Graduate study plan and personal statement: what belongs where?

A graduate study plan should explain what you want to study or research, why it matters to you and what preparation supports that direction. A personal statement can explain the experiences and goals behind your choices. Where a university separates the questions, give each answer a distinct job.

Copy the actual questions before drafting

UNIST's Spring 2027 second-round Form 2 separates research interests, a study plan and a personal statement. Its English limits are 500, 3,000 and 3,000 characters respectively, including spaces and line breaks. That round has closed; the form provides a concrete example of three different prompts.

Record your target institution's wording, language, character or word limit and input method. Even if you already have a finished statement for another school, mark which new questions it answers. Replacing only the university name can leave a prompt unanswered.

Give the three answers different roles

This is a GEA planning tool. Adapt the questions to the actual application. If a separate research proposal is requested, add its prompts rather than assuming these three sections replace it.

Build an evidence list before polishing sentences

List relevant courses, projects, final-year work and tasks from internships or employment. Beside each, record the problem, your role, method, result and remaining question. Collect facts explaining what you did before adding judgments about how impressive it was.

You can describe learning and direct experience without a published paper. If you have a publication, identify your contribution and the parts you can explain. Keep team achievements, individual work and skills still to learn distinct.

Use one experience without repeating one paragraph

Imagine a student who analysed transport data in a class and now considers urban studies. The research-interest answer could describe the question that emerged. The study plan could identify methods the student wants to learn. The personal statement could explain how they organised information and coordinated decisions within the team.

The same project can appear in three answers while each sentence contributes different information. There is no need to invent new results or methods. Find a connection with the university's curriculum or research field without forcing unrelated experience into it.

Review by question, then by wording

First check whether each answer addresses its prompt. Label sentences briefly: interest, preparation, learning goal or personal experience. Adjacent sentences with the same role and no new information are candidates for consolidation.

Next check facts, dates, programme names and institution names. Finally test the length in the actual application interface. Its counter may treat spacing or line breaks differently from your document editor. Follow the submission field's specified limit and review any text that failed to save.

Read the final version yourself after editing or translation

Begin with answers you can explain in your own words. After translation, compare the research question, periods, responsibilities and intended degree. If an elaborate phrase makes your meaning harder to explain aloud, rewrite it plainly.

Before submission, confirm that the experiences are yours, all prompts are answered and different answers contribute different information. Keep draft, reviewed and submitted versions separate so you can retrieve the actual submitted text for interview preparation.

Record your intended field, current qualification and target intake in the free study roadmap. To compare university options, review the scope and application route for GEA university matching.

Related reading: Contacting a supervisor · Application steps

Sources: UNIST Spring 2027 second-round guide and Form 2. Sources checked: 24 October 2026 · Prepared by GEA