maintain an unbiased perspective of your subject.

Comprehensive Profile Essay Structure

You probably wonder how to start a profile essay and keep your thoughts and ideas streamlined and concise. And while you can find online essay help , we prepared a detailed overview of the layout you should follow. Here are the roles of each part.

Introduction

Undoubtedly, the first section of your work will be the opening which typically consists of a single segment. Its primary role is to lay the foundations of the subject and hook the readers to explore until the end. Hence, share intriguing background details such as a quote or anecdote.

Moreover, the excellent thesis statement must reflect the subject you will write about later in your manuscript. It should be well-thought and concise. The introductory part shouldn’t exceed 15% of the entire essay length. Also, ensure you avoid in-text citations except to begin the introduction with a direct quotation.

Body Paragraphs

This part presents the main idea and answers the most important interview questions. It is also the most substantial segment in terms of word count. According to the PapersOwl writing service , the body section should consist of at least two paragraphs. The number of paragraphs will depend on the distinct points the essay writers plan to cover.

Also, there is no specific length for body paragraphs , but you should avoid walls of text. Another guideline for a successful piece is to write at least four sentences in each body segment.

The closing paragraph offers a concise overview of the body paragraphs. It will focus on restating your thesis statement in a final attempt to emphasize the role and value of the selected subject.

The ending should also revisit the topic sentences and demonstrate the impact on our society. Therefore, don’t write about something not mentioned before. This section takes about 10% of the total word count and can contain an in-text citation as a call to action.

Tips to Write an Outstanding Profile Essay

Below, we share a thorough list of advice to teach you how to write a profile essay worth your professor’s attention.

• Read a few essays. You can look for quality articles in popular magazines that regularly publish interviews. A narrative essay might also prove helpful if you need to adjust your tone and language.
• Ensure the subject of interest is easy to reach. If you get stuck with an unreachable goal, PapersOwl can write your essay for money in the shortest timeframe possible.
• Study the topic by analyzing the background of your subject and focus on what makes their lives so unique. If it’s a place or activity, learn about its past and future.
• The most impactful way is to write in simple language. Steer away from jargon or idiomatic phrases to avoid misunderstandings, particularly in the thesis.
• Use vivid adjectives and transitions to convey your central point.
• Each body paragraph shouldn’t exceed 150 words.
• Keep your facts in check and avoid sharing your personal opinion unless based on authentic data.
• Engage all senses by visualizing events, telling jokes, or describing sounds.
• Follow a pre-defined structure where each body paragraph tackles a different point.
• Proofread your work for grammar errors and typos.
• Run your essay through an online plagiarism checker to avoid copied content.
• Ensure your ideas are concise and clear and split run-on sentences.

Crafting a profile essay requires an in-depth understanding of the chosen topic, whether it’s a person, place, or thing. The writer must be able to convey clear and engaging information that fully describes and explains the subject. It’s essential to have a writing style that can capture the reader’s interest and keep them engaged throughout the essay. To make the process easier, working with a quick essay writer can be helpful, as they can provide the necessary expertise and experience to create a high-quality profile essay that stands out.

Your Qualitative Profile Essay Example

The best approach is to go with the standard 5-paragraph structure. Here’s an excellent profile sample.

The Incredible Story of Wilma Rudolf

“My doctors told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.” This famous quote by Wilma Rudolph, an African American athlete, tells tales about her life journey. She made history in the Olympic Games in Rome, becoming the first American woman to win three gold medals and break three world records. Her life, full of obstacles and hardship, took her to the throne of athletics and the heart of burning social issues.

Early Childhood

Born on June 23, 1940, in Tennessee, Wilma had 21 siblings. While she had the support and care from her extended family, it was challenging for the family to make ends meet. Things worsened when Rudolph contracted polio, double pneumonia, and scarlet fever. Though she survived the severe bouts, her illness left her paralyzed, and Wilma had to wear a leg brace. The doctor’s prognosis was grim, but with her family’s help, Rudolph started to hop on one leg in two years. Soon, she began to move, and by 12, Vilma regained her walking ability and took up basketball. She soon proved a natural athlete, challenging every boy in the neighborhood at running.

Olympic Fame

The Olympic Games were a pipe dream to young Rudolph. Yet, she caught steam and never lost a race in all high school track meets. At 16, Vilma brought a bronze medal from the Summer Olympics in Melbourne. In 1960 she participated in the Olympic Games in Rome, Italy, and won three gold medals. A striking fact about this triple victory is that in the 100 and 200-meter dashes, Wilma finished three yards before the closest contestant. In addition, her relay team won the 400-meter race thanks to her exceptional performance. Vilma attracted the world’s attention; the crowds cheered her and called her “La Gazelle.” However, she decided not to participate in the next Olympic Games, fearing that she won’t duplicate her success.

Fighting for a Social Cause

Rudolph dedicated the rest of her life to teaching the lessons she learned the hard way. She was particularly keen on coaching underprivileged children. Wilma even wrote her autobiography and worked in several community sports centers. She also gave numerous motivational speeches and founded the Wilma Rudolph Foundation to promote amateur athletics. Wilma died in 1994 of a brain tumor. Survived by two daughters and two sons, Rudolph has left a remarkable inspirational legacy.

Wilma played a critical role in the way we see sports today. Her poor health as a child instilled the “never give up” attitude in her mindset. Learning to overcome fear and weakness gave Rudolph the courage to aim high. Vilma’s personality proves that a strong will and perseverance can take you to stardom.

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How to Write a Winning Professional Statement: A Complete Guide

Last Updated: March 6, 2023 Fact Checked

What is a personal profile?

Formatting & style, writing a personal profile: the winning formula, insider advice for crafting a personal profile, career-specific personal profile examples, personal profile outline, expert q&a.

This article was co-authored by A.J. Aldana and by wikiHow staff writer, Caroline Heiderscheit . A.J. Aldana is a social media specialist who has been using platforms such as Tik Tok, Instagram, and YouTube for over 5 years. A.J. has worked with brands to curate content that has garnered thousands of interactions for various social media campaigns and is passionate about contributing to innovative and trending articles on wikiHow. He holds a BS in Product Design from Stanford University. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 697,219 times.

You’re writing your resume so you can go snag a new job, but what is this “personal profile” you keep seeing everywhere? A personal profile (or, personal statement) is a brief highlight reel to sell yourself to potential employers, and luckily, it’s easy to master the key points to hit. We’ll walk you through the basic formula of a compelling personal statement; plus, we’re offering pro tips and example statements for tons of specific careers, too. Basically, all of your burning questions will be answered below. Ready to win your dream job ? Read on.

Things You Should Know

• Included your personal profile at the top of your resume under a professional header (like “Career Profile”) and in an appropriate font.
• Make sure to include your current role (or degree), a few key skills, some concrete achievements, and a summary of your future career goals in your profile.
• Tailor your professional profile to the job you're applying for. Be sure to include accomplishments and talents relevant to the role.

• Choose between professional, descriptive header options, like "Summary of Qualifications," "Career Profile," and "Career Highlights," so readers know that you're covering your professional profile.
• Font type is important, too. Match your font to the rest of your resume, and choose something professional (like Times New Roman).

• Pro tip: use strong, descriptive language when describing yourself. Words like “nice” and “smart” won’t be as effective as “loyal,” “proactive,” or “ambitious.”
• “Literature enthusiast and recent graduate of University of Chicago…”
• “Energetic, innovative marketing specialist with 12 years of experience…”
• “Most recently, a skilled Camera Operator and dedicated teammate…”

• Pro tip: Keep your personal profile short and sweet. Your entire blurb will be just a few lines (max 6), so keep your personal description to just a few words. [4] X Research source
• “...skilled at working under pressure and hitting competitive deadlines.”
• “...comfortable dealing with complex, interpersonal issues while managing 30+ students at once.”
• “...knows how to create polished, unique work that consistently impresses clients from all industries."

• Pro tip: Tailor your profile to the job’s ad. Look for responsibilities and qualifications on the page, then nod to them here. If they’re looking for “energetic” professionals, explain that you’re excited to get work. [6] X Research source
• "Looking for an opportunity to develop my skills in Human Resources while supporting a hard-working, passionate team of professionals.”
• “Seeking an online publication where I can jump into the editorial deep-end—I’m excited to contribute engaging pieces and work alongside talented writers.”
• “Eager to apply my organizational and problem-solving skills in a role as an Executive Assistant, all while learning from a successful titan in business.”

• Pro tip: Tie your accomplishments to numbers if you can. A sales goal, a number of issues published, or even a number of guests served—these can help your statement shine.
• “Experience writing code in C, C++, JAVA, JAVASCRIPT, PHP, RUBY, Objective C, and Python.”
• “In 3 years as a Customer Service Representative, I’ve won the Top Support Staff Award 5 times and received a 95% helpfulness rating from customers.”
• “I’ve managed a kitchen staff of 30+ service professionals and directed luxury dining for 300+ guests at once.”

• I’m a [2-3 relevant adjectives to describe you] [your career or student title] who is skilled in [your talents and abilities]. I’m looking forward to [your career objective] after achieving [your concrete accomplishments].
• [2-5 bullets with concrete achievements]

• Use strong, descriptive language when describing yourself. Basic words like “nice” and “smart” won’t be as effective as “loyal,” “proactive,” or “ambitious.”
• Keep your personal profile short and sweet. Your entire blurb will be just a few lines (max 6), so be choosy about your language. Make sure every word is working hard!
• Tailor your profile to the job’s ad. Look for responsibilities and qualifications on the page, then nod to them here. If they’re looking for “energetic” professionals, explain that you’re excited to get work. [9] X Research source
• Tie your accomplishments to numbers. A sales goal, a number of issues published, or even a number of guests served—when noting your concrete achievements, numbers can help your statement shine.

• Boosted sales by 15% over 6 months
• 89% conversion rate from the top of the funnel
• Reeled in 50k of new business in 3 quarters

• Cut business costs by 5% over 2 years
• Managed annual budget of 300k
• Delivered a 1.8% ROI on projects managed this year

• Tested networks and sandboxes with 100% accuracy
• Mastered JavaScript, Python, R, HTML, CSS, and C++
• Managed SQL Server 2008, MS Access, and MySQL
• Competent with Eclipse, NetBeans, Emacs, and Rational Rose

• Increased open rate for online campaigns by 30%
• Managed campaigns with annual budgets over 500k
• Boosted YOY unique visitors by 300%

• Certified in CBEST and CSET (Mathematics)
• Increased grade average of standardized tests by 13%

• Skilled in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign
• Designed graphics for new campaign, reaching 40k viewers
• Created designs for social campaigns, winning 2k points of engagement

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• ↑ https://www.careereducation.columbia.edu/resources/how-write-resume-profile-or-summary-statement
• ↑ https://www.idealist.org/en/careers/an-easy-formula-to-help-you-craft-the-perfect-resume-summary
• ↑ https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/careers/resumes/personal-statement-for-resume
• ↑ https://www.literacymn.org/sites/default/files/sample-professional-summary-statements.pdf

About This Article

To write a personal profile outline for an application, use "I" instead of "he" or "she" to create a strong and direct voice. Additionally, include one key experience, achievement, or contribution to highlight. You should also be clear about your career aim or goal, and what you hope to gain from the position you’re applying for. Once you draft your profile, read it out loud for flow and tone, check that it’s under 200 words, and attach it to the top of your resume. To learn how to avoid buzzwords in your personal profile, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Write a Profile Essay

• Posted 21 November 2020
• By StudySaurus
• Under Essay Writing
• Discover a remarkable subject to write a profile essay about. The person can be well-known or somewhat ordinary. The subject is not limited to an individual but can be a location, leisure interest, or occupation. Expand your search beyond the computer and your neighborhood. Do primary source research on the subject to acquire background information. Go to the library and view back issues of local or regional newspapers and other rags or scan online sources.
• Develop a loose outline based on the subject of your essay. Jot down the header, “Introduction.” Start listing possible details that will be disclosed later from interviews. Title another header as “Body” and note high points that will become the possible climax of the essay. Tie it all up in the “Conclusion” header and brainstorm solid ending possibilities.
• Compose a list of specific interview questions. They should be open-ended but specific and relevant to your essay. Questions should draw out information not commonly known about the person. Make a list of possible interviewees to broaden the narrative for a multifaceted profile. This includes others in his or her circle or individuals linked to a location or activity.
• Conduct the interview in a distraction-free zone. Establish a rapport early on to make the interviewee feel comfortable, which will churn out a more productive interview. Lay down a basic groundwork of what topics will be covered, the length of time needed, and the importance of the interview. Next, advance to the main interview. Be sure to take meticulous notes or get permission to tape the interview to transcribe later.
• Jot down any observations immediately following the interview. Consider the individual’s habits, attitude, and other qualities that were observed. Transcribe and rearrange the interview questions to recount an interesting personal perspective or interpretation. This will become your rough draft.
• Revise the draft, incorporating important details and factual incidents that were initially missed. Start with an attention-grabbing lead sentence. Ensure that the beginning grabs the reader and pulls him in. Intrigue your audience with an informative main section. Stay focused on your intended approach until the essay’s conclusion, which should give readers a closing impression of the subject and summarize your overall objective.
• Read the essay aloud. Did you give a visual portrayal? Check that you interweaved dialogue, added physical descriptions in moderation, but used narrative freely.

Tips to Write a Profile Essay

A profile essay vividly presents a subject to the readers. The writing is a combination of objective and expressive: While presenting his observations and analysis to inform the reader, the writer also brings his own personal perspective and interpretations to the essay. A profile essay differs from biographical and autobiographical writing in that it takes newly acquired observation, through research or firsthand accounts; an autobiography or biography is about remembered experiences. The challenge of a profile essay is to gather the information and give it shape in an essay that conveys a main idea; there are several guidelines to aid a writer in doing this.

Choose the Subject Wisely

While profiles of exciting, controversial people are always interesting, even the mundane can be intriguing if the writer examines it closely and offers a distinctive perspective. A writer shouldn’t overlook the quietly remarkable person who seems ordinary on the outside.

Form an Engaging and Informative Plan

A profile essay will most likely be based on at least one interview with the subject, and may also include interviews with those that know the subject. Writers should resist the temptation to organize the essay in the order they ask the questions, as this can make for boring reading. Instead, the answers of the questions should be examined closely for an emerging image of the subject. The responses can then be incorporated into a more complex picture of the subject.

Provide a Vivid Description

A quality profile essay should incorporate a vivid word picture of the subject. Include specific details, such as how the subject looks, talks, dresses, smells and is motivated. Keep straight description, or just cataloging the obvious, to a minimum; instead, use description to give the sense that the subject’s outward appearance reveals inward character traits. Information from others in the essay should serve to describe the subject and not take on its own life.

Convey a Dominant Impression

A profile essay should convey a dominant impression of the subject: the writer’s personal interpretation and insight on the subject and what the writer has gained from observing and researching. Carefully select and arrange details so that they communicate your attitude. This interpretive element is what categorizes the profile essay as a genre and separates it from other forms of narrative and descriptive writing, such as the biography.

Profile Paper Example

“Good evening, Valparaiso. I’m storm shield meteorologist Jacob Van Horn here with a look at your forecast.” Ever since Jake was in grade school, he knew that he wanted to be a meteorologist. However, it wasn’t until high school that he realized his dream could truly become reality. Jake’s interest in weather began when he first watched the movie “Twister,” a collection of National Geographic documentaries provided by his school. With an abundance of hard work and dedication, Jake is working towards earning his bachelor’s degree in meteorology and achieving his dream of becoming a meteorologist.

Since Jake has always been an admirer of the weather, severe storms always brought him a thrill. His interest in weather peaked after an F-4 tornado struck a city near his home in November of 2002. His family drove through Van Wert, Ohio, to see the damage. “Those images will always be in my head,” he recalls.

Although Jake always knew that he wanted to become a meteorologist, it was not until high school when he recognized his full potential. He realized how good he was at science and math and how much he enjoyed each of these subjects. Math and science are a crucial part of meteorology; therefore, Jake decided to “give it a go.”

When it came to deciding upon a college to pursue his meteorology degree, Jake was torn between Purdue University and Valparaiso University. Both schools possessed a great meteorology program, but Jake was drawn to Valparaiso’s small school atmosphere and location. Although Valparaiso was a private university with higher tuition than Purdue, Jake received a presidential scholarship, which aided in paying for his tuition. Getting accepted into a college with an outstanding meteorology program brought Jake one step closer to achieving his dream.

Once college started, there were a broad range of meteorology classes that he had to take. They started as simple, introductory classes and progressed into much more specific classes, such as an aviation weather class to predict things such as turbulence and a tropical class, which not only focuses on hurricanes and tropical storms, but the impact of the ocean on the weather in general. These classes will be beneficial to his future career choice. A meteorologist’s job can be described as making a type of educated prediction. Jake will use what he has learned in his classes, apply that broad knowledge to whatever is happening in the forecast, look at where the weather is coming from, and predict what he believes will happen.

The summer between his freshman and sophomore years of college, Jake was an intern at a local news station, WANE 15. While at his internship, he often assisted the head meteorologist in creating graphics that were used on television. He liked using the graphics system to see what he could create and he also liked communicating to the people about what was going to be happening. Jake said that he was able to learn an abundance of new things that will be useful in his future endeavors. One night, during a large tornado outbreak, he stayed at the station until around 2AM, keeping the viewing areas informed about the potentially dangerous weather conditions. He said that it “was definitely a crazy night.”

When he returned back to campus his sophomore year, Jake was a lab aide for an introductory class, which helps to refresh students on the basics of meteorology. He was also an assistant weather director at the campus television station, which is helping him learn about the broadcasting side of meteorology. He has learned everything from production to graphic-making and even presentation skills on the green screen. Although he did not think he would like being on television, before he began classes, Jake has learned many skills that have opened his mind to the world of broadcasting.

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The personal profile is a crucial section in your UBC application. This is your chance to tell us about the things that are important to you, your significant achievements, what you’ve learned from your experiences, and the challenges you’ve overcome. It’s our chance to determine whether you’re a good fit for UBC and if you’ll receive an entrance scholarship.

On this page:

Who must write a personal profile

Preparing for the personal profile, personal profile questions, how ubc evaluates your personal profile, your personal profile and disruptions outside of your control.

Watch: Your personal profile for your UBC application

Get tips for crafting a strong personal profile that will help UBC understand what’s important to you, what you’ve achieved, and what you’ve learned from your life experiences so far.

You must complete a personal profile as part of your online application if:

• You’re a high school student applying to any degree on UBC’s Okanagan or Vancouver campuses (except the Bachelor of Design in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urbanism ).
• You’re a university or college transfer student applying to the Bachelor of Nursing on the Okanagan campus, or the Bachelor of Commerce or the Bachelor of International Economics on the Vancouver campus.

Each of the personal profile questions requires short essay responses (50 – 500 words), so you’ll want to think about your answers before you start your online application. Here are three tips to keep in mind:

• Take time to reflect. Instead of simply listing your accomplishments and experiences, tell us what you’ve learned from them.
• Be specific. Use details to provide context and elaborate on your answers.
• Be true to who you are. Don’t focus on what you think we want to hear. Use your unique voice to tell us what you want to say.

Depending on which degree(s) you apply to, you’ll be asked to answer some or all of the following questions in your personal profile:

• Tell us about who you are. How would your family, friends, and/or members of your community describe you? If possible, please include something about yourself that you are most proud of and why.
• What is important to you? And why?
• Family/community responsibilities
• Creative or performing arts
• Work/employment
• Service to others
• Tell us more about one or two activities listed above that are most important to you. Please explain the role you played and what you learned in the process. You will be asked for a reference who can speak to your response.
• Additional information: You may wish to use the space below to provide UBC with more information on your academic history to date and/or your future academic plans. For example: How did you choose your courses in secondary school? Are there life circumstances that have affected your academic decisions to date? What have you done to prepare yourself specifically for your intended area of study at UBC?
• Examples of referees include an employer, a community member, a coach, a teacher/instructor, or anyone who knows you well.
• One of the referees you select must be able to speak to one of the activities/experiences described in one of your long-answer responses above.
• For applicants who are currently attending a high school, one of your referees must be a school official (e.g., Grade 12 or senior year counsellor, teacher, or IB coordinator). Neither referee should be a friend, family member, or paid agent.
• Note that UBC does not send a link to references. We will contact your references directly, after offers of admission have gone out.

For the Bachelor of Education personal profile only:

• Why do you want to become a teacher?
• Describe the kind of teacher you want to be. Give examples.
• Give an example from your experience which illustrates your suitability for the teaching profession. For example, share a story of how you overcame a challenging situation, solved a problem in a professional manner, or learned from your mistake(s), etc.

For the Bachelor of Commerce personal profile only:

• Explain how you responded to a problem and/or an unfamiliar situation. What did you do, what was the outcome, and what did you learn from the experience?
• We live in a global and diverse society. Explain how your community involvement prepares you for the future in this complex world.

UBC’s trained readers will read and evaluate your personal profile and compare it with the profiles written by other UBC applicants. We’re not looking for a particular experience, and there are no right or wrong answers. Your profile will be assessed against four criteria.

Engagement and accomplishment

How do you pursue your interests and manage your responsibilities? What do you do with your time when you are not in class? What would you (or others in your community) consider your most significant contributions and accomplishments? Whether it’s winning an international award or taking care of a younger sibling, any experience can teach you something about yourself and/or the world around you. We want to know what you have been doing and what have you have learned from your experiences. Make sure to give specific examples.

Have you undertaken responsibilities and activities that have benefited those around you and/or contributed to your community in a meaningful way? If so, what have you learned about yourself and others in the process? Leadership can come in many forms. Any act of responsibility and/or initiative that serves others is a form of leadership. Leadership can be demonstrated in a formal role, within a group (e.g., being president of a club or captain of a team), or in an informal role, as an individual (e.g., taking it upon yourself to help in your community). And remember – it’s not just about being in a leadership role, it’s about what leadership has taught you.

Have you spent sufficient time reflecting upon what you want to say? Have you answered the questions in a detailed and meaningful way? Is the content of your personal profile superficial or clichéd, or are you presenting interesting, well-thought-out, and relevant ideas? Remember that trained UBC readers will be reviewing and comparing thousands of personal profiles. The best way to stand out is by making sure you have something meaningful and insightful to say.

Communication is important. Have you written a personal profile that is genuine and unique to who you are? Does your profile authentically reflect your own words? Will your voice stand out in a meaningful way, or will your profile read like many others?

We know that disruptions can arise that may affect your access to extracurricular activities at school or in your community. We will be as flexible as possible to ensure that your personal profile is not disadvantaged by disruptions caused by things outside of your control.

Remember that when we assess your personal profile we take into account all of the activities you’ve done across multiple years, not just the ones you hoped to complete in Grade 11 or 12. Your examples can come from any aspect of your life, including within your family or smaller community. There are no right or wrong answers – we’re not looking for certain activities or a long list of achievements, but rather your reflections on what you’ve experienced.

More on how to apply:

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• Knowledge Base
• Applying to graduate school
• How to Write Your Personal Statement | Strategies & Examples

How to Write Your Personal Statement | Strategies & Examples

Published on February 12, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on July 3, 2023.

A personal statement is a short essay of around 500–1,000 words, in which you tell a compelling story about who you are, what drives you, and why you’re applying.

To write a successful personal statement for a graduate school application , don’t just summarize your experience; instead, craft a focused narrative in your own voice. Aim to demonstrate three things:

• Your personality: what are your interests, values, and motivations?
• Your talents: what can you bring to the program?
• Your goals: what do you hope the program will do for you?

This article guides you through some winning strategies to build a strong, well-structured personal statement for a master’s or PhD application. You can download the full examples below.

Urban Planning Psychology History

Table of contents

Getting started with your personal statement, the introduction: start with an attention-grabbing opening, the main body: craft your narrative, the conclusion: look ahead, revising, editing, and proofreading your personal statement, frequently asked questions, other interesting articles.

Before you start writing, the first step is to understand exactly what’s expected of you. If the application gives you a question or prompt for your personal statement, the most important thing is to respond to it directly.

For example, you might be asked to focus on the development of your personal identity; challenges you have faced in your life; or your career motivations. This will shape your focus and emphasis—but you still need to find your own unique approach to answering it.

There’s no universal template for a personal statement; it’s your chance to be creative and let your own voice shine through. But there are strategies you can use to build a compelling, well-structured story.

The first paragraph of your personal statement should set the tone and lead smoothly into the story you want to tell.

Strategy 1: Open with a concrete scene

An effective way to catch the reader’s attention is to set up a scene that illustrates something about your character and interests. If you’re stuck, try thinking about:

• A personal experience that changed your perspective
• A story from your family’s history
• A memorable teacher or learning experience
• An unusual or unexpected encounter

To write an effective scene, try to go beyond straightforward description; start with an intriguing sentence that pulls the reader in, and give concrete details to create a convincing atmosphere.

Strategy 2: Open with your motivations

To emphasize your enthusiasm and commitment, you can start by explaining your interest in the subject you want to study or the career path you want to follow.

Just stating that it interests you isn’t enough: first, you need to figure out why you’re interested in this field:

• Is it a longstanding passion or a recent discovery?
• Does it come naturally or have you had to work hard at it?
• How does it fit into the rest of your life?
• What do you think it contributes to society?

Tips for the introduction

• Don’t start on a cliche: avoid phrases like “Ever since I was a child…” or “For as long as I can remember…”
• Do save the introduction for last. If you’re struggling to come up with a strong opening, leave it aside, and note down any interesting ideas that occur to you as you write the rest of the personal statement.

Once you’ve set up the main themes of your personal statement, you’ll delve into more detail about your experiences and motivations.

To structure the body of your personal statement, there are various strategies you can use.

Strategy 1: Describe your development over time

One of the simplest strategies is to give a chronological overview of key experiences that have led you to apply for graduate school.

• What first sparked your interest in the field?
• Which classes, assignments, classmates, internships, or other activities helped you develop your knowledge and skills?
• Where do you want to go next? How does this program fit into your future plans?

Don’t try to include absolutely everything you’ve done—pick out highlights that are relevant to your application. Aim to craft a compelling narrative that shows how you’ve changed and actively developed yourself.

My interest in psychology was first sparked early in my high school career. Though somewhat scientifically inclined, I found that what interested me most was not the equations we learned about in physics and chemistry, but the motivations and perceptions of my fellow students, and the subtle social dynamics that I observed inside and outside the classroom. I wanted to learn how our identities, beliefs, and behaviours are shaped through our interactions with others, so I decided to major in Social Psychology. My undergraduate studies deepened my understanding of, and fascination with, the interplay between an individual mind and its social context.During my studies, I acquired a solid foundation of knowledge about concepts like social influence and group dynamics, but I also took classes on various topics not strictly related to my major. I was particularly interested in how other fields intersect with psychology—the classes I took on media studies, biology, and literature all enhanced my understanding of psychological concepts by providing different lenses through which to look at the issues involved.

Strategy 2: Own your challenges and obstacles

If your path to graduate school hasn’t been easy or straightforward, you can turn this into a strength, and structure your personal statement as a story of overcoming obstacles.

• Is your social, cultural or economic background underrepresented in the field? Show how your experiences will contribute a unique perspective.
• Do you have gaps in your resume or lower-than-ideal grades? Explain the challenges you faced and how you dealt with them.

Don’t focus too heavily on negatives, but use them to highlight your positive qualities. Resilience, resourcefulness and perseverance make you a promising graduate school candidate.

Growing up working class, urban decay becomes depressingly familiar. The sight of a row of abandoned houses does not surprise me, but it continues to bother me. Since high school, I have been determined to pursue a career in urban planning. While people of my background experience the consequences of urban planning decisions first-hand, we are underrepresented in the field itself. Ironically, given my motivation, my economic background has made my studies challenging. I was fortunate enough to be awarded a scholarship for my undergraduate studies, but after graduation I took jobs in unrelated fields to help support my parents. In the three years since, I have not lost my ambition. Now I am keen to resume my studies, and I believe I can bring an invaluable perspective to the table: that of the people most impacted by the decisions of urban planners.

Strategy 3: Demonstrate your knowledge of the field

Especially if you’re applying for a PhD or another research-focused program, it’s a good idea to show your familiarity with the subject and the department. Your personal statement can focus on the area you want to specialize in and reflect on why it matters to you.

• Reflect on the topics or themes that you’ve focused on in your studies. What draws you to them?
• Discuss any academic achievements, influential teachers, or other highlights of your education.
• Talk about the questions you’d like to explore in your research and why you think they’re important.

The personal statement isn’t a research proposal , so don’t go overboard on detail—but it’s a great opportunity to show your enthusiasm for the field and your capacity for original thinking.

In applying for this research program, my intention is to build on the multidisciplinary approach I have taken in my studies so far, combining knowledge from disparate fields of study to better understand psychological concepts and issues. The Media Psychology program stands out to me as the perfect environment for this kind of research, given its researchers’ openness to collaboration across diverse fields. I am impressed by the department’s innovative interdisciplinary projects that focus on the shifting landscape of media and technology, and I hope that my own work can follow a similarly trailblazing approach. More specifically, I want to develop my understanding of the intersection of psychology and media studies, and explore how media psychology theories and methods might be applied to neurodivergent minds. I am interested not only in media psychology but also in psychological disorders, and how the two interact. This is something I touched on during my undergraduate studies and that I’m excited to delve into further.

Strategy 4: Discuss your professional ambitions

Especially if you’re applying for a more professionally-oriented program (such as an MBA), it’s a good idea to focus on concrete goals and how the program will help you achieve them.

• If your career is just getting started, show how your character is suited to the field, and explain how graduate school will help you develop your talents.
• If you have already worked in the profession, show what you’ve achieved so far, and explain how the program will allow you to take the next step.
• If you are planning a career change, explain what has driven this decision and how your existing experience will help you succeed.

Don’t just state the position you want to achieve. You should demonstrate that you’ve put plenty of thought into your career plans and show why you’re well-suited to this profession.

One thing that fascinated me about the field during my undergraduate studies was the sheer number of different elements whose interactions constitute a person’s experience of an urban environment. Any number of factors could transform the scene I described at the beginning: What if there were no bus route? Better community outreach in the neighborhood? Worse law enforcement? More or fewer jobs available in the area? Some of these factors are out of the hands of an urban planner, but without taking them all into consideration, the planner has an incomplete picture of their task. Through further study I hope to develop my understanding of how these disparate elements combine and interact to create the urban environment. I am interested in the social, psychological and political effects our surroundings have on our lives. My studies will allow me to work on projects directly affecting the kinds of working-class urban communities I know well. I believe I can bring my own experiences, as well as my education, to bear upon the problem of improving infrastructure and quality of life in these communities.

Tips for the main body

• Don’t rehash your resume by trying to summarize everything you’ve done so far; the personal statement isn’t about listing your academic or professional experience, but about reflecting, evaluating, and relating it to broader themes.
• Do make your statements into stories: Instead of saying you’re hard-working and self-motivated, write about your internship where you took the initiative to start a new project. Instead of saying you’ve always loved reading, reflect on a novel or poem that changed your perspective.

Your conclusion should bring the focus back to the program and what you hope to get out of it, whether that’s developing practical skills, exploring intellectual questions, or both.

Emphasize the fit with your specific interests, showing why this program would be the best way to achieve your aims.

Strategy 1: What do you want to know?

If you’re applying for a more academic or research-focused program, end on a note of curiosity: what do you hope to learn, and why do you think this is the best place to learn it?

If there are specific classes or faculty members that you’re excited to learn from, this is the place to express your enthusiasm.

Strategy 2: What do you want to do?

If you’re applying for a program that focuses more on professional training, your conclusion can look to your career aspirations: what role do you want to play in society, and why is this program the best choice to help you get there?

Tips for the conclusion

• Don’t summarize what you’ve already said. You have limited space in a personal statement, so use it wisely!
• Do think bigger than yourself: try to express how your individual aspirations relate to your local community, your academic field, or society more broadly. It’s not just about what you’ll get out of graduate school, but about what you’ll be able to give back.

You’ll be expected to do a lot of writing in graduate school, so make a good first impression: leave yourself plenty of time to revise and polish the text.

Your style doesn’t have to be as formal as other kinds of academic writing, but it should be clear, direct and coherent. Make sure that each paragraph flows smoothly from the last, using topic sentences and transitions to create clear connections between each part.

Don’t be afraid to rewrite and restructure as much as necessary. Since you have a lot of freedom in the structure of a personal statement, you can experiment and move information around to see what works best.

Finally, it’s essential to carefully proofread your personal statement and fix any language errors. Before you submit your application, consider investing in professional personal statement editing . For $150, you have the peace of mind that your personal statement is grammatically correct, strong in term of your arguments, and free of awkward mistakes.

A statement of purpose is usually more formal, focusing on your academic or professional goals. It shouldn’t include anything that isn’t directly relevant to the application.

A personal statement can often be more creative. It might tell a story that isn’t directly related to the application, but that shows something about your personality, values, and motivations.

However, both types of document have the same overall goal: to demonstrate your potential as a graduate student and s how why you’re a great match for the program.

The typical length of a personal statement for graduate school applications is between 500 and 1,000 words.

Different programs have different requirements, so always check if there’s a minimum or maximum length and stick to the guidelines. If there is no recommended word count, aim for no more than 1-2 pages.

If you’re applying to multiple graduate school programs, you should tailor your personal statement to each application.

Some applications provide a prompt or question. In this case, you might have to write a new personal statement from scratch: the most important task is to respond to what you have been asked.

If there’s no prompt or guidelines, you can re-use the same idea for your personal statement – but change the details wherever relevant, making sure to emphasize why you’re applying to this specific program.

If the application also includes other essays, such as a statement of purpose , you might have to revise your personal statement to avoid repeating the same information.

If you want to know more about college essays , academic writing , and AI tools , make sure to check out some of our other language articles with explanations, examples, and quizzes.

College essays

• College essay examples
• College essay format
• College essay style
• College essay length
• Diversity essays
• Scholarship essays

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• Writing process
• Avoiding repetition
• Literature review
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• Thesis acknowledgements
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How to Write a Personal Essay for Your College Application

What does it take to land in the “accept” (instead of “reject”) pile?

How can you write an essay that helps advance you in the eyes of the admissions officers and makes a real impression? Here are some tips to get you started.

• Start early.  Do not leave it until the last minute. Give yourself time when you don’t have other homework or extracurriculars hanging over your head to work on the essay.
• Keep the focus narrow.  Your essay does not have to cover a massive, earth-shattering event. Some people in their teens haven’t experienced a major life event. Some people have. Either way, it’s okay.
• Be yourself.  Whether writing about a painful experience or a more simple experience, use the narrative to be vulnerable and honest about who you are. Use words you would normally use. Trust your voice and the fact that your story is interesting enough in that no one else has lived it.
• Be creative.  “Show, don’t tell,” and that applies here — to an extent. The best essays typically do both. You can help your reader see and feel what you are describing by using some figurative language throughout your piece.
• Make a point. As you finish your final body paragraphs ask yourself “So what?” This will help you hone in on how to end your essay in a way that elevates it into a story about an insight or discovery you made about yourself, rather than just being about an experience you had.

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here .

We’ve all heard about the dreaded “college essay,” the bane of every high school senior’s existence. This daunting element of the college application is something that can create angst for even the most accomplished students.

• AA Amy Allen is a writer, educator, and lifelong learner. Her freelance writing business,  All of the Write Words , focuses on providing high school students with one-on-one feedback to guide them through the college application process and with crafting a thoughtful personal essay. A dedicated poet, Amy’s work has also been published in several journals including  Pine Row Press ,  Months to Years,  and  Atlanta Review .

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How to Write a Stellar Profile Essay?

09 February, 2021

13 minutes read

Author:  Tomas White

A profile essay, or article, is a piece of journalistic-cum-literary writing. The aim is to present factual information on a given topic (person, place, animal, or event) while writing with an individual tone and style. In this article, we will expand on the concept of a profile essay. We will also tackle what a profile is and what purpose profiles serve. Finally, we will present strategies for preparing your research and strengthening your writing technique, as well as offer tips on structure and potential topics.

What Is a Profile Essay?

A profile essay can be considered a literary piece of writing, in which the writer mainly delivers a descriptive account of a person, place, or event. The goal of the profile essay is to be informative. It usually conforms to standards found in journalism – that is to say, using facts and offering impartial reportage – while conveying this information in a literary style.

Literary style means offering more to the reader than a revised press release or stenographed interview. Offer insight and immersion to the reader, show them the layers of character and environment, and run these underlying factual happenings through your individual interpretation of it all. 

The Purpose of Profile Essays

The purpose of a profile essay is to be read and well-received by an audience. It is not an obscure technical writing piece, although it may cover obscure figures or events. In general, profile essays appear in magazines and newspapers – in either their print or digital formats. They also appear in scholarly or trade journals, usually covering rising or established people within these niches.

For the writer, a profile essay is a piece of writing aimed at joining the journalistic and literary style. As mentioned in the previous section, journalistic writing must be factual and rigorously checked for errors. Literary writing has some joy involved in its reading; in what way that joy comes out in ‘writing style’ is up to you.

Ultimately, with those two concepts in mind, the purpose of a profile essay is to get you, the writer, some more work. Profiles are highly prevalent and serve as a fantastic way of adding more pieces to your portfolio, whether you’re a new essay writer or a seasoned pro.

Prepare for your essay

Preparing for a profile depends on how close you are to starting writing. Writers coming to this article with a stretch of time ahead of them have the luxury of doing some background reading that is not directly related to the matter at hand. Finding a good profile essay example has the hidden benefit of looking like a lazy weekend afternoon; get a stack of magazines and read.

Some of the most common places to find quality profiles are The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, the London Review of Books, Esquire, or National Geographic. Another perspective is to look for writers, head to your bookshelf or local book store, and do some digging. Again, read and make some notes on the qualities you enjoy and dislike in a range of profiles.

Lastly, in terms of reading, examine the differences between an essay or article profiling a person and one that profiles an event.

That form of preparation is more akin to education. It is needed to bolster your understanding of the broad picture and what is essentially the marketplace for your piece of work. 

Preparing for your actual essay, not the skill of writing an ambiguous profile essay, is another matter. The research and reading that are highly relevant to your subject matter will make or break your profile essay. 

To begin with, you must find all profiles of your subject that are in existence and don’t require a transatlantic flight to a dusty library archive – in this instance, simply email the library and ask if they’ve considered digitizing their collection, starting with your desired piece. 

One of the most surefire organization tactics for research is timelining. Start at the beginning; be sure to go into ‘negative digits’ and look at the parent’s history or the town’s history, or anything else that emerges in your research.

After ‘time’ as a category of thinking comes ‘significance.’ What were the defining features of this person’s life, and to what sort of ‘movement’ might they belong? Add this into your timeline research and press on.

Have you selected a person or place that is feasible to contact and ask for a quote or interview? You may also want to reach out to other players in the story you’re telling and see what they have to say on things.

Preparing all this research can get messy and cluttered. The best way to solve this problem is to  follow a system from the start, as mentioned above; time is a great organizer. Also, keep a running bibliography in a separate file on your computer. Keep tabs on everything you’ve read, and be as forensic as possible with maintaining records. Who knows what might happen in the future regarding the focus of your essay? They might run for president, or they might fade into obscurity. 

Profile Essay Outline

As a profile essay combines qualities of journalism and literary writing, the ideal outline doesn’t exist. Literary writing can take the reader on a journey; in fact, the only requirement of the structure is to guide this journey as magnificently as possible.

Were we to suggest a general profile essay outline, it would contain these sections and ingredients. The order is flexible to an extent. It depends on the content of your profile. Have you got an interview to draw upon, or are you using your storytelling powers to deduct and infer from other sources?

In your introduction, if you’ve conducted an interview, use a quote for your lede. A good quote is an excellent way to set the tone and give an impression of your subject to the reader. Those without an interview might consider a bold statement; be sure that you use something here to act as a powerful lede and bring the reader on board. 

Alluring mysteries are one thing; though the crunch point for this gambit is to make the pay-off worthwhile. Else, the cliff-edge and the tension you create will be for nothing in the end. 

There will be time to provide things like background and biography in the main body of a profile essay. These tend to follow the lede as they’re a nice cool-down; they give the reader a chance to build knowledge on an obscure topic. Whereas for the writer, both the background and biography offer an opportunity to peg in some facts, figures, and breadcrumbs to draw upon later.

The body of a profile essay is tricky. You, first of all, need to engagingly tell your readers the story in it. Remember to build tension and really ‘let go’ when it comes to releasing that tension. Tell it to a friend, read it aloud. Move around the paragraphs. Remember that the profile is following an arc and in your conclusions, hook back in the initial qualities of the opening part. This technique is like cadence in music, and it will please your audience as long as it isn’t too trite. 

Profile Essay Topics

A suitable subject or topic depends on your qualities as a writer and the desired outcome of writing such a profile essay. Now, it does not have to include an interview, but many profile essays do include them. Some profile essay topics may be inanimate objects or complex emergences of human life (events). If this is the case, you can still interview 

For interviews, considering you’re likely a lowly reporter on a college paper, getting an interview with a high-flying sportsperson, politician, or musician is unlikely. In any event, the lower-flying specimens of these species could make a good target. 

The most important thing to consider when choosing the topic or subject is to work with your gut and instinct. If you’re interested in the story, you’re going to have much more to put into it, and your excitement and verve will show through in writing. It may also make it easier to stomach the long hours of tedious research that can emerge when trying to prove or disprove an obscurity of some kind. 

If you haven’t decided on the topic, there’s still room for maneuver. You can look at the subject matter and present your perspective on the case; that’s the subjective element of a profile, your view.

This perspective of yours can focus on just one specific aspect of a person or event. By removing the duller or more well-trodden elements of a character, you open up the chance to explore a new side of a topic. It’s also a fantastic skill for writers to be able to recap well-known things or facts quickly. Writing in this style for a very general audience should be a skill in any writer’s arsenal. 

Profile Essay Examples 

Properly digesting the advice and points made in this article can be aided by reading some profile essay examples. Look for examples given out in your class, or search around using the main keyword – profile essay examples. 

Here are a few examples for you to get a catch on how to write profile essays excellently:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/profiles

https://longreads.com/2019/12/17/longreads-best-of-2019-profiles/

https://longreads.com/2017/12/18/longreads-best-of-2017-profile-writing/

Writing Tips for a Profile Essay

How to write a profile essay in three steps; pick a subject, do your research, and start writing. Remember that a profile essay is a literary and a journalistic piece of writing. It’s non-fiction, so your facts and figures must be accurate, and any discrepancies or controversies surrounding your data can form a part of your analysis.

Always write with your reader at the forefront of your mind. Visualize your reader, even if it’s a college essay, and think of how you could pitch your piece to a publication. The natural home of a profile is in the media, not in the college textbook. So write the essay with publication in mind. 

 Here are some essential tips for a profile essay composition:

• Conduct thorough research on your topic, look for potential interviews or aspects not covered in previous profiles if they exist. Also, make sure you’ve read all of the profiles on or related to your subject matter; a profile is an evolving topic, and new facts can emerge.
• Profile examples are available online, as well as those posted by educational institutes, and of course, those featured in the media. Reading these serves as excellent preparation and inspiration.
• The structure and overall outline of a profile essay is something with a degree of flexibility. While the introduction and rounding off of the essay will look familiar, tracking a person’s profile or event can involve highly unique pieces of information. Unlike many other papers, profiles don’t have to strictly conform to the thesis, antithesis, and synthesis structure. However, this familiar form of writing still works in part when writing a profile. 

Write a Profile Essay with HandmadeWriting

HandmadeWriting can help with the development, construction, and polishing of a profile essay. As an organization, we draw on academics and writers’ expertise from across the spectrum of the written word. 

Getting started can be difficult, but consulting with HandmadeWriting offers a way to get the ball rolling. The writers at HandmadeWriting are used to working on a countless number of topics and essay styles. The staff is also familiar with working under a tight deadline, not to mention those tasks where the endpoint is less defined. 

HandmadeWriting makes composing an essay or profile piece simple. Talk with a skilled writer and editor today on your topic, and you can make a start immediately.

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How to Write a Profile Essay (+ Examples to Check)

In the article, you’ll find the profile essay definition and structure. Several examples are also here to help you see how to create a brilliant one.

What is a Profile Essay?

Such papers have two primary goals:

•  Stay informative
•  Provide as many exciting details about the subject as possible

Another essential detail is that you shouldn’t stray from the topic. Mention only the relevant things, and don’t be afraid to keep the focus as narrow as possible.

That’s the point of any profile essay.

Profile Essay Example

Profile essays look personal, but their style is matter-of-fact and academic. It seems challenging, but you can do that with appropriate examples at hand.

There are two common types of such papers: on a person and a place . Since each has its specifics, let’s jump right into the samples!

Profile essay example on a person 

Lucky you are when a professor assigns an essay about yourself. After all, it’s a person you know best, right? When writing about someone else, the key is to treat them how you’d treat yourself if you wrote your story.

Here’s an example of a profile essay on a person :

Profile essay example on a place  

Another profile paper is the one describing a specific location. It can include its history, spots, and the famous people who visited it. 

Choose the places you find exciting, but consider how much information you can dig up. Remember that a stellar profile essay must be informative. Put your emotions about what you’re describing aside.  Example:

How to Write a Profile Essay: Outline and Tips

One of the profile essay challenges is making it long enough  to meet the word count.

You can do it through research and adding extra info during the writing process. Imagine you’re a detective compiling a case file!

More details:

Craft a profile essay outline before writing. It’s a plan for an intro, a body, and a conclusion [1]. Important: Outline the thesis and topic sentences for each paragraph. That way, you’ll get a template for your essay to fill in with relevant information.

How to start a profile essay

The best way to start your essay is a so-called attention grabber. Tell the most intriguing fact about your topic and elaborate on it in the following sentence.

As a finishing touch, focus on a thesis statement. That last sentence reveals all the details you’ll discuss in the upcoming paragraphs.

Body paragraphs

You need several main points, whether writing about a personality or describing a location. Derive topic sentences (your paragraphs’ first sentences) from research and make them informative.

The last sentence of each section should be a transition to the next one. It will make your essay easy to read.

Writing a profile essay conclusion

Unlike an interview or expository essay , your conclusion restates the thesis and summarizes the core info from your paper.

While it sounds simple, this part of your paper is the most significant. Ensure you end it with a relevant sum-up.

Practical tips on writing profile papers  

Profile papers are all about research and editing your essay to perfection. Below are three fruitful tips [2] on how to do that.

• Use a reference finder . This tool works like a filter, removing all irrelevant sources from your search. It will help you invest less time in finding the materials you need.
• Spend several hours resting before editing your paper . If you look for mistakes in your essay right after you’ve finished the draft, you’re likely to miss them. Give your brain time to refocus, and you’ll find more typos and inconsistencies.
• Ask parents or friends how informative it is . If unsure about how your paper turned out, ask someone who doesn’t know much about the topic. If they find your draft engaging, it’s a success.

Bonus: Profile Essay Topics Ideas  

If a tutor doesn’t provide a specific topic for your profile essay and you struggle to find one, try any of these:

•   My Hometown’s History: The Hero of People
•   The Writer Who Shaped My View of Life
•   The Best Five-Star Hotel In Our Country
•   An Unusual Millionaire With a Kind Heart
•   A Touching Story of a Famous Animal
•   My Favorite Painter: A Biography
•   My Favorite Touristic Location
•   The Spookiest Location I’ve Ever Visited
•   The Teacher Who Was My Role Model
•   The Landmark I’ll Never Forget
•   My Pet Animal: Facts and Stories
•   My Hero: The Person I Want to Become
•   The Most Impressive Water Body I’ve Seen
•   The Place I Dream to Visit
•   The Fictional Character I Learned Most From

Profile essays can be challenging. Yet, they’re great for training your writing and research skills. You pay attention to details so that a text flows and presents information logically.

It’s okay if you don’t create a masterpiece on your first try. Just remember to have fun in the process.

References:

• https://www.adelaide.edu.au/english-for-uni/essay-writing
• https://www.wccnet.edu/webfiles/writing-center/web/essay-structures/ProfileEssay.pdf
• Essay samples
• Essay writing
• Writing tips

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A personal profile

Learn how to write a personal profile for a social app or website.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and tips and do the exercises.

Preparation

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By day I'm a regular guy and by night a superhero … How tiring is that?!

Just joking! I'm a regular guy all the time, good job, close to my family, just bought my own flat with a cat. Actually, my cat thinks I'm a hero because I saved her from the street. I'm a talkative person and I believe communication is the most important thing in a relationship.

Likes and dislikes

I love pizza if it's Italian, wine if it's white, and football if it's the World Cup. I read a lot, especially true life stories, but most of my books live on my phone.

1. Write about your good points, not your bad points.

2. Don’t include every single thing. Choose a few points and focus on them.

3. Don’t add your contact details (e.g. address, phone number). You could get unwanted messages.

4. Check your spelling and punctuation before you post.

Are dating apps a good way to meet people?

Language level

Online courses.

Group and one-to-one classes with expert teachers.

Learn English in your own time, at your own pace.

One-to-one sessions focused on a personal plan.

Get the score you need with private and group classes.  

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

10 Personal Statement Essay Examples That Worked

What’s covered:, what is a personal statement.

• Essay 1: Summer Program
• Essay 2: Being Bangladeshi-American
• Essay 3: Why Medicine
• Essay 4: Love of Writing
• Essay 5: Starting a Fire
• Essay 6: Dedicating a Track
• Essay 7: Body Image and Eating Disorders
• Essay 8: Becoming a Coach
• Essay 9: Eritrea
• Essay 10: Journaling
• Is Your Personal Statement Strong Enough?

Your personal statement is any essay that you must write for your main application, such as the Common App Essay , University of California Essays , or Coalition Application Essay . This type of essay focuses on your unique experiences, ideas, or beliefs that may not be discussed throughout the rest of your application. This essay should be an opportunity for the admissions officers to get to know you better and give them a glimpse into who you really are.

In this post, we will share 10 different personal statements that were all written by real students. We will also provide commentary on what each essay did well and where there is room for improvement, so you can make your personal statement as strong as possible!

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized. 

Personal Statement Examples

Essay example #1: exchange program.

The twisting roads, ornate mosaics, and fragrant scent of freshly ground spices had been so foreign at first. Now in my fifth week of the SNYI-L summer exchange program in Morocco, I felt more comfortable in the city. With a bag full of pastries from the market, I navigated to a bus stop, paid the fare, and began the trip back to my host family’s house. It was hard to believe that only a few years earlier my mom was worried about letting me travel around my home city on my own, let alone a place that I had only lived in for a few weeks. While I had been on a journey towards self-sufficiency and independence for a few years now, it was Morocco that pushed me to become the confident, self-reflective person that I am today.

As a child, my parents pressured me to achieve perfect grades, master my swim strokes, and discover interesting hobbies like playing the oboe and learning to pick locks. I felt compelled to live my life according to their wishes. Of course, this pressure was not a wholly negative factor in my life –– you might even call it support. However, the constant presence of my parents’ hopes for me overcame my own sense of desire and led me to become quite dependent on them. I pushed myself to get straight A’s, complied with years of oboe lessons, and dutifully attended hours of swim practice after school. Despite all these achievements, I felt like I had no sense of self beyond my drive for success. I had always been expected to succeed on the path they had defined. However, this path was interrupted seven years after my parents’ divorce when my dad moved across the country to Oregon.

I missed my dad’s close presence, but I loved my new sense of freedom. My parents’ separation allowed me the space to explore my own strengths and interests as each of them became individually busier. As early as middle school, I was riding the light rail train by myself, reading maps to get myself home, and applying to special academic programs without urging from my parents. Even as I took more initiatives on my own, my parents both continued to see me as somewhat immature. All of that changed three years ago, when I applied and was accepted to the SNYI-L summer exchange program in Morocco. I would be studying Arabic and learning my way around the city of Marrakesh. Although I think my parents were a little surprised when I told them my news, the addition of a fully-funded scholarship convinced them to let me go.

I lived with a host family in Marrakesh and learned that they, too, had high expectations for me. I didn’t know a word of Arabic, and although my host parents and one brother spoke good English, they knew I was there to learn. If I messed up, they patiently corrected me but refused to let me fall into the easy pattern of speaking English just as I did at home. Just as I had when I was younger, I felt pressured and stressed about meeting their expectations. However, one day, as I strolled through the bustling market square after successfully bargaining with one of the street vendors, I realized my mistake. My host family wasn’t being unfair by making me fumble through Arabic. I had applied for this trip, and I had committed to the intensive language study. My host family’s rules about speaking Arabic at home had not been to fulfill their expectations for me, but to help me fulfill my expectations for myself. Similarly, the pressure my parents had put on me as a child had come out of love and their hopes for me, not out of a desire to crush my individuality.

As my bus drove through the still-bustling market square and past the medieval Ben-Youssef madrasa, I realized that becoming independent was a process, not an event. I thought that my parents’ separation when I was ten had been the one experience that would transform me into a self-motivated and autonomous person. It did, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t still have room to grow. Now, although I am even more self-sufficient than I was three years ago, I try to approach every experience with the expectation that it will change me. It’s still difficult, but I understand that just because growth can be uncomfortable doesn’t mean it’s not important.

What the Essay Did Well

This is a nice essay because it delves into particular character trait of the student and how it has been shaped and matured over time. Although it doesn’t focus the essay around a specific anecdote, the essay is still successful because it is centered around this student’s independence. This is a nice approach for a personal statement: highlight a particular trait of yours and explore how it has grown with you.

The ideas in this essay are universal to growing up—living up to parents’ expectations, yearning for freedom, and coming to terms with reality—but it feels unique to the student because of the inclusion of details specific to them. Including their oboe lessons, the experience of riding the light rail by themselves, and the negotiations with a street vendor helps show the reader what these common tropes of growing up looked like for them personally. 

Another strength of the essay is the level of self-reflection included throughout the piece. Since there is no central anecdote tying everything together, an essay about a character trait is only successful when you deeply reflect on how you felt, where you made mistakes, and how that trait impacts your life. The author includes reflection in sentences like “ I felt like I had no sense of self beyond my drive for success, ” and “ I understand that just because growth can be uncomfortable doesn’t mean it’s not important. ” These sentences help us see how the student was impacted and what their point of view is.

What Could Be Improved

The largest change this essay would benefit from is to show not tell. The platitude you have heard a million times no doubt, but for good reason. This essay heavily relies on telling the reader what occurred, making us less engaged as the entire reading experience feels more passive. If the student had shown us what happens though, it keeps the reader tied to the action and makes them feel like they are there with the student, making it much more enjoyable to read. 

For example, they tell us about the pressure to succeed their parents placed on them: “ I pushed myself to get straight A’s, complied with years of oboe lessons, and dutifully attended hours of swim practice after school.”  They could have shown us what that pressure looked like with a sentence like this: “ My stomach turned somersaults as my rattling knee thumped against the desk before every test, scared to get anything less than a 95. For five years the painful squawk of the oboe only reminded me of my parents’ claps and whistles at my concerts. I mastered the butterfly, backstroke, and freestyle, fighting against the anchor of their expectations threatening to pull me down.”

If the student had gone through their essay and applied this exercise of bringing more detail and colorful language to sentences that tell the reader what happened, the essay would be really great. 

Table of Contents

Essay Example #2: Being Bangladeshi-American

Life before was good: verdant forests, sumptuous curries, and a devoted family.

Then, my family abandoned our comfortable life in Bangladesh for a chance at the American dream in Los Angeles. Within our first year, my father was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He lost his battle three weeks before my sixth birthday. Facing a new country without the steady presence of my father, we were vulnerable — prisoners of hardship in the land of the free. We resettled in the Bronx, in my uncle’s renovated basement. It was meant to be our refuge, but I felt more displaced than ever. Gone were the high-rise condos of West L.A.; instead, government projects towered over the neighborhood. Pedestrians no longer smiled and greeted me; the atmosphere was hostile, even toxic. Schoolkids were quick to pick on those they saw as weak or foreign, hurling harsh words I’d never heard before.

Meanwhile, my family began integrating into the local Bangladeshi community. I struggled to understand those who shared my heritage. Bangladeshi mothers stayed home while fathers drove cabs and sold fruit by the roadside — painful societal positions. Riding on crosstown buses or walking home from school, I began to internalize these disparities. During my fleeting encounters with affluent Upper East Siders, I saw kids my age with nannies, parents who wore suits to work, and luxurious apartments with spectacular views. Most took cabs to their destinations: cabs that Bangladeshis drove. I watched the mundane moments of their lives with longing, aching to plant myself in their shoes. Shame prickled down my spine. I distanced myself from my heritage, rejecting the traditional panjabis worn on Eid and refusing the torkari we ate for dinner every day. 

As I grappled with my relationship with the Bangladeshi community, I turned my attention to helping my Bronx community by pursuing an internship with Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda. I handled desk work and took calls, spending the bulk of my time actively listening to the hardships constituents faced — everything from a veteran stripped of his benefits to a grandmother unable to support her bedridden grandchild.

I’d never exposed myself to stories like these, and now I was the first to hear them. As an intern, I could only assist in what felt like the small ways — pointing out local job offerings, printing information on free ESL classes, reaching out to non-profits. But to a community facing an onslaught of intense struggles, I realized that something as small as these actions could have vast impacts. Seeing the immediate consequences of my actions inspired me. Throughout that summer, I internalized my community’s daily challenges in a new light. I began to stop seeing the prevalent underemployment and cramped living quarters less as sources of shame. Instead, I saw them as realities that had to be acknowledged, but could ultimately be remedied. I also realized the benefits of the Bangladeshi culture I had been so ashamed of. My Bangla language skills were an asset to the office, and my understanding of Bangladeshi etiquette allowed for smooth communication between office staff and its constituents. As I helped my neighbors navigate city services, I saw my heritage with pride — a perspective I never expected to have.

I can now appreciate the value of my unique culture and background, and of living with less. This perspective offers room for progress, community integration, and a future worth fighting for. My time with Assemblyman Sepulveda’s office taught me that I can be a change agent in enabling this progression. Far from being ashamed of my community, I want to someday return to local politics in the Bronx to continue helping others access the American Dream. I hope to help my community appreciate the opportunity to make progress together. By embracing reality, I learned to live it. Along the way, I discovered one thing: life is good, but we can make it better.

This student’s passion for social justice and civic duty shines through in this essay because of how honest it is. Sharing their personal experience with immigrating, moving around, being an outsider, and finding a community allows us to see the hardships this student has faced and builds empathy towards their situation. However, what really makes it strong is that they go beyond describing the difficulties they faced and explain the mental impact it had on them as a child: Shame prickled down my spine. I distanced myself from my heritage, rejecting the traditional panjabis worn on Eid and refusing the torkari we ate for dinner every day. 

The rejection of their culture presented at the beginning of the essay creates a nice juxtaposition with the student’s view in the latter half of the essay and helps demonstrate how they have matured. They use their experience interning as a way to delve into a change in their thought process about their culture and show how their passion for social justice began. Using this experience as a mechanism to explore their thoughts and feelings is an excellent example of how items that are included elsewhere on your application should be incorporated into your essay.

This essay prioritizes emotions and personal views over specific anecdotes. Although there are details and certain moments incorporated throughout to emphasize the author’s points, the main focus remains on the student and how they grapple with their culture and identity.  

One area for improvement is the conclusion. Although the forward-looking approach is a nice way to end an essay focused on social justice, it would be nice to include more details and imagery in the conclusion. How does the student want to help their community? What government position do they see themselves holding one day? 

A more impactful ending might look like the student walking into their office at the New York City Housing Authority in 15 years and looking at the plans to build a new development in the Bronx just blocks away from where the grew up that would provide quality housing to people in their Bangladeshi community. They would smile while thinking about how far they have come from that young kid who used to be ashamed of their culture. 

Essay Example #3: Why Medicine

I took my first trip to China to visit my cousin Anna in July of 2014. Distance had kept us apart, but when we were together, we fell into all of our old inside jokes and caught up on each other’s lives. Her sparkling personality and optimistic attitude always brought a smile to my face. This time, however, my heart broke when I saw the effects of her brain cancer; she had suffered from a stroke that paralyzed her left side. She was still herself in many ways, but I could see that the damage to her brain made things difficult for her. I stayed by her every day, providing the support she needed, whether assisting her with eating and drinking, reading to her, or just watching “Friends.” During my flight back home, sorrow and helplessness overwhelmed me. Would I ever see Anna again? Could I have done more to make Anna comfortable? I wished I could stay in China longer to care for her. As I deplaned, I wondered if I could transform my grief to help other children and teenagers in the US who suffered as Anna did.

The day after I got home, as jet lag dragged me awake a few minutes after midnight, I remembered hearing about the Family Reach Foundation (FRF) and its work with children going through treatments at the local hospital and their families. I began volunteering in the FRF’s Children’s Activity Room, where I play with children battling cancer. Volunteering has both made me appreciate my own health and also cherish the new relationships I build with the children and families. We play sports, make figures out of playdoh, and dress up. When they take on the roles of firefighters or fairies, we all get caught up in the game; for that time, they forget the sanitized, stark, impersonal walls of the pediatric oncology ward. Building close relationships with them and seeing them giggle and laugh is so rewarding — I love watching them grow and get better throughout their course of treatment.

Hearing from the parents about their children’s condition and seeing the children recover inspired me to consider medical research. To get started, I enrolled in a summer collegelevel course in Abnormal Psychology. There I worked with Catelyn, a rising college senior, on a data analysis project regarding Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Together, we examined the neurological etiology of DID by studying four fMRI and PET cases. I fell in love with gathering data and analyzing the results and was amazed by our final product: several stunning brain images showcasing the areas of hyper and hypoactivity in brains affected by DID. Desire quickly followed my amazement — I want to continue this project and study more brains. Their complexity, delicacy, and importance to every aspect of life fascinate me. Successfully completing this research project gave me a sense of hope; I know I am capable of participating in a large scale research project and potentially making a difference in someone else’s life through my research.

Anna’s diagnosis inspired me to begin volunteering at FRF; from there, I discovered my desire to help people further by contributing to medical research. As my research interest blossomed, I realized that it’s no coincidence that I want to study brains—after all, Anna suffered from brain cancer. Reflecting on these experiences this past year and a half, I see that everything I’ve done is connected. Sadly, a few months after I returned from China, Anna passed away. I am still sad, but as I run a toy truck across the floor and watch one of the little patients’ eyes light up, I imagine that she would be proud of my commitment to pursue medicine and study the brain.

This essay has a very strong emotional core that tugs at the heart strings and makes the reader feel invested. Writing about sickness can be difficult and doesn’t always belong in a personal statement, but in this case it works well because the focus is on how this student cared for her cousin and dealt with the grief and emotions surrounding her condition. Writing about the compassion she showed and the doubts and concerns that filled her mind keeps the focus on the author and her personality. 

This continues when she again discusses the activities she did with the kids at FRF and the personal reflection this experience allowed her to have. For example, she writes: Volunteering has both made me appreciate my own health and also cherish the new relationships I build with the children and families. We play sports, make figures out of playdoh, and dress up.

Concluding the essay with the sad story of her cousin’s passing brings the essay full circle and returns to the emotional heart of the piece to once again build a connection with the reader. However, it finishes on a hopeful note and demonstrates how this student has been able to turn a tragic experience into a source of lifelong inspiration. 

One thing this essay should be cognizant of is that personal statements should not read as summaries of your extracurricular resume. Although this essay doesn’t fully fall into that trap, it does describe two key extracurriculars the student participated in. However, the inclusion of such a strong emotional core running throughout the essay helps keep the focus on the student and her thoughts and feelings during these activities.

To avoid making this mistake, make sure you have a common thread running through your essay and the extracurriculars provide support to the story you are trying to tell, rather than crafting a story around your activities. And, as this essay does, make sure there is lots of personal reflection and feelings weaved throughout to focus attention to you rather than your extracurriculars. 

Essay Example #4: Love of Writing

“I want to be a writer.” This had been my answer to every youthful discussion with the adults in my life about what I would do when I grew up. As early as elementary school, I remember reading my writing pieces aloud to an audience at “Author of the Month” ceremonies. Bearing this goal in mind, and hoping to gain some valuable experience, I signed up for a journalism class during my freshman year. Despite my love for writing, I initially found myself uninterested in the subject and I struggled to enjoy the class. When I thought of writing, I imagined lyrical prose, profound poetry, and thrilling plot lines. Journalism required a laconic style and orderly structure, and I found my teacher’s assignments formulaic and dull. That class shook my confidence as a writer. I was uncertain if I should continue in it for the rest of my high school career.

Despite my misgivings, I decided that I couldn’t make a final decision on whether to quit journalism until I had some experience working for a paper outside of the classroom. The following year, I applied to be a staff reporter on our school newspaper. I hoped this would help me become more self-driven and creative, rather than merely writing articles that my teacher assigned. To my surprise, my time on staff was worlds away from what I experienced in the journalism class. Although I was unaccustomed to working in a fast-paced environment and initially found it burdensome to research and complete high-quality stories in a relatively short amount of time, I also found it exciting. I enjoyed learning more about topics and events on campus that I did not know much about; some of my stories that I covered in my first semester concerned a chess tournament, a food drive, and a Spanish immersion party. I relished in the freedom I had to explore and learn, and to write more independently than I could in a classroom.

Although I enjoyed many aspects of working for the paper immediately, reporting also pushed me outside of my comfort zone. I am a shy person, and speaking with people I did not know intimidated me. During my first interview, I met with the basketball coach to prepare for a story about the team’s winning streak. As I approached his office, I felt everything from my toes to my tongue freeze into a solid block, and I could hardly get out my opening questions. Fortunately, the coach was very kind and helped me through the conversation. Encouraged, I prepared for my next interview with more confidence. After a few weeks of practice, I even started to look forward to interviewing people on campus. That first journalism class may have bored me, but even if journalism in practice was challenging, it was anything but tedious.

Over the course of that year, I grew to love writing for our school newspaper. Reporting made me aware of my surroundings, and made me want to know more about current events on campus and in the town where I grew up. By interacting with people all over campus, I came to understand the breadth of individuals and communities that make up my high school. I felt far more connected to diverse parts of my school through my work as a journalist, and I realized that journalism gave me a window into seeing beyond my own experiences. The style of news writing may be different from what I used to think “writing” meant, but I learned that I can still derive exciting plots from events that may have gone unnoticed if not for my stories. I no longer struggle to approach others, and truly enjoy getting to know people and recognizing their accomplishments through my writing. Becoming a writer may be a difficult path, but it is as rewarding as I hoped when I was young.

This essay is clearly structured in a manner that makes it flow very nicely and contributes to its success. It starts with a quote to draw in the reader and show this student’s life-long passion for writing. Then it addresses the challenges of facing new, unfamiliar territory and how this student overcame it. Finally, it concludes by reflecting on this eye-opening experience and a nod to their younger self from the introduction. Having a well-thought out and sequential structure with clear transitions makes it extremely easy for the reader to follow along and take away the main idea.

Another positive aspect of the essay is the use of strong and expressive language. Sentences like “ When I thought of writing, I imagined lyrical prose, profound poetry, and thrilling plot lines ” stand out because of the intentional use of words like “lyrical”, “profound”, and “thrilling” to convey the student’s love of writing. The author also uses an active voice to capture the readers’ attention and keep us engaged. They rely on their language and diction to reveal details to the reader, for instance saying “ I felt everything from my toes to my tongue freeze into a solid block ” to describe feeling nervous.

This essay is already very strong, so there isn’t much that needs to be changed. One thing that could take the essay from great to outstanding would be to throw in more quotes, internal dialogue, and sensory descriptors.

It would be nice to see the nerves they felt interviewing the coach by including dialogue like “ Um…I want to interview you about…uh…”.  They could have shown their original distaste for journalism by narrating the thoughts running through their head. The fast-paced environment of their newspaper could have come to life with descriptions about the clacking of keyboards and the whirl of people running around laying out articles.

Essay Example #5: Starting a Fire

Was I no longer the beloved daughter of nature, whisperer of trees? Knee-high rubber boots, camouflage, bug spray—I wore the garb and perfume of a proud wild woman, yet there I was, hunched over the pathetic pile of stubborn sticks, utterly stumped, on the verge of tears. As a child, I had considered myself a kind of rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes, who was serenaded by mourning doves and chickadees, who could glide through tick-infested meadows and emerge Lyme-free. I knew the cracks of the earth like the scars on my own rough palms. Yet here I was, ten years later, incapable of performing the most fundamental outdoor task: I could not, for the life of me, start a fire. 

Furiously I rubbed the twigs together—rubbed and rubbed until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers. No smoke. The twigs were too young, too sticky-green; I tossed them away with a shower of curses, and began tearing through the underbrush in search of a more flammable collection. My efforts were fruitless. Livid, I bit a rejected twig, determined to prove that the forest had spurned me, offering only young, wet bones that would never burn. But the wood cracked like carrots between my teeth—old, brittle, and bitter. Roaring and nursing my aching palms, I retreated to the tent, where I sulked and awaited the jeers of my family. 

Rattling their empty worm cans and reeking of fat fish, my brother and cousins swaggered into the campsite. Immediately, they noticed the minor stick massacre by the fire pit and called to me, their deep voices already sharp with contempt. 

“Where’s the fire, Princess Clara?” they taunted. “Having some trouble?” They prodded me with the ends of the chewed branches and, with a few effortless scrapes of wood on rock, sparked a red and roaring flame. My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame. 

In the tent, I pondered my failure. Was I so dainty? Was I that incapable? I thought of my hands, how calloused and capable they had been, how tender and smooth they had become. It had been years since I’d kneaded mud between my fingers; instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano, my hands softening into those of a musician—fleshy and sensitive. And I’d gotten glasses, having grown horrifically nearsighted; long nights of dim lighting and thick books had done this. I couldn’t remember the last time I had lain down on a hill, barefaced, and seen the stars without having to squint. Crawling along the edge of the tent, a spider confirmed my transformation—he disgusted me, and I felt an overwhelming urge to squash him. 

Yet, I realized I hadn’t really changed—I had only shifted perspective. I still eagerly explored new worlds, but through poems and prose rather than pastures and puddles. I’d grown to prefer the boom of a bass over that of a bullfrog, learned to coax a different kind of fire from wood, having developed a burn for writing rhymes and scrawling hypotheses. 

That night, I stayed up late with my journal and wrote about the spider I had decided not to kill. I had tolerated him just barely, only shrieking when he jumped—it helped to watch him decorate the corners of the tent with his delicate webs, knowing that he couldn’t start fires, either. When the night grew cold and the embers died, my words still smoked—my hands burned from all that scrawling—and even when I fell asleep, the ideas kept sparking—I was on fire, always on fire.

This student is an excellent writer, which allows a simple story to be outstandingly compelling. The author articulates her points beautifully and creatively through her immense use of details and figurative language. Lines like “a rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes, who was serenaded by mourning doves and chickadees,” and “rubbed and rubbed until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers,” create vivid images that draw the reader in. 

The flowery and descriptive prose also contributes to the nice juxtaposition between the old Clara and the new Clara. The latter half of the essay contrasts elements of nature with music and writing to demonstrate how natural these interests are for her now. This sentence perfectly encapsulates the contrast she is trying to build: “It had been years since I’d kneaded mud between my fingers; instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano, my hands softening into those of a musician—fleshy and sensitive.”

In addition to being well-written, this essay is thematically cohesive. It begins with the simple introduction “Fire!” and ends with the following image: “When the night grew cold and the embers died, my words still smoked—my hands burned from all that scrawling—and even when I fell asleep, the ideas kept sparking—I was on fire, always on fire.” This full-circle approach leaves readers satisfied and impressed.

There is very little this essay should change, however one thing to be cautious about is having an essay that is overly-descriptive. We know from the essay that this student likes to read and write, and depending on other elements of her application, it might make total sense to have such a flowery and ornate writing style. However, your personal statement needs to reflect your voice as well as your personality. If you would never use language like this in conversation or your writing, don’t put it in your personal statement. Make sure there is a balance between eloquence and your personal voice.

Essay Example #6: Dedicating a Track

“Getting beat is one thing – it’s part of competing – but I want no part in losing.” Coach Rob Stark’s motto never fails to remind me of his encouragement on early-morning bus rides to track meets around the state. I’ve always appreciated the phrase, but an experience last June helped me understand its more profound, universal meaning.

Stark, as we affectionately call him, has coached track at my high school for 25 years. His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running. When I learned a neighboring high school had dedicated their track to a longtime coach, I felt that Stark deserved similar honors.

Our school district’s board of education indicated they would only dedicate our track to Stark if I could demonstrate that he was extraordinary. I took charge and mobilized my teammates to distribute petitions, reach out to alumni, and compile statistics on the many team and individual champions Stark had coached over the years. We received astounding support, collecting almost 3,000 signatures and pages of endorsements from across the community. With help from my teammates, I presented this evidence to the board.

They didn’t bite. 

Most members argued that dedicating the track was a low priority. Knowing that we had to act quickly to convince them of its importance, I called a team meeting where we drafted a rebuttal for the next board meeting. To my surprise, they chose me to deliver it. I was far from the best public speaker in the group, and I felt nervous about going before the unsympathetic board again. However, at that second meeting, I discovered that I enjoy articulating and arguing for something that I’m passionate about.

Public speaking resembles a cross country race. Walking to the starting line, you have to trust your training and quell your last minute doubts. When the gun fires, you can’t think too hard about anything; your performance has to be instinctual, natural, even relaxed. At the next board meeting, the podium was my starting line. As I walked up to it, familiar butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Instead of the track stretching out in front of me, I faced the vast audience of teachers, board members, and my teammates. I felt my adrenaline build, and reassured myself: I’ve put in the work, my argument is powerful and sound. As the board president told me to introduce myself, I heard, “runners set” in the back of my mind. She finished speaking, and Bang! The brief silence was the gunshot for me to begin. 

The next few minutes blurred together, but when the dust settled, I knew from the board members’ expressions and the audience’s thunderous approval that I had run quite a race. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough; the board voted down our proposal. I was disappointed, but proud of myself, my team, and our collaboration off the track. We stood up for a cause we believed in, and I overcame my worries about being a leader. Although I discovered that changing the status quo through an elected body can be a painstakingly difficult process and requires perseverance, I learned that I enjoy the challenges this effort offers. Last month, one of the school board members joked that I had become a “regular” – I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Just as Stark taught me, I worked passionately to achieve my goal. I may have been beaten when I appealed to the board, but I certainly didn’t lose, and that would have made Stark proud.

This essay effectively conveys this student’s compassion for others, initiative, and determination—all great qualities to exemplify in a personal statement!

Although they rely on telling us a lot of what happened up until the board meeting, the use of running a race (their passion) as a metaphor for public speaking provides a lot of insight into the fear that this student overcame to work towards something bigger than themself. Comparing a podium to the starting line, the audience to the track, and silence to the gunshot is a nice way of demonstrating this student’s passion for cross country running without making that the focus of the story.

The essay does a nice job of coming full circle at the end by explaining what the quote from the beginning meant to them after this experience. Without explicitly saying “ I now know that what Stark actually meant is…” they rely on the strength of their argument above to make it obvious to the reader what it means to get beat but not lose. 

One of the biggest areas of improvement in the intro, however, is how the essay tells us Stark’s impact rather than showing us: His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

The writer could’ve helped us feel a stronger emotional connection to Stark if they had included examples of Stark’s qualities, rather than explicitly stating them. For example, they could’ve written something like: Stark was the kind of person who would give you gas money if you told him your parents couldn’t afford to pick you up from practice. And he actually did that—several times. At track meets, alumni regularly would come talk to him and tell him how he’d changed their lives. Before Stark, I was ambivalent about running and was on the JV team, but his encouragement motivated me to run longer and harder and eventually make varsity. Because of him, I approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

Essay Example #7: Body Image and Eating Disorders

I press the “discover” button on my Instagram app, hoping to find enticing pictures to satisfy my boredom. Scrolling through, I see funny videos and mouth-watering pictures of food. However, one image stops me immediately. A fit teenage girl with a “perfect body” relaxes in a bikini on a beach. Beneath it, I see a slew of flattering comments. I shake with disapproval over the image’s unrealistic quality. However, part of me still wants to have a body like hers so that others will make similar comments to me.

I would like to resolve a silent issue that harms many teenagers and adults: negative self image and low self-esteem in a world where social media shapes how people view each other. When people see the façades others wear to create an “ideal” image, they can develop poor thought patterns rooted in negative self-talk. The constant comparisons to “perfect” others make people feel small. In this new digital age, it is hard to distinguish authentic from artificial representations.

When I was 11, I developed anorexia nervosa. Though I was already thin, I wanted to be skinny like the models that I saw on the magazine covers on the grocery store stands. Little did I know that those models probably also suffered from disorders, and that photoshop erased their flaws. I preferred being underweight to being healthy. No matter how little I ate or how thin I was, I always thought that I was too fat. I became obsessed with the number on the scale and would try to eat the least that I could without my parents urging me to take more. Fortunately, I stopped engaging in anorexic behaviors before middle school. However, my underlying mental habits did not change. The images that had provoked my disorder in the first place were still a constant presence in my life.

By age 15, I was in recovery from anorexia, but suffered from depression. While I used to only compare myself to models, the growth of social media meant I also compared myself to my friends and acquaintances. I felt left out when I saw my friends’ excitement about lake trips they had taken without me. As I scrolled past endless photos of my flawless, thin classmates with hundreds of likes and affirming comments, I felt my jealousy spiral. I wanted to be admired and loved by other people too. However, I felt that I could never be enough. I began to hate the way that I looked, and felt nothing in my life was good enough. I wanted to be called “perfect” and “body goals,” so I tried to only post at certain times of day to maximize my “likes.” When that didn’t work, I started to feel too anxious to post anything at all.  

Body image insecurities and social media comparisons affect thousands of people – men, women, children, and adults – every day. I am lucky – after a few months of my destructive social media habits, I came across a video that pointed out the illusory nature of social media; many Instagram posts only show off good things while people hide their flaws. I began going to therapy, and recovered from my depression. To address the problem of self-image and social media, we can all focus on what matters on the inside and not what is on the surface. As an effort to become healthy internally, I started a club at my school to promote clean eating and radiating beauty from within. It has helped me grow in my confidence, and today I’m not afraid to show others my struggles by sharing my experience with eating disorders. Someday, I hope to make this club a national organization to help teenagers and adults across the country. I support the idea of body positivity and embracing difference, not “perfection.” After all, how can we be ourselves if we all look the same?

This essay covers the difficult topics of eating disorders and mental health. If you’re thinking about covering similar topics in your essay, we recommend reading our post Should You Talk About Mental Health in College Essays?

The short answer is that, yes, you can talk about mental health, but it can be risky. If you do go that route, it’s important to focus on what you learned from the experience.

The strength of this essay is the student’s vulnerability, in excerpts such as this: I wanted to be admired and loved by other people too. However, I felt that I could never be enough. I began to hate the way that I looked, and felt nothing in my life was good enough. I wanted to be called “perfect” and “body goals,” so I tried to only post at certain times of day to maximize my “likes.”

The student goes on to share how they recovered from their depression through an eye-opening video and therapy sessions, and they’re now helping others find their self-worth as well. It’s great that this essay looks towards the future and shares the writer’s goals of making their club a national organization; we can see their ambition and compassion.

The main weakness of this essay is that it doesn’t focus enough on their recovery process, which is arguably the most important part. They could’ve told us more about the video they watched or the process of starting their club and the interactions they’ve had with other members. Especially when sharing such a vulnerable topic, there should be vulnerability in the recovery process too. That way, the reader can fully appreciate all that this student has overcome.

Essay Example #8: Becoming a Coach

”Advanced females ages 13 to 14 please proceed to staging with your coaches at this time.” Skittering around the room, eyes wide and pleading, I frantically explained my situation to nearby coaches. The seconds ticked away in my head; every polite refusal increased my desperation.

Despair weighed me down. I sank to my knees as a stream of competitors, coaches, and officials flowed around me. My dojang had no coach, and the tournament rules prohibited me from competing without one.

Although I wanted to remain strong, doubts began to cloud my mind. I could not help wondering: what was the point of perfecting my skills if I would never even compete? The other members of my team, who had found coaches minutes earlier, attempted to comfort me, but I barely heard their words. They couldn’t understand my despair at being left on the outside, and I never wanted them to understand.

Since my first lesson 12 years ago, the members of my dojang have become family. I have watched them grow up, finding my own happiness in theirs. Together, we have honed our kicks, blocks, and strikes. We have pushed one another to aim higher and become better martial artists. Although my dojang had searched for a reliable coach for years, we had not found one. When we attended competitions in the past, my teammates and I had always gotten lucky and found a sympathetic coach. Now, I knew this practice was unsustainable. It would devastate me to see the other members of my dojang in my situation, unable to compete and losing hope as a result. My dojang needed a coach, and I decided it was up to me to find one.

I first approached the adults in the dojang – both instructors and members’ parents. However, these attempts only reacquainted me with polite refusals. Everyone I asked told me they couldn’t devote multiple weekends per year to competitions. I soon realized that I would have become the coach myself.

At first, the inner workings of tournaments were a mystery to me. To prepare myself for success as a coach, I spent the next year as an official and took coaching classes on the side. I learned everything from motivational strategies to technical, behind-the-scenes components of Taekwondo competitions. Though I emerged with new knowledge and confidence in my capabilities, others did not share this faith.

Parents threw me disbelieving looks when they learned that their children’s coach was only a child herself. My self-confidence was my armor, deflecting their surly glances. Every armor is penetrable, however, and as the relentless barrage of doubts pounded my resilience, it began to wear down. I grew unsure of my own abilities.

Despite the attack, I refused to give up. When I saw the shining eyes of the youngest students preparing for their first competition, I knew I couldn’t let them down. To quit would be to set them up to be barred from competing like I was. The knowledge that I could solve my dojang’s longtime problem motivated me to overcome my apprehension.

Now that my dojang flourishes at competitions, the attacks on me have weakened, but not ended. I may never win the approval of every parent; at times, I am still tormented by doubts, but I find solace in the fact that members of my dojang now only worry about competing to the best of their abilities.

Now, as I arrive at a tournament with my students, I close my eyes and remember the past. I visualize the frantic search for a coach and the chaos amongst my teammates as we competed with one another to find coaches before the staging calls for our respective divisions. I open my eyes to the exact opposite scene. Lacking a coach hurt my ability to compete, but I am proud to know that no member of my dojang will have to face that problem again.

This essay begins with an in-the-moment narrative that really illustrates the chaos of looking for a coach last-minute. We feel the writer’s emotions, particularly her dejectedness, at not being able to compete. Starting an essay in media res  is a great way to capture the attention of your readers and build anticipation for what comes next.

Through this essay, we can see how gutsy and determined the student is in deciding to become a coach themselves. She shows us these characteristics through their actions, rather than explicitly telling us: To prepare myself for success as a coach, I spent the next year as an official and took coaching classes on the side.  Also, by discussing the opposition she faced and how it affected her, the student is open and vulnerable about the reality of the situation.

The essay comes full circle as the author recalls the frantic situations in seeking out a coach, but this is no longer a concern for them and their team. Overall, this essay is extremely effective in painting this student as mature, bold, and compassionate.

The biggest thing this essay needs to work on is showing not telling. Throughout the essay, the student tells us that she “emerged with new knowledge and confidence,” she “grew unsure of her own abilities,” and she “refused to give up”. What we really want to know is what this looks like.

Instead of saying she “emerged with new knowledge and confidence” she should have shared how she taught a new move to a fellow team-member without hesitation. Rather than telling us she “grew unsure of her own abilities” she should have shown what that looked like by including her internal dialogue and rhetorical questions that ran through her mind. She could have demonstrated what “refusing to give up” looks like by explaining how she kept learning coaching techniques on her own, turned to a mentor for advice, or devised a plan to win over the trust of parents. 

Essay Example #9: Eritrea

No one knows where Eritrea is.

On the first day of school, for the past nine years, I would pensively stand in front of a class, a teacher, a stranger  waiting for the inevitable question: Where are you from?

I smile politely, my dimples accentuating my ambiguous features. “Eritrea,” I answer promptly and proudly. But I  am always prepared. Before their expression can deepen into confusion, ready to ask “where is that,” I elaborate,  perhaps with a fleeting hint of exasperation, “East Africa, near Ethiopia.”

Sometimes, I single out the key-shaped hermit nation on a map, stunning teachers who have “never had a student  from there!” Grinning, I resist the urge to remark, “You didn’t even know it existed until two minutes ago!”

Eritrea is to the East of Ethiopia, its arid coastline clutches the lucrative Red Sea. Battle scars litter the ancient  streets – the colonial Italian architecture lathered with bullet holes, the mosques mangled with mortar shells.  Originally part of the world’s first Christian kingdom, Eritrea passed through the hands of colonial Italy, Britain, and  Ethiopia for over a century, until a bloody thirty year war of Independence liberated us.

But these are facts that anyone can know with a quick Google search. These are facts that I have memorised and compounded, first from my Grandmother and now from pristine books  borrowed from the library.

No historical narrative, however, can adequately capture what Eritrea is.  No one knows the aroma of bushels of potatoes, tomatoes, and garlic – still covered in dirt – that leads you to the open-air market. No one knows the poignant scent of spices, arranged in orange piles reminiscent of compacted  dunes.  No one knows how to haggle stubborn herders for sheep and roosters for Christmas celebrations as deliberately as my mother. No one can replicate the perfect balance of spices in dorho and tsebhi as well as my grandmother,  her gnarly hands stirring the pot with ancient precision (chastising my clumsy knife work with the potatoes).  It’s impossible to learn when the injera is ready – the exact moment you have to lift the lid of the mogogo. Do it too  early (or too late) and the flatbread becomes mangled and gross. It is a sixth sense passed through matriarchal  lineages.

There are no sources that catalogue the scent of incense that wafts through the sunlit porch on St. Michael’s; no  films that can capture the luminescence of hundreds of flaming bonfires that fluoresce the sidewalks on Kudus  Yohannes, as excited children chant Ge’ez proverbs whose origin has been lost to time.  You cannot learn the familiarity of walking beneath the towering Gothic figure of the Enda Mariam Cathedral, the  crowds undulating to the ringing of the archaic bells.  I have memorized the sound of the rains hounding the metal roof during kiremti , the heat of the sun pounding  against the Toyota’s window as we sped down towards Ghinda , the opulent brilliance of the stars twinkling in a  sky untainted by light pollution, the scent of warm rolls of bani wafting through the streets at precisely 6 o’clock each day…

I fill my flimsy sketchbook with pictures from my memory. My hand remembers the shapes of the hibiscus drifting  in the wind, the outline of my grandmother (affectionately nicknamed a’abaye ) leaning over the garden, the bizarre architecture of the Fiat Tagliero .  I dice the vegetables with movements handed down from generations. My nose remembers the scent of frying garlic, the sourness of the warm tayta , the sharpness of the mit’mt’a …

This knowledge is intrinsic.  “I am Eritrean,” I repeat. “I am proud.”  Within me is an encyclopedia of history, culture, and idealism.

Eritrea is the coffee made from scratch, the spices drying in the sun, the priests and nuns. Eritrea is wise, filled with ambition, and unseen potential.  Eritrea isn’t a place, it’s an identity.

This is an exceptional essay that provides a window into this student’s culture that really makes their love for their country and heritage leap off the page. The sheer level of details and sensory descriptors this student is able to fit in this space makes the essay stand out. From the smells, to the traditions, sounds, and sights, the author encapsulates all the glory of Eritrea for the reader. 

The vivid images this student is able to create for the reader, whether it is having the tedious conversation with every teacher or cooking in their grandmother’s kitchen, transports us into the story and makes us feel like we are there in the moment with the student. This is a prime example of an essay that shows , not tells.

Besides the amazing imagery, the use of shorter paragraphs also contributes to how engaging this essay is. Employing this tactic helps break up the text to make it more readable and it isolates ideas so they stick out more than if they were enveloped in a large paragraph.

Overall, this is a really strong essay that brings to life this student’s heritage through its use of vivid imagery. This essay exemplifies what it means to show not tell in your writing, and it is a great example of how you can write an intimate personal statement without making yourself the primary focus of your essay. 

There is very little this essay should improve upon, but one thing the student might consider would be to inject more personal reflection into their response. Although we can clearly take away their deep love and passion for their homeland and culture, the essay would be a bit more personal if they included the emotions and feelings they associate with the various aspects of Eritrea. For example, the way their heart swells with pride when their grandmother praises their ability to cook a flatbread or the feeling of serenity when they hear the bells ring out from the cathedral. Including personal details as well as sensory ones would create a wonderful balance of imagery and reflection.

Essay Example #10: Journaling

Flipping past dozens of colorful entries in my journal, I arrive at the final blank sheet. I press my pen lightly to the page, barely scratching its surface to create a series of loops stringing together into sentences. Emotions spill out, and with their release, I feel lightness in my chest. The stream of thoughts slows as I reach the bottom of the page, and I gently close the cover of the worn book: another journal finished.

I add the journal to the stack of eleven books on my nightstand. Struck by the bittersweet sensation of closing a chapter of my life, I grab the notebook at the bottom of the pile to reminisce.

“I want to make a flying mushen to fly in space and your in it” – October 2008

Pulling back the cover of my first Tinkerbell-themed diary, the prompt “My Hopes and Dreams” captures my attention. Though “machine” is misspelled in my scribbled response, I see the beginnings of my past obsession with outer space. At the age of five, I tore through novels about the solar system, experimented with rockets built from plastic straws, and rented Space Shuttle films from Blockbuster to satisfy my curiosities. While I chased down answers to questions as limitless as the universe, I fell in love with learning. Eight journals later, the same relentless curiosity brought me to an airplane descending on San Francisco Bay.

“I wish I had infinite sunsets” – July 2019

I reach for the charcoal notepad near the top of the pile and open to the first page: my flight to the Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes. While I was excited to explore bioengineering, anxiety twisted in my stomach as I imagined my destination, unsure of whether I could overcome my shyness and connect with others.

With each new conversation, the sweat on my palms became less noticeable, and I met students from 23 different countries. Many of the moments where I challenged myself socially revolved around the third story deck of the Jerry house. A strange medley of English, Arabic, and Mandarin filled the summer air as my friends and I gathered there every evening, and dialogues at sunset soon became moments of bliss. In our conversations about cultural differences, the possibility of an afterlife, and the plausibility of far-fetched conspiracy theories, I learned to voice my opinion. As I was introduced to different viewpoints, these moments challenged my understanding of the world around me. In my final entries from California, I find excitement to learn from others and increased confidence, a tool that would later allow me to impact my community.

“The beauty in a tower of cans” – June 2020

Returning my gaze to the stack of journals, I stretch to take the floral-patterned book sitting on top. I flip through, eventually finding the beginnings of the organization I created during the outbreak of COVID-19. Since then, Door-to-Door Deliveries has woven its way through my entries and into reality, allowing me to aid high-risk populations through free grocery delivery.

With the confidence I gained the summer before, I took action when seeing others in need rather than letting my shyness hold me back. I reached out to local churches and senior centers to spread word of our services and interacted with customers through our website and social media pages. To further expand our impact, we held two food drives, and I mustered the courage to ask for donations door-to-door. In a tower of canned donations, I saw the value of reaching out to help others and realized my own potential to impact the world around me.

I delicately close the journal in my hands, smiling softly as the memories reappear, one after another. Reaching under my bed, I pull out a fresh notebook and open to its first sheet. I lightly press my pen to the page, “And so begins the next chapter…”

The structuring of this essay makes it easy and enjoyable to read. The student effectively organizes their various life experiences around their tower of journals, which centers the reader and makes the different stories easy to follow. Additionally, the student engages quotes from their journals—and unique formatting of the quotes—to signal that they are moving in time and show us which memory we should follow them to.

Thematically, the student uses the idea of shyness to connect the different memories they draw out of their journals. As the student describes their experiences overcoming shyness at the Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes and Door-to-Door Deliveries, this essay can be read as an Overcoming Obstacles essay.

At the end of this essay, readers are fully convinced that this student is dedicated (they have committed to journaling every day), thoughtful (journaling is a thoughtful process and, in the essay, the student reflects thoughtfully on the past), and motivated (they flew across the country for a summer program and started a business). These are definitely qualities admissions officers are looking for in applicants!

Although this essay is already exceptionally strong as it’s written, the first journal entry feels out of place compared to the other two entries that discuss the author’s shyness and determination. It works well for the essay to have an entry from when the student was younger to add some humor (with misspelled words) and nostalgia, but if the student had either connected the quote they chose to the idea of overcoming a fear present in the other two anecdotes or if they had picked a different quote all together related to their shyness, it would have made the entire essay feel more cohesive.

Where to Get Your Personal Statement Edited

Do you want feedback on your personal statement? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Next Step: Supplemental Essays

Essay Guides for Each School

How to Write a Stellar Extracurricular Activity College Essay

4 Tips for Writing a Diversity College Essay

How to Write the “Why This College” Essay

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

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• A Research Guide
• Writing Guide
• Essay Writing

How to Write a Profile Essay

• Purpose of profile essay
• How to start
• Structure and outline

Step-by-step writing guide

• Profile essay format

Helpful profile essay examples

What is the purpose of a profile essay, how to start a profile essay correctly, checking successful profile essays matters, choosing your profile essay subject, determine the style and tone of your writing, profile essay structure and outline, profile essay mandatory sections.

• An Introduction. Under ideal conditions, it should contain several sentences and provide background information about the subject.
• Body Sections. This part should discuss all the points mentioned in the introduction paragraph yet in greater detail.
• Conclusion. It is where you provide a summary of all the key points.

1. Determining your profile

2. Choosing your profile essay subject

3. writing an introduction, 4. working on body paragraphs, 5. conclusion part, 6. final editing and proofreading, profile essay formatting tips.

• Keep information accessible and clear to your readers.
• Your sentences should not be overly long. Write to the point.
• The structure of paragraphs must implement topic sentences as you write.
• Choose your words and phrases wisely to convey the main meaning.
• Offer details and examples along with key facts or an interview.
• Offer a summary sentence in each paragraph to make smooth transitions.
• Write in a focused and enjoyable manner by avoiding overexplaining things.
• Use creative narration methods to keep things more inspiring.
• When you are confused, approaching a cheap essay writing service with experienced writers may help you narrow things down.
• Keep your writing balanced and offer explanations and glossary points for all the elements that may require an additional explanation.
• 10+ Profile essay examples . These contain free expository and interview examples available free of charge.
• Profile essay composition examples by Washtenaw Community College.
• Purdue OWL Writing Lab formatting and writing style guides help.

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Profile Essay

Let’s take a look at a profile essay. In order to understand what it means, you may allow yourself to engage in an interview where you are able to read a person’s autobiography . As you go long into this article, you will be able to know more about what a profile essay is and how to write a good profile essay.

10+ Profile Essay Examples

1. composition courses profile essay.

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2. Profile Essay of a Soldier

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3. Profile of a Good Essay

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4. Proficiency Profile Essay

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5. Profile in Courage Essay Contest

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6. Checklist for the Profile Essay

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7. Student Writing Profile Essay

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8. Profile of an Expository Essay

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9. Profile Essay Example

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10. Interview Profile Essay

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11. Composition Profile Essay

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What is a Profile Essay?

A profile essay is a form of literary writing that tells about a person, place or event. This is intended to provide a detailed profile of something that offers every reader to make a certain perspective or judgment over a subject. This is different from a descriptive essay. It does not only entails description of a subject, rather it is designed to answer questions to identify something.

How to Start Writing a Profile Essay?

Step 1: get the right information.

Doing research is the most important thing to do before you begin writing your research profile. This will help you get a detailed information about your subject. Always make sure that you are using trusted sources like library materials, online articles, etc.

Step 2: Validate Your Information

Check the release date of an article as well as have comprehensive the contents are. Avoid getting information from outdated sources.

Step 3: Outline Your Essay

Always prepare with you a profile essay outline. Essay outlines help in making it easier for you to pinpoint the first idea and what should follow next. This will help you organize your gathered data appropriately.

Step 4: Revise or Proofread Your Profile Essay

Once you have followed the three steps meticulously, you are also well aware that you will need to revise anything that needs to be revised. This includes proofreading any mistakes you may have made throughout. In order to present a good profile essay, you must also make sure it is presentable. No erasures and no mistakes as much as possible.

Do we still have to apply writing style in making a profile essay?

It is advisable to practice yourself to pay attention with the tone and style of your essay. This will make your piece engaging and interesting to read.

What is the purpose of making a profile essay?

The purpose of an essay is to give the readers a full description of your chosen topic. Aside from that, it is also for you to be able to express something about the subject, may it be an argument in response to a certain issue or question and on what you have learned about it. You may also use an essay to persuade your readers that your stand is reasonable.

What to do when picking for the right title of your essay?

Think about what you want to make in your essay. You should reflect on the main idea of your essay. Make it as the basis of creating a unique title for your piece.

What are some things to consider when choosing a subject for profile essay?

You should always choose a reasonable subject and don’t forget to research something about it.

What are the elements of a profile essay?

The elements of a profile essay starts with the introduction paragraph , followed by the body of the paragraph, and ends with the conclusion paragraph .

Before we are able to learn how to do  essay writing , we always seek for mastery  skills  in it. We all know that an essay is composed of the three basic parts namely the introduction, body paragraph, and the conclusion. You may see examples from different essays like  argumentative essay ,  informative essay ,  career essay  and more.

Profile Essay Generator

Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

Write a Profile Essay on a community leader who has made a difference in your area.

Discuss the achievements and challenges of a local entrepreneur in your Profile Essay.

UBC Personal Profile: Examples, Question Samples & Prep Tips 2023/2024

If you’re looking for UBC Personal Profile questions, examples, and prep tips, then you’ve come to the right place. 

Before you dive in, it’s important to understand that UBC admissions committees receive thousands of applications every year. To help you stand out from the crowd , you need to demonstrate a clear sense of self , strong life experience , and exemplary communication skills .

Our ‘full student’ coaching process will help you improve in all these areas (and more!). 

If you’re not working with a coach, be sure to read the Self-Awareness , Goal-Setting , and Narrative Communication & Deductive Communication Skills Guides. All of these resources will empower you with the skills you need to show the admissions committee who you are , what you want to accomplish , and why you’d be a great fit for the University of British Columbia .

COACH’S TIP: You’ll also notice that all our Personal Profile templates use the Narrative/Deductive Approach (DON’T FORGET to access your FREE blank template) so you can see an effective general structure for your essays. We’ll provide a breakdown and example for each UBC Personal Profile question below. You can choose EITHER the Narrative OR the Deductive approach for your UBC Personal Profile essays. The Narrative Approach is usually for Arts/Business programs , or for personal questions where you want to tell a memorable story that creates an emotional connection with the reader. The Deductive Approach is typically used for STEM programs , where you have to provide an argument in a logical and structured way. 

DON’T feel like you have to stick to this model — it’s just a guideline so you can learn to communicate in a way that’s most familiar to you. Just choose the approach that you’re most comfortable with (and get in touch with us if you need some help deciding which is best for your application). 

REMEMBER : This guide offers GENERAL guidance for the Personal Profile and is NOT PROGRAM SPECIFIC — some questions might be added, removed, or different depending on which program you’re applying to. Make sure you do you research and complete the ENTIRE application for your program. 

If you’re serious about getting into your top-choice program at the University of British Columbia and reaching your fullest post-secondary potential, connect with a Youth Coach™ . It’s never too early to receive coaching.

Table of Contents

• UBC Personal Profile Overview : What is the Personal Profile?; Why do you need to write it?; How is it evaluated?; How to use this guide; and More.
• 2022/2023 UBC Personal Profile : Questions; Templates; Examples; Prep Tips; and More.

UBC Personal Profile Examples – Overview

In this section, we’ll go through all the must know information for your UBC Personal Profile.

What is the UBC Personal Profile?

The Personal Profile is mandatory for ALL high school students applying to any degree on UBC’s Okanagan or Vancouver campuses .  

If you are applying to Bachelor of Design in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and/or Urbanism, you do not need to submit a Profile. 

The UBC Personal Profile is made up of up to 8 short written essays (depending on the program you’re applying to). Keep reading for a full list of the questions, as well as essay templates and examples for each question.

You can access and submit the Personal Profile on EducationPlannerBC . 

COACH’S TIP : Write your essay responses BEFORE you start your online application, so that you have time to rewrite, edit, and polish your answers. When you sign in to EducationPlannerBC, you will have to upload your answers immediately, so if you have them saved in a separate doc, you can simply copy and paste them.  

IMPORTANT: The application opens on EducationPlannerBC in early October 2022 and the deadline to submit your application (including the Personal Profile) is January 15, 2023 at 11:59pm PST for regular admission.

Why Do You Need to Submit the UBC Personal Profile?

The UBC Personal Profile allows the program(s) you’re applying to get a better sense of who you are beyond your grades . 

Without it, you’re just a name on a page, and it’s really hard to differentiate you from other applicants, especially when everyone is a competitive applicant. 

The UBC Personal Profile asks you to talk about things like your:

• Experiences
• Leadership Potential
• Achievements 
• Challenges you’ve overcome
• Extracurriculars (across multiple years)
• …and all the valuable lessons you’ve learned along the way!

The evaluators use all these details to see if you’d be a good fit for the program you’re applying to and UBC more generally. They will also use this information to see if you will receive an entrance scholarship.

Put simply, they want to figure out what makes you, you , as well as the experiences and lessons that have helped in this process.

The Profile can also help make your application more competitive (especially if your average is a bit lower) because you can emphasize the fact that you’re a well-rounded student who has the drive, skills, and passion to succeed in the program . 

Keep reading for explanations for each question, as well as templates and examples to help you write the best Personal Profile possible.

How is the UBC Personal Profile Evaluated?

The UBC Personal Profile is evaluated by readers who have been trained and are familiar with the area of study you’re applying to. 

While there are no right or wrong answers , the Profile evaluators don’t want you to simply list a bunch of activities you’ve done and things you have accomplished. 

Instead, they want to understand what you’ve learned from doing all these things and that you can articulate deep personal insight in all your answers. They also want you to use specific examples .

Strong essays will answer questions like these:

• What did this experience teach you about yourself?
• What did this experience teach you about others?
• How did this experience change your outlook of the world?
• How did it impact your goals and plans for the future?
• What skills did this experience help you improve? 
• Did this experience start/intensify your passion in your chosen field?
• What did the challenges that arose during this experience teach you?
• How has this experience changed you as a person and as a leader?

UBC Personal Profile Evaluation Rubric

Reviewers evaluate each essay in your Personal Profile according to 4 criteria : 

1. ENGGAGEMENT AND ACCOMPLISHMENT:

Using specific examples, your answers should outline the activities, initiatives, causes, accomplishments, etc. that you’re most proud of and care most about, and the accomplishments you’ve had in those areas. 

You should detail what you’ve learned because of these experiences, and how they’ve made you a better person both inside and outside the classroom. 

Here are some things to think about to help you get started:

• What you care most about
• The people who are most important in your life 
• How you manage your time and responsibilities
• Hobbies, volunteer work, or other interests you’re passionate about 
• Community involvement and specific accomplishments you’ve achieved 
• A goal or project you’ve set for yourself and achieved (and how you’ve done that) 
• How you develop your passions and interests in various areas of your life

Using specific examples, your answers should discuss experiences/accomplishments where you became a stronger leader and developed leadership skills , like responsibility, reliability, resourcefulness, time management, accountability, and initiative. 

2. LEADERSHIP: 

Leadership can come in many forms , so don’t feel intimidated if you haven’t had much experience with it. It can be something as simple as a group project where you took the lead, or an extracurricular activity where you stepped up and went above and beyond the call of duty. 

Leadership can also be individual, like managing your own time or setting a specific challenge/goal for yourself and making a plan to achieve it.

• A specific experience where you showed exceptional leadership (and how you managed it)
• What being a leader means to you
• How you handle responsibility and accountability
• How you use diverse opinions, experiences, and backgrounds to the advantage of the group you’re leading 
• Effective strategies you’ve learned that help address specific challenges you’ve faced while leading
• How your activities and accomplishments have benefited your peers or community
• How have your leadership experiences influenced how you interact with others 
• What are the lessons you’ve learned (including effective leadership strategies) that you will use in the future 

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3. SUBSTANCE: 

The evaluators want to see that EVERY example, detail, and learning outcome you write about in your answers has a purpose and is meaningful . 

They want to see that you’ve really thought about your answers and taken the time to prepare them.  

Uniqueness is a HUGE factor here — you don’t want your answers to be basic and the same as everyone else’s. They need to dig beyond the surface and give relevant and interesting insights that other students might not have thought of. 

The evaluators also want to see that you’ve built self-awareness and have asked yourself big questions like who you are , what you value , where you want to go , and how you’ll apply the lessons you’ve learned to get there . 

If you have filled out our Student Identity Blueprint then this pulling out substance and deep personal insight in your essays will be a lot easier (if you haven’t filled out your Blueprint yet, click here to get started or connect with a coach ). 

The evaluators want to see that you can communicate your ideas in an authentic and memorable way , using storytelling, emotional connection, and character development . 

They want to see your personality and voice jump off the page — NOT the same generic essay over and over.

This might seem obvious, but a lot of students don’t know how to articulate their ideas in a genuine way that showcases who they are and explains what makes them different . 

Once your Profile has been evaluated according to these criteria, it is compared with other students’ Personal Profiles . Then this score is applied to your overall admission average as well as other admission criteria (e.g. video interview), if applicable. 

How to Use this UBC Personal Profile App Prep Guide

In this guide, we will provide breakdowns, templates, and examples for all 6 Personal Profile Questions. 

IMPORTANT : The program you’re applying to might not ask you to answer all 6 questions (or some of the questions might be slightly different) or it might have some slight variations on the questions listed below. Make sure you read the ENTIRE application to make sure you aren’t missing anything for your program. For program-specific guidance, connect with a coach any time for support. 

As mentioned above, all our templates use our Narrative Communication & Deductive Communication Approaches, so you can see what an effective structure looks like for the answers. We will use both approaches throughout this guide. Choose whichever approach you’re most comfortable with (or connect with a coach for support ).

We will use UBC Personal Profile templates and examples from the UBC Sauder BCom Personal Profile to show you what essays using the Narrative Approach look like. We have adapted these essays into the Deductive Approach structure so that you can see examples for this communication style as well.  

Ace your UBC Personal Profile.

UBC Alumni & Youth Coach™

2022/2023 UBC Personal Profile Questions & Examples 

Here are the UBC Personal Profile questions , as well as answer examples. 

REMEMBER : The program(s) you’re applying to might include some or all of these questions (or some questions with slight variations). Make sure you read the entire application carefully to make sure you don’t miss anything! You can also connect with us for program-specific guidance .

UBC Personal Profile Answer Examples – Question 1

“Explain how you responded to a problem and/or an unfamiliar situation. What did you do, what was the outcome, and what did you learn from the experience? (Maximum 1,500 characters)”

UBC Personal Profile Question 1 – Breakdown

As the first question in your Personal Profile, this is where you have the opportunity to make a strong first impression .

This question prompts you to discuss a meaningful experience , where you were required to address a challenge or uncomfortable situation. The important thing here isn’t so much what the situation was, but how you handled adversity and what you learned from it . 

Maybe you learned a new strategy for being a leader, or you saw the benefits of getting outside of your comfort zone, or you learned something about yourself.

Go beyond the surface and try to think of a problem/unfamiliar situation that will allow you to provide deep insight and self-awareness. Be as unique as possible, drawing out a learning outcome that is unexpected and memorable. 

COACH’S TIP : Paint a vivid and detailed picture as much as possible, showing who you were before this problem and/or unfamiliar situation happened, and then what your initial reaction was, and how you resolved it. Let your personality shine through, while taking the reader on the journey with you. 

Choose only experiences where you have a clear learning outcome that has changed who you are and how you view the world . You want to make sure that your answer has substance. 

The reviewers want to see that you’ve really thought about why this learning outcome is important and how it can be applied to your life today (and in the future). If you can do this, we guarantee that your essay will stand out from other applicants.  Not sure how to communicate your personal growth and learning in essay questions like these? Our Narrative Communication Guide and Deductive Communication Guides are a great place to start, and you can also connect with a coach to take your essay response to the next level.

UBC Personal Profile Question 1 – Template

Our template doc has BOTH the Narrative Approach (starting on p.1) and Deductive Approach (starting on p.9) templates listed below.

REMEMBER : There is a 1,500 character limit for this answer. 

Here’s a template that follows our Narrative Communication Approach :

• Quickly capture the reader’s attention and set up the essay so they know what to expect.
• Set the scene with who you were before this problem/unfamiliar situation happened using the 5Ws (Why, What, When, Where, Why). If you can, focus on explaining who you were before this problem/situation occurred, like what you believed in, valued, etc.  
• Describe the problem/unfamiliar situation and exactly what happened. Paint the picture vividly with your words and try to give enough detail so the reader feels like they are there with you. Briefly describe your emotions when this problem/situation occurred. 
• Discuss how you responded to this problem and/or unfamiliar situation, how you solved it, and what the end result was (this is the ‘after’ scenario that you introduced in the Context section). 
• Provide deep insight into some specific learning outcomes that occurred during this experience. Focus on 1-2 themes, while providing specific examples of the impact this experience had on your life today. Finally, write 1-2 sentences about how this experience will help you as a UBC student. 

Here’s a template that follows our Deductive Communication Approach :

• State what the problem and/or unfamiliar situation was, and briefly how you responded to it initially. 
• Explain why you had the initial reaction you did, and how you solved the problem and/or address the unfamiliar situation. Paint the picture vividly with your words, and give enough detail so the reader feels like they are there with you. 
• Provide examples of what happened as you were working to resolve the issue, such as any roadblocks you faced, skills you used to make things easier, how you addressed them, and what the final outcome was.  
• Provide deep insight into some specific learning outcomes that occurred during this experience. Focus on 1-2 themes, while providing specific examples of the impact this experience had on your life today. Finally, write 1-2 sentences about how this experience will help you as a UBC student.

UBC Personal Profile Question 1 – Example

Here are some examples of how to answer this question, using BOTH of our communication approaches.

REMEMBER : This is an EXAMPLE ONLY and is NOT meant for you to copy. Why? First and foremost, this is plagiarism and is a serious offense . Plagiarizing these essays will result in immediate disqualification from the admissions process . This can be easily detected using technology and application reviewers are usually trained and/or able to spot when an application isn’t original and does not align with an applicant’s background, personality, values, etc.

Example 1: From UBC Sauder Personal Profile Prep Guide, following the Narrative Communication Approach :

Example 2: Here’s an example of the same essay, but following the Deductive Communication Approach :

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UBC Personal Profile Answer Examples – Question 2

“Give us an example of how the pandemic has changed your involvement in the community or group most important to you. What have you learned from this experience? (Maximum 1500 characters)”

COACH’S TIP : Last year, the second question in the UBC Personal Profile was: “Give us an example of how the pandemic has changed your involvement in the community or group most important to you. What have you learned from this experience? (Maximum 1500 characters)”. If you come across this question and need some help with it, check out our breakdown, template, and example in our UBC Sauder App Prep Guide here .

UBC Personal Profile Question 2 – Breakdown

Our society is by no means uniform — and that’s what makes it so amazing. 

Whether you’re walking around downtown Toronto or taking a day trip to your favourite neighborhood in Vancouver, you’ll see people from all different backgrounds, cultures, religions, sexual orientations, economic standings, etc. 

This is exactly what a ‘diverse society’, as outlined in this question, means. A diverse society is a society that’s made up of all types of people with different ethnicities, races, genders, languages, religions, etc., as well as in thought processes, opinions and ideas, life experiences, values, and more. 

Diversity also extends far beyond your community or city . 

When you scroll through Instagram or Tik Tok, you’ll see posts and videos of people from all around the world showcasing their unique culture, experiences, and interests. In this way, social media has created a ‘global society’ that connects us all. More than ever before, we have access to other ways of life, and this can help us learn, grow, and contribute to this connected society.

A key part of diversity is also inclusion , or accepting everyone’s differences and making an effort to ensure that each person is valued and respected for who they are . 

Now that you have a good understanding of what this question means by a global and diverse society, try to think about some ways that you’ve seen diversity (and inclusion) in action.  

During your extracurricular involvement in your community, you’ve undoubtedly come across all types of people with difference backgrounds, perspectives, experiences, culture, ideas, language, sexual orientations, etc. And you’ve probably had the chance to share yours as well. 

When writing this essay, we recommend choosing one extracurricular experience you had in your community within the last couple of years, when you worked or interacted with a diverse group of people. Maybe it was a fundraiser where you had to work as part of a team or an initiative you joined to help a part of your community that was in need. 

You also want to choose one that was particularly meaningful — it should be one that initiated personal growth and changed your view of the world and the people living in it. 

Maybe you realized that diverse perspectives actually make a team stronger because they open up various avenues of interpretation when dealing with setbacks and conflict. Or, perhaps you were part of a community project that initiated meaningful dialogue about an important issue or equipped you with the tools you needed to become a responsible global citizen. 

Pick an experience where you challenged your views of yourself , and one that taught you something about the world you live in. 

The key here is to think about how your community involvement has opened your eyes to new perspectives and will inform your views on diversity going forward. Focus on 1-2 key takeaways (or themes) that you can use as tools in the future to help you become a better person, global citizen, and leader. 

Need some help figuring out which community involvement experience to choose? Connect with a coach for support.

UBC Personal Profile Question 2 – Template

REMEMBER : There is a 1,500 character limit for this answer. Here’s a template that follows our Narrative Communication Approach :

• Quickly capture the reader’s attention and set up the essay so the reader knows what to expect.
• Describe how you are active in your community, and how this involvement has allowed you to work with a diverse group of people. Use the 5Ws (who, what, when, where, why) to provide the reader with enough information that they get a good sense of this activity and your involvement. 
• Talk about a situation, conflict, or experience where diversity played a significant role, and discuss exactly what that role was. Be as specific as possible and describe your emotions as much as possible here to create a memorable connection with the reader. 
• Discuss how the situation you described in the Catalyst section turned out. Describe how you (and/or your team) used diversity to your advantage to generate a positive outcome. Use qualitative data (e.g. money raised, hours volunteered, people helped, etc.) as proof for the big impact your efforts had.
• Talk about 2-3 ways that your community involvement and the experience you discussed above have influenced you and changed your outlook on the world and your place in it. Describe how these learning outcomes have impacted you going forward and will help you navigate this complex world in the future and as a student at UBC Commerce.
• Briefly discuss ways that you (and/or your team) used diversity to your advantage to generate a positive outcome. Refer to specific qualitative data (i.e. exactly what you did, hours volunteered, money raised, etc.) to communicate the impact of your efforts.   
• Give 2-3 examples of how taking part in this activity has prepared you for the future in this complex world, and how your view of diversity and a global society has changed as a result of you taking part in this activity. 
• Talk about 1-2 ways that your community involvement and the experience you discussed above have influenced you and changed your outlook on the world and your place in it. Describe how these learning outcomes have impacted you going forward and will help you navigate this complex world in the future and as a student at UBC.

UBC Personal Profile Question 2 – Example

Here are some examples of how to answer this question, using both of our communication approaches.

REMEMBER : Please note that all of the examples in this guide are EXAMPLES ONLY and are NOT meant for you to copy.  

Example 1: From UBC Sauder Ap p Prep Guide, following the Narrative Communication Approach :

Need some help choosing an extracurricular experience to focus on in this essay? Connect with a coach for support.

UBC Personal Profile Answer Examples – Question 3

Tell us about who you are. How would your family, friends, and/or members of your community describe you? If possible, please include something about yourself that you are most proud of and why. (Maximum 1500 characters)

UBC Personal Profile Question 3 – Breakdown

This question is asking A LOT, in a REALLY limited space. 

With so many topics to address, things can get pretty disjointed and chaotic if you aren’t careful. 

To help you make an organized and articulate answer , we recommend tackling this question in the following way. 

First, identify 1-2 themes that will unify the entire essay . This can be anything from a hobby or research interest, to a skill/value , extracurricular activity, or an audacious goal you’ve set/achieved. 

Next, answer each of these 3 components , highlighting your theme(s) wherever possible:

• Introduce Yourself : Think of this component as your pitch to convince the evaluators why you’re a standout applicant who is the PERFECT fit for UBC. 🙂 Limit yourself to 1-2 memorable and unique facts that can be used to differentiate you from other applicants. You can talk about things like notable achievements and/or hobbies, unique experiences, things you value, skills you’ve worked on, etc.  
• How People Describe You : Provide 1-2 adjectives that best describe you, providing direct quotes, feedback you’ve received, etc. wherever possible. This can be from friends, family, role models, a teacher, a coach — anyone whose opinion you value.
• Something You’re Proud of and Why : State a unique accomplishment that highlights the facts/adjectives you mentioned above in action, as well as the skills it took to get you there. Then, answer why you’re so proud of it and what you learned because of it.

Remember that your theme(s) is the focus of the entire essay , while the details in the 3 components listed above (e.g. facts about you, your experiences, personal anecdotes and insight, and lessons you’ve learned) give more details about how the themes relate to you and why they’re an inseparable part of who you are.  

For example, say the overall theme of your essay is perseverance/determination, as well as your interest in entrepreneurship and software development. 

You would start with the first component (i.e. introduce yourself) and talk about how you are a resourceful and independent person, who does whatever it takes to reach a goal once it has been set. You could say that this determination comes from your parents, who immigrated to Canada when you were 2 years old, and always taught you the value of working hard and going after what you want. After being inspired by their success as small business owners, you decided to pursue your interest in entrepreneurship. 

Then, in the second component (i.e. how people describe you), you might say that your friends and family describe you as being very sure of yourself and confident in your abilities, which they saw when you started your own cyber security entrepreneurial venture. After seeing the struggles you went through, as well as all the late nights and trial and error, they realized how determined you were to go after your dreams. 

Finally, for the third component (i.e. something you accomplished), you could say that the thing you’re most proud of is taking your small business from nothing to having over 20 clients and generating over $10,000 in sales in just a few months. You learned that a big part of perseverance/determination is learning to receive constructive criticism, while maintaining authority as a leader, and being open to evolve. 

Here, you can see that the student provides a ton of details about himself (e.g. his family, immigrating to Canada, his interest in business, his organizational and leadership skills, etc.), while answering every component of the question. The theme of perseverance and entrepreneurship unifies and creates a focus for the entire essay, so that all the details are clear and organized. 

We know that such a complex question might seem a bit intimidating at first, but if you break it down into smaller sections it’s much more manageable. We also recommend that you connect with a coach to help you choose unique and authentic themes, and help you articulate your interests, skills, experiences, and goals in a memorable way. 

UBC Personal Profile Question 3 – Template

Here’s a template that follows our Narrative Communication Approach : 

THEME(S): 

• Capture the reader’s attention and give a quick preview of what’s to come.
• Briefly answer the question “Tell us who you are”, listing 1-2 notable facts that are an inseparable part of who you are (remember to use your theme as a focus). Provide 1-2 short sentences for each fact, giving enough detail that the reader can get a clear sense of who you are and your personality. You can start the essay with a statement like “I am…”, “I enjoy”, “I am passionate about”, “I value”, etc. 
• Discuss how your friends and family would describe you, using 1-2 adjectives (which also relate back to your main theme). Use direct quotes or feedback you’ve received from people here as evidence. 
• Describe an experience or two as evidence for why people would feel this way about you (e.g. volunteer work, social initiatives, extracurriculars, etc.), and make it an accomplishment you’re particularly proud of. Describe the outcome of the experience you noted above, using quantifiable facts (e.g. money raised, hours volunteered, people helped, etc.), as well as the skills it took to get you there. If you don’t have a specific experience in mind, mention another achievement or accomplishment or are particularly proud of, as long as it relates to the theme of your essay.
• Discuss what you have learned about yourself (and others) as you’ve explored your personal and academic interests and taken part in the activities you mentioned above. What have your experiences taught you about yourself? How have you evolved as a person? Finally, conclude your essay with a brief statement about how you will use the details you mentioned above to make you successful at UBC.
• Briefly answer the question “Tell us who you are”, listing 1-2 notable facts that are an inseparable part of who you are, while introducing the theme as the focus of your essay. Provide enough detail about your memorable facts that the reader gets a clear sense of who you are and your personality. You can start the essay with a statement like “I am…”, “I enjoy”, “I am passionate about”, “I value”, etc. 
• Discuss how your friends and family would describe you, using 1-2 adjectives (which also relate back to your main theme). Describe an experience or two as evidence for why people would feel this way about you (e.g. volunteer work, social initiatives, extracurriculars, etc.). Use direct quotes or feedback you’ve received from people here as evidence. 
• Describe the outcome of the experience you noted above, using quantifiable facts (e.g. money raised, hours volunteered, people helped, etc.), as well as the skills it took to get you there. If you don’t have a specific experience in mind, mention another achievement or accomplishment or are particularly proud of, as long as it relates to the theme of your essay.

UBC Personal Profile Question 3 – Example 

Example 1: Here’s an example of this essay question, following the Narrative Communication Approach :

Need some help tackling tough UBC Personal Profile questions like this one? Remember — you aren’t alone! 

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UBC Personal Profile Answer Examples – Question 4

What is important to you? And why? (Maximum 1500 characters)

UBC Personal Profile Question 4 – Breakdown

Unlike Question 3, this question seems pretty straightforward. But don’t be fooled — it’s still asking a lot.

By finding out what is most important to you (and how it became important), the evaluators get a lot of insight into what makes you, you (and whether you’d be a good fit for UBC).

This question is left intentionally broad so you can discuss a wide range of topics like:

• Hobbies and interests
• Extracurriculars 
• Competitions 
• Community activities
• Social causes 
• Role models 
• Influential things/people in your life
• Transformational experiences 
• Concepts and ideas (e.g. leadership, work/life balance)

When thinking about what you want to discuss, reflect on something that you’re genuinely excited and motivated about , and articulate this passion in your answer. The goal here is to make the evaluators as excited about it as you are. 

Perhaps more important than the actual thing you discuss is WHY it’s so important (and how you communicate that). 

Think about where you’d be if you hadn’t discovered it, and what life would look like without it. 

Take the reader on a journey of how you have pursued this interest over time, the formative experiences you’ve had while doing so, and the positive things that have resulted from it. 

Remember that an important part of the UBC Personal Profile evaluation rubric is focusing on learning outcomes, so you should always list around 2-3 life-changing things you’ve discovered about yourself along the way. 

Finally, think about how this interest will ultimately make you a better student, and how you will continue to explore this interest at UBC. Do some research about specific clubs, programs, courses, etc. that will allow you to continually explore this interest and contribute to the UBC community as a whole.

Need some help deciding which topic to discuss for this essay question? We can help!

UBC Personal Profile Question 4 – Template

• State what is important to you. Answering the 4Ws (who, what, when, where) as much as possible so you provide enough information that the reader knows exactly what you are talking about. Discuss how it became so important to you (i.e. was there a specific event, time, or person where your interest started?).
• Describe what happened as a result of you pursuing it, such as skills you built, people you met, a career path you discovered, a goal you achieved, etc. Focus on 1-2 ways that it has impacted your life, and think about what your life would look like if you hadn’t discovered it. Briefly discuss any plans you have in the future to continue to pursue this area of interest. 
• Talk about 1-2 learning outcomes that have occurred because of this interest. Answer questions like: How have I changed over time? How has it influenced my life? How has it changed my worldview and values? Conclude by briefly stating how this interest (and your learning outcomes) will help you succeed as a student at UBC.
• State what is important to you. Answering the 4Ws (who, what, when, where) as much as possible so you provide enough information that the reader knows exactly what you are talking about.
• Describe what happened as a result of you pursuing this interest, such as skills you built, people you met, a career path you discovered, a goal you achieved, etc. Focus on 1-2 ways that it has impacted your life, and think about what your life would look like if you hadn’t discovered it. Finally, draw on your experiences cultivating this interest and how your interest has grown or changed over time. Briefly discuss any plans you have in the future to continue to pursue this area of interest. 

UBC Personal Profile Question 4 – Example 

Example 2: Here’s an example of this essay question, following the Deductive Communication Approach :

UBC Personal Profile Answer Examples – Question 5

List up to five activities or accomplishments in one or more of the following areas:

• Creative and performing arts
• Family and community
• Service to others
• Volunteering 
• Work or employment
• Other 

UBC Personal Profile Question 5 – Breakdown

UBC wants to see a broad range of activities in your Personal Profile, both inside and outside of school.

Choose extracurricular activities (like volunteer work or being a President of your school’s debate club), hobbies (like learning a new language), interests (like competitive swimming at your local community center), and/or general activities you enjoy doing with your family, friends, or members of your community (like playing tennis). 

COACH’S TIP : As mentioned above, the evaluators DON’T want you to simply list a bunch of activities you have done. Instead, they want you to talk about activities and experiences that have created learning outcomes that have profoundly shaped who you are as a person, while communicating these lessons in a unique, authentic, and memorable way (this will be especially important for the next question, which we will discuss more below). 

Choose up to 5 activities that will show the depth and breadth of your experiences. We call this the T Model (learn more about it here ).

Here, you have 1-2 big activities that you’ve put a lot of time and effort into (this is the depth, or the vertical part of the ‘T’). For example, this could be a non-profit you started in your community, a fundraising event you organized to help address homelessness in your community, or giving a TEDx talk on an issue you are passionate about. These are BIG accomplishments that you’re super proud of. These should be the first ones in your Personal Profile, so you can wow the committee from the beginning. 🙂 

Next, you’ll have 2-3 activities that take less time and effort, but are still super important for helping shape who you are (this is the breadth, or the horizontal part of the ‘T’). For example, these could be an online course you took that ignited your interest in finance management or a summer internship you did that helped you develop your communication and leadership skills. 

Structuring your activities in this way will show the evaluators that you have well-rounded experience in many areas.

We know that identifying (and participating in) activities like this can be difficult, especially if you don’t know where to start. But don’t worry, we’ve got your back. Our unique approach will help you and your coach identify and execute audacious and authentic goals (we call these AYA goals) that are perfectly aligned with your interests and passions , so you can accomplish what you want (and have amazing experiences to talk about on your application). Connect with a coach to get started and check out our Goal-Setting Guide now.

UBC Personal Profile Question 5 – Template

REMEMBER : There is a maximum of 300 characters per activity .

For this question, you will be asked for the following information: 

• Activity Type : State what this activity is, using the list above. If your activity isn’t mentioned in that list, write a 1-2 word description.
• Start Date : State when you began this activity (month/day/year) 
• End Date (optional): State when you completed this activity (month/day/year). If you are still doing it, leave this blank.
• Ongoing (optional): If this is an ongoing activity, check this box.
• Frequency: Select from the dropdown menu how often you participate in this activity (for example ‘Regular Weekly Activity (5-10 hours per week).
• Short Description (max 300 characters): Briefly describe your role in this activity and what it was for (e.g. President of your school’s economics club). Then, describe what you did, as well as what quantifiable outcomes (i.e. money earned, hours dedicated, etc.) and what you learned as a result of taking part in this activity (if you have space).

COACH’S TIP : On the EducationPlannerBC site, you will have to add each activity individually to your profile. Our template will ensure that you have all the correct information beforehand so you can have everything prepared and proofread.👍

UBC Sauder Personal Profile Question 5 – Example

Here’s an example of a list of activities for this question : 

Find the mentor you’ve been looking for.

UBC Personal Profile Answer Examples – Question 6 

Tell us more about ONE or TWO activities listed above that are most important to you. Please explain the role you played and what you learned in the process. You will be asked for a reference who can speak to your response. (Maximum 2100 characters)

UBC Personal Profile Question 6 – Breakdown

This question gives you the chance to discuss further insight into the impact your experiences have had on you and how the lessons they taught helped shape who you are .

We recommend choosing 1 activity to write your essay on so that you can provide enough detail and create a memorable and unique story. 

However, if you have two activities that both helped you discover a similar learning outcome , then you can write about 2. 

For example, if you volunteered to help organize a fundraising event for Alzeheimer’s research and awareness, you could talk about why you took on this role, and then the leadership skills, time management, team work, and problem solving skills you developed along the way. Talking about this one activity using the template below is perfectly fine. However, let’s say you with the help of your Youth Coach you took your goals to the next level and started your own non-profit to continue the journey to fund research for this disease. This would be a great opportunity to discuss two activities because it shows your dedication and your evolving leadership and interest in entrepreneurship and business.

It’s also important to choose an activity that you genuinely care about , so that you can convey your passion to the evaluators, along with what you learned. Your experiences make up what you value and what you care about. If you completed your Student Identity Blueprint™ , it will be really easy to choose activities that align to your Nurtured Values and communicate these values in your Personal Profile. If you haven’t filled out your Blueprint, connect with a coach to get started.

COACH’S TIP : Make sure you give your reference a heads up that UBC might contact them. Discuss the activity you were involved in, as well as your role, responsibilities, and what you learned as a result of that experience. You can even email some talking points for them to use if they’ve contacted. You don’t want your essay to give one learning outcome and then your reference to give another, so take the time to make sure the messaging is aligned.

Finally, when discussing what you learned in the process, make sure you really focus on the qualities that UBC looks for in its students , like leadership, community involvement, team work, and a passion for the field you’re applying to. 

If you need help deciding which activity from Question 5 to choose, connect with a coach for support. They can help you write an authentic and memorable response that will help you stand out from other applicants and increase your chances of admission success.

UBC Personal Profile Examples Question 6 – Template

REMEMBER : There is a 2,100 character limit for this answer. 

• State the activity that you are discussing from the list you gave in Question 5. Describe what you did in that activity (i.e. your role, responsibilities, etc.). Try to answer the 5Ws (who, what, when, where, and why). 
• Describe who you were before you started this activity and how your interests, values, etc. evolved while you were doing it. This can be a specific event that occurred while you took part in this activity or change over time. State some quantifiable outcomes that occurred as a result of your participation in the activity (e.g. money raised, hours devoted, etc.).
• Describe how this experience allowed you to learn and grow as a leader and student (this is the ‘after’ picture that you started in the Catalyst section). Provide deep insight and a unique learning outcome. Focus on 1-2 themes, while providing specific examples of the impact this activity had on your life today. Finally, briefly state how you will use this learning at UBC.
• State 1-2 activities that you listed in Question 5. Describe what you did in that activity (i.e. your role, responsibilities, etc.). Try to answer the 5Ws (who, what, when, where, and why). 
• Describe how this experience allowed you to learn and grow as a leader and student (this is the ‘after’ picture that you started in the Main Reasons section). Provide deep insight and a unique learning outcome. Focus on 1-2 themes, while providing specific examples of the impact this activity had on your life today. Finally, briefly state how you will use this learning at UBC.

UBC Sauder Personal Profile Question 6 – Example

Example 1: From UBC Sauder Personal Profile Prep Guide, following the Narrative Communication Approach . This example is from the list of activities in Question 5, from a student who was the President of their school’s economics club.

Need some help writing essays that describe your extracurriculars and what you learned? Connect with a coach for support.

UBC Personal Profile Answer Examples – Question 7

Additional Information (Optional): You may wish to use the space below to provide UBC with more information on your academic history to date and/or your future academic plans. For example: How did you choose your courses in secondary school? Are there life circumstances that have affected your academic decisions to date? What have you done to prepare yourself specifically for your intended area of study at UBC? (maximum 600 characters)

UBC Personal Profile Question 7 – Breakdown

So far in your Personal Profile, you’ve given the admissions committee some insight into your experiences and achievements inside and outside of the classroom with volunteer opportunities, extracurriculars, and various other activities.

All of these questions show how you undertake responsibilities , deal with setbacks when they arise, and have grown as a person along the way. Think of this as the development of your interests and passions through the activities you are involved in.

Question 7, on the other hand, focuses less on extracurriculars and other activities, and looks inside the classroom . Here, the reviewers want to know how your academic journey has developed your interest in business and led to you applying to UBC. 

This question is very open-ended so that you can focus on basically any area that has impacted your academic choices and performance. 

If you aren’t sure what to write here (if anything at all), have a look at your Student Identity Blueprint™ to help you identify why your interest in your chosen field began, your achievements thus far, and the skills/values that helped shape this interest (and who you are more generally). If you haven’t already completed your Blueprint, connect with a coach to get started on one.

The most important things to focus on for this question is how your courses in high school helped you develop your interest in your chosen field (and how you’ll continue to explore this at UBC).

You can discuss a gradual development over time or a specific event that changed academic choices/plans, and what you learned about yourself as a result.  

Focus on courses that are applicable to the program you’re applying to as much as you can here. 

Think about such questions as:

• What made you want to take this course?
• What challenges did you face when you did?
• How did this evolve your interest in your chosen field more generally?
• What skills, like leadership, communication, team work, and problem solving, did you develop along the way, and how? 
• How will these skills and experiences you developed help you at UBC, and how?

COACH’S TIP : Use specific details and talk about the emotions you experienced as much as you can. This will help create a unique connection with the reader and transport them into exactly what you felt during the situation/experience you are talking about. 

If you are unsure how to approach this question, connect with a coach to find an authentic angle that will emotionally connect with the reviewers while communicating your journey. 

UBC Personal Profile Question 7 – Template

REMEMBER : There is a 600 character limit for this answer. 

• Provide a brief description of your academic experience, including details like courses you’ve taken, skills you’ve built, and your experiences in high school. Briefly mention how these contribute to your interests and plans for the future (e.g. future studies, career, etc.). 
• Describe any experiences, challenges, or setbacks (academic or personal) and discuss how these affected your academic decisions in high school and while applying to university. Emphasize the uniqueness of your experiences and the emotions you felt so that you can be as authentic as possible. 
• Talk about what you learned as a result of this experience. How did it help you evolve as a person and student? Provide specific examples that show how what you’ve learned will help you excel at UBC. 
• Provide a brief description of your academic history to date and/or your future academic plans. 
• Provide some details and examples, like courses you’ve taken, skills you’ve developed, and your experiences in high school. Briefly mention how these contribute to your interests and plans for the future (e.g. future studies, career, etc.). 
• Talk about what you learned as a result of your experiences, and how they’ve helped you evolve as a person and student. Provide specific examples that show how what you’ve learned will help you excel at UBC. 

Rankings & Lists

Best business schools in canada 2024 (undergraduate programs).

You’re investing a TON of time, money, and energy towards your future.  You’ve gotten the grades, done a bunch of…  Read more

UBC Personal Profile Question 7 – Example

UBC Personal Profile Answer Examples – Question 8

Please submit the names of two referees who know you well and can comment on your preparedness for study at UBC. Examples of referees include an employer, a community member, a coach, a teacher/instructor, or anyone who knows you well. One of the referees you select MUST be able to speak to one of the activities / experiences described in one of your long-answer responses above. For applicants who are currently attending a high school, one of your referees MUST be a school official (e.g. grade 12 or senior year counsellor, teacher, or IB Coordinator). Neither referee should be a friend, family member, or paid agent.

The purpose of this question is so that UBC can verify the activities, experiences, and learning outcomes you discussed in the previous questions. 

Before listing the names and contact information for your references, make sure that you ask your references for permission first , so that if they get a call or email from UBC then they’re not surprised. 

UBC Personal Profile Question 8 – Template

You will need the following information:

• Relationship
• Email Address
• Phone Number

UBC Personal Profile Question 8 – Example

Here an example of the information for this section:

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So, what are you waiting for? Fulfill your post-secondary potential with the mentorship and coaching you’ve always wanted!

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Personal Profile Overview

• What is the Profile?
• Why submit the Profile?
• Evaluation Rubric
• How to use this guide

Personal Profile Q1 & Q2

Personal Profile Q3 & Q4

Personal Profile Q5 & Q6

Personal Profile Q7 & Q8

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Profile Essay

Writing a profile essay is challenging to students because it is rarely taught in the other levels of education. In order to write a good profile essay, you need to be equipped with the right tools. You need adequate preparation and the right resources. A profile essay is used by students for journalism purposes. Before starting with your essay, it is important to follow all the guidelines and instructions given.

First, you need to know the purpose of this essay. This is to give the reader a complete description of your subject. It should keep the reader engaged and captivated. For your essay to be interesting choose a unique subject. Profile essays, like other essays, follow a certain structure.

The Structure of a Profile Essay

Introduction.

This is the first part of your essay; it serves as the face of your work. How you introduce your essay will determine the reader’s reception. The introduction should be kept at a minimum. Explain the meaning of the topic and give the main points of your essay. Keep the introduction interesting by using quotes, conversations and dialogues, and short stories. When writing a profile essay example for college tailor it in a way that the reader who is your instructor will find interesting. Use facts that can be verified and give examples as your evidence.

This is the part that carries most of the weight of your essay. It contains all the main points in different paragraphs. Each paragraph contains an idea that is explained in details. Write the body in an orderly manner guided by the introduction. All the main points must be explained in the body. In order for your work to be captivating, make sure that the ideas run smooth and follow a chronological order.

The conclusion puts all your essay points in simple words. Introducing a new point at this level is useless, and it spoils the flow of your essay. Use a few sentences to wrap up your work but make sure they connect the contents of the introduction and body.

Tips to Consider When Choosing a Subject

Choose a subject who can be reached in case you are to conduct an interview.

Select an interesting subject who will give many points

Make adequate research concerning your subject. In an example of a personality profile essay, make enough research and be detailed with facts and correct information.

Remember to follow all the instructions given for the choice of a subject

The subject of the essay is the basis of your work; therefore, make sure you choose them wisely. All subjects should be treated with dignity and respect although you might dislike them. You should approach the subject with an open mind so as to capture all the details of the information they give you. Before meeting a subject for an interview, you will need to gather as much information as you can about them.

Visit the library and online sources that are rich in such resources. An example of a profile essay about a world leader can easily be obtained from reliable online sources and public libraries. Books, magazines, and journals provide insights about the details of a profile essay. Reading from diverse sources gives you a broad understanding of all the details, styles, language, structure, and even the smallest details that are easy to forget. Remember to use an updated source to avoid including obsolete details in your essay.

Check when the latest information was shared as well as its validity. This applies mostly to people, places, and events. No matter how much information you gather, make sure that your points flow easily for a clear understanding.

When writing about a subject, start with the appearance. Things like name, height, skin color and height are important when describing a subject. They are used to create the identity of a person. For example, when writing about a person give the details that make them different. When writing about a place include the name, locality and neighboring places.

Use the right tone when writing your essay. The formal tone makes an essay sound formal and neat. A profile essay is more flexible as compared to other essays. You can use the first person pronoun. Interviews require the use of first person tone. However, avoid using this as it tends to confuse and distract the readers.

Remember to organize your work either in a chronological manner or using the thematic style. The chronological manner involves giving details as the occurred. This is a timeline of events. The thematic format is putting the ideas in a thematic mode. After writing your essay, proofreading it is a great way to ensure that you have followed all the instructions given. It also helps you to correct any errors made.

An Example of Personality Profile Essay

Here is an example of personality profile essay showing how to apply the guide given:

Causes and Solutions to Poverty in the Third world Nations

Poverty is a state of being in lack of resources and the capability of feeding and sustaining one’s family. It is the inability to meet the basic needs that all human beings need. There many causes of poverty that affect different cultures. Poverty is linked to poor medical access, little or no education, and laziness. Poverty can be global, cyclical, or collective.

The obvious cause of poverty is little or no access to clean water and healthy food. Hunger and starvation is connected to poverty because people who lack energy cannot work. They lack the strength and energy needed to make a livelihood. Lack of clean water and nutritious food increases the likelihood of contracting diseases because of decreased immunity. Diseases like diarrhea cause dehydration will is fatal to people who cannot access clean water. Also, this can be dangerous where the health centers are a long distance from their residences. Using the already meager funds for treatment of a family member plunges them deeper into poverty.

Having no access to job opportunities causes poverty because one cannot sustain himself without a source of income. Many people in developing nations move to cities with the hope of securing a source of income but end up disappointed. The resources are limited and the accumulation of people makes it hard to secure a job.

Many developing nations experience clashes and political instability. These halt economic development and chase foreign investors. Many people are displaced while businesses and infrastructure are destroyed. The economy of a country takes years to build and stabilize but can be destroyed within minutes of instability. It is usually hard to recover from economic downfall. Many productive people are killed while foreigner who had a contribution to the said economy return to their countries. Destroyed business premises means that more people lose their livelihood.

There are many forms of inequalities for example discrimination based on gender, social class, religion, and minority group. In the distribution of resources, some groups receive less than they require while the rest go greedy politicians or leaders. For example, in some countries, some cities seem to be developing at a high rate while others are lagging behind

The effects of poverty affect many people in the world, but there are many solutions to reduce this. By providing means of clean water to people without access. Governments can take initiatives to create programs to teach people about the importance and methods of recycling water. This is done by putting into place sewage recycling plants that will sustain the people with enough clean water. Harvesting rainwater is also a good way of ensuring that you have a supply of clean water.

The problem of inequality can be solved by being inclusive of all parties especially when making decisions that affect many people. This means that all people will get the resources they need to develop themselves and localities.

Poverty is a global challenge and is not concentrated in a certain area of the world. The causes may vary but some remain consistent. Depending on the level of poverty and resources available different solutions can be applied. Developed countries can also lend a hand to poor countries. Poverty can be eradicated with joined efforts.

Writing a profile essay can be a hectic activity, but with the right information and preparation, you can actually find it interesting. There are many similarities of profile essay to other essays, for example, the structure which contains the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. The introduction is a simple glimpse of your essay so keep it short and precise. The body contains all the ideas explained broadly. Make sure not to mix up the information and remember to use facts that can be verified. The conclusion is a summary of all the things written in the essay.

Writing a profile essay for the first time presents a challenge to many students. But, with proper guidance, you’ll quickly find the whole exercise quite manageable. We have professionals who can help you in this regard; get in touch for more personal profile essay examples and custom essay help!

Personal Profile

A personal code of ethical principles is indispensable for every person’s life. Knowingly or subconsciously, facing everyday moral dilemmas, we are guided by a certain set of values, and it is better to think over them in advance and set priorities for our conduct in difficult situations which may arise. Before defining our relations with the surrounding world and other people, it is required to look inside and analyse our own self, in an honest and unbiased manner.

I see myself primarily as an optimistic, communicative and purposeful personality: this also corroborates with my friends’ and relatives’ opinion, although I realize that sometimes our enemies may have a more truthful idea about our qualities than friends.

In most complicated situations I am trying to be reasonably altruistic, i.e. strive to help people when it is possible with firstly estimating the consequences of such help and deciding whether it brings some actual good to a person. For example, I am not the one to give money to all the beggars if I know it may be used to buy alcohol or drugs: so I try to explore what a person exactly needs it for. In his “Nicomachean Ethics”, Aristotle claims that the complete and virtuous life can only be achieved by noble deeds to the right people in the right time, which I try to pursue (2011).

I am tightly attached to my family, who are my uttermost value, and consider that if we can’t take care about our nearest people, we should not even try helping others. Hence, I do my best to support my family, encourage their initiatives, console at times of need and look after the oldest members.

My primary belief about life is that nothing happens accidentally: we ought to analyse the lessons that our life teaches us and avoid making mistakes later on. Therefore, I tend to be attentive to details and considerate with others in my place of work.

Given such an opportunity, I would like to dedicate myself to reducing poverty and providing access to knowledge in the Third World countries, because I am certain a person should share what he/she owes with others, and it primarily concerns not money, but information, which we are able to share even not having large fortune.

Of course, there are things which irritate me, like irresponsible, rancorous or egotistic behaviour in people, but I do my utmost to be tolerant and try to unobtrusively admonish rather than criticize them.

In future I am planning to run my own enterprise in the sphere of marketing and maintain a caring family. This, however, should be quite compatible with the Third World countries initiatives, to which I hope to be able to contribute both financially and morally.

My most unusual experience was in the volunteer programme, helping orphans and children with autism. It was a revelation for me that these children badly need our help to learn to communicate with the outer world and develop their numerous talents and aptitudes.

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NPR defends its journalism after senior editor says it has lost the public's trust

David Folkenflik

NPR is defending its journalism and integrity after a senior editor wrote an essay accusing it of losing the public's trust. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

NPR is defending its journalism and integrity after a senior editor wrote an essay accusing it of losing the public's trust.

NPR's top news executive defended its journalism and its commitment to reflecting a diverse array of views on Tuesday after a senior NPR editor wrote a broad critique of how the network has covered some of the most important stories of the age.

"An open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR, and now, predictably, we don't have an audience that reflects America," writes Uri Berliner.

A strategic emphasis on diversity and inclusion on the basis of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation, promoted by NPR's former CEO, John Lansing, has fed "the absence of viewpoint diversity," Berliner writes.

NPR's chief news executive, Edith Chapin, wrote in a memo to staff Tuesday afternoon that she and the news leadership team strongly reject Berliner's assessment.

"We're proud to stand behind the exceptional work that our desks and shows do to cover a wide range of challenging stories," she wrote. "We believe that inclusion — among our staff, with our sourcing, and in our overall coverage — is critical to telling the nuanced stories of this country and our world."

NPR names tech executive Katherine Maher to lead in turbulent era

She added, "None of our work is above scrutiny or critique. We must have vigorous discussions in the newsroom about how we serve the public as a whole."

A spokesperson for NPR said Chapin, who also serves as the network's chief content officer, would have no further comment.

Praised by NPR's critics

Berliner is a senior editor on NPR's Business Desk. (Disclosure: I, too, am part of the Business Desk, and Berliner has edited many of my past stories. He did not see any version of this article or participate in its preparation before it was posted publicly.)

Berliner's essay , titled "I've Been at NPR for 25 years. Here's How We Lost America's Trust," was published by The Free Press, a website that has welcomed journalists who have concluded that mainstream news outlets have become reflexively liberal.

Berliner writes that as a Subaru-driving, Sarah Lawrence College graduate who "was raised by a lesbian peace activist mother ," he fits the mold of a loyal NPR fan.

Yet Berliner says NPR's news coverage has fallen short on some of the most controversial stories of recent years, from the question of whether former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia in the 2016 election, to the origins of the virus that causes COVID-19, to the significance and provenance of emails leaked from a laptop owned by Hunter Biden weeks before the 2020 election. In addition, he blasted NPR's coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

On each of these stories, Berliner asserts, NPR has suffered from groupthink due to too little diversity of viewpoints in the newsroom.

The essay ricocheted Tuesday around conservative media , with some labeling Berliner a whistleblower . Others picked it up on social media, including Elon Musk, who has lambasted NPR for leaving his social media site, X. (Musk emailed another NPR reporter a link to Berliner's article with a gibe that the reporter was a "quisling" — a World War II reference to someone who collaborates with the enemy.)

When asked for further comment late Tuesday, Berliner declined, saying the essay spoke for itself.

The arguments he raises — and counters — have percolated across U.S. newsrooms in recent years. The #MeToo sexual harassment scandals of 2016 and 2017 forced newsrooms to listen to and heed more junior colleagues. The social justice movement prompted by the killing of George Floyd in 2020 inspired a reckoning in many places. Newsroom leaders often appeared to stand on shaky ground.

Leaders at many newsrooms, including top editors at The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times , lost their jobs. Legendary Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron wrote in his memoir that he feared his bonds with the staff were "frayed beyond repair," especially over the degree of self-expression his journalists expected to exert on social media, before he decided to step down in early 2021.

Since then, Baron and others — including leaders of some of these newsrooms — have suggested that the pendulum has swung too far.

Author Interviews

Legendary editor marty baron describes his 'collision of power' with trump and bezos.

New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger warned last year against journalists embracing a stance of what he calls "one-side-ism": "where journalists are demonstrating that they're on the side of the righteous."

"I really think that that can create blind spots and echo chambers," he said.

Internal arguments at The Times over the strength of its reporting on accusations that Hamas engaged in sexual assaults as part of a strategy for its Oct. 7 attack on Israel erupted publicly . The paper conducted an investigation to determine the source of a leak over a planned episode of the paper's podcast The Daily on the subject, which months later has not been released. The newsroom guild accused the paper of "targeted interrogation" of journalists of Middle Eastern descent.

Heated pushback in NPR's newsroom

Given Berliner's account of private conversations, several NPR journalists question whether they can now trust him with unguarded assessments about stories in real time. Others express frustration that he had not sought out comment in advance of publication. Berliner acknowledged to me that for this story, he did not seek NPR's approval to publish the piece, nor did he give the network advance notice.

Some of Berliner's NPR colleagues are responding heatedly. Fernando Alfonso, a senior supervising editor for digital news, wrote that he wholeheartedly rejected Berliner's critique of the coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, for which NPR's journalists, like their peers, periodically put themselves at risk.

Alfonso also took issue with Berliner's concern over the focus on diversity at NPR.

"As a person of color who has often worked in newsrooms with little to no people who look like me, the efforts NPR has made to diversify its workforce and its sources are unique and appropriate given the news industry's long-standing lack of diversity," Alfonso says. "These efforts should be celebrated and not denigrated as Uri has done."

After this story was first published, Berliner contested Alfonso's characterization, saying his criticism of NPR is about the lack of diversity of viewpoints, not its diversity itself.

"I never criticized NPR's priority of achieving a more diverse workforce in terms of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. I have not 'denigrated' NPR's newsroom diversity goals," Berliner said. "That's wrong."

Questions of diversity

Under former CEO John Lansing, NPR made increasing diversity, both of its staff and its audience, its "North Star" mission. Berliner says in the essay that NPR failed to consider broader diversity of viewpoint, noting, "In D.C., where NPR is headquartered and many of us live, I found 87 registered Democrats working in editorial positions and zero Republicans."

Berliner cited audience estimates that suggested a concurrent falloff in listening by Republicans. (The number of people listening to NPR broadcasts and terrestrial radio broadly has declined since the start of the pandemic.)

Former NPR vice president for news and ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin tweeted , "I know Uri. He's not wrong."

Others questioned Berliner's logic. "This probably gets causality somewhat backward," tweeted Semafor Washington editor Jordan Weissmann . "I'd guess that a lot of NPR listeners who voted for [Mitt] Romney have changed how they identify politically."

Similarly, Nieman Lab founder Joshua Benton suggested the rise of Trump alienated many NPR-appreciating Republicans from the GOP.

In recent years, NPR has greatly enhanced the percentage of people of color in its workforce and its executive ranks. Four out of 10 staffers are people of color; nearly half of NPR's leadership team identifies as Black, Asian or Latino.

"The philosophy is: Do you want to serve all of America and make sure it sounds like all of America, or not?" Lansing, who stepped down last month, says in response to Berliner's piece. "I'd welcome the argument against that."

"On radio, we were really lagging in our representation of an audience that makes us look like what America looks like today," Lansing says. The U.S. looks and sounds a lot different than it did in 1971, when NPR's first show was broadcast, Lansing says.

A network spokesperson says new NPR CEO Katherine Maher supports Chapin and her response to Berliner's critique.

The spokesperson says that Maher "believes that it's a healthy thing for a public service newsroom to engage in rigorous consideration of the needs of our audiences, including where we serve our mission well and where we can serve it better."

Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by Deputy Business Editor Emily Kopp and Managing Editor Gerry Holmes. Under NPR's protocol for reporting on itself, no NPR corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly.

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The Generation Gap in American Politics

Generational differences have long been a factor in U.S. politics. These divisions are now as wide as they have been in decades, with the potential to shape politics well into the future.

Political Typology Reveals Deep Fissures on the Right and Left

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Gig workers are writing essays for AI to learn from

• Companies are hiring highly educated gig workers to write training content for AI models .
• The shift toward more sophisticated trainers comes as tech giants scramble for new data sources.
• AI could run out of data to learn from by 2026, one research institute has warned. 

As artificial intelligence models run out of data to train themselves on, AI companies are increasingly turning to actual humans to write training content.

For years, companies have used gig workers to help train AI models on simple tasks like photo identification , data annotation, and labelling. But the rapidly advancing technology now requires more advanced people to train it.

Companies such as Scale AI and Surge AI are hiring part-timers with graduate degrees to write essays and creative prompts for the bots to gobble up, The New York Times reported . Scale AI, for example, posted a job last year looking for people with Master's degrees or PhDs, who are fluent in either English, Hindi, or Japanese and have professional writing experience in fields like poetry, journalism, and publishing.

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Their mission? To help AI bots "become better writers," Scale AI wrote in the posting.

And an army of workers are needed to do this kind of work. Scale AI has as many as tens of thousands of contractors working on its platform at a time, per the Times.

"What really makes the A.I. useful to its users is the human layer of data, and that really needs to be done by smart humans and skilled humans and humans with a particular degree of expertise and a creative bent," Willow Primack, the vice president of data operations at Scale AI, told the New York Times. "We have been focusing on contractors, particularly within North America, as a result."

The shift toward more sophisticated gig trainers comes as tech giants scramble to find new data to train their technology on. That's because the programs learn so incredibly fast that they're already running out of available resources to learn from. The vast trove of online information — everything from scientific papers to news articles to Wikipedia pages — is drying up.

Epoch, an AI research institute, has warned that AI could run out of data by 2026.

So, companies are finding more and more creative ways to make sure their systems never stop learning. Google has considered accessing its customers' data in Google Docs , Sheets, and Slides while Meta even thought about buying publishing house Simon & Schuster to harvest its book collection, Business Insider previously reported.

Watch: Nearly 50,000 tech workers have been laid off — but there's a hack to avoid layoffs

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Crime and Public Safety | Man with profile picture of NFL’s Aaron…

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Crime and public safety | man with profile picture of nfl’s aaron rodgers scams woman out of money, personal info.

A man who went by the fictitious name “Aaron Rodgers” was able to convince a woman over the course of a couple of months to give him all of her personal information, and then took hundreds of dollars from her.

The incident was reported on March 20.

Police went to the woman’s Trenton, Michigan residence and she told them she met him on the messenger website “Viber.”

She said they had been in communication since the beginning of February and she thought he was legit because he “talked about himself personally.”

Within that time frame, she said she sent him her driver’s license information, Social Security number, and bank accounts with her personal information numbers.

The woman told police she messaged the man on March 17 and told him she was about to move out of her apartment and he told her that he would send her $10,000 to help her out if she could send $800 to his attorney’s wife on PayPal.

She said that she agreed and sent $823.50 from her checking account to the woman.

It was then the resident said she began to get suspicious and messaged both “Aaron Rodgers” and the woman she sent money to and eventually  threatened to contact the authorities.

She received a response from “Aaron Rogers,” who told her that she would be the one who would be arrested and “thrown in jail,” adding he had the authorities after her.

According to a police report, the woman showed police a profile picture of the man she had been communicating with and it was that of NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a Green Bay Packers hat.

She also showed police her account information confirming the money she sent.

The woman took the necessary steps to freeze her accounts and was advised to keep monitor her credit reports.

Officers also told the woman to block the fake football player and the woman who received her money on all social media platforms.

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Opinion | NPR suspends an editor for his essay blasting … NPR

The firestorm caused by Uri Berliner’s critical essay in The Free Press continues to rage

When a senior editor at NPR recently wrote a 3,500-word essay for another outlet, blasting where he works and saying that NPR had “lost America’s trust,” my first thought, quite frankly, was, “ … and he still works there?”

Well, it was learned on Tuesday that the editor in question, Uri Berliner, is currently serving a five-day suspension without pay. NPR media writer David Folkenflik reported the suspension began last week. Folkenflik wrote, “In presenting Berliner’s suspension Thursday afternoon, the organization told the editor he had failed to secure its approval for outside work for other news outlets, as is required of NPR journalists. It called the letter a ‘final warning,’ saying Berliner would be fired if he violated NPR’s policy again. Berliner is a dues-paying member of NPR’s newsroom union but says he is not appealing the punishment.”

Berliner, who has been at NPR for 25 years, wrote his scathing essay for the online news site The Free Press, a publication on Substack. Folkenflik described The Free Press as a “site that has become a haven for journalists who believe that mainstream media outlets have become too liberal.”

The suspension does not mean the firestorm created by Berliner’s essay has been suppressed. Folkenflik wrote, “Yet the public radio network is grappling in other ways with the fallout from Berliner’s essay for the online news site The Free Press. It angered many of his colleagues, led NPR leaders to announce monthly internal reviews of the network’s coverage, and gave fresh ammunition to conservative and partisan Republican critics of NPR, including former President Donald Trump.”

The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin wrote , “After Mr. Berliner’s essay was published, NPR’s new chief executive, Katherine Maher, came under renewed scrutiny as conservative activists resurfaced a series of years-old social media posts criticizing former President Donald J. Trump and embracing progressive causes. One of the activists, Christopher Rufo, has pressured media organizations into covering controversies involving influential figures, such as the plagiarism allegations against Claudine Gay, the former Harvard president.”

Maher was not at NPR at the time of her posts and, furthermore, the CEO has no involvement in editorial decisions at the network.

But Berliner told Folkenflik in an interview on Monday, “We’re looking for a leader right now who’s going to be unifying and bring more people into the tent and have a broader perspective on, sort of, what America is all about. And this seems to be the opposite of that.”

In a statement earlier this week, Maher said, “In America everyone is entitled to free speech as a private citizen. What matters is NPR’s work and my commitment as its CEO: public service, editorial independence, and the mission to serve all of the American public. NPR is independent, beholden to no party, and without commercial interests.”

As far as Berliner’s essay, many, particularly inside NPR, are pushing back against his various assertions, including that NPR has a liberal bias.

Mullin wrote for the Times, “Several NPR employees have urged the network’s leaders to more forcefully renounce Mr. Berliner’s claims in his essay. Edith Chapin, NPR’s top editor, said in a statement last week that managers ‘strongly disagree with Uri’s assessment of the quality of our journalism,’ adding that the network was ‘proud to stand behind’ its work.”

Tony Cavin, NPR’s managing editor for standards and practices, pushed back against specific claims made by Berliner and told the Times, “To somehow think that we were driven by politics is both wrong and unfair.”

NPR TV critic Eric Deggans tweeted , “Many things wrong w/terrible Berliner column on NPR, including not observing basic fairness. Didn’t seek comment from NPR before publishing. Didn’t mention many things which could detract from his conclusions. Set up staffers of color as scapegoats.”

So what happens now? Will Berliner be in further trouble for criticizing the CEO in an interview with Folkenflik, his NPR colleague?

Berliner told Folkenflik, “Talking to an NPR journalist and being fired for that would be extraordinary, I think.”

I urge you to check out Folkenflik’s piece for all the details. And, by the way, kudos to Folkenflik for his strong reporting on his own newsroom.

CNN’s response

In Tuesday’s newsletter , I wrote how “King Charles” — the limited series featuring Gayle King and Charles Barkley — has ended after 14 shows. I wrote that the network had “pulled the plug” on the show.

CNN said that description was inaccurate and that I was wrong in framing it the way I did.

While I did say that CNN announced from the beginning that the show was a limited series, I also wrote that the show reached its ending “a little ahead of time.” The network, however, said it was clear all along that the show was scheduled to end in the spring, that it is spring right now, and the show was not canceled early.

A CNN spokesperson told me, “‘King Charles’ has come to the end of its limited run, as we announced when it launched last fall that it would run through spring. The show was a great addition to CNN’s lineup, with the youngest, most affluent, and most diverse P2+ audience in its cable news time period and brought new audiences to CNN. It’s inaccurate to report that the show was canceled as it went through its full run and duration of the limited series. We hope to work with both of these incredible talents in the future as they balance their very busy schedules.”

With the NBA playoffs about to begin, Barkley is about to head into extra duty at his main job as studio analyst for TNT’s “Inside the NBA.”

The show’s average viewership was under a half million and lagged behind competitors Fox News and MSNBC, but CNN said it was pleased that the King-Barkley broadcast brought new audiences to CNN. It pointed to this statistic from Nielsen via Npower that said 43% of the “King Charles” audience was nonwhite, compared to 7% for Fox News and 27% for MSNBC during that Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern hour.

Smartmatic and OAN settle suit

Smartmatic, the voting technology company, and One America News, the far-right TV network, have settled their lawsuit. Smartmatic was suing OAN, claiming the network lied that the company rigged the 2020 election in favor of Joe Biden and against Donald Trump.

Neither side disclosed the terms of the settlement.

Smartmatic still has pending lawsuits against Fox News and Newsmax. And OAN is still facing a defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems. That’s the company that Fox News settled with out of court a year ago by agreeing to pay Dominion a whopping $787.5 million.

Missing at the Masters

According to Sports TV Ratings , Sunday’s final round of The Masters golf tournament on CBS averaged 9.58 million viewers, which was down 20% from last year’s final round, which averaged 12.05 million. This shouldn’t be a surprise. This year’s final round lacked drama, with winner Scottie Scheffler pretty much in control throughout the day.

Sports Media Watch’s Jon Lewis noted that in the past three decades, only COVID-era Masters in 2020 (5.64 million) and 2021 (9.54 million) had fewer viewers. Those were the least-viewed Masters since 1993.

But Lewis also points out, “As one would expect, the final round of the Masters still ranks as the most-watched golf telecast and one of the most-watched sporting events of the past year — placing ahead of four of five World Series games and every Daytona 500 since 2017. It also goes without saying that the Masters dominated all other weekend sporting events.”

Just for fun, however, I will mention that the 9.58 million was nowhere near the number of viewers (18.7 million) that watched the NCAA women’s college basketball final between South Carolina and Iowa (and star Caitlin Clark) one week earlier on a Sunday afternoon.

Other media notes, tidbits and interesting links …

• Speaking of Clark, Tom Kludt writes for Vanity Fair: “Behind the Scenes With Caitlin Clark on WNBA Draft Day: ‘I Definitely Know There’s Eyeballs on Me.’”
• Axios’ Sara Fischer with “Dozens of Alden newspapers run coordinated editorials slamming Google.”
• For the Los Angeles Times, Greg Braxton and Carolyn Cole with “What ‘Civil War’ gets right and wrong about photojournalism, according to a Pulitzer Prize winner.”
• For The Washington Post, Dave Barry, Angela Garbes, Melissa Fay Greene, John Grogan and Charles Yu with “How does the election feel around the country? 5 writers capture the vibe.” Barry, as always looking at things a bit differently, writes, “Greetings from the Sunshine State! The mood down here, as we anticipate the 2024 presidential election, is one of hopefulness. Specifically, we’re hoping that a large, previously undetected meteor will strike the planet before November.”
• For NPR and “Morning Edition,” Elizabeth Blair with “50 years ago, ‘Come and Get Your Love’ put Native culture on the bandstand.”

More resources for journalists

• Thursday webinar : Covering transgender issues with authority and accuracy.
• Applications for Poynter Producer Project close on Friday!
• Reporter’s Toolkit gives you the tools to succeed early in your career. Apply by April 28.
• Delve more deeply into your editing skills with Poynter ACES Intermediate Certificate in Editing .

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected] .

The Poynter Report is our daily media newsletter. To have it delivered to your inbox Monday-Friday, sign up here .

How a longtime film critic’s death represents the great dissolve of local film criticism

Bryan VanCampen of The Ithaca Times was an institution in the central New York college town of 32,000. He might have been the last of his kind.

Opinion | An NPR editor is now a former NPR editor after his resignation

Uri Berliner, an NPR business editor who wrote a scathing essay about his organization in another publication, no longer works at NPR.

No, Stormy Daniels didn’t ‘exonerate’ Donald Trump

The adult film actor denied she had an affair with Trump in a 2018 statement. She has since recanted that statement.

Taylor Swift has not endorsed Joe Biden for president

As of mid-April 2024, Swift has not issued a public endorsement for the 2024 presidential election, despite social posts claiming otherwise

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Francis Collins: Why I’m going public with my prostate cancer diagnosis

I served medical research. now it’s serving me. and i don’t want to waste time..

Over my 40 years as a physician-scientist, I’ve had the privilege of advising many patients facing serious medical diagnoses. I’ve seen them go through the excruciating experience of waiting for the results of a critical blood test, biopsy or scan that could dramatically affect their future hopes and dreams.

But this time, I was the one lying in the PET scanner as it searched for possible evidence of spread of my aggressive prostate cancer . I spent those 30 minutes in quiet prayer. If that cancer had already spread to my lymph nodes, bones, lungs or brain, it could still be treated — but it would no longer be curable.

Why am I going public about this cancer that many men are uncomfortable talking about? Because I want to lift the veil and share lifesaving information, and I want all men to benefit from the medical research to which I’ve devoted my career and that is now guiding my care.

Five years before that fateful PET scan, my doctor had noted a slow rise in my PSA, the blood test for prostate-specific antigen. To contribute to knowledge and receive expert care, I enrolled in a clinical trial at the National Institutes of Health, the agency I led from 2009 through late 2021.

At first, there wasn’t much to worry about — targeted biopsies identified a slow-growing grade of prostate cancer that doesn’t require treatment and can be tracked via regular checkups, referred to as “active surveillance.” This initial diagnosis was not particularly surprising. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men in the United States, and about 40 percent of men over age 65 — I’m 73 — have low-grade prostate cancer . Many of them never know it, and very few of them develop advanced disease.

Why am I going public about this cancer that many men are uncomfortable talking about? Because I want to lift the veil and share lifesaving information.

But in my case, things took a turn about a month ago when my PSA rose sharply to 22 — normal at my age is less than 5. An MRI scan showed that the tumor had significantly enlarged and might have even breached the capsule that surrounds the prostate, posing a significant risk that the cancer cells might have spread to other parts of the body.

New biopsies taken from the mass showed transformation into a much more aggressive cancer. When I heard the diagnosis was now a 9 on a cancer-grading scale that goes only to 10, I knew that everything had changed.

Thus, that PET scan, which was ordered to determine if the cancer had spread beyond the prostate, carried high significance. Would a cure still be possible, or would it be time to get my affairs in order? A few hours later, when my doctors showed me the scan results, I felt a rush of profound relief and gratitude. There was no detectable evidence of cancer outside of the primary tumor.

Later this month, I will undergo a radical prostatectomy — a procedure that will remove my entire prostate gland. This will be part of the same NIH research protocol — I want as much information as possible to be learned from my case, to help others in the future.

While there are no guarantees, my doctors believe I have a high likelihood of being cured by the surgery.

My situation is far better than my father’s when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer four decades ago. He was about the same age that I am now, but it wasn’t possible back then to assess how advanced the cancer might be. He was treated with a hormonal therapy that might not have been necessary and had a significant negative impact on his quality of life.

Because of research supported by NIH, along with highly effective collaborations with the private sector, prostate cancer can now be treated with individualized precision and improved outcomes.

As in my case, high-resolution MRI scans can now be used to delineate the precise location of a tumor. When combined with real-time ultrasound, this allows pinpoint targeting of the prostate biopsies. My surgeon will be assisted by a sophisticated robot named for Leonardo da Vinci that employs a less invasive surgical approach than previous techniques, requiring just a few small incisions.

Advances in clinical treatments have been informed by large-scale, rigorously designed trials that have assessed the risks and benefits and were possible because of the willingness of cancer patients to enroll in such trials.

I feel compelled to tell this story openly. I hope it helps someone. I don’t want to waste time.

If my cancer recurs, the DNA analysis that has been carried out on my tumor will guide the precise choice of therapies. As a researcher who had the privilege of leading the Human Genome Project , it is truly gratifying to see how these advances in genomics have transformed the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

I want all men to have the same opportunity that I did. Prostate cancer is still the No. 2 cancer killer among men. I want the goals of the Cancer Moonshot to be met — to end cancer as we know it. Early detection really matters, and when combined with active surveillance can identify the risky cancers like mine, and leave the rest alone. The five-year relative survival rate for prostate cancer is 97 percent, according to the American Cancer Society , but it’s only 34 percent if the cancer has spread to distant areas of the body.

But lack of information and confusion about the best approach to prostate cancer screening have impeded progress. Currently, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that all men age 55 to 69 discuss PSA screening with their primary-care physician, but it recommends against starting PSA screening after age 70.

Other groups, like the American Urological Association , suggest that screening should start earlier, especially for men with a family history — like me — and for African American men, who have a higher risk of prostate cancer. But these recommendations are not consistently being followed.

Our health-care system is afflicted with health inequities. For example, the image-guided biopsies are not available everywhere and to everyone. Finally, many men are fearful of the surgical approach to prostate cancer because of the risk of incontinence and impotence, but advances in surgical techniques have made those outcomes considerably less troublesome than in the past. Similarly, the alternative therapeutic approaches of radiation and hormonal therapy have seen significant advances.

A little over a year ago, while I was praying for a dying friend, I had the experience of receiving a clear and unmistakable message. This has almost never happened to me. It was just this: “Don’t waste your time, you may not have much left.” Gulp.

Having now received a diagnosis of aggressive prostate cancer and feeling grateful for all the ways I have benefited from research advances, I feel compelled to tell this story openly. I hope it helps someone. I don’t want to waste time.

Francis S. Collins served as director of the National Institutes of Health from 2009 to 2021 and as director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at NIH from 1993 to 2008. He is a physician-geneticist and leads a White House initiative to eliminate hepatitis C in the United States, while also continuing to pursue his research interests as a distinguished NIH investigator.

An earlier version of this article said prostate cancer is the No. 2 killer of men. It is the No. 2 cause of cancer death among men. The article has been updated.

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How 3 baby boomers are approaching phased retirement, the ‘mega-trend’ reshaping workplaces

Retirement is a source of anxiety for many Americans, with older employees worried about being forced out of work before they are ready and younger generations less than convinced they will be able to afford to retire at all . But many college-educated baby boomers are flipping the script and redefining how and when they retire on their own terms, a trend that could have significant effects on the workplace for years to come .

Of course,  there’s no single approach to work and retirement in the U.S.—while some are able to exit the workforce at 65 to travel and pursue hobbies without worrying about their finances, many others are never able to fully retire at all. Others who want or need to continue working are pushed out by employers, while some are set on leaving the traditional work world as soon as possible, with the goal to  quit in their 50s, or even earlier .

Phased retirement is different still, and, according to some reports , could be a growing trend. Rather than a hard-stop retirement—here for 40 years, gone tomorrow—workers are given the option to gradually pare back hours and reduce stress while still earning income and maintaining connections. Proponents say it not only helps employees with the transition to retirement , both mentally and financially, but that it also benefits employers .

“Businesses are all struggling with recruiting and retaining talent, so you have to keep the talent you have—that’s a lot more effective, efficient, and productive,” Chris Littlefield, president of retirement and income solutions at Principal, previously told Fortune . “It’s a mega-trend in the workforce. It will be a very significant lever for them over the next decade.”

How does that work in practice? Here’s what three baby boomers approaching or past the traditional retirement age told Fortune about their ideal phased exit.

‘How much can you lay on the beach?’

Name: George Cavedon Age: 73 Location: New Hampshire

After a decades-long career working in retail, George Cavedon retired in his fifties after his company was sold, a dream for many workers. But Cavedon soon found the early retirement life wasn’t for him; he missed having somewhere to go during the day that wasn’t a golf course, and Eventually, he joined the ranks of the unretired, and found a new job working at a small marketing firm. He’s been there for 18 years, with no intention of slowing down anytime soon.

“I’m trying to cut back. Being 73, my energy isn’t what it used to be,” Cavedon says. “But I enjoy what I do, I enjoy coming in and working with people. I’m a social kind of guy.”

For Cavedon, his current working arrangement is ideal. He gets out of the house but has some flexibility with his hours—something he was never allowed in his first career in retail. Because he works in sales and meets with clients in person, his mind stays sharp, he says, and talking with younger coworkers keeps him up-to-date on trends and perspectives he’d otherwise miss.

Cavedon recognizes his approach to work isn’t for everyone. He has plenty of friends who have retired and moved to states like Florida with warmer weather and more leisure activities. But for better or worse, he says part of his identity is tied up in his work. Eventually he’ll scale back to working three days a week rather than five, but not yet. And the money doesn’t hurt, either.

“Retirement to me is a scary thing. How much can you lay on the beach?” he says .  “For my own personal mental health and well-being, I like being active and working.”

‘I’ll be in full control’

Name: Renee Stanton Age: 61 Location: New Jersey

Phased retirement is the goal for Renee Stanton, who has worked in IT-adjacent roles her entire career. She has no desire to leave the workforce completely but would appreciate the flexibility to go skiing and sailing—her lifelong passions—during the on-seasons, and to spend more time with her adult children and aging parents. A self-described “frustrated artist,” Stanton also foresees wiling away more afternoons in her dad’s art studio.

“It’s not a problem for me to fill my time—the problem for me is to find the time for all the things I want to do,” says Stanton, 61. “They say you have to have retirement goals. My retirement goal is…they have front-row parking for skiers 80 and above. My goal is to be parking there.”

Though she has enough money—and passions —to retire now, Stanton says she learned a lesson when her father, a cabinetmaker, retired in his sixties. Now 87 and going strong, he believes he left the workforce too early and could have benefitted financially from staying employed longer . With potentially decades ahead of her, she is being “extra cautious” with her finances.

She plans to reduce her hours significantly and move to a contractor role, so she can work when she wants to and take time off on her own terms. “I’ll be in full control,” she says. That will allow her pensions and Social Security payments to continue to grow, and because she still has a few years until Medicare coverage kicks in, she’ll need to earn enough to pay for her health insurance—and her ski passes.

“It’s time for me to take a step back and plan more time for fun,” says Stanton. “I still want to work and bring some money in. I saved for retirement, but not ski-addiction retirement.”

‘I won’t just drop out 100% one day’

Name: Joy W. Age: 66 Location: New York

At 50, Joy W., who asked that her last name be withheld to freely discuss her career plans, completed a master’s degree in psychology. A long-time human resources worker, Joy, now 66, decided to pursue a second act that better aligned with her desire to help people. That first degree lit a match, and a few years later, she also completed a master’s in social work. She now works as a full-time psychotherapist in rural Connecticut, with clients ranging in age from 25 to 95, but many who are post-retirement.

Through her work, Joy has realized she has no desire to stop working completely, though she and her husband are financially secure and she’s past the traditional retirement age. But she is beginning to scale back, working four days a week instead of five.

“When I think about ending my career, I imagine I’ll be doing some sort of volunteer work that takes advantage of my skills,” says Joy. “I won’t just drop out 100% one day. I’ll be doing something. It’s interesting, it’s stimulating for me, and there’s a huge need for it.”

Her clients also have influenced her choice to keep working. Many of them have some form of regret about retiring, she says, and it’s usually because they did so too soon. Talking with them validates her “zigging-zagging path toward phased retirement.”

“They weren’t ready for how they felt the day they woke up after retirement,” she says. “They didn’t know how to do retirement, and that took them by surprise.”

Many family members, including her father and some siblings, were “retired” by their companies, which also informs her approach to work. She wants to make the choice for herself, and one benefit of switching careers when she did, Joy says, is that she’s “been in the driver’s seat since the beginning.” Her current employer knew from the jump that she didn’t plan to work full time for long. They’re just happy to have her while they do.

“That felt really liberating,” she says. “It really lowered the anxiety level, at least mine, and probably theirs too. We each knew where the other stood.”

What is your retirement budget?  Fortune  is writing about what Americans at different income levels are spending in retirement. To share your story, email senior writer Alicia Adamczyk at  [email protected] .

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