why us essay tips

why us essay tips

Crafting a Compelling ‘Why Us’ Essay: Tips and Strategies

1. Introduction to the ‘Why Us’ Essay

It is critical for students to take advantage of this opportunity since making an argument for the fit between the student and the institution can increase the likelihood that the student will have application need met for the college or university of choice. Being able to explain that ‘this is the best place for me’ will leave little question about the student’s fit for that institution.

The ‘Why Us’ essay is a common supplemental question for applications to post-secondary institutions. It is an essay question where the student needs to demonstrate what students actually know about a particular education institution, and the many ways that a student and an institution would be well-served to become partners in the cause of higher education. This writing activity allows students to put their research into a format that is personally appealing to them, and it gives students a chance to explore a particular school in a way that others may not have already presented.

2. Identifying Your Fit with the Institution

An effective “Why Us” essay will also convey how and why the specified institution is the only school for you. It should show that you are committed to the community around the college and to getting the most out of what only a specific institution can offer. It should convey a level of interest in faculty members and research positions that specific questions can elicit. Above all, the essay should communicate the qualities that your interviewers and admissions officers should seek on the campus: intelligence, hard work, and fun.

The “Why Us” question is multi-faceted. There is great diversity in academic and experiential background among the students who populate the institution. Accordingly, each student enriches the community and learning experience by sharing his or her unique insights and experiences. However, only a subset of the applicant pool can be admitted to each institution. The questions that you should answer when you respond to a “Why Us” question, therefore, are whether your unique background and perspective will offer a significant perspective to your fellow students and whether or not your background and perspective are already well represented. In short, would your absence be noticeable or would one assignment be sufficient to capture the information that you bring to the table?

3. Showcasing Your Research and Understanding

It is also very helpful to end the essay with a thought on how you could perhaps add something to the campus or what you could contribute as a way of making it a better place. Rather than listing service projects or accomplishments, show why you are passionate about that particular activity. What are your goals for the future? Something like “Between my interest in international relations, my work in Model United Nations, and the service I conduct in the under-resourced town of Linden as a tutor, I think I could contribute to the school in a unique way” not only shows that all of your activities are connected, it also completes the essay on a positive note. Visiting a college, not just its website, is also important in order to truly convey a commitment to the admissions officials. While people may argue that the ‘Why Us?’ essay is one of the less necessary ones, it still calls for a highly intuitive, insightful, and full essay. Showing the admissions officials how the college can help turn a passion into future success set you apart from other applicants.

No college or university will want to admit a student who is indifferent about where they go. Scattered, ill-informed essays show that students do not take the process seriously. College professors want to know that they are teaching students who are eager and dedicated to learning more. In an essay that is as open-ended as this one, showing that you did the necessary research is vitally important.

4. Highlighting Your Unique Contributions

These may include unique resources and opportunities, specific academic programs and course offerings, extracurricular clubs and activities, and/or research centers, student groups, and community activities, as well as the unique qualities you see in faculty, preceptors, and anyone connected to your school. The fact that Columbia is the only Ivy League school in New York City is distinct. Want to be a lawyer? You’re applying to programs that train you to be a lawyer – 17 of them unknown to you until now. You may even want to call some faculty members. If you can’t do that, talk to current students or recent alumni, or visit campus, even in a virtual format. Visit or consult with faculty in departments in which you’d like to delve more deeply about problems that fascinate you.

To wrap up this advice, be wary of generic superlatives and acclaim placed next to other schools’ names rather than your own. Keep the focus on your school – not the school you work to contextualize or against whom you aim to differentiate. Once you’ve clearly established why you want to go to School X, you can use that content to seek and create relevance in your essays with the thought and care with which you have crafted your Why essays. By doing so, you give the admissions officer meaningful reasons and strategies to support or advocate for your application. If you are applying to Columbia College, tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the field or fields of study that you noted in the Member Questions section.

5. Crafting a Persuasive Narrative

What not to include? Avoid the stories prompted by a response to question 12, about surviving drunken friends. Or the struggle portrayed in response to question 20, on hot-button job issues like fair labor practices. Successful survival of such youthful challenges may indeed be representative of personal growth, but they can also be perceived as reflective of uninformed choices. What makes a debate on health care issues particular, anyway? Focus instead on those stories of struggle and accomplishment that will not only resonate and impress your audience, who have waded through far too many of these challenges in their own adult lives; but, think also of the joy associated with sharing your success.

Easier said than done, we know. Creating this story of change, of facing and ultimately overcoming a personal challenge, demands a maturity and degree of introspection that is quite rare among 17 and 18 year olds. And yet, knowing what to look for when we read these essays, we assure you that as you reflect on this crucial question, you will uncover the story that is most probably already present in your heart and your mind. And once discovered and carefully thought through, you’ll find that this essay will be easier to write than you might expect. So let’s consider a few thoughts about what to include – and what not to include – in the handiwork you and we will produce.