Tip 25 : Don't use a word unless you're certain you know how
A fairly obvious concept, but worth noting - I do sometimes read personal statements where the applicant has misused a word. This is particularly true when conjugating verbs, as the English language includes a wide variety of idiosyncrasies that are not necessarily obvious.
There's a chance that the reader won't notice, but it's more likely to confuse or annoy them. Neither of those are ideal results, so once again - If in doubt, leave it out.
Tip 26 : Be careful with acronyms
Just like unusual words, be very careful with your use of acronyms. Again, industry knowledge and experience is going to help here, because it will give you a solid feel for whether an acronym is in common use or not.
If you're not sure whether or not an acronym is appropriate, consider the number of characters saved by using the acronym. Some acronyms only save a few characters, so if you're not sure it'll be understood, just use the full version - It's simpler that way. Moreover, not all statements have word count restrictions, and if so you can avoid using the acronym.
If, however, you want to save space and the acronym saves lots of characters, you have a few options:
-Use it anyway - Potentially risky if you're not sure the reader will understand
-Write your sentence in a different way that doesn't require the acronym - This is usually possible without significantly increasing the number of words/characters used
-Write the acronym out in long hand the first time, and include the acronym in brackets after - Once you've done this, you can freely use the acronym throughout the remainder of your personal statement. E.g. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
If you must include an unusual acronym in your personal statement, option three is usually the best option.