If you are having trouble, ask a friend or relative to make a list of your strengths or unique qualities that you plan to read on your own (and not argue about immediately). What details or anecdotes would help your reader understand you? What makes you special? Is there something about your family, your education, your work/life experience, or your values that has shaped you and brought you to this career field? What motivates or interests you? Do you have special skills, like leadership, management, research, or communication? Why would the members of the program want to choose you over other applicants? Be honest with yourself and write down your ideas. Again, doing research on the program may reveal ways to legitimate even your most superficial and selfish reasons for applying. For example, you may want to go to a program in a particular location because it is a place that you know very well and have ties to, or because there is a need in your field there. You don’t want to be completely straightforward in these cases and appear superficial, but skirting around them or lying can look even worse. A word about honesty here-you may have a reason for choosing a program that wouldn’t necessarily sway your reader for example, you want to live near the beach, or the program is the most prestigious and would look better on your resume. Why is this the program you want to be admitted to? What is special about the faculty, the courses offered, the placement record, the facilities you might be using? If you can’t think of anything particular, read the brochures they offer, go to events, or meet with a faculty member or student in the program. What are the benefits and what are the shortcomings? When did you become interested in the field and why? What path in that career interests you right now? Brainstorm and write these ideas out. Think about why you and you particularly want to enter that field. Several short answers to more specific questionsĭo some research before you start writing.A one-page essay answering a general question.Make sure you follow page and word limits exactly-err on the side of shortness, not length. If you don’t do what they ask, the reader may wonder if you will be able to follow directions in their program. One of the basic tasks of the application essay is to follow the directions. You know most of the things you need to say already. Don’t make this a deadline task-now’s the time to write, read, rewrite, give to a reader, revise again, and on until the essay is clear, concise, and compelling. It should reflect how you arrived at your professional goals, why the program is ideal for you, and what you bring to the program. Before you start writingīecause the application essay can have a critical effect upon your progress toward a career, you should spend significantly more time, thought, and effort on it than its typically brief length would suggest. This handout will help you write and revise the personal statement required by many graduate programs, internships, and special academic programs. Application Essays What this handout is about
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