Including Personal Information in Your Academic Statement The information that you include in your Annual Academic Statement draft can be as personal as you wish because the audience is primarily you. Your Annual Statement also can be seen by your faculty from your previous quarter and from any class you are registered for. Including personal information in your Final Academic Statement is a highly individual choice because the audience is much broader. No one can tell you the right way to tell your story, and sometimes a little personalization can go a long way to leave an impression on those who may read your Academic Statement in the future. When you should think carefully about including personal information: Some of your personal information is protected by law. These laws exist to prevent demographic profiling and discrimination in hiring practices and admissions to institutions of higher learning. Your sex, gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, parental status, marital status, citizenship, immigration status, socioeconomic status, physical or mental health, ability, personal history with drugs or alcohol, housing status, and pay history (in some states) cannot be inquired about by potential employers, nor anyone making admissions decisions. Even though some of these pieces of personal data are requested as part of the application process for university programs, they are still protected from some audiences. With the exception of financial information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms, all demographic information is considered optional. Admissions committees do not have access to your FAFSA, and demographic information is redacted from the copy of your application that the admissions committee sees. This means that the only way they will know any of these things is if you tell them in the form of your admissions essay, letters of recommendation, in-person interview, or in this case, the Final Academic Statement in your transcript.
36 | The Evergreen State College | Writing Center
