A personal statement is something that all juniors should begin working on so that they have a final copy ready at the end of their junior year when the college application process begins. A personal statement is also necessary for scholarship applications. A personal statement is often a compilation of several questions that scholarship organizations seek the answers to, however, it is strongly recommended that you do not format your personal statement in a question-answer manner. BlueSpark suggests that a personal statement is an exercise in creative writing. This should be a story of what sets you apart from the thousands of other applications sitting next to yours. BlueSpark often encourages students to really think about who they are…what their academic experiences have been, what their personal experiences have been, what obstacles they might have overcome, why their future academic/career plans are meaningful to them and how they might relate to their life experiences. This should not read as a glorified resume, as this is often also included in college and scholarship application packets. BlueSpark recommend that you have individuals who are close to you read this for feedback on content as well as an English teacher for feedback on grammar and mechanics. This is an effort that should take time... it might even prove difficult to develop…and should take several revisions prior to arriving at you final copy.