Ideation: Brainstorming Exercises
In the final step of the ideation process, we systematically map our values onto our brainstormed memories to generate a list of potential concepts for our personal statements
Quick Recap
We’ve discussed the concept of the Valley of Despair and how to begin your personal statement by highlighting moments of potential failure when discussing achievements.
We've also emphasized the importance of understanding your audience, considering who the reader is, what they value, and the stories and references they might recognize.
We examined the Common App prompts, and identified that they revolve around our understanding of our personal growth and our ability to be reflective.
We identified our core values and thought about which of our experiences best exemplify these values.
Finally, we have practiced the "I Remember" brainstorming exercise to bring details from our subconscious into our conscious mind. We completed this exercise for several days in a row and transferred any notable ideas from our notebook into a Word/Google document.
Map Your Core Values Onto Your Experiences:
On a Word doc or Excel sheet, match your brainstormed memories with your identified core values.
Tag (note) each memory with the corresponding value.
Examine the Connections:
Look for patterns where different memories share the same core values.
Notice if logically-connected stories represent different values
Making these connections helps demonstrate your self-awareness and ensures your unique story and personal development is front and center in your essay.
An Example:
If your core values are collaboration, accountability, and giving back, and you have a core memory of baking a cake with your grandmother, you might tag that memory as representing the value of collaboration.
Once you’ve tagged all your memories, start examining them. You might find that baking a cake with grandma is connected to seemingly unrelated memories, like assembling robots on your robotics team. This exercise can reveal surprising connections: frequently two or more disconnected stories share the same core value.
You might also find that two logically connected stories exemplify different values.
Key Takeaways:
Map your values onto your experiences and examine the ways your experiences might be connected through your core values.
Once you have completed this exercise you will be in great position to choose a concept for your personal statement.