<p>Geez you mention in one thread you can help out with an essay and you get like 2 dozen responses! </p>
<p>So per request, here is some literature I wrote on the key to approaching and writing a winning “Why School X” essay. </p>
<p>There’s a lot more where this came from (even this is an abbreviated version) – literature, editing, advice. I am available if you personally would like to take it upon yourself to request to hear or see more. </p>
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<p>The “Why School ‘X’” Question:</p>
<p>How to Approach the Question: </p>
<p>The “Why School ‘X’” question is found on almost every application. If you are a transfer, it will most likely be the bulk of your personal statement. </p>
<p>Some applications require longer responses than others, and you must adjust the amount of content accordingly. But no matter the length, the objective is the same. </p>
<p>The best strategy for writing a winning “Why School ‘X’” question is to determine exactly what you want, and explain exactly how School ‘X’ has it. Be specific. Be unique. Be creative. Be convincing. Give examples. Make a case for why and how the school for which you are putting pen to paper is the one for you. </p>
<p>A Winning Strategy in Action: </p>
<p>Every school to which you apply is going to be different. But your criteria will be the same. In answering this question, your mission is to adapt each school to fit your criteria. Create a formula for your essay, a framework, and stuff each school into it. Neatly. And the key to success in doing this is to do your research to both find examples about a school that fit your criteria and find examples of random, unique, and interesting characteristics about School ‘X’ that make it stand out for you. </p>
<p>In creating a framework and crafting your response, follow these steps: </p>
<p>Identify your criteria. Go back to when you made a list of criteria when selecting schools in Chapter 2. The principle is the same. What do you want in a college or university and why? Be specific. </p>
<p>Do your research about each school and find a way in which they meet each criterion. The internet is a great tool for research, almost every college or university will have an extensive website bursting with everything from core institutional philosophies to obscure interesting facts. </p>
<p>Think of it as a question and answer game. For example, if one of your criteria is “interesting extracurricular activities,” ask yourself, “what are the interesting extracurricular activities at School ‘X’?” Then go to School ‘X’s website and find two or three of the most crazy extracurricular activities you can find. Do this for every school for which you are answering this question. And do it again for every criterion. </p>
<p>Transform your criteria and your examples into an interesting, well-written paragraph or page, chronicling each aspect that is important to you in a concise way. </p>
<p>You can create a framework or outline of an essay, kind of like a Mad Libs, with fill- in- the-blanks for each respective school about each criterion. This technique will also save you a lot of work, as you will not have to start from scratch with each institution</p>
<p>Using a case-study example, let us explore the idea of the framework a little deeper. </p>
<pre><code>First, let us go over his criteria:
</code></pre>
<p>Commitment to student resources and success
Community
Interesting extracurricular activities, facilities, and programs
Academics
Interdisciplinary education, including opportunities to take courses in East Asian Studies and Linguistics
A strong Anthropology Department (our case-study’s intended major)</p>
<p>Ultimately, these requirements are pretty vague. As such, we can convince any school that their institution meets them the best. </p>
<p>Now we can turn these criteria into a rough framework that can be used for every school:</p>
<p>I am looking for community and school X has it because _____<strong><em>. They devote themselves to student resources because </em></strong><strong><em>. I can be involved in their dynamic campus life, programs, and extracurricular activities with opportunities like </em></strong><strong><em>. I want to go to school that emphasizes interdisciplinary learning, especially so I can study disciplines outside my major like Linguistics and East Asian Studies. School X allows this because </em></strong><strong>. The anthropology department is strong at School X because __</strong>_. </p>
<p>Obviously, this is not brilliant prose. If you were to simply fill in the blanks, you would quite possibly have the worst essay of all time. But it gives you a skeleton of the content of the essay. Once that is established, all you have to do is rearrange the sentences and fill in between with snazzy prose.</p>
<p><strong><em>case study essays and analysis omitted</em></strong></p>
<p>What Word?</p>
<p>The words we use matter. You can help strengthen your “argument” of just how perfect School ‘X’ is by using words and phrases that suggest that School ‘X’ is special, unique, and most of all, the best fit for you. Some of these phrases include</p>
<p>Unique to School ‘X’…
Only at School ‘X’…
School ‘X’ specializes in…
Impressively, School ‘X’…
But School ‘X’ realizes…
But at School ‘X’…</p>
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<p>PM me for more</p>