Personal Statement Help

[AsmodaiPlay]

Boring topic i know but i'm applying for Uni this year and i want to start my personal statement with a quote as some places like that. Problem is i can't find a quote that is suitable. I'm applying to do Economics. Has anyone got any ideas about a quote i could put in? All ideas are appreciated, thanks.

 

[VanTheManII]

heres one

"ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country"
- john f kennedy

 

[Mandieta6]

Why would a quote help you? You'd be wasting your word count on things which say nothing about you.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Don't start with a quote, don't use quotes at all. Focus on yourself. Are you the first person in your family to go to college? Do you want to use your economics degree to help the poor? If you don't, lie.

 

[champdave]

Don't use quotes, you're not a tool.

Sell yourself - what would Terry Tibbs do?

 

[simo_yes]

smart choice choosing economics, it is a really great degree. i've only got one year to go of my economics degree. anyway, heres what i suggest... an economics based joke... if the people reading your personal statement are themselves economists, im sure they will appreciate a bit of lame humour which would only be understood by someone who knows a bit about economics.

(my personal favourite)
Q: how many chicago-school economists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: none, the market will change it itself

another idea would be to look at an everyday situation from an economics stand-point... remembering of course that economics is the science of life. for example the economics of marriage or crime.

so if u need any help with anything just send us a message and ill glady help out

 

[Help?]

economics is a science of life? common, really?

 

[ShiftyPowers]

anyway, heres what i suggest... an economics based joke... if the people reading your personal statement are themselves economists, im sure they will appreciate a bit of lame humour which would only be understood by someone who knows a bit about economics.

(my personal favourite)
Q: how many chicago-school economists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: none, the market will change it itself

Oh god, do not do this.

 

[Mandieta6]

I agree, don't be a retard. Just write about yourself, why you like economics, why you want to study it, ambitions, etc.

 

[RobbieD_PL]

How the hell is a personal statement about yourself meant to have someone else's quotes?

And as for the joke, it'll really show how serious you are in wanting the place at the college you're looking to get into....

 

[simo_yes]

the joke proves that u already know something about economics, shows that your down to earth and not trying to make out that u want to save the world like everybody else will say

bear in mind i AM an economics student and probably have the best idea around here about how to get into one. unless of course one of you is a prof who works on admissions...

 

[RobbieD_PL]

That was an awful joke, tho! It's like saying that the "invisible hand of the market" would change the light bulb instead of even someone's who qualified to actually do the job required. That's just stupid!

How the hell would it show that one knows something about economics when it makes him, first and foremost, look like a complete retard?

 

[simo_yes]

well your right about the invisible hand part but if you understand what chicago school economists believe in then the joke becomes quite funny.

although i have to admit, from a non-economics stand point, it is quite a lame joke haha

it was just one suggestion tho, there are plenty of other things u could say that are economics related that arent lame jokes

 

[Mandieta6]

You study in the States, he wants to study in England. I bet you got into your uni in spite of that joke, not thanks to it.

 

[AsmodaiPlay]

Wow, I only left this a day or two and what a response. Thanks for all your comments guys. Couple of things- I want to use a quote to demonstrate an interest in the subject (although i've done other things for this as well) and also to try to make an effective opening. In terms of words, i've got 4000 characters and i'm not that interesting so a quote won't harm that really. Yeah and jokes i'm thinking may not work if the tutor or whoever reads them doesn't like it. Are there any really classic quotes from Keynes, Smith e.t.c that would be suitable for this?

 

[Mandieta6]

The Times Education site had an article about a woman who had been reading personal statements from applicants for the past 30 years, in one of her replies to questions she said that using quotes makes you seem pretentious and does not help you at all.

You want them to know you have an interest in economics? TELL THEM. Tell them you read the economist and follow business news. Tell them about yourself, everyone knows that there were smart people who said clever things, it won't help you at all.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

well your right about the invisible hand part but if you understand what chicago school economists believe in then the joke becomes quite funny.

although i have to admit, from a non-economics stand point, it is quite a lame joke haha

it was just one suggestion tho, there are plenty of other things u could say that are economics related that arent lame jokes

I understood your joke, and it is not funny. If you think that joke is funny you really need to get your head out of the books and start living life.

 

[simo_yes]

first of all.. azarel, mate im not from the states. i australian and i study economics in brisbane which is a leading school in economics world wide. and here u dont need to write a letter of application. almost all of my professors are actually british and they all like a lame joke, it breaks up the monotony that can sometimes occur in economics. and niemreitz... because i suggest a joke that might bring a smile to the face of a professor, it doesnt mean i need to "get my head out of the books and start living life" because as a 19 year old aussie male, i think i live life pretty well. i dont really care if u think the joke is funny or not

and asmodaiplay, sorry to get off topic, we are here to help you. if you really are interested in going for a quote, id try and stay well away from keynes or smith, anybody reading ur application will just think ur another hack trying to say what they want to hear. maybe try something from galbraith or refer to nash somehow... once again they are just a few suggestions that are going to show ur interested in economics a little more than just at a surface level. and remember, economics isnt restricted to what you read in the economist or see on the business news

 

[ShiftyPowers]

first of all.. azarel, mate im not from the states. i australian and i study economics in brisbane which is a leading school in economics world wide. and here u dont need to write a letter of application. almost all of my professors are actually british and they all like a lame joke, it breaks up the monotony that can sometimes occur in economics. and niemreitz... because i suggest a joke that might bring a smile to the face of a professor, it doesnt mean i need to "get my head out of the books and start living life" because as a 19 year old aussie male, i think i live life pretty well. i dont really care if u think the joke is funny or not

and asmodaiplay, sorry to get off topic, we are here to help you. if you really are interested in going for a quote, id try and stay well away from keynes or smith, anybody reading ur application will just think ur another hack trying to say what they want to hear. maybe try something from galbraith or refer to nash somehow... once again they are just a few suggestions that are going to show ur interested in economics a little more than just at a surface level. and remember, economics isnt restricted to what you read in the economist or see on the business news

It's not that I don't think the joke isn't funny, it's not my opinion. That joke is objectively not funny. That "joke" couldn't bring a smile to face of the ghost of Milton Friedman, nor the ghost of John Maynard Keynes. It wouldn't elicit a chuckle from Richard Posner, nor from Guido Calabresi.

 

[leungtl]

Jokes in Personal Statements are High Risk/Low Reward IMO, no point going for it.

And simo_yes, I understood the premise for your "joke" too but sorry man, it just isn't funny, not even in a 'wow that's so incredibly lame it's funny' kinda way...