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 5 Things to Avoid (when writing a grad school essay)

In this post, I want to cover a few things that you should avoid when writing your grad school essay. I wouldn’t qualify these “things” as tips, but rather a few thoughts to keep in mind when working on your application. I have seen people making these …hmmm how should I frame it… mistakes? several times in their essays, cover letters and statements of purpose, so I’ve figured I should make this NOT TO DO LIST.

   1. DO NOT repeat everything that you did in life

That is just something I see people doing all the time…First, I worked at McDonald’s, and then I did art school, and then I worked in consulting, and now I want to go to grad school to study politics. Well, if you cannot connect all these pieces of information together and build a cohesive story, then omit certain facts of your biography. The admissions committee probably has a copy of your resume anyway. Remember that your essay is a story and you are a story-teller. According to the experts from homework help online you should only pick up the facts that support your arguments and help you build a story.

    2. DO NOT state the obvious

Saying things like “I always liked economics and I want to study more economics because I want to be an expert in economics”, “I need this degree because I need a job” is stating the obvious. The admission committee already knows it. At the end of the day, that’s what everybody else is going to a grad school for – study what they like and get a job. These statements will not help you stand out.

   3. DO NOT lie

I would highly discourage you from telling lies or misrepresenting certain facts of your biography. First, it is unethical. Second, you don’t want to end up in trouble if the admission committee figures out that everything you said in your essay is untrue. My academic advisor once told me this: “You can embellish, but don’t lie.” At the end of the day, you can always choose a better, more poetic word to illustrate your point; choose a more sophisticated grammar structure to highlight certain experiences of your life to make them sound interesting. Be creative, grad school is all about creativity. This is your first test!

Read: https://studydaddy.com/attachment/37732/chapter_4.pdf

   4. AVOID uncertain words

If you are spending X amount of time and Y amount of money on your grad school application, you should be quite confident that the only thing you want to achieve in the near future is indeed grad school. Therefore, do not use words like “maybe, I guess, probably, I assume” on your application. It makes the admissions committee wonder whether you are confident in your choice. Don’t let them wonder. At least on the paper, you should sound confident in your life choices!

   5. AVOID “I qualify to be a student at your school or university” type of rhetoric

Hate when people do that. Unfortunately, too many still opt for “I qualify” type of statements in their essays, saying things like…I passed the GRE, TOEFL, I worked for 2-3 years in the field, I have collected letters of recommendations, take me. (Wow… What a hero!) What these people do not realize is that so did 100% of other applicants, and simply stating “I qualify” does not help anybody to stand out from the crowd. Remember, your application is not about “qualifying”, but about being better than all the other “qualifying” applicants. DO NOT focus on meeting the “minimum” (basic) criteria.

More resources:

7 Tips to Master your Grad School Essay

How to Write A Successful Medical School Essay

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Getting Started on Your College Essay