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($) How to mention a personal or “convenience factor” reason for choosing a school

August 28, 2019 by EssaySnark Leave a Comment

There are gobs of reasons why you might have fallen in love with School X.

Unfortunately, School X has heard all of them before.

Some admissions consultants even spoonfeed their clients on what to say as a reason. That means that there are gobs of applicants citing the same things all the time.

Some schools aren’t really swayed by the “why” part; others have built their entire applications around it. A school like Kellogg has invented torture-device essay questions as a way to wrangle the truth out of you, to get you to convey what you REALLY think and believe. Same with Tuck and their “nice” and “aware” qualities that they starting asking applicants to write about.

This is in the slippery category of school fit — slippery, because it’s a concept that’s tough to grok immediately, and can be quite difficult to express effectively.

Unless you’re sincere in how you state your reasons, they run the risk of falling flat, or sounding lame, like something you heard someone else say, that you’ve now cribbed into your own essay.

If you have a truly personal reason for attending a school, like you want to go to Ross because you grew up in Michigan but moved away for college and haven’t been able to move back, then that can work nicely (at least, it can for Ross; Harvard wouldn’t care about such a reason, so don’t bother saying this if you’re a transplanted Bostonian trying for HBS). The thing is, these personal reasons are actually ancillary to the MBA and they’re legit for YOU but they’re not primary causes for an adcom to want to admit you.

If you’re from Michigan, then the only reason you’re applying to Ross is because it’s in Michigan. If Ross weren’t in Michigan, you wouldn’t be applying there — at least, not for that stated reason.

So certainly you can include a detail like that; if you feel that you have qualities of the stereotypical Midwesterner (hard worker, down to earth, resilient, kind) then Ross will want to meet you. There’s nothing wrong with associating yourself tacitly in your adcom reader’s brain with those characteristics. (This stuff is admittedly subtle, so warning for anyone who sees this and tries to architect such associations directly — it’s likely to backfire in the form of smarmy writing and an essay that reeks with yuckiness. Authenticity is the only route to success with this.)

Another common case is when a BSer’s spouse has been accepted to a different program at the same school or another school close by. This often comes up in waitlist situations: Both of you are applying to schools in the same admissions season; she gets accepted somewhere, and you’re on the waitlist for a school in the same city. (What we’re talking about here is not “partners applying together” which is when you’re both going for the same MBA program at the same school in the same admissions cycle, ideally applying in the same round. There are different nuances and considerations for that, but today’s advice isn’t really applicable in quite the same way for that separate scenario.)

So how do you convey to the adcom at your MBA program that you really really really want to go there, and oh hey one more reason that you do is because your spouse will be attending school across town, so heck wouldn’t it be great if you got in to this program too?

Here’s just a clarification / caution on mentioning this to your MBA adcom: Phrasing will be key! If you tell them about your partner’s separate school situation in that town, you’ll want to make it a secondary or supporting point, only after you have effectively stated why School X is your #1 unto itself.

The technique to use is to sort of toss it out casually; don’t lead with it. Otherwise it can sound like “I really want to go to MIT because it’s another school in Boston where I’ll be anyway” rather than “OMG MIT I ♡ U!!” and then slip in the detail about your partner secondarily.

This is where the finesse of wordcraft comes in. If it’s stated too clunkily, then the impression on your reader is not one of, “Oh, this person really wants to come here!” Instead, it’s, “Oh, going to this school would be very convenient for this person.”

Hmm. Not exactly the warm-fuzzies you’re hoping to create in your adcom reader’s heart about your application.

We always give feedback on word choice and positioning issues like this — all types of them — when we do an Essay Decimator essay review, and we will frequently mention that such issues exist when we do a Sanity Check pre-submit review, too (those are by nature more limited in the details that are offered, as they’re not a substitute for the whole-hog Essay Decimator service where we dig into the nooks and crannies of everything written in the draft).

If you’ve got personal reasons for choosing School X, by all means, include them! Pull out all the guns when it comes to telling the adcom why you want to go there. But when you do, have an eye to sequencing which conveys importance, and phrasing which constructs emotion in your reader. These are the things that make a good essay great, and it’s why so many revisions and rewrites are typically necessary.

Oh and congrats to your partner for getting into grad school!!! We hope that you will be joining him/her in your quest for admission as well.

Filed Under: school fit, waitlist/deferred decision Tagged With: authenticity, couples applying together

« Previous: Random tips for filling out the app dataset for your MBA programs
Next: Good first drafts aren’t written. They’re assembled. »

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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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  • 2020: ($) Deciding on a school: Qualitative factors
  • 2020: ($) Updating the admissions office on changes to your profile post-submit: GMAT/GRE/classes
  • 2019: ($) If you got into a top bschool and now you're thinking you're not going to go
  • 2019: Harvard Business School is....
  • 2018: Quote of the Day
  • 2018: If you really want to start a company...
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  • 2015: Another quiz!
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