Originally Published in Hindustan Times Education Supplement
A lot of applicants plan to spend their summer working on essays.
These are an important component of every student’s complete application
package and the more thought and time that goes into writing them, the better.
Students who start early are able to try out different stories, refine the
telling of those stories so that in the end they represent an applicants
authentic voice as much as possible. Rushing
through the process of essay writing and submission results in incomplete
expression and a superficial view of who the applicant really is. As all
admissions representatives repeatedly emphasize, the essays are the only part
of the application where they really get to know the applicant as a person,
beyond the numbers, scores and resume. Understanding what matters to each
applicant, how they spend their free time, where they have faced their biggest
challenge or success, helps to differentiate one applicant among many.
