Well, you just got off high school or you simply just want to further your studies. You have identified your preferred college and now you just have to submit your personal statement and wait for approval.
Writing a personal statement is no easy task, and so you are tempted to use one statement to apply for all the courses you are interested in pursuing.
Or you have a friend who was accepted for a course you are interested in and you want to use the same personal statement they used.
So you ask: can you copy someone’s personal statement? Or can I use the same personal statement twice?
In this blog, our admissions expert delves into the above issues and gives a through responses to some of the mostly asked questions regarding writing personal statements for college.
Can you copy someone’s personal statement
You cannot copy someone’s personal statement. A personal statement should be ‘personal’ in that it should include a brief overview of your education, strengths, work experience and skills. As such an admission essay should be unique and written from scratch.
In addition, apart from being unique, most admission committees will check the originality of personal statements.
This means that they have a database of all previously submitted statements and they will be able to automatically tell if your admission essay is copied.
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Most importantly, each personal statement should have a personal touch. The admission committee are usually on the lookout for unique statements that stand out from the rest.
This means that they are looking for students who think outside the box and are bold enough to include something that will blow away the minds of the committee.
Your statement should never miss the “what make you unique or stand out” element.
However, when you decide to copy someone’s else personal statement, you miss out on the opportunity to be unique and stand out from the other applicants.
You also risk being flagged for plagiarism and ultimately being rejected.
What happens if you copy someone’s personal statement?
When you copy someone’s else personal statement you are likely to be flagged for plagiarism. This will lead to automatic rejection due to lack of originality.
Universities and colleges alike are very keen on issues concerning plagiarism.
Academic integrity is at the center of higher education.
If you copy someone’s admission essay, the university will automatically assume that you will not be able to keep up with their strict academic integrity policies.
Plagiarism in college and university is a big issue. Students found plagiarizing are either suspended or expelled at the discretion of the disciplinary committee.
As such, engaging in plagiarism when applying to college will lead to rejection.
Can you use the same personal statement twice?
You cannot use the same statement twice when applying for different courses. You have to make changes for it to be relevant to the two different courses. Each statement should be customized for the course you are applying for.
While you might not get into any trouble for submitting the same statement for different courses, the committee might decide to not accept you for being lazy.
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To increase your chances of being accepted, take time to customize the statements for the different courses.
Ensure you take time to express your desire and commitment to pursue each course differently.
This will greatly increase your chances of getting accepted.
Can I use the same personal statement for different universities
You can use the same personal statement for two different universities. However, it is advisable to take time and customize the statements for each university.
Take time and do research about the two universities and using this research try to come up with unique statements for each university.
Remember uniqueness and standing out from the crowd is one sure way of having your admission essay being accepted.
Universities are able to tell lazy students just by the kind of essays they send them. Any evidence of laziness will automatically get you rejected.
In as much as using the same statement will not get you into any trouble, you are better off customizing each statement for the different universities.
Can you plagiarize a personal statement
You can plagiarize a personal statement if you copy it online or from someone else. Admission essays are always checked for plagiarism and if you copied your statement from an online source or someone else you be flagged for plagiarism.
Avoid copying statements from other people and online sources.
Take time to write a unique statement that will blow the committees’ mind away and enable you to secure a spot at the university of your dreams.
Also see: Can you lie in your college essays?
Being rejected will mean that you have to wait until the next admission period which might be a year away.
Does the admission committee check personal statements for plagiarism?
The admission committee checks all personal statements for plagiarism. Before going through the statements they are checked for plagiarism to ensure no student submitted a plagiarized statement.
This is standard procedure in al universities and colleges. All essays, research papers and thesis are usually checked for plagiarism before being graded.
Submitting a plagiarized statement is one sure way of getting your application rejected. Universities policies strongly discourage students from copying.
Remember a personal statement gives you a chance to showcase your uniqueness. If it is copied, then it fails the uniqueness test. Anything else included in the essay will be null and void and will lead to rejection.
Conclusion
One of the most commonly asked questions, when students are writing admission essays, is : can I copy someone’s personal statement?
And no, you cannot copy another person’s statement as it will be plagiarism and will lead to rejection.
Another question asked is: can I use a personal statement twice? And no, you cannot use an admission essay twice, you will have to write or customize the already written essay before you can re-use it.
Lastly, students ask: can you plagiarize a personal statement. And yes, if you copy the statement online or from a friend then that is considered plagiarism. Any instance of plagiarism will get you rejected.