Writing essays for university applications is hard. It requires communicating information about your skills and qualifications in a concise and thoughtful way. The most effective essays also provide a detail or insight that reveals something about your character and who you’ll be as a member of a university community. The qualifications are crucial; the details can make the difference.
For example, if you’re applying for an engineering course, you would write about your aptitude in maths and physics and wider reading and related projects you’ve pursued. But what if there was one assignment or experiment that tested your ability to think independently, and showed imagination and resourcefulness in tackling a problem? Or maybe you grasped an important concept in physics from years spent figure skating, fixing bicycles, or honing your butterfly stroke in the pool? These insights demonstrate an ability to learn beyond the taught curriculum, which is a fantastic skill for any aspiring engineer to possess. They can set your application apart.
Or what if you’re applying to a course in medicine but love history? You excel in biology and chemistry, but learning about the evolution of medicine across generations has helped you appreciate the importance of both tradition and innovation in providing care. Or maybe you love drawing, and your sketches of human anatomy led you to decide to be a doctor? Such knowledge goes beyond the standard high-school STEM curriculum and reveals a special perspective or curiosity that distinguishes you as an applicant.
One CEO at a tech firm told graduates applying to his company that excellence often comes from an insight or experience that has nothing to do with the subject. He mentioned an employee who had worked as a diamond-cutter and brought that distinctive way of seeing to the design of race cars. That’s where you find inspiration and ingenuity, he said – in unexpected places.
Most universities use grades and exam scores to assess a student’s aptitude in a subject. The application essays are your opportunity to show the additional qualities you bring, both as a prospective student and as a member of a campus community. This is where details in your essays that demonstrate teamwork, empathy, and kindness also matter, since schools want students who will be a positive presence inside the classroom, and who will support their mates during a bad night or when an exam goes wrong.
So, as you plan your essays, think about those extra, but essential, details that show the exceptional student and community member you’ll be.
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