ADMISSION ESSAY ERRORS
THINGS TO AVOID
USING FLOWERY LANGUAGE
YOUR SOP/ admission essay is primarily meant to help the university get an insight into your personal and professional traits and your degree of flexibility in adjusting to varied circumstances. Unfortunately, many study abroad college admission aspirants use flowery language in an attempt to impress the university admissions committee. They don’t realise that, in the process, they could be missing out on their strengths as also chances for admissions too.
WRITING GENERIC ESSAYS
NO MATTER however well composed it is, your SOP must have a personal touch if it is to make a mark. Every individual has some unique features and strengths because of which they stand out and are identified in a crowd. Hence, these distinguishing traits need to be highlighted for the admissions committee to really know you. Otherwise you would lose out.
EMPHASIZING ON PAST ACADEMIC SUCCESS
WHILE IT is surely good to achieve a high GRE/GMAT/SAT score, or have a strong academic track record, gloating too much over these may indicate that you are academically brilliant and that your thinking can’t transcend beyond the prescribed curricullum. Therefore, you may try to build a story how you practically try to decipher different phenomena and the underlying causes behind them. This will prove an element of inquisitiveness and innovation inside you.
FAILING TO DEPICT ONE’S VISION
CANDIDATES OFTEN fail to say how and where they would like to see themselves in future, which makes it appear as if they lack a vision in life. This deemed drawback goes against candidates as far as the selection committee’s decision is concerned.
WRONG LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION
MOST STUDENTS end up choosing the wrong letter of recommendation, because they are unmindful of whether their references tally with the desired area of study or not.Moreover, the recommender need not be the HOD of your company or college. Rather the person who knows you really well and can strongly justify your abilities should be chosen.
APPLYING IN THE LAST DEADLINE
USUALLY THERE are three deadlines for most of the courses across disciplines. One should never wait for the last deadline to apply. Your chances are close to absolutely nil if you apply by the third deadline. It is always preferable to complete the process by the earliest date, but at the most by the second deadline, and never by the third. However, if a university has four deadlines then it is still safe to apply by the third deadline, but definitely not the fourth.