Blog Archive Monday Morning Essay Tip The Optional Mistake

Blog Archive Monday Morning Essay Tip The Optional Mistake Last week, we discussed taking responsibility for blips in your personal, academic and/or career history via the optional essay. This week, we follow up with a simple discussion about the optional essay itself. Our title for this entry, “The Optional Mistake,” is a double entendre in that candidates often make the mistake of completing the optional essay and then make mistakes within the essay as well. 1. Choosing to write the optional essay: Many candidates feel compelled to write the optional essay, concerned that neglecting it means that they are sending the message: “I am out of additional fascinating stories that others will complete.” The truth is that the admissions committee (in virtually all cases) has offered the optional essay (or additional information space) as an opportunity for you to discuss unique circumstances in your candidacy, not to submit another 500 words on your career or an interesting personal accomplishment. Unless you have something vital that MUST be discussed, you should approach the essay itself with caution. 2. Writing the optional essay: If you feel you need to write the optional essay, we suggest that you be as brief and direct as possible. By submitting an optional essay, you are essentially asking the admissions officer to read another essayâ€"basically, to do even more workand are thus demanding more of this persons valuable time. So, the key to writing an effective optional essay is to respect this individual’s time and be as brief as possible, while still conveying all the necessary information. Thus, a discussion of your academic problems need not begin with a detailing of the excellent grades you earned in high school; a gap in your work experience need not begin with a chronology of how consistently you worked before the gap. We have seen candidates overcome any number of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, from very low GMAT scores to drunk driving arrests. We always encourage applicants to address such issues in a “short and sweet” manner (completing optional ess ays well within word limits), and time has proven that this strategy can yield results. Share ThisTweet Monday Morning Essay Tips Blog Archive Monday Morning Essay Tip The Optional Mistake Last week,  we discussed  taking responsibility for blips in your personal, academic, and/or career history via the optional essay. Our title for this week’s post, “The Optional Mistake,” is a double entendre in that candidates often make the mistake of writing an optional essay when they perhaps should not and then make mistakes within the essay as well. Many candidates feel compelled to write an optional essay because they are concerned that not doing so will imply that they have no additional fascinating stories to share. The truth is that in virtually all cases, the admissions committee has offered the optional essay (or additional information space) to allow you to discuss possible unique circumstances in your candidacy, not so you can submit another 500 words about your career or an interesting personal accomplishment. Unless you have something vital in your candidacy that must be discussed, you should approach the idea of submitting an additional essay with caution. If you do decide to write an optional essay, be as brief and direct as possible. By submitting one, you are essentially asking the (likely overloaded) admissions officer to read yet  another  essay and are thus demanding more of this person’s valuable time. The key to writing an effective optional essay is therefore to respect this individual’s time and be as concise as possible, while still conveying all the necessary information. Thus, a discussion of your academic problems need not begin with a detailing of the excellent grades you earned in high school; a gap in your work experience need not begin with a chronology of how consistently you worked before the gap occurred. We have seen candidates overcome any number of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, from a very low GMAT score to an arrest for drunk driving. We always encourage applicants to address such issues in a “short and sweet” manner (completing any optional essays well within word limits), and time has proven tha t this strategy can yield results. For more assistance with writing an optional essay (or even just deciding whether you should write one), see our Optional Essay Guide. Share ThisTweet Monday Morning Essay Tips Blog Archive Monday Morning Essay Tip The Optional Mistake Last week, we discussed  taking responsibility  for blips in your personal, academic and/or career history via the optional essay. This week, we follow up with a simple discussion about the optional essay itself. Our title for this entry, “The Optional Mistake,” is a double entendre in that candidates often make the mistake of completing the optional essay and then make mistakes within the essay as well. 1. Choosing to write the optional essay: Many candidates feel compelled to write the optional essay, concerned that neglecting it means that they are sending the message “I am out of additional fascinating stories.” The truth is that the admissions committee (in virtually all cases) has offered the optional essay (or additional information space) as an opportunity for you to discuss unique circumstances in your candidacy, not to submit another 500 words on your career or an interesting personal accomplishment. Unless you have something vital in your candidacy that MUST be discussed, you should approach the idea of submitting an  additional essay with caution. 2. Writing the optional essay: If you feel you need to write the optional essay, we suggest that you be as brief and direct as possible. By submitting an optional essay, you are essentially asking the admissions officer to read another essayâ€"basically, to do even more workâ€"and are thus demanding more of this persons valuable time. So, the key to writing an effective optional essay is to respect this individual’s time and  be as brief as possible, while still conveying all the necessary information. Thus, a discussion of your academic problems need not begin with a detailing of the excellent grades you earned in high school; a gap in your work experience need not begin with a chronology of how consistently you worked before the gap. We have seen candidates overcome any number of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, from a  very low GMAT score to drunk driving arrests. We always encourage applicants to address such issues in a “short and sweet” manner (completing optional essa ys well within word limits), and time has proven that this strategy can yield results. For more assistance with writing an optional essay (or even just deciding whether you need to write one), see our Optional Statement Guide. Share ThisTweet Monday Morning Essay Tips Blog Archive Monday Morning Essay Tip The Optional Mistake Last week, we discussed taking responsibility for blips in your personal, academic, and/or career history via the optional essay. Our title for this week’s post, “The Optional Mistake,” is a double entendre in that candidates often make the mistake of writing an optional essay when they perhaps should not and then make mistakes within the essay as well. Choosing to submit an optional essay: Many candidates feel compelled to write an optional essay, concerned that not doing so will imply that they are out of additional fascinating stories. The truth is that in virtually all cases, the admissions committee has offered the optional essay (or additional information space) to allow you to discuss possible unique circumstances in your candidacy, not so you can submit another 500 words about your career or an interesting personal accomplishment. Unless you have something vital in your candidacy that must be discussed, you should approach the idea of submitting an additional essay with caution. Writing an optional essay: If you do decide to write an optional essay, be as brief and direct as possible. By submitting one, you are essentially asking the (likely overloaded) admissions officer to read yet another essay and are thus demanding more of this person’s valuable time. The key to writing an effective optional essay is therefore to respect this individual’s time and be as concise as possible, while still conveying all the necessary information. Thus, a discussion of your academic problems need not begin with a detailing of the excellent grades you earned in high school; a gap in your work experience need not begin with a chronology of how consistently you worked before the gap occurred. We have seen candidates overcome any number of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, from a very low GMAT score to an arrest for drunk driving. We always encourage applicants to address such issues in a “short and sweet” manner (completing any optional essays well within word limits) , and time has proven that this strategy can yield results. For more assistance with writing an optional essay (or even just deciding whether you should write one), see our Optional Essay Guide. Share ThisTweet Monday Morning Essay Tips Blog Archive Monday Morning Essay Tip The Optional Mistake Last week, we discussed  taking responsibility  for blips in your personal, academic and/or career history via the optional essay. This week, we follow up with a broader discussion about the optional essay. Our title for this post, “The Optional Mistake,” is a double entendre in that candidates often make the mistake of writing an optional essay when they perhaps should not and then make mistakes within the essay as well. 1. Choosing to submit an optional essay: Many candidates feel compelled to write an optional essay, concerned that neglecting to do so will send the message “I am out of additional fascinating stories.” The truth is that the admissions committee (in virtually all cases) has offered the optional essay (or additional information space) to allow you to discuss unique circumstances in your candidacyâ€"if neededâ€"not to submit another 500 words on your career or an interesting personal accomplishment. Unless you have something vital in your candidacy that must be discussed, you should approach the idea of submitting an  additional essay with caution. 2. Writing an optional essay: If you feel you need to write an optional essay, be as brief and direct as possible. By submitting one, you are essentially asking the admissions officer to read yet another essayâ€"basically, to do even more workâ€"and are thus demanding more of this persons valuable time. The key to writing an effective optional essay is therefore to respect this individual’s time and  be as concise as possible, while still conveying all the necessary information. Thus, a discussion of your academic problems need not begin with a detailing of the excellent grades you earned in high school; a gap in your work experience need not begin with a chronology of how consistently you worked before the gap occurred. We have seen candidates overcome any number of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, from a  very low GMAT score to drunk driving arrests. We always encourage applicants to address such issues in a “short and sweet” manner (completing any optional essays well wit hin word limits), and time has proven that this strategy can yield results. For more assistance with writing an optional essay (or even just deciding whether you need to write one), see our  Optional Essay Guide. Share ThisTweet Monday Morning Essay Tips Tags: optional essay Blog Archive Monday Morning Essay Tip The Optional Mistake Last week, we discussed taking responsibility for blips in your personal, academic and/or career history via the optional essay. This week, we follow up with a simple discussion about the optional essay itself. Our title for this entry, “The Optional Mistake,” is a double entendre in that candidates often make the mistake of completing the optional essay and then make mistakes within the essay as well. 1. Choosing to write the optional essay: Many candidates feel compelled to write the optional essay, concerned that neglecting it means that they are sending the message: “I am out of additional fascinating stories.” The truth is that the admissions committee (in virtually all cases) has offered the optional essay (or additional information space) as an opportunity for you to discuss unique circumstances in your candidacy, not to submit another 500 words on your career or an interesting personal accomplishment. Unless you have something vital in your candidacy that MUST be discussed, you should approach the idea of submitting an  additional essay with caution. 2. Writing the optional essay: If you feel you need to write the optional essay, we suggest that you be as brief and direct as possible. By submitting an optional essay, you are essentially asking the admissions officer to read another essayâ€"basically, to do even more workâ€"and are thus demanding more of this persons valuable time. So, the key to writing an effective optional essay is to respect this individual’s time and  be as brief as possible, while still conveying all the necessary information. Thus, a discussion of your academic problems need not begin with a detailing of the excellent grades you earned in high school; a gap in your work experience need not begin with a chronology of how consistently you worked before the gap. We have seen candidates overcome any number of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, from a  very low GMAT score to drunk driving arrests. We always encourage applicants to address such issues in a “short and sweet” manner (completing optional essa ys well within word limits), and time has proven that this strategy can yield results. Share ThisTweet Monday Morning Essay Tips