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You don’t want to be a one-trick pony.

December 2, 2015 by EssaySnark - Discusses Stanford GSB, Columbia Leave a Comment

It’s very tempting with certain schools, especially Columbia and maybe Wharton and also sometimes Stanford, to want to have essays interrelate, and talk about the same topic in more than one place. Like, you have this one big project that is sooooo important, and hey, why not mention it here, and here? (And maybe here?) Or, you’re going to tell Stanford in Essay B how you want to go out and start this sexy and cool new career in sustainable energy, and so you spend Essay A talking about how sustainability is so important to you. (Or sports marketing at Nike in Essay B / sports in Essay A. Or a social venture in the education space in Essay B / how important education is to you in Essay A. Or entrepreneurship in Essay B / your grandfather and his business that so inspired you growing up in Essay A. Or one of the other so-very-common combination of related topics like this that we see from so many of you.) And both essays end up sorta sounding like one and the same.

This would be a mistake.

The biggest reason you don’t want to do this is that it can make you seem like you don’t have enough to talk about.

A well-rounded candidate always has the sense that she never has enough room for everything. This is especially true when there are so few essays to present your stories.

If you repeat the same content in multiple places, then it can seem like you’re trying to stretch that content out to fill the gap – like you’re hitting the bottom of the well and don’t have anything more to say to the adcom.

Of course, any or all of the Stanford essay strategies we defined above could work. In fact, in our Stanford essay guide, we talk about when and if you should do this type of interconnected topic strategy for Stanford. Most people don’t execute on that very effectively though, and in many cases we see shaky draft 1s that are trying too hard, and we end up advising the BSer to go a different direction than that type of overarchitecture that they’d been attempting.

This one-trick pony perception can occur in other ways too though. It also can happen when BSers talk about conversations they’ve had with students and alumni. It’s very helpful to reference those directly in one of your essays – but you should be selective and only mention the same person in one place. If you repeat the name-drop in that other essay too, then it diminishes the value of the reference. Same thing with talking about a specific Columbia resource in their Essay 1 and Essay 2. Why would you do that? Again, it comes across like you only have so much to say, so you’re just saying that one thing all over again. Not helpful.

We should also take this opportunity to remind you not to cross-reference, either.

The first step of essay development is figuring out what to say. (This and this and this can help.)

The next step is saying it. (Nobody can help you. You have to just do it. Write them drafts. Lay it out on the page. Read it. Rejoice. You are making forward progress!)

The step after that is realizing that you didn’t say it well and need to start all over again in saying it. (That’s what this is for. Yes it will be depressing. But revision is what good writing is about. Plan for it!)

There are many techniques for presenting your background in a compelling way in your essays. It’s highly likely that you don’t currently know any of them. Study this blahg for the tips and tricks – and then write some essays. And then come back and study some more. This is a new way of doing things and you need to spend time engaging the brain on it to figure it out.

Otherwise you’re just going to end up with flat, vanilla, boring and/or disjointed essays that have no life or light in them. Each essay is an opportunity unto itself to share something significant with your reader. Make the most of it, Brave Supplicant.

Filed Under: writing essays Bschools: Stanford GSB, Columbia

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CLASS OF 2023 MBA APPLICATION STRATEGY GUIDES

     
    The 2020 Berkeley-Haas MBA Application Guide - updated for the Class of 2023 application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Berkeley Haas - refreshed and updated, with brainstorming exercises and structured maps to help you focus your stories!
   
    The 2020-2021 NYU Stern MBA Application Guide that covers the main essay, the EQ Endorsement and Pick Six!
SnarkStrategies Guide for NYU - discusses your requirements for the Class of 2023 essays!
   
    The 2020-2021 Columbia MBA Application Guide
SnarkStrategies Guide for Columbia Business School for 2020-2021 applications
   
    The 2020 Harvard MBA Application Guide - completely overhauled and updated for the coronavirus era!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Harvard Business School!
   
    The 2020-2021 Duke Essay Guide - covers the 25 Random Things essay and all the rest too!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Duke Fuqua - up to date for the current season!
   
    The 2020-2021 MIT Essay Guide covers the org chart, the contacts for two references, and additional tips for the cover letter and 'introduce yourself' video -- and everything else you need to know!
SnarkStrategies Guide for MIT Sloan MBA - totally revised for the Class of 2023!
   
    The 2020-2021 Tuck Essay Guide has been refreshed with latest insights and advice for your essays about "investing generously" and "why Tuck"!
SnarkStrategies Guide for the Dartmouth Tuck MBA - completely overhauled for 2020, to help you demonstrate how you are nice, aware, etc stuff!
   
    The Yale SOM MBA Application Guide for Class of 2023 candidates!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Yale SOM - updated for 2020-2021
   
    The 2020-2021 Chicago Booth MBA Application Guide - ready to go to support your Class of 2023 essay strategy!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Chicago Booth for this year's MBA app!
   
    The 2020 Wharton MBA Application Guide - even more advice on how to get to a win with those essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for The Wharton School - with new tips for 2020!
   
    The 2020 Kellogg Essay Guide - with a full methodology to identify your 'lasting impact' and your 'values' -- plus tips on 2020 world events and applicability to your essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Kellogg MBA - updated and revised for the new realities of 2020!    
      The 2020 Stanford MBA Application Guide - for "what matters most" in your MBA application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Stanford GSB for the Class of 2023
   
    The 2020-2021 UCLA Anderson MBA Application Guide - updated for Class of 2023 on "impact"!
SnarkStrategies Guide for 
UCLA
   
   

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