The essay is about how you express your experiences. It is important to use your personal experiences to write powerful essays. The way you write your essay and how you deliver it matters as much as what actually occurred in your story.
Just as with all the components of your college applications, your essay does matter, as do the supplemental essays that many colleges will require. It is important that the essays are thoughtful, captivating and well written.
The essays should give college admission counselors a three-dimensional understanding of who you are as a person, student and future attendee. Most competitive universities try to understand the whole person through the various prompts that are presented via the essay questions.
Typically a personal statement for undergraduate school should not exceed 650 words and for graduate school 750 words.
Doctoral programs can be around 1000 words.