Counseling for Graduate and Professional School Applicants
Graduate and professional admission works program by program rather than university by university, and the personal statement has to argue a case rather than tell a story. Dana works with current college students and graduates on choosing programs, statements, resumes, recommendations and interview preparation.
The unit is the program
Reputation at the university level tells you very little about a specific department's placement, funding or fit. The questions that matter are where recent graduates of that program actually went, who is on the faculty and whether they are taking students, and what the funding structure is. That research is the work, and it is different from anything an undergraduate application required.
The statement is an argument
A graduate personal statement is not a college essay. It has to establish what you want to do, what in your record demonstrates you can do it, and why this program specifically. Applicants who write a moving narrative without answering those three things are the most common near-miss.
What else is in scope
Timing against your own record, choosing recommenders who can speak to research or professional capacity, presenting a resume that reads for an academic rather than corporate audience, and preparing for interviews where they exist.