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You cannot
rely on uniqueness to outweigh a mediocre academic
record, but it can often give you an edge. Admissions
officers are interested in assembling a diverse class of
unique perspectives, so you should highlight rather than
downplay your differences. To an extent, all types of
diversity will help, but you should aim to focus on how
unique aspects of your background will enable you to
contribute to the academic community.
The purpose
of this lesson is to show you examples of how other
people capitalized on their unique qualities. When it
comes to your own essay, only you can identify the
optimal strategy for making yourself stand out. One way
to start is to look over your answers to the
brainstorming questions and try to find aspects of your
background that separate you from your peers.
Ultimately, however, what will make the difference is
your ability to assess yourself honestly and
thoughtfully.
The examples
that follow are not meant to be exhaustive. Rather, they
represent the efforts of particular individuals to
recognize the unique elements of their background and
use them to their advantage. You should notice that
these unique elements are often directly related to
their academic interests, but can still be tied
effectively to the applicants' goals or integrated with
their character and background.
This applicant starts
by noting the diversity of his ethnic and religious
background. When mentioning such points, you should not
assume that such diversity is an end in itself. Rather,
you should show how your background and culture have
shaped your perspective and given you something unique
to offer. This applicant does a good job of noting how
Zoroastrianism has given him guiding principles, but he
never follows through to discuss concrete examples. This
essay would have benefited from more details to show his
diversity in more tangible terms.
This applicant's story
is fascinating, at times harrowing, and ultimately
triumphant. From committed social activism to drug and
alcohol addiction to a reengagement with the world, the
author pulls no punches in telling his unique tale.
While he does not whitewash his experience with drugs
and alcohol, notice how he situates it in a larger
context, showing both how it made him oblivious to the
things he really cared about (Third World injustices)
and how his reintroduction to those things helped him
pull himself out of his downward spiral. In doing so, he
demonstrates both a strong social conscience and a
dedication to his beliefs. Additionally, his story makes
him very hard for an admissions committee to forget.
Just be careful that any discussion of past mistakes or
difficulties leads to an indubitably positive
conclusion.
This applicant shows
that you do not need to be a true one-of-a-kind to
demonstrate uniqueness in the admissions process. In
fact, what sets him apart is a rather typical job in the
computer industry. What makes his application unique,
however, is that he is applying to a geological sciences
program. His interest in mathematical modeling gives him
a novel area of specialization to offer to the
intellectual diversity of the program.
Finally,
this applicant shows
that a personal, revealing story can be enough to set
someone apart. By recounting a particular episode that
sparked her epiphany as a writer, she gives us an
in-depth look at her unique approach to her craft.
Again, this essay does not discuss exotic experiences,
but instead succeeds by painting a detailed, deeply
personal portrait that no one else could have written. |
