Crafting a Winning MCIT Personal Statement (1)

By David Tian

(Admissions Consultant at The Edge Learning Center)

In very few places is talking exclusively about yourself for an extended period of time a welcome practice, but your personal statement is one of them.

The entire purpose of the personal statement is to show the admissions committee who you are as a person – your background, your motivations, and your professional goals – in ways that cannot be conveyed on your transcript or resume.

At the same time, you must also tell the reader why this program specifically is the right fit for you. To do so, it is necessary to understand the program’s offerings. Does it have particular coursework that equips you with the skills you need to achieve your goals? Is there a professor you want to work under? Does it offer a unique internship or capstone experience that no other school does? This is all valuable information that is worth including.

However, you must exercise extreme caution here.

Before continuing, I will give you two examples, and you can decide which one is better than the other:

  1. …and now I desire to attend the MCIT (Master of Computer and Information Technology) online program. The MCIT online program at the University of Pennsylvania is specifically designed for those who do not have a background in computer science. Additionally, it can also be done at a distance. Since I do not have a bachelor’s degree in computer science and because I work full time in Hong Kong, it is the perfect option for me.
  2. …and now I desire to attend the MCIT online program, which provides the exact training that I seek to achieve my career goals. The course CIT 591 Introduction to Software Development, for instance, will introduce me to the various applications of both Python and Java, both of which are commonly used in the data science field. Furthermore, the course CIT 594 Data Structures & Software Design will enable me to take the Java skills I develop in previous courses and design more efficient algorithms to parse through data sets… As a gainfully employed, full-time worker on a limited work visa in Hong Kong, the online modality of MCIT will allow me to achieve my career goals without derailing the career trajectory I have built here.

Which one do you think is better?

Next Article : Crafting a Winning MCIT Personal Statement (2)


About The Edge

Established in 2008, The Edge Learning Center has grown into a premier one-stop provider of educational services for Grade 7 through Grade 12, targeting students who intend to pursue overseas education. Our three departments – Academic Tutoring, Test Preparation, and Admissions Consulting – offer a broad range of educational services spanning from SAT and IB Test Prep to colleges and boarding schools application counseling. The Edge Learning Center operates in multiple regions including Hong Kong, China, and Vietnam.

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