Even though the graduate school essay is relatively short in comparison to other papers in college, it is often the most frustrating and difficult item in an application. I asked my friend Maran, a test prep consultant, to weigh in on the issue with some pointers she doles out to her students.
The essays may be only 500 words, but is a critical part of your graduate school application. It can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection. In these few words lies your one opportunity to tell your story. You can share what is unique and set yourself apart from the statistics. The numbers are just numbers. One GMAT score looks basically like another. However in the well-written essays the admission board discovers people.
Challenge number one: What on earth and heaven do I write about? You are no longer an undergraduate student. You are applying to grad school and therefore must know exactly what you want and who you are. You know what brought you to this point and how your strengths are an ideal complement to this or that program. Right? As an applicant to graduate school you have a perfect understanding of your strengths and weaknesses and how these have influenced your important choices. You see clearly the watershed moments of your profound life and understand their deeper meaning?
No, not yet. In my experience graduate school applicants still have not synthesized the events and experiences of their lives into a cohesive and compelling story. The pieces of their lives are just that, pieces. They do not yet add to a greater whole. That is what a successful essay can do.
When helping a dear friend apply to Wharton Business School his essays dumbfounded me. My friend is a guy who was at the top of his game professionally. Anything he touched turned to gold. His GMAT score was way beyond average. Yet his essays were abysmal. When asked about the most telling moment in his life he briefly talked about a seemingly insignificant Christmas from when he was twelve. Nothing added up. It was forgettable and unimpressive. The essays did not communicate his successes. They did not tell his story and they would certainly not convince anyone he’d be an asset to the classroom.
After a few difficult, probing, and introspective brainstorming sessions we found the pieces of his life and wove them into a story. He credits his carefully brainstormed essays to an acceptance to Wharton Business School. Find a friend, parent, and/or partner who know you well and delve into your life and make a story.