Tutors 21 | - Freelance Writer
Jan 05, 2024 | #1
QUESTION I - Too many applications!
Right now I am working like mad to finish all of my grad school applications and it feels like it is never going to end. I have almost everything filled out but the admission essays are killing me. All of the schools are asking for different length essays with different details. Is there any way to speed this up? I have five of these things due soon.
Answer
The best advice I can give you now is to relax, take a deep breath, and focus on what you need to do. The question you ask is one I hear all the time when it comes to graduate admissions, and I am pleased to tell you that there are some excellent strategies for minimizing your workload while maximizing your chances of getting accepted. First of all, graduate schools are well aware that most applicants apply to five to ten other schools, and that there is a tremendous amount of repetition involved in this process. Therefore, although each school wants something slightly different, they do not check whether you have used the same essay, or pieces of the same essay, in your application to other schools. This means that you are free to cut, paste, and synthesize anything you use in any of your essays for inclusion in any other.
As you pointed out, schools ask for different things, but in the many applications you will find yourself doing, you will notice yourself saying the same phrases time and again, repeating information, and answering questions that, while different, require the same responses. The best way to start is to locate which school wants the longest, most completely thorough essay, and finish this. Then, complete the next most demanding essay, pasting in as many elements as you can from the first. Repeating this process for every essay, always using the relevant material from your previous essays, will make your later essays speed past faster than you thought possible. This cascading method of writing allows you to avoid the tedium of redundancy, while minimizing the time you have to spend. By the time you get to the final few, you will be doing almost no writing at all, merely cutting, pasting, and integrating existing materials.
Under no circumstances should you even consider submitting one essay to all of the schools to which you will be applying! Since they are subtly different, you will either not be addressing the important questions, or you will be providing far too much information in an attempt to answer every question asked by every school! Using the customized cascading approach provides you with the benefits of contemplating without losing the personalized flavor of each different essay.'
QUESTION II - Dropping names
I am arguing with my friend that who you know is more important than what you know for getting into grad school. She doesn't want to put in the fact that she knows profs from other schools to her admissions essay but I am trying to tell her it only makes sense. Its like anything else in life, if you know people you have a better chance.
Answer
Ahh, this is an argument that goes back a long way, and is about a lot more than just graduate admissions essays, but it certainly is a relevant one to have in this context. First of all, let me say that I DO NOT agree that "who you know" is more important that "what you know" when it comes to graduate admissions. You could be the daughter of the department head or the son of the dean, but if you don't have the required grades and research background, all of your connections will not amount to anything. Merit is still vitally important, and without it, even the president (of the school, or even of the country!) would have a hard time getting you in.
That being said, I do agree that knowing someone in the school to which you will be applying is a definite advantage, and if you have such an association, this is something which MUST be included in your application essay. People are often reluctant to do this kind of "name-dropping" because they feel it is unfair, or they want to succeed on their own merits, rather than because of a connection they are lucky enough to have made. However, when it comes to the dog-eat-dog process of applying to graduate school, please remember that students are striving for every single edge they can get, and that not taking advantage of any angle is a recipe for disaster.
Think of it like this. You are choosing someone to work for your business, and you have a list of hundreds of applications to choose from. All of them could do the job, and even after you have trimmed the pile by increasing the minimum qualifications, you still have more than a quarter of the applicants remaining. At this point, your choice becomes almost arbitrary; you could pick names from a hat and still get a very strong employee. However, you go through the pile and realize you have been corresponding with one of the applicants, and that this person seems quite personable and interested in your company. I don't think it would be a mistake to choose this person for the position; you know them already to some degree, and you know you are getting someone you will get along with. If you know someone you would like to work with at a given school, make sure to include this in your admissions essay. It gives you a face in a sea of anonymity, which may be the factor which allows you to rise to the top.
Answers by Rose, graduateediting@gmail.com
Right now I am working like mad to finish all of my grad school applications and it feels like it is never going to end. I have almost everything filled out but the admission essays are killing me. All of the schools are asking for different length essays with different details. Is there any way to speed this up? I have five of these things due soon.
Answer
The best advice I can give you now is to relax, take a deep breath, and focus on what you need to do. The question you ask is one I hear all the time when it comes to graduate admissions, and I am pleased to tell you that there are some excellent strategies for minimizing your workload while maximizing your chances of getting accepted. First of all, graduate schools are well aware that most applicants apply to five to ten other schools, and that there is a tremendous amount of repetition involved in this process. Therefore, although each school wants something slightly different, they do not check whether you have used the same essay, or pieces of the same essay, in your application to other schools. This means that you are free to cut, paste, and synthesize anything you use in any of your essays for inclusion in any other.As you pointed out, schools ask for different things, but in the many applications you will find yourself doing, you will notice yourself saying the same phrases time and again, repeating information, and answering questions that, while different, require the same responses. The best way to start is to locate which school wants the longest, most completely thorough essay, and finish this. Then, complete the next most demanding essay, pasting in as many elements as you can from the first. Repeating this process for every essay, always using the relevant material from your previous essays, will make your later essays speed past faster than you thought possible. This cascading method of writing allows you to avoid the tedium of redundancy, while minimizing the time you have to spend. By the time you get to the final few, you will be doing almost no writing at all, merely cutting, pasting, and integrating existing materials.
Under no circumstances should you even consider submitting one essay to all of the schools to which you will be applying! Since they are subtly different, you will either not be addressing the important questions, or you will be providing far too much information in an attempt to answer every question asked by every school! Using the customized cascading approach provides you with the benefits of contemplating without losing the personalized flavor of each different essay.'
QUESTION II - Dropping names
I am arguing with my friend that who you know is more important than what you know for getting into grad school. She doesn't want to put in the fact that she knows profs from other schools to her admissions essay but I am trying to tell her it only makes sense. Its like anything else in life, if you know people you have a better chance.
Answer
Ahh, this is an argument that goes back a long way, and is about a lot more than just graduate admissions essays, but it certainly is a relevant one to have in this context. First of all, let me say that I DO NOT agree that "who you know" is more important that "what you know" when it comes to graduate admissions. You could be the daughter of the department head or the son of the dean, but if you don't have the required grades and research background, all of your connections will not amount to anything. Merit is still vitally important, and without it, even the president (of the school, or even of the country!) would have a hard time getting you in.
That being said, I do agree that knowing someone in the school to which you will be applying is a definite advantage, and if you have such an association, this is something which MUST be included in your application essay. People are often reluctant to do this kind of "name-dropping" because they feel it is unfair, or they want to succeed on their own merits, rather than because of a connection they are lucky enough to have made. However, when it comes to the dog-eat-dog process of applying to graduate school, please remember that students are striving for every single edge they can get, and that not taking advantage of any angle is a recipe for disaster.
Think of it like this. You are choosing someone to work for your business, and you have a list of hundreds of applications to choose from. All of them could do the job, and even after you have trimmed the pile by increasing the minimum qualifications, you still have more than a quarter of the applicants remaining. At this point, your choice becomes almost arbitrary; you could pick names from a hat and still get a very strong employee. However, you go through the pile and realize you have been corresponding with one of the applicants, and that this person seems quite personable and interested in your company. I don't think it would be a mistake to choose this person for the position; you know them already to some degree, and you know you are getting someone you will get along with. If you know someone you would like to work with at a given school, make sure to include this in your admissions essay. It gives you a face in a sea of anonymity, which may be the factor which allows you to rise to the top.
Answers by Rose, graduateediting@gmail.com