I've almost completed my app for grad school. All that remains is one reference and my Statement of Goals. I've already written a page without a problem but I'm not sure what I'm actually "supposed" to be doing here.

Should it be double spaced?
One page?
About me personally (while relevant to the degree)?

I keep running Google searches but I can't find an answer I feel I can trust. So I turn to 3FC - any grad students/alums who know what I'm supposed to be doing here?

Hi lovedancelive:

Just a few thoughts for your statement of goals: I would include a detailed background on how you came to the decision to pursue the field you chose and what you plan to do with the knowledge that you gain. While these two points sound simple, what you write should reflect what is meaningful to you. The statement should also include what you have already accomplished in pursuit of your goals.

I know that you may be at a time in your life when you aren't certain what your goals are. I recommend that you think about this separately from putting together the application. Think big about the possibilities of what you can do and what you are passionate about. The people who review these applications are hoping to get some insight on who you are.

When I applied to law school, I explained that I had become interested in law because of a terrible incident. When I was a college freshman, a classmate of mine was murdered down the hall from me in a dorm. I became entangled in the criminal justice system, was interviewd by police as a witness, and attended the trial of her killer. Subsequently in college, I did field studies of the criminal justice system and worked with parolees. In other words, I gave a detailed history and personalized my essay.

Regarding the formatting, I would double space the essay and divide it into separately titled sections, such as A. Personal History, B. Summary of Experience, C. Long Term Goals. Make it visually easy to read.

The length isn't as important as the content but I will say that if your statement is too short, it will appear as though you didn't want to put any effort into writing it. The statement also shouldn't be too long. It should be thorough but succinct. You will know when the statement is complete.

I wish you the best of luck!

I ended up with about 800 words so I hope that's okay. And I really put thought into it, I kind of enjoyed writing it, so I hope they don't hate it.