Although it might seem like it simply involves luck, getting into graduate school involves more than just having your name randomly drawn out of a pile. As more highly qualified candidates are applying to graduate school every year, the process of selecting students often goes beyond comparing test scores and grades to using more subjective measures like the graduate school application essay. For some students, their graduate school admission essay is their first and best chance to grab the attention of the admissions department at the school of their choice. Prospective students should consider it their one chance at an interview with the school in many cases, it's a better option than interviews since the applicant has the chance to set the agenda rather than being forced to answered a prepared set of questions. Your graduate school personal statement needs to show the school you are applying to your unique qualities and how you would enrich their school if you were accepted.

Below are some examples of successful graduate school admission essays that we've helped prospective students develop in the past. Graduate school expert tara kuther has written about graduate school admissions and success for about.com since 20. It should come as no surprise that most applicants do not enjoy drafting their graduate admissions essay.

Writing a statement that tells a graduate admissions committee all about you and can potentially make or break your application is stressful. Take a different perspective, however, and you will find that your ad the other parts of your graduate school application tell the admissions committee about your grades i.e. Despite all of this information, the admissions committee does not learn much about you as an individual. What are your goals? why are you applying to graduate school? with so many applicants and so few slots it 39 s critical that graduate admissions committees learn as much as possible about applicants so as to ensure that they choose students who best fit their program and are most likely to succeed and complete a graduate degree. Your admissions essay explains who you are, your goals, and the ways in which you match the graduate program to which you are applying.

Graduate applications often ask that applicants write in response to specific statements and prompts. Most prompts ask applicants to comment on how their backgrounds have shaped their goals, describe an influential person or experience, or discuss their ultimate career goals. Some graduate programs request that applicants write a more generic autobiographical statement, most often referred to as a personal statement.

Your graduate school personal statement may initially get only five minutes of an admissions officer's attention. Writing an amazing graduate school essay is probably far more straightforward than you might think. They're looking for passionate, motivated, and prepared applicants who are ready to hit the ground running in their program. Many programs simply ask you to submit a personal statement without any further guidance. Other programs will tell you exactly how they want the essay structured along with word count limits and formatting requirements. Review the prompt thoroughly and plan your essay before you begin writing to ensure that you create an essay that will be an effective and persuasive addition to your application package.

What should you do if the program doesn't give you any specifics? with greater numbers of applicants to graduate programs, the trend is toward shorter essays. Unfortunately, longer essays tend to be skimmed rather than read thoroughly, and most any admissions officer will tell you that the best essays that they've read are always shorter essays. Think about what is absolutely essential, and write about those aspects of your experience with passion.