Personal statement checker for US applications

A US personal statement is not a UCAS personal statement

"Personal statement" means different things in the US and the UK, and a checker built for one will mislead you on the other.

In US applications, the personal statement is usually one essay about you as a person. For the Common App it runs 250 to 650 words, and you choose one of seven prompts. For the University of California it is four shorter answers, up to 350 words each, chosen from eight Personal Insight Questions. The writing is meant to be personal: a story, a scene, a way of seeing something. Admissions readers see it next to your grades, activities and recommendations.

In UCAS applications for UK universities, the statement is written for the course you are applying to. It is mostly about why you want to study that subject and what you have done to prepare. UCAS has changed the format in recent years, so check the current rules on the UCAS site. The writing is more academic and less like a story.

EssayScore supports US applications only. The six criteria reward voice, scene and reflection, which are the right things to ask of a US essay and the wrong things to ask of a UCAS statement. If you are applying through UCAS, this tool will grade you against the wrong thing, so use a source made for it.

What the checker looks at

Your draft is scored from 1 to 5 on six criteria. A score of 3 is a competent essay with clear room to improve.

• Voice and authenticity: does it sound like you, rather than like an application?
• Specific detail: are there scenes, numbers and names, or only summary?
• Reflection and insight: does it say who the experience made you, with a moment to show it?
• Structure and flow: does the opening pull you in, does each paragraph move, does the ending add something?
• Prompt fit: does it answer the prompt you picked?
• Language and mechanics: is the grammar clean and the rhythm right, with casual wording allowed?

Every score of 4 or higher quotes a line from your draft, and we check that the line is really in your text. Total scores run from 6 to 30 with four bands: Needs work, Developing, Solid and Strong. The result also gives the three fixes to make first. It never gives replacement sentences.

Using it for a personal statement

1. Choose the right prompt first. For the Common App, pick the prompt number you are answering. For UC, pick the PIQ. If you are writing a general statement for another US school or program, choose "Other personal statement". Prompt fit is one of the six scores, so picking the wrong prompt will lower it.
2. Paste a full draft. The checker needs 80 to 800 words. A paragraph is too little to judge structure.
3. Read the fixes before the scores. The three fixes say what to change first. The scores show where the draft stands.
4. Revise by hand, then ask a person. A teacher or counselor who knows you will catch things a score cannot.

Common App, UC and other US statements

The Common App essay is the one most applicants think of, and one version goes to every Common App school. UC applications use a separate set of questions, so grade each of your four answers on its own and pick the matching PIQ each time. Some colleges and scholarship programs ask for their own short personal statement. For those, choose "Other personal statement". The criteria stay the same, but the prompt-fit score will judge your draft against a general personal-statement question, so read it as a guide and check it against the actual question yourself.

What it will not do

It will not rewrite or polish your statement, it will not predict admission, and it will not tell you which topic is best. A personal statement should be about something you care about, and you are the only one who can choose that.

Please follow the AI rules of every school you apply to. EssayScore gives writing feedback only.

More: college essay grader and pricing.