🎉 2022 Update 🎉

EasyPS now has an easier-to-use Python API! Check it out at PyEasyPS!

:page_facing_up: EasyPS

EasyPS is a simple and easy-to-use personal statement LaTeX framework. This solves the problem of messy and duplicated tex files when writing personal statements for multiple universities.

Table of contents

• Download
• Usage
• Why should I use this?
• Warning for users :heavy_exclamation_mark:

Download

There are two main methods to download the file, choose one only.

1. Download as a ZIP file by clicking the green Code button above.

2. If you have git installed, just clone the repository.

   git clone https://github.com/salfaris/easy-ps
   

Usage

Only 4 steps: open, update settings, write content, compile.

1. Go to the main directory and open main.tex in your favorite LaTeX text editor (mine is Sublime Text).

2. Change these variables accordingly:

   studentName{insert-your-name}
   psForUniversity{insert-uni-you-are-applying-to}
   courseName{insert-your-course-name}
   showTitle{true/false}
   

   :heavy_exclamation_mark: There is one caveat for the psForUniversity variable; keep reading.

3. Open the content directory and create a new .tex file named exactly equal (word-for-word) to what you inserted in the psForUniversity variable. Then write your personal statement normally in this file.

   Note the file name must be the same word-for-word for otherwise, it will crash at compile time.

4. Build your PDF file as usual.

Why should I use this?

Using this framework, you can easily add as many personal statements you want and activate/deactivate them by commenting out. For example, suppose this is my current settings in the preamble.

\studentName{Sal Faris}

% Uni of Cambridge
\psForUniversity{cambridge.tex}
\courseName{MPhil in Advanced Computer Science}
\showTitle{true}

%% Imperial College London
% \psForUniversity{imperial.tex}
% \courseName{MSc Computing}
% \showTitle{false}

If I make an edit to my PS content for Imperial and want to build again, it is as simple as comment/uncomment code.

\studentName{Sal Faris}

%% Uni of Cambridge
% \psForUniversity{cambridge.tex}
% \courseName{MPhil in Advanced Computer Science}
% \showTitle{true}

% Imperial College London
\psForUniversity{imperial.tex}
\courseName{MSc Computing}
\showTitle{false}

Warning for users :heavy_exclamation_mark:

1. Directory and file names are sensitive, so changing the names of, for example, content and easyps.cls may cause a crash.

2. Do not edit anything after \begin{document}; unless you know what you are doing.

3. Again we emphasize, psForUniversity must match a .tex file in the content directory.