Essay Writing: Make it about YOU

Having now gone through another 3/4 of a season analyzing and assessing essays, I’m going to talk about one of the most common issues I see: the generic essay.

Does this sound familiar?

“As a consultant, I’ve been focusing on strategizing solutions and advising clients in order to help them meet their management goals.”

If you’re a consultant it should definitely sound familiar, because it is your job description! It’s your job description whether you’re at McKinsey, BCG, or Bain & Company (etc.) and whether you’re in New York, Mumbai or Buenos Aires (etc.). In fact, that description may sound familiar even if you’re not in consulting. Take out “consultant” and substitute your career and the sentence could still make perfect sense. It is similar to a cashier saying, “I am a cashier and I focus on helping customers check their items out of the store.” Admissions committees know what consultants (and investment bankers and salespeople…) do. But what can you tell them about what you have done, about what you have contributed?

Avoid the generic sentence that tells the admissions committee nothing about you. Your goal, with each sentence that you write, is to give the admissions committee an additional morsel of information or insight about who you are as a person – what you have done, what you hope to learn, what you value. If two or three sentences go by and the reader still doesn’t know anything further about you, then you are not effectively using the space given in the essay.

Another place where I see similar genericness is in the “Why XYZ School” section of the goals essay. Here is an example:

“Your global leadership program will teach me all the fundamentals about leading in global settings, exposing me to various ideas and perspectives about leadership in international business.”

It is like saying,

“Your cake baking class will allow me to learn about all the various aspects of how to bake a cake, turning batter into a cake through the method of baking.” 

Instead of re-describing to the admissions committee what their resources are all about, explain how they will allow you to get the specific knowledge, skills and experiences you are looking for. Why, specifically, do you want to study international leadership? Are you hoping to work in the international division of a company after your degree? Do you currently lack international experience, or are you hoping to build upon what you already have? What specific knowledge – market entry, human resource management, strategy, etc. – do you need in order to achieve your goals? 

If you find that any of your text can be written by any other applicant, then you know you are being too general. With each essay you have limited space in which to tell your story; make sure you are telling yours, not that of 500 other applicants.

No comments yet.

Leave a comment