Preparing to study abroad? Consult these four kinds of personalities to lift your university admissions essay convincingly and compellingly.
THE OUTSIDER
This is your ecosystem. Both the immediate and the extended one. The knowledge, relationship and support networks that power your academic and co-curricular pursuits on a day to day basis. The professor who is busy furthering your professional wisdom and adding to your knowledge bank. The mentor who is quick to applaud your triumphs but never shies from reminding you to work on your weaknesses. Peers who are always there to lend a hand of help when you need it the most. Family members who always wish you well. These are all folks who have their own, unique lens of looking at you. And their own unique interpretations of your personality. Make sure you mine into that priceless treasure trove of insight when planning your study abroad admissions essay. It will add layers of depth, texture and richness to your admissions essay no ‘short-cut’ or ‘hack’ can.
THE INSIDER
This is YOU. Specifically, your inner self. The only person who knows every square inch of the subject matter, industry and emotional space you own. The passions that make you spectacular. The beliefs that define you. The aspirations and ambitions that make you wake up in the morning. When it comes to writing your college admissions essay, there’s no person better equipped to add the vivid detail and authentic flavor that can make it stand out in front of the admissions essay appraisal committee. Be true in your approach when it comes to crafting the broad strokes and little nuances in your study abroad admissions essay: State your overarching purpose in life without holding back. There’s something about honesty that can make even dyed-in-the-wool admissions essay examiners and college committee sit up and take notice. Let’s face it – these are folks who scan a gazillion essays every month. Add to this the recent encroachment by AI tools in academics and admissions essay writing, and it is easy to see why admissions essay examiners can be a bit bored, disillusioned or skeptical. Only the ‘Insider’ can shake that status-quo up and stir them back to life, so to speak.
THE VILLAIN
This is your rival. Your sharpest critique. Your nemesis. A villain could be someone in your extended family networks who is also your unspoken academic adversary. It can be a peer who regularly beats you in class and never loses the opportunity to make a snide remark or two to rub it in. This can also be the teacher or coach who rains on your parade by smearing your spotless performance record with a sharp critique or counter argument. Even a parent or sibling who is always correcting your habits could be the villain. Don’t take them personally. Instead, stand back and spend some time figuring out if their words hold legitimacy. Be dispassionate, be fair, be analytical. The devil’s advocate is often a powerful messenger of facts that usually fall in our blind spot, and uncomfortable truths and signals we don’t like to face. Some of them have well-meaning origins and are meant to act as ‘bad medicine’ that heals you the hard way. Actively working on their opinions and strategically incorporating their feedback can help you plug (often invisible) gaps in your study abroad preparation. It can turn your university admissions essay more convincing, compelling and complete.
THE LOSER
This is the X-Factor. The peer who didn’t make it for some reason or the other. The study abroad applicant who has moved on. Largely ignored and forgotten, here is one of your most valuable sources of information. The ‘School of Hard Knocks’ has taught them lessons and has equipped them with wisdom no textbook or ‘industry best practice’ can match. Be it your admissions essay, your Letter of Recommendation (LOR), your Statement of Purpose (SOP), your financial and scholarship decisions, your choice of destination, university and course, or any other aspect of your study abroad roadmap, learning from the loser’s mistakes can help you skip reinventing the wheel, and lift your admissions essay up several notches.
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