Hi everyone,
I was asked to submit a personal statement to my university of choice for a PhD study and it was stated that it should contain my reason for applying for that field and also why I choose that particular uni. How to write a good personal statement and what should be the optimum length to write? They also said that the selectors placed particular importance on such statements.
Thanks very much.

Hey! My personal statement was about one A4 page long. It is your chance to let your prospective university know what it is that drives you. Your CV and your research proposal and references will tell them whether or not you're capable of achieving a PhD, but, if you read some of the posts on this forum you will see that doing a PhD can be very stressful. I think the university will want to see what drives you; whether you love your subject enough to get you through the rough patches. Say someting about what it is that makes you so interested, and then where you see your PhD leading. Best of luck, let us know how it goes!

Mine explained why I liked my undergrad degree, and why I'd chosen the topic of research for the PhD. Say what it is that you find so interesting about it, and possibly more importantly, why you think it matters. I had two interviews (and got offered both PhDs), and both really wanted to know why I thought the research was relevant. You could be the greatest researcher ever, with a great mind, dirve, and work ethic, but if you can't see the point to your research I doubt they'd be interested - and maybe after a while your interest would wane as well.

Also, go into why you chose their uni or department a little, although don't get too sycophantic. Perhaps you could get someone to check your statement - if you're still at uni, there should be a careers service or similar. Or even a current boss if you're working in a related field. And good luck!

Thanks guys. Just exactly what I did for my personal statement. I am thinking of showing it to my ex-supervisor for her to check and go through it. Hope to submit it with my application by this week.