总结高人的PS经验

PS 到底怎么写 - structure

Hi Everyone,

I am a graduate student at Harvard University and I work at MIT's admissions office. I also offer writing and editing service. Through my professional experience, I have come across some very common mistakes in PSs. However, reading the blogs and suggestion columns, I find very little information that is truly useful. The advice just seems conventional and vague. So, I decided to start a series of informational posts to help you guys. I will address one main topic everyday. Hopefully these blogs will help you.

What should I focus on in my PS?

Your PS should include 5 essential elements:

1) Your motivation- What has inspired you to pursue the field? This could include background, research

experiences, family influence, etc.

2) Professional/research background- Lots of people have problems in this area and don't know what to focus on. I obviously cannot just make a list of all possible fields. However, as a good rule of thumb: If

your future goal is to work in industry – focus on professional experience. If your goal is to work in

research or academia - focus on research experience.

Explaining Research Experience: Do not just say “new “developments. Thinking about the

following questions will help you more comprehensively describe your research.

1) How did your research change or impact the field - what was the situation before or after your

contribution? Emphasize the significance.

If you only assisted research - how was your assistance important? What did you actually do?

How did you contribute to the overall project? Although you only assisted in research, you still

need to make sure that you explain the big picture of the research project and purpose. What was

the goal of the research?

2) What problems did you solve and how

3) What was your research process? In this area, include technologies, approaches, systems used

(example: Choice behavior, regression analysis, due diligence, game theory. Please note that

“mathematical model is too vague.)..Do not forget to say HOW you used the above and why.

4) Results - leadership, achievements, publications, patents, proceedings, etc

5) Future work - in this area...you can include information about possible research for your future.

For professional experience - focus on contributions to the company and your job tasks. Also

make sure you list your achievements, promotions, leadership, etc

3) Future goals and how you will achieve them. (Sometimes it is a good idea to split this into short and

long term goals). Be specific in terms of how... This should be easy since you should already have a

plan for your life. This can include your graduate studies, future jobs, etc

4) Why did you pick the school, and how you will contribute to it?

To answer this question, make sure you know the school. It is a good idea to use specific courses or

programs offered by the school to emphasize your points. Student organizations and research focus can