Introduction: The opening paragraph of the personal statement should be long enough that the reviewers get a good sense of who you are and what you are interested in within the first few words, but short enough that your writing doesn't sound too forced and generic. A sentence can be dedicated to how you got interested in research, and what specific studies you're looking to work on in graduate school and beyond. Essentially, this paragraph should provide a short, personal context and overall summary of your past experiences and how it has shaped your trajectory as a scientist.

Research experience: The main and largest portion of your NSF personal statement should be dedicated to the research you conducted during your time as an undergraduate student. Did you complete any Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) or other summer research programs, co-ops, or research internships? If so, include them here. It is best to go in chronological order of experiences, and if you have many contributions to research, limit your essay to the work that most strongly shaped your path as a growing research scientist. Every significant research experience merits an entire paragraph. For each paragraph, list the name of the program or research experience, so that reviewers can connect this to the broad application materials that you fill out in the essay. Then, take some time to describe the objectives of the project, your contributions, and the skills you obtained during this experience. Additionally, mention any publications, presentations, or extended work opportunities that arose from each project.

Given that you spent a significant portion of your personal statement laying the foundations of your research background, the next important thing for reviewers to see is how your previous work inspires your current research interests. Take at least a few sentences to a paragraph to describe the kind of work you’d like to do in graduate school and beyond, and how that has been influenced by your current research background.

Community involvement: NSF likes to see that their applicants are not only academically-oriented, but community-oriented as well, and mentioning your community involvements showcases your well-roundedness. A good scientist cares about their work, but a great scientist cares about how their work can benefit others. If you have completed any teaching assistantships, volunteering experience, were involved in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) for STEM, or other related opportunities, describe them here.

Intellectual Merit: While you have certainly showcased it through the experiences discussed in your personal statement, the Intellectual Merit (IM) paragraph summarizes your potential and your abilities as an impactful research scientist. Summarize the skills you’ve obtained, and how your training has equipped you with the knowledge necessary to make useful contributions to your field. Close out with a sentence envisioning the kind of scientific contributions you want to make.

Broader Impact: This section is less strictly connected to STEM endeavors and instead shows reviewers your commitment to the broader community beyond your research work (hence the term “Broader" Impacts, BI). The BI paragraph summarizes your work and contributions in relation to its positive effects on the people rather than just the research area (though your ties to the research area are still just as important). Additionally, highlight the community work you plan to do in graduate school and beyond, whether that be through the motivations behind your research interests (i.e. climate initiatives or justice in urban planning) or your desires to directly move the community as a whole (i.e. diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, graduate advice pipelines for historically underrepresented identities in STEM).

Future vision: Similar to the graduate statement of purpose, it is beneficial to close out your personal statement with goals that summarize your intellectual merit and broader impacts. Discuss how receiving the NSF GRFP award will be beneficial to your future endeavors in both the IM and BI causes.

The Research Plan

NSF values a scientist's ability to connect their work with the community. How have your past involvements with research, volunteering, and teaching shaped the scientist that you are today? In what ways do you hope or continue to contribute to your dedicated field of interest, and how do you want the broader community outside of your field to benefit from your involvement? These questions can be addressed in the Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts section of your personal statement, and is perhaps the most important component of the essay.

[something about intellectual merit here]

[something about broader impacts here]

General tips for the personal statement

It helps to have transition sentences that show the connections between each experience. Separate your sections with main headers, so that reviewers can clearly locate your research experience, community involvement, and future vision.

[describe the research plan and some tips and shit here]

Below are some examples of essays from winning NSF GRFP applications. They are listed in alphabetical order of the subject, and include the recipient name and the year the award was received.

Computational Science and Engineering, Adriana Ladera (2022), personal statement and research plan

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