Ahh. The dreaded essay. Every college asks it. Why do you want to go to their school? What could you offer them, and what do they offer you? What would you study there? And what plans can you draft up that will entertain the bored readers?
The truth is, many promotional materials that colleges post on their websites can be found on several other school websites as well. The fact that you wish to study abroad can be done at almost any other school. If you want to be engaged in some research project, you could probably find another research project at another school that would also engage you. If you want to join a dance team, I’m sure you’ll find other schools with amazing dance teams.
So what do you write?
I would say that there are three aspects of the college that must appeal to you and three ways that the college plan can really speak to you.
First, can you continue some things that have interested you in high school and continue broadening your horizons. I did debate in high school, and found some very interesting aspects of the college debate team that would appeal to me. Note that this went beyond simply, “you have a great debate team”, but rather stated interesting quirks of the college debate team that made it different from other schools. Perhaps that debate team focused on some Deluzian theory that was not read at any other college and would really focus on identity politics. That would be something interesting to write about. Or let’s say you like writing and the school you’re interested in has several journaling mentorship programs that would pair you with a journaling mentor. That would also be something interesting to write about. That is, try to be as specific about what you have been interested in so far and what the college has to offer that’s super specific.
Second, you should write about your future plans with that college degree. Every school has a great alumni network, and every college degree will open up doors for you. The real question would be how that specific college may enable you to get your specific job prospect. If you want to become a banker on Wall Street, then talk to the students at the business school of the university and ask them what specific university resources enabled them to match into those competitive jobs. And even if they don’t think that the university itself was integral for them to get the job, perhaps you can then ask them what specifically the job was looking for – whether it was prior job experience or a good GPA - and then try to relate that to how the university would help you garner those things.
Third, you should definitely relate how you would benefit from the cultural atmosphere of the college. It is difficult to know many of these quirky things that universities do to improve student mental health and make campus a fun place, but once you talk to some current students you can get some ideas. For example, at my school, we have fun activities planned everyday for the first 40 days of school to celebrate the South 40 campus. For example, one day there may be free music concerts. The next day there may be donuts being passed out. And the next would be a piano concert where two music professionals would compete against each other. There are also so many improv comedy groups that love to add new students. By figuring out what “fun” aspects of the college appeal to you, you can show the school that you’re a great fit for their environment.
What you ultimately have to realize is that “yield” is very important to schools. They don’t want to accept students who will ultimately decline their offer letters. Knowing a lot about a school and investing your time and energy into proving to the school why you would be a great fit is important for them to determine if you are truly interested, just as it is important for you to know if you would really enjoy the campus environment.
That’s it for now. Stay safe!
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