What Top Schools Look for in Essays

If you are looking to get into some of the top schools in the country, it is helpful to know what the admissions officers are looking for. Recently, U.S. News & World Report canvassed admissions officials at some of the top undergraduate and graduate schools in the country to find out the qualities they are looking for in applicants. Among the main questions asked was what the school was looking for in an admission essay or medical school personal statement and what essays told them about candidates. Here are some of the answers given by representatives of top schools about the qualities they look for in an undergraduate or graduate admission essay:

University of California – Berkeley School of Law: Officials are looking for a law school personal statement that describes “the ‘voice’ that an applicant will contribute to classroom dialogue” in order to fill the school’s classrooms with a “diverse array of experiences and life backgrounds” if admitted.

Harvard Business School: The admission essay, combined with the rest of the application package, is a chance to understand an applicant and have their own unique “voice coming through loud and clear.” But admissions officers cautioned against creating a “persona that has nothing to do with reality” in order to impress officials or writing an essay based on what they think officials want to hear.

University of North Carolina School of Law: The school encourages students to consider the college admissions essay process as a chance to conduct an interview with the school. Because the legal profession requires strong writing skills and attention to detail, admissions officials urged applicants to review their essays to make sure they are free of grammatical errors and typos.