In your essay, you want to:

• Consider your audience. Write for your readers. Admissions staffs are unique for each program. Ask yourself: What does this teacher preparation program pride itself on? This is your chance to directly connect with their mission statement and prove you know your stuff.
• Mention relevant background. Describe why you want to be a teacher, tying in your academic record.
• Include personal experience. Select one or two examples from your life that underscore how your background and personal experience make you a good fit for this teacher preparation program.

Some applications break essay responses out into individual parts or questions. When this is the case, remember to choose rationale and specific examples that directly relate to the topic at hand.

Visit your teacher preparation program’s website and social media profiles. You can get a good sense for what the program values (and what you might speak to in your essay) by doing a little recon.

Your personal essay is an opportunity to be creative—to a point. It’s vital to make an impression through a demonstration of your relevant skills, experience and vision.

Pay close attention to the word count for your personal response. (It’s never been a better time to make friends with an editor.)

Suggested Outline

Here’s our recommended outline for your personal essay. Just remember: You’re the expert on you! Take what works; revise what doesn’t.

• Introduce yourself. (1 paragraph)
  • Hook. Grab the admissions officer’s attention with a strong statement that speaks to your interest in this teacher preparation program specifically.
  • Connect. In one or two sentences, give an overview of what your essay response seeks to achieve as a whole. In other words, write a thesis that connects the next two sections up front.
• Get personal. (2-3 paragraphs)
  • Background. Briefly summarize the parts of your educational background that relate directly to your ambitions of becoming a professional educator. If you know what grade levels or subject areas you want to teach, this is a good time to make that known. (Hint: If there’s anything on your resume or transcript you’re not proud of, consider addressing it here to use it to your advantage.)
  • Anecdote. Tell your story. What made you want to become a teacher? What inspires you about the profession? How have events in your past—including pre-teaching experience—inspired you to pursue this career?
• Seal the deal. (1-2 paragraphs)
  • Validate. We could easily call this step “Connect again.” Revisit your thesis and make sure you’ve proved what you set out to. In other words: What about your background and personal anecdote make you a good fit for this particular teacher preparation program?
  • Conclude. Reaffirm your passion for teaching, including the grade level(s) and subject area(s) that excite you most, if you know what they are.

When writing your essay, stay away from these sayings and clichés:

• "I want to make a difference.”
  • Doesn’t everyone want to make a difference? Get more nitty-gritty than this catch-phrase. Consider how teachers uniquely provide a vital social service, and what about the profession resonates with your own mission.
• “While this isn’t my first choice program…”
  • While honesty is usually the best policy, you don’t need to reveal to admissions staff that their program might not be your #1 choice. Instead, focus on the parts of the teacher preparation program that are most compelling to you.
• “I’ve always wanted to work in education.”
  • Prove it! Use your personal anecdote to show that you’re the right person to assume a teaching position.
• “I love working with children.”
  • While we’re sure that’s true, focus instead on the specific rewards (and challenges) of working with students of a certain age.

Give your recommenders plenty of time to reflect on your accomplishments and to write the letter. Some programs recommend asking at least 30 days in advance.

Don’t assume that someone will have the time or be willing to recommend you for a teacher preparation program. Make your request far enough in advance to allow for any necessary course-corrections.

To make it easy on your recommender, provide them with as much of the following as you can:

• An explanation of what you’re applying for and why you’d like them to recommend you. Consider including your personal essay(s), if you’ve completed that task.
• The deadline for their letter. (Bake in one week’s wiggle room.)
• A copy of your official or unofficial transcript.
• Your resume/CV.
• Instructions about how to submit your letters of recommendation. Some programs require recommenders to use a web submission form or program-specific email address.

If your recommender is a past instructor, include the grade you received in their course and any sample work you completed for them. This will remind them of your performance and fit.

Make sure to get confirmation from your recommender once your letter is submitted.
Once you’ve received confirmation of submission, give your recommender a big thank you in the form of an email, phone call or card. Just like you, recommenders have a day job, and providing a reference is a favor to you (that’s how great you must be!). Not only is this polite, but it will encourage your recommender to support you in the future.

If you are accepted to your teacher preparation program, let your recommender know! It takes a village.