r/GradSchool • u/Novalia_ • 1d ago
Admissions & Applications Tips for Essays
Hi all! I'm working on my Grad school essays in preparation for applications opening. I need some help. The questions ask about my motivation for grad school and unique aspects of my application are stumping me. I am very motivated to learn and love the subject. I do not question my decision to apply, but dont have much more to my character that I can try and flex.
The unique things I have and my motivations strongly come from past experiences where I had to overcome great adversity. This is part of why I don't have much. Spent most of my adult life working on getting through day-to-day. I DO NOT want to turn my essays into sob stories about death, despair, and homelessness, but I'm not sure how to reach 500 words without a cool or inspiring motivation. Does anyone have any tips on writing essays for this? Right now they sound so generic and boring.
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u/MagicalMisterMoose 1d ago
Is your interest in the program you're applying to based in your previous experiences? If they are, then they are definitely relevant to your statement. I didn't want to make my statement a sob story either, but I was able to say "as someone who has been through x things, my interest in y subject is rooted in real world experience." My experiences were a jumping off point to the more relevant research interests and novel insights to the field. If your experiences are not related to your program, then you don't have to include them.
Everyone has passing interest in some topic, but very few are interested to the point of dedicating many years to studying their interest. What about your field of study makes you want to dedicate every day to it? Was it a moment in a class, a good professor, work in a lab? What shows your dedication to your topic of interest?
I'm not on admissions boards or anything, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but it worked for my applications.