graduate admission essay examples

graduate admission essay examples

The Importance of Graduate Admission Essays

1. Introduction

However, it is those seeking to become assistant or full-fledged psychology professors at universities, academic psychologists at medical schools or universities, or to hold applied or research positions in a specialized area of psychology who will need much more than a bachelor’s degree. For them, the writing of the brilliant psychology grad school personal statement will be what gets them through the gate. Admissions for psychology grad schools are much friendlier than for other doctorate programs in that you are not necessarily admitted or denied based on if you can secure research funding or a teaching position to sponsor you through your studies. Psychology is a broad field, and there are many different types of graduate-level degrees in the field, from the ones who would help the mentally ill by hospitalizing and medicating them, to the ones who would help change laws or develop public policy to benefit the mentally handicapped. This is another area where it is important to clearly state which field of psychology you intend to pursue once enrolled in a grad program.

A great graduate school application in psychology will show the readers what they want to see. Instantly flagging this candidate as somebody who is a mature student and has already developed in-depth knowledge of their field through research is the presence of a research interest. After all, if you don’t have a way to get your sampled patients to pay for your own salary, what’s the point? Budding researchers who have yet to be to grad school themselves will often not realize the impact that their personal statement, also known as a statement of purpose or intentions essay, will have on the length of time spent in attaining their desired graduate degree. These applicants will be pleased to learn that unlike many other areas of study, a terminal bachelor’s degree in psychology is usually adequate for some entry-level jobs in fields such as psychiatric technician or mental health case worker.

2. Highlighting Academic Achievements

The academic history that you present should be coherent and focused. Highlight specific achievements such as awards or published work and relate them back to your suitability for the program of your choice. Your application should also provide explanations/excuses of any weaknesses in academic record. An illness or personal situation may be apparent from gaps in your academic record or changes in your level of performance. It is appropriate to address these issues openly with a brief and matter-of-fact explanation. Be sure to also mention any relevant coursework, independent study, research, or internships, co-op or practicum experiences that support your field of interest. These are often as important as classroom learning and can be significant in the admission decision. An academic letter of recommendation from a faculty member is perfect way to back up your academic achievements and bring credibility to your claims about your academic preparation for graduate study.

As you work through the application, you will be asked to provide an array of details about your academic achievements. College/University attended, GPA, course of study, and dates of attendance should be recorded accurately. We recommend having a copy of your transcript available when you begin the application. You may also want to note specific details such as class ranking, completion of a senior thesis, or participation in academic organizations or honors programs. These factors also contribute to your potential for excelling in graduate study and can help to make your case.

3. Demonstrating Personal Growth and Development

University life initially began for me in the field of science. Hoping to right the future and change the world with modern scientific advances, I had dreams of gaining a PhD in the field of neuroscience and working in a laboratory to help develop a cure for muscular dystrophy. While this was a worthy and realistic goal for anyone to set, it was an ideal fantasy. A mere month before being accepted into my graduate program, I had come to the realization that this was not a realistic goal due to my physical limitations. An individual with a severe disability typically will not fare well in the field of science, especially when it comes to competition for grants and research funding. Understanding this and assuming that a career in something other than science would simply be selling myself short, I took some time off from school to reflect and make a revised career plan. It was during this time of the unknown with respect to my educational and career future that I first began to show attributes of independence and the ability to persevere and adapt to a situation when the original outcome was not what I had hoped for. Despite my disability, I was not going to let it be an excuse for lesser goals. This was a direct application of my views of acceptance of personal characteristics and a lesson in not letting that define what I can or cannot do. High ability and intellect have always been something that I had taken for granted and as a personal source of pride, so I had no worries that I would be successful in any academic venture that I would partake in, it was just a matter of finding the right path. This thought and attitude still hold true today and it was step number one in the continued development of self-assurance and the ability to take initiative in all that I do. This was the beginning of my transition into a more professional mindset.

With the instinctual reward of dealing with previous challenges, most importantly coping with a disability, I have continued to focus on these abilities throughout my life. Growing up disabled in a sense forces you to come to grips with the fact that this does play a role in defining who you are. This understanding of self allows you to reason that in the end, the only real victory lies in fighting with grace and courage to overcome this obstacle. While my “impairment” has affected my life in a negative fashion, I have managed to turn this into a positive letting it develop into a challenge and a defining feature as to who I am, and who I could be. This has become a self-fulfilling prophecy and an intertwined part of my goals and personal success.

4. Showcasing Relevant Experiences and Skills

When writing an admission essay, it is important to showcase what specific experiences and skills have influenced your advancement into advanced study in the graduate program. You need to explain how this knowledge exemplifies your strengths, perseverance, and ability to overcome challenges. You must know which experiences to stress in your essay and let the experiences and skills that will have the greatest positive impact upon your application receive the most attention. Understand that the committee has a long, hard day of reading many essays, so you should avoid listing your experiences and refrain from simply stringing together a list of places you have worked. Try to use an anecdote to help the reader understand a point you are making about yourself. This is different from the statement of purpose, in which you try to answer a fairly specific question about what you would like to do in the near future in your field of study. Usually, the statement of purpose will include a question about your scholarly interests and your areas of specialty and will refer to a specific faculty member or members at the graduate program with whom you would like to work. The essay is more about you than it is about connecting your interests and goals to a specific program at a specific institution. That’s why a question about your research and scholarly interests usually appears. The purpose of the essay is to convince the admission committee that you possess the skills and work habits necessary to complete a demanding writing and comprehensive exam-based PhD program. You must explain what evidence you have of these skills and habits. Always keep in mind the difference between the PhD program you are applying to and a terminal MA program. You do not want to give the impression that you are trying to do an MA, whether it is stating that you are uncertain about continuing on to a PhD during the course of your essay or giving overt signals about an affinity for a certain type of professional employment that the committee will see as a suitable outcome for a terminal master’s. No matter what, do not give the impression that you would use a PhD program only to try to upgrade to a better-paying non-academic job. This would be a big turn-off to your admission committee.

5. Conclusion: Making a Strong Case for Admission

Graduate admission essays help admissions understand your motivations and experiences and how you can contribute to the university. A personal statement or autobiographical essay represents a graduate school’s first qualitative introduction to the way you think and to the way you express yourself. The personal statement must stand as a testament to your intelligence, creativity, and persuasive skills. In the concluding paragraph of your personal statement, you should restate your long and short-term goals and discuss how the current program fits into those goals. With high competition within this field, the abstract attributes gleaned from a graduate admission essay are priceless. These essays give an answer to what are essentially the most important questions in the admissions process: “What are your reasons for pursuing graduate study?” and “What do you wish to accomplish with the degree?”. Hopefully, your goals are a dead fit for a program to which you are applying. Just as important, however, is the chance to make amends for an unclear past with respect to your direction in life. As your goals change, so do your reasons for pursuing them and the graduate admissions committee is the perfect place for a trial run of their clarity and coherence. The admission essay is used to steer subjective judgment of the applicant from around 4 or 5 dimensions. High-quality essays will inherently compare the applicant to other candidates, driving the admissions committee to seek further information on this candidate or, ideally, accept the candidate on the spot. Often, applicants who fall well short of technical entrance requirements will be accepted on the outstanding content of their admission essay.