5 Ways to Highlight Your Strengths in a Liberal Arts Grad School Essay
|
Posted By: Hija Chang on July 22, 2016 Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here. Last year, graduate school applications were up to the largest amount since the end of the Great Depression. At prestigious programs, the competition for a spot is fierce. One key to demonstrating that you are a good fit for the program to which you are applying is the application essay. The two kinds of essays you may encounter are the statement of purpose and the personal statement. The statement of purpose is more geared toward your focused plans while the personal statement is broader in scope. There may or may not be a specific prompt to answer. Either of these types of essay is a critical instrument to convincing the admissions committee that you are a good fit for the program. However, it can be hard to know where to begin. 1. Recollect and reflect. Take time to think about your skills. Liberal arts students often overlook or underestimate the skills they have outside of their specific critical field. These may actually underpin a more relevant quality so don’t be afraid to include them. 2. Make a list and check it twice. List out all of these strengths on paper. Then brainstorm specific anecdotes from your academic career, or extracurricular work that highlight them. Remember that you want to differentiate yourself from hundreds of candidates. You likely have more than descriptive event per representative quality. Choose the story where you can give the most detail and that could have happened to the fewest number of people. 3. Get a second opinion. Have a trusted friend or, better yet a qualified admissions professional—one who has specifically guided liberal arts candidates, evaluate your profile. Compare their observations of your assets and weakness to yours. You may find some surprises. Reconcile these and in the overlap begin to draw out the important narrative points of your essay. 4. Keep if brief. Many grad applicants—especially those coming from Liberal Arts majors who are used to writing—think they need to write a long tome. Make sure to follow the requested formatting and wordcount guidelines. You should never submit something over the specified length. Depending on the question and program most grad school application essays are from 500-1500 words or 1-2 pages. 5. Connect the dots. Make sure that you clearly tie your past and present experiences to the future. You need to properly emphasize your academic and professional trajectory. Liberal Arts programs are interested in how you have been shaped by the past, how it has influenced your present work and how you plan to extend these things into the future whether in your research, your projects or your perspective. The adcom wants to know how you will contribute not only to the individual program, but how you will contribute to the university as a whole. Make sure you tell them in your essay. Using these 5 steps will help you write an admission essay that truly stands out. Admissions officers for liberal arts grad programs are used to reading a high caliber of writing, so make sure to go big or go home! Laurie Martin is the Director of Undergraduate and Graduate Consulting at Stratus Prep. She she has ten years of experience in admissions consulting, including work at one of the country’s top college preparatory schools. She has her B.A. from Columbia and a master’s degree from NYU. A former journalist and published author; Laurie is also a former All-American athlete who understands the most important aspects of the college process and how to get an edge on the competition. Learn more about Stratus Prep’s Graduate School Admissions Consulting here. https://stratusprep.com/admissions/graduat... If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
 |
Hija Chang
Management, See Moss Interactive Bellarmine University class of 2021 Member Since January 2011 |
Comments
More From This Author
Latest Graduate School Info
 |
Graduate Student Fellowship Opportunity!We, at www.stemuscenter.org, just completed our first two informational sessions on Research Fellowship opportunity for STEM and Social Science doctoral students.
The mission of our center is to te ...more
Manisha Maurya • 2,180 Views • October 23rd, 2024 |
 |
4 Habits for Success in Online SchoolOnline education has become an increasingly popular option for students over the years, especially due to the current global pandemic. However, succeeding in online school takes more than just a good ...more
Anica Oaks • 2,500 Views • February 1st, 2024 |
Popular Graduate School Info
 |
People Judge Your Intelligence Based on the Tone of Your Voice and How Fast You Speak
Do you want people to think you are intelligent? Has someone ever told you “You’re much smarter than you look.”?
No doubt it can sting to be perceived as less intelligent, particularly when you ...more
Hija Chang • 32,833 Views • June 12th, 2017 |
 |
Magna, Summa, and the Honor RollWhat does it mean to graduate with honors? Academic honors involve these Latin terms...
What is Cum Laude: Graduating With Honor means graduating cum laude. What does cum laude mean? Translators de ...more
Hija Chang • 27,584 Views • March 16th, 2016 |
 |
How to Improve Your Reading Comprehension If youd like to improve your reading comprehension, try the SQ3R method. This is an acronym that means: Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review.
Heres how it works:
Survey Your Text
Prior t ...more
Hija Chang • 25,407 Views • June 12th, 2017 |
 |
Never procrastinate and always free time…..One blog I read regularly is by Leo Babauta, called zen habits. Essentially, he writes all about simplifying your life. A while ago, Scott Young was a guest blogger for Babuata’s website and wrote a p ...more
Hija Chang • 14,254 Views • April 19th, 2018 |
 |
MVSU to host Graduate Expo March 1Why should you consider an advanced degree? How will you finance your graduate education? What program of study is the best fit for you?
For the answer to these questions and many more, attend Mis ...more
Hija Chang • 13,377 Views • February 27th, 2018 |
