In no more than two, single-spaced pages (10-12 pt font), clearly and concisely distinguish yourself from other graduate school applicants with honesty, sincerity, and conscientiousness by avoiding cliches and ambiguous explanations.
Introduce yourself and why you are pursuing graduate study. Demonstrate your unique qualifications by using concrete examples from your life experience and personal qualities that distinguish you from other applicants.
Describe and provide brief examples of your determination, fortitude, initiative, and ability to develop ideas, and your capacity to work through problems independently.
In one to three paragraphs, build a foundation for your forthcoming work. Discuss your experiences with the following:
Explain why you chose this field of study and how your academic, professional, or volunteer background may have led to your interest in obtaining graduate education.
List your expertise and accomplishments in your major field and include any research or related professional work you have performed, and be sure to include the name of any professors that provided guidance or direction.
Describe your undergraduate studies, current career track, or volunteer activities and how they relate to what you intend to do in graduate school.
Include specific experiences that demonstrate your motivation and inspiration for continued study.
List other relevant experiences, activities, organizational leadership, awards, honors, etc. that includes organizational information and other important details.
Mention specific faculty with whom you are interested in working with at St. Cloud State.
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