Before beginning to write any sort of personal essay, it is imperative that the writer understand who they are. If a writer doesn’t understand what motivates them – what their values are – what they classify as injustice – the resulting personal statement/essay will lack a sense of coherence and credibility. One must know why they are making the choices they make in life in order to understand what sort of statement they want to make. This applies to life and the college essay. While no one can predict with 100% accuracy how they will react in every situation, being able to confidently express your values will help support the personal narrative essays and interview questions that will be asked in the admissions process.
Here are some example questions about values for a textbook scholarship at a community college:
- What are your strongest personality traits that make you an ideal candidate for a scholarship?
- Does any attribute, quality, or skill distinguish you from everyone else?
- What are your major accomplishments, and why do you consider them accomplishments?
- What was the most difficult time in your life, and why? How did you overcome it?
- What have you done outside of the school that demonstrates qualities of an ideal candidate?
Approaching these questions with a foreknowledge of your values and morals will help answer the questions with the kind of depth and reflection committees are looking for. The following are some questions you can ask yourself to get to know yourself:
- What gives your life meaning?
- What brings you joy?
- What gifts do you bring?
- How is life calling you?
- Why does the world need the gifts you bring?
- How do you want to make others feel?
- What’s memorable about you?
- Who needs the gifts you bring?
- What’s missing from your life? From the world?
- If money wasn’t an issue, what would you do with your time?
- What verb best describes you?
- What problem do you want to solve?
- What movie character would you most want to be like?
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