Personal Statements for Engineering: 3 Tips to Learn
by Michelle P.
Do you get excited about the chance to take apart and repair a gaming computer? Or what about working on robots for NASA and scientific discoveries?
If your future college interest is towards engineering or robotics, how can you write a strong essay about it for college applications, either in the supplements or the main essays? See what you can learn with these 3 tips from the great examples below!
Example 1:
“This 17-Year-Old Designed a Motor That Could Potentially Transform the Electric Car Industry” – Smithsonian Magazine
“I have a natural interest in electric motors,” says Sansone, who had used them in different robotics projects. “With that sustainability issue, I wanted to tackle it, and try and design a different motor.”… Over the course of a year, Sansone created a prototype of a novel synchronous reluctance motor that had greater rotational force—or torque—and efficiency than existing ones. The prototype was made from 3-D printed plastic, copper wires and a steel rotor and tested using a variety of meters to measure power and a laser tachometer to determine the motor’s rotational speed.”
From this article on the high schooler Robert Sansone, you can consider:
-What value or issue did Sansone hope to tackle through his project?
-If you are writing a personal essay on your own engineering project, how can you similarly describe your project and project goals in a concise way?
Tip 1: it is not enough to simply state what you did in an engineering project; you must also talk about why it is important. Why do you care about the project? Does it match up with one of your values in some way?
Example 2:
“Can a Robot Become a Pizza Chef?” – JSTOR Daily
“Both humans and robots are able to grip and hold rigid objects by applying constant pressure. However, humans can also interact with objects in a variety of ways that don’t require gripping—including the ways a pizza dough is prepared and handled. This requires a person to have a preconceived and continuous idea of how the object will respond to touch. They must also adjust the angle and pressure of their hands on the object accordingly as they work.”
For a student with more of a passion in the direction of robotics and its applications, this article would be a fun one. Think about these questions:
-How does the example describe the difference between humans and robots in terms of holding things?
-What kind of challenges do you predict the robotics team will run into when trying to develop this robot?
Tip 2: Share details on very specific obstacles or challenges that occurred with an engineering-related activity.
It’s not enough to say there was a bug in the programming for a robot for example—see if you have enough details to describe exactly why something didn’t work, and what factors led to that issue.
Example 3:
“Nicole McGaa: Ensuring safe travels in space” – MIT News
“McGaa’s research in bioastronautics, which is the study of biological systems in space, centers around making space travel safer for human bodies and minds…McGaa credits her time as a certified EMT with MIT Emergency Medical Services for guiding her path in bioastronautics and giving her the clinical perspective necessary for her work. “Space medicine is very much tied to emergency medicine,” she explains. “A lot of the people who first did space medicine then work in the ER, and many continue to this day to do both.””
This particular MIT student majors in aeronautical and astronautical engineering.
-How does she connect her past experience in medicine to her current studies in the example above?
-Are there any past activities in areas outside of engineering that you can connect with your own engineering interest?
Tip 3: See what past non-engineering experiences you have that you can connect to your engineering interest in your essay.
Perhaps you are also a music performer who often re-listens to your own performances, which led you to curiosity about how to engineer better earbuds. Or you might have an interest in wildlife like meerkats and their temperature-controlled burrows, which made you wonder how to design more efficient heating and cooling systems for buildings.
With these 3 tips, see what upgrades you can make in your essay drafts on engineering to make them more unique and centered on you and your interest.