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Thread: Grad school essay?

  1. #1
    Featured Member kandie_kitten's Avatar
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    Default Grad school essay?

    Well, I'm going back to school. I have everything together, finished the essays for all the other schools, and the deadline for th elast one isn't for a while, but I am completely stumped on this essay.

    It's 1500 words on why I want to be in the university's communications program.

    Such a blah topic. How the heck do you turn "I want to go to school to get a job" into 1500 words?

    Any ideas? Inspiration?

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  3. #2
    God/dess shanna dior's Avatar
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    Default Re: Grad school essay?

    Well, the best thing to do would be to figure out what job you want to have after you get your degree. A communcations degree is very diverse and you can get into a lot of different fields with one. I'm actually going to school for my undergrad for communications. Personally, I want to get that degree so I can get into public relations and represent a good cause. Maybe a charity or company that really helps out people and makes a positive impact in the world. Is that something you want to do? Or do you want to go into journalism? law? advertising? marketing? management? business? consulting?

    Since you have so many words to use, you might also want to tailor the essay to be more university specific. What drew you to that school in particular, and why do you want to study there? Do they have a good co-op program? Are they in a good location for the industry you're interested in? Do they offer different courses that are important to you and not offered in many other schools? Does the school contribute a lot to the industry you're interested in? Do they have lots of student clubs/activities that interest you? Writing about that sort of thing could really make your essay stand out and as an added bonus it's a good space filler if you can't go on much more about why you want to get into communications.

    Good luck putting it all together, let me know if you need some help! I had to write a bunch of these when I was applying for scholarships and stuff, so I know how frustrating it can be to do this.

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  5. #3
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    Default Re: Grad school essay?

    Let me put myself in the position of a professor in university's communications program who is reviewing hundred of applications...

    First, what are most applicants going to discuss in the essays? - their undergrad achievement (like grades, internships, etc.), some may have some actual work experience, some may have already produced short films, etc.; maybe even gotten awards... they will write about how communications is their passion and they want to create artistic and education experiences that benefit mankind, etc.

    What would impress me the most from an essay?

    1) An essay that shows me that the applicant truly values our program wants it very bad - not just to "get a job", but, because she appreciates the professors and the strength of our program in particular. An essay that mentions particular features of our program and shows me that she knows our faculty and is inspired by them. Something like this: "Since my sophomore year in college, I knew that I belonged in ABC University's Graduate Communication's Program. What I love most about it is its focus on international journalism. The excellence of its program is evident by its award-winning world-class journalists alumni, like A, B, C and D. Moreover, your faculty is composed of journalists that I have the utmost respect and admiration for. I was very moved by Professor Jane Doe's article last year in Newsweek that expose the corruption in international adoption agencies; and the 2018 short film on African whales produced by Professor Ann Doe was the most inspiring short film I have ever seen. I cannot wait to be sitting in a class taught by these amazing journalists that I admire very much... "

    2) Communications is about telling a story. An essay that shows me that (A) you have stories to tell (or can find stories to tell), (B) you have a passion for telling stories, and (C) you have skills and talent for telling stories. Something like this, "Communications is about telling people great stories, sometimes to learn the truth, and sometimes, even, to escape the truth. My childhood was not easy, I was raised by a single mother with alcohol dependency issues. I survived the toughest challenges of my life my sitting down on my bed and writing stories about a girl, Gina, that lived in a cave with a pack of wolves. I started writing stories at 10 to escape some of the horrors of home, but, writing stories became more than just an escape for me. Creating and sharing stories became my life-long passion. When I was 13, I was forced to live with my grandmother, because my mother was taken to prison for gang-related activity. I became good friends with several kids in my grandmother's neighborhood and I shared my stories with them. They loved the stories so much that we organized and produced a play about Gina and the pack of wolves. When I was 15, I received a video recorder for Christmas and made my first movie with my friends about the adventures and tribulations of Gina and the pack of wolves. We made six movies about the tribal wars with other wolf packs and about the humans that tried to 'rescue' Gina. The last movie we made was about Gina meeting Billy, the boy that lived with a pack of bears. These movies were a big hit in our neighborhood. Telling my stories through the medium of video opened up a whole new dimension for me and my future as story-teller/film-maker was set in stone... "
    Women are meant to be loved, not to be understood.
    - Oscar Wilde

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  7. #4
    Senior Member MysteryGirl44's Avatar
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    Default Re: Grad school essay?

    You talk about your passion for the career and what brought you to the realization that this is your calling, as well as the value that you bring to the table. It's actually an easy topic since it's so free-form. It's really a question about you and this is your chance to shine and have them get to know you.

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