Writing Your MFA Personal Statement Like the Personal Essay It Is

Here's the truth: As an MFA program chair, I read hundreds of personal statements every year. Most are forgettable, some are painful, and a select few make me think, "We NEED this person in our program."

What's the difference between a forgettable personal statement and a memorable one? It's understanding that your personal statement isn't a cover letter or a resume recap—it's a literary document unto itself. It's a personal essay that should be as well-written, as carefully crafted, as any piece in your writing sample.

This Is Creative Writing, Not a CV

The personal statement is your chance to show admissions committees three things your other application materials can't: your voice, your mind at work, and who you are as a person who will sit in workshops for two years.

Your CV tells us where you've been. Your writing sample shows us what you can do. Your personal statement shows us who you are.

Think about the personal essays that have stayed with you—Joan Didion on why she writes, James Baldwin on the artist's struggle, Alexander Chee on craft and memory. What makes these essays compelling isn't just what they say, but how they say it. They have specificity, vulnerability, and style. That's your standard.

The "Could Only You Say This?" Test

Here's a simple test: go through your statement sentence by sentence and ask, "Could another applicant write this?"

Compare these two openings:

"I am drawn to exploring themes of memory and identity in my fiction. I believe an MFA will help me develop these interests further."

versus

"I keep a folder of my mother's recipes, each one written in her handwriting. I've been trying to write about her death for three years, but every draft starts with those recipe cards and goes nowhere. I need to understand why I can't get past the paprika measurements to reach the grief."

The first could apply to anyone. The second tells us something specific about how this particular person thinks. It shows us their mind, their metaphors, their obsessions.

Anyone Can Use ChatGPT—Don't Be That Person!

Generic statements are instantly forgettable. We can tell when you've generated something safe and polished that sounds like every other application. Your job is to write something only you could write—something so particular, so true, that it reveals your actual voice and actual self.

This means:

• Don't reiterate what's already in your CV

• Don't use corporate-speak or empty enthusiasm

• Don't try to sound "literary" if that's not your voice

• Don't play it so safe that we can't see you

  
  

Instead, dare to say something true and personal (within your comfort level). Show us the specific detail that makes you, you. Let us hear how you actually think about writing and craft.

Do Your Research—Really!

The "why this program" section is where most statements fail. Generic praise doesn't work. "Your esteemed program" and "accomplished faculty" tell us nothing.

Compare these:

"I want to work with Tom Barbash because he's an accomplished writer and I admire his work."

versus

"Tom Barbash's The Last Good Chance does something I'm trying to learn—how to write about ambition and failure without judgment, letting characters be both sympathetic and deeply flawed. I want to study how he manages moral complexity without moralizing."

The second statement proves you've actually read the work. It shows genuine engagement rather than surface-level research.

For whatever program you're applying to, the standard is this: read at least one book by a faculty member whose work genuinely speaks to you. Look up recent alumni publications. Identify specific courses that interest you. Understand what makes this program distinct from others.

Your "why this program" section should be so specific you couldn't swap in another school's name. If you can, you haven't done enough research.

Start Early and Revise Seriously

This isn't something you dash off in a weekend. Treat your personal statement the way you'd treat your best essay. Draft early enough that you can put it away for a week, then come back and revise.

Read it aloud. Does it sound like you? Or does it sound like a professional document written by someone trying too hard to impress?

Cut anything that sounds like it came from ChatGPT. Cut anything you could say about any program.

Keep only what's true, specific, and genuinely yours.

Ask yourself: Would I be proud to publish this as a personal essay? If the answer is no, keep revising.

Bring Your Whole Self to the Page

For nontraditional students, career changers, older applicants—your life experience is an asset, not a liability. But don't just list what you've done. Show how it shapes your writing.

Instead of: "After fifteen years in tech, I'm ready to pursue my passion for writing."

Try: "I've spent fifteen years writing code that prioritizes efficiency. Now I want to write sentences that prioritize beauty, even when they take the long way around."

The second version shows us how this person thinks. It gives us texture, metaphor, a particular mind at work.

You don't have to have everything figured out. In fact, it's better if you show what you're wrestling with, what you're trying to understand. Committees want to see genuine intellectual curiosity—not polished certainty.

The Bottom Line

Your personal statement should do three things: demonstrate that you can write a compelling essay, reveal who you are as a person and thinker, and show genuine knowledge of the program you're applying to.

This is your opportunity to introduce yourself to your future community. Make it worthy of that. Write something so particular, so honest, so well-crafted that we close your file thinking, "Yes. This person. We need them here."

That's the statement that gets you in.

Jasmin Darznik is chair of the MFA Writing Program at California College of the Arts and the author of The Good Daughter, Song of a Captive Bird, and The Bohemians. She teaches a free workshop on writing personal statements for MFA applications.