Of School Grades and Admission Essays

The value of a College Admission Essay or graduatespecific discussion of his personal background and the
school admission essay, as part of the college orlimited experiences that he was able to acquire given
graduate admissions process can never bethe restrictions that he faced then. John presented all
over-emphasized. To validate the value of anthese in painstaking detail, adding in a few of his own
admission essay or graduate school admission essay,personal observations as well as the lessons that the
let us look at the following illustration:James and Johnexperiences taught him.When the results of the
are two good friends who share one common dream:admissions exams was released including the
to become doctors. James wants to specialize inAdmission Essay, James and John discovered they
pediatrics while John is bent on concentrating inhad to go their separate ways. John was admitted to
orthopedic surgery. After finishing their respectivethe medical school of his choice while James settled
pre-med undergraduate studies and armed with almostfor his second choice.What did the preceding illustration
identical grade point averages, and also identicalseek to imply? That high grades alone is not a
scores in the standardized admissions tests (SAT andguaranteed passport to admission in a college or
MCAT) the two buddies decide to apply to the sameuniversity. This is especially true in this modern times
Medical schools. In his Admission Essay, Jameswherein people in the academe are not impressed
decided to list and discuss his school experiences,anymore with excellent grades and a high test score.
including his extracurricular works and achievements.They want more from a prospective candidate.
He has quite a lot since he has a number of relativesSpecifically, they want a background profile of the
as well as close friends who are either working orcandidate, a look into his real self, his life and his goals,
used to work in various hospitals and clinics. Gaininghis experiences and the lessons that these gave him.
the needed medical exposure proved quite easy forThe kind of information that can never be revealed by
him. He wrote them all down, since he figured that thea high MCAT or GPA but can possibly be reflected in
more experiences and accomplishments he coulda Admission Essay.But such information can only be
present, the better will be his chances of gettingprovided by the applicant himself. This is where the
admitted.John, on the other hand, took a slightlyAdmission Essay will play a key role. This is where the
different approach. He realized that he will be steppingcandidate is requested to supply the data mentioned
into a higher level of learning, where school gradesabove and to supply them in clear and specific, and if
may not be the only determining factor for admission.possible, crisp and fresh, fashion.Often, it is in this part
He believed that detailed and personal experiences willof the admissions process, i.e., the Admission Essay,
also count a lot. So in his Admission Essay, John listedthat could mean the difference between acceptance
and discussed two memorable accounts oror rejection. Many applicants are like James. They
experiences. He particularly mentioned his volunteerpossess a nonchalant attitude towards admission
work in a housing facility for the aged in the outskirtsessays, thinking that it is not an integral part of the
of the city where he was exposed to the usualapplication process, or they feel over confident
problems of many senior citizens in the physical asbecause they have the right grades and test scores.
well as in the emotional realm of life.John also cited inBut the truth is, school officials take admissions essays
his Admission Essay his involvement in a suburbanquite seriously. And coming up with a detailed and
clinic near the university where he was then studyingclearly-defined admission essay is as valuable as
wherein he processed and prepared the medicalperforming well in the admissions test itself. An
documents of the clinic's senior patients.In bothapplicant should not separate one from the other. If he
accounts, as listed down in his Admission Essay, Johnis wishing to gain access to the college or university of
provided a comprehensive detail of the nature of hishis choice then he should be aware of the fact that
work, the particulars of the clinic he worked for, andadmission essays constitute a vital portion of the
the insights he was able to collate in the course of hisapplication process. As such, it should be taken
work. He realized that compared to his good friendseriously and given sufficient preparation in the same
James, he had limited resources, both in finances and inmanner that one thoroughly prepares for the MCAT
contacts. So what he did is to present a lengthy anditself.