Thread by @MushtaqBilal3

1. #Fulbright Personal Statement (PS) 101

Part 1

Before you start writing your PS, you MUST know what a PS actually is. It's very important.

I've seen people trying to write a PS without even knowing what it is, or what it's purpose is 🧵 (20 tweets)

2. It may be because in Pak/South Asian educational systems, one is required to memorize the materials taught and reproduce them in exams 😢

If you come from such an educational background, writing a PS would ask a significant SHIFT in your perspective.

3. I've seen a lot of people resist changing their worldview as a result of which they approach PS with resentment and even anger 🤷‍♂️

If you do so, your resentment/anger would show through your writing. And you'll only have your own self to blame then.

4. Instead of resentment, I'd suggest you approach it with curiosity and humility, with a sincere desire to learn🙏

So, now that you've shown that you're open to changing your perspective, let's get down to it, shall we?

5. A PS is a story about how your past educational and personal experiences have shaped your worldview and made you the person that you are today.

And based on these experiences, how do you envision your future 10 years down the line.

6. What PS asks for is your OWN unique vision for your own self. Not for your family, not your friends, and not for your country.

In other words, PS asks you to answer the question: what do you WANT to do with your life?

7. Another way of understanding this is to think about what you want to do in life and NOT what you need to do.

I may need a 9 to 5 minimum-wage job to put food on the table but it's not something I'd WANT to do. What do I WANT to do in life?

8. Figuring out what your vision is the HARDEST part because this is how most of us are taught and brought up: get a college degree, get a job, get married, have babies, wait for your kids to marry, and die😂

Not much of a vision, eh!

9. For writing a PS, you MUST have a vision for yourself, and there is only one person in the world who can tell you what your vision is, or should be.

And that's YOU.

10. But vision is a bit tricky:

You don't want to say that your vision is to bring peace to the Middle East, or end world hunger.

Admirable as it is, it'd make you look cocky and over-ambitious.

11. You also don't want to say that your vision is to get a degree in XYZ and then get a "good" job.

That'd make you look naïve.

You want to appear confident but humble, ambitious but grounded.

12. Once you've figured out what your vision for yourself is, the next thing a PS asks is how you plan to execute your vision.

You MUST have a plan, no matter how provisional or tentative. It's not something written in stone.

13. Let me give you an example...

If you've read so far, it means you find my writing interesting.

If that's the case, you'd love reading the story of my own struggle. It's called, "Hustle, Love, and a Little Regret."

https://twitter.com/MushtaqBilal3/status/1517878701857386501

14. Back to the example:

While growing up in a low-income household, X saw her grandmother grow old and lonely. As a college student, her VISION is to do something to decrease her grandma's loneliness.

15. So, X gave some tuitions, saved up, and bought her grandma a smartphone. X taught her grandma how to make phone calls and to play games on the smartphone.

Her grandma's loneliness decreased as a result, and she started feeling happier.

16. One day while waiting for a cab X has an idea: how about an app that connects lonely old people and brings them together to talk in real life.

X reads up on mobile apps and starts learning coding on her own.

17. She talks to her friends and they team up to make a low-budget prototype.

The prototype fails.

X keeps working and realizes that if she had access to better training and facilities she'd be able to make a much better product.

18. She comes to know that she could receive a much better training at Stanford. She looks up their programs but realizes she can never afford going to Stanford.

So...

... she writes to Fulbright about her vision and her failed plan, and her inability to afford Stanford.

19. Fulbright people read X's PS and give her a fully-funded scholarship to attend Stanford.

What happens in Stanford is beyond the scope of a PS.

So, what have we learned from this example?

X has a VISION. And X had a PLAN. The plan failed but that doesn't matter.

20. This thread was about what a PS is.

How to prepare yourself to write a compelling PS is a separate topic.

If people are interested I can do a thread on that too.

If this tweets gets 200 likes, I'll do the thread.

Good luck all.