Begin Investing Now

Admission to graduate school is not easy. In fact, it is highly competitive, especially if you want to get into a prestigious university and graduate program. Ivy League universities often have very selective admissions criteria in which only a small percentage of hopeful candidates get a thumbs-up.

The graduate admission essay and other admission requirements

Obviously, you cannot get into a graduate program without a bachelor’s degree. Admission requirements vary from one university or program to another, but generally, you need to have an impressive GPA, pass a battery of tests and interviews, great recommendations from your college professors and other mentors, and an excellent graduate admission
essay.

How to write an impressive graduate admission essay

Your essay is your statement of purpose, and it can make or break your application. A good essay should be able to present your suitability for the graduate degree that you wish to pursue. Although the question, “Why do you want to pursue graduate studies from this university?” seems very basic, it is not easy to answer. After all, you need to keep in mind that the answer should present you at your best, particularly focusing on your values, interests, and accomplishments.

The admissions board’s purpose for requiring you to write your essay is to determine why you are worthy of being accepted into graduate school. To meet their expectations, you need to go through four fundamental stages: pre-writing, drafting, editing, and proofreading. As with any type of writing, a good admissions essay requires organization of ideas, so you need to brainstorm, narrow down your ideas, and come up with a comprehensive outline in the pre-writing stage. Brainstorming simply means that you draw ideas from your unconscious mind and bring them to the surface. Think about your personal experiences; answer questions, like “What do you consider as major accomplishments?” and “Why do you think of them as such?” Don’t attempt to write off ideas at this stage. Just let the ideas flow, and record them as they come through listing or “free writing.”

Once you feel satisfied with your list, narrow your list down by matching the items to the specifications of the program tha 1000 t you want. For instance, if you are applying for a program in political science, your winning a trophy at a singing competition would have far less value than being a member of your college’s debate society. Afterwards, organize your outline. Do you want to present a chronological review of your accomplishments or would you rather present ideas grouped according to your interests, philosophies, and influences? During the drafting or writing stage, make sure that you highlight your best qualities. If you are resilient and determined, for instance, write about an experience at work or in college wherein you pulled through a major disappointment. Don’t make up stories, though. When you write, think about how your degree would help you give back to the community and not just how it can help you fulfill your dreams.

Edit your work for grammatical slips, and tweak it around so the content creates a stronger impact. You want the board to see you as a well-versed, logical individual and not as a scatterbrain. Proofread for any typographical errors and misplaced punctuation. Get someone whose opinion you respect to read your essay. Your essay should make you feel proud of yourself before you send it in.

By: Nancy Haverford

Sample graduate school admission essay PhD program

Sample graduate school admission essay PhD program. November 21st, 2009. “Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company.” – Booker T. Washington … Aside from having an excellent business school with an outstanding MBA program, the institution is also a prominent historical symbol as Texas’ second oldest public institution of higher learning established to educate a diverse student population. …

Winners of the Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton awards

The annual awards, worth $15000 each, recognize outstanding mid-career artists in the seven disciplines funded by the Canada Council: dance, integrated arts, media arts, music, theatre, visual arts and writing and publishing. … He is a graduate of the Emily Carr University of Art + Design (Media Division) and he obtained an MFA in Studio Arts (Open Media) from Concordia University.

Cameron’s Journal: Outstanding

In high school I got used to being really good at everything and having people heap praise on me… and the work paid off in the form of admission to a top college. I haven’t felt like I’ve been outstanding since then. … I can’t cook, I can ‘t do laundry, and I can’t write essays because my computer’s uninterruptable power supply is about to run out of juice. I think I’m going to go eat some beef jerky and peanut butter-nutella bread then listen to some podcasts

An open letter to graduate students and young scientists in fields

After spending considerable time reading the hacked emails and other posts in the blogosphere, I wrote an essay that calls for greater transparency in climate data and other methods used in climate research. ….. A truly outstanding independent scientist can get over ‘peer pressure’, not just get through ‘peer review’. We should strive for ‘critical review’ instead of ‘peer review’.

Graduate College names 3 outstanding graduate mentors

You can read the full mentoring essay by each of the award winners, as well as statements from past winners, at the Graduate College Web site http://graduate.asu.edu/outstandingmentors.html.

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: admission essays, graduate admissions essay, graduate school admission essay

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 4:47 am and is filed under Graduate Admission Essays. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.