Jobs-Matrix Resources - Lesson Two: Why Qualified?

The Admissions Essay Prep Leader shares essay writing strategies and samples that will help you gain entrance to your first choice graduate school. For more free essay writing advice and for help with your admissions essay, visit EssayEdge.com.

Another major theme deals with your experience and qualifications both for attending graduate school and for becoming a contributing member of your field. Having work experience or research experience in your field is always the best evidence you can give. If you have none, then consider what other experience you have that is related. The rule to follow here is: If you have it, use it.

Direct experience with your field of study is the best kind to have in your essay. But the important thing to remember here is that any type or amount of experience you have had should be mentioned, no matter how insignificant you feel it is. Here is an example of an essay by an HIV counselor and one by an applicant with ER experience who both are applying to medical school.

A word of caution: Do not focus solely on your research topic unless this is the standard practice of your field of study and you must outline your thesis. By over relying on your research, you risk your essay sounding impersonal. Watch out for overuse of jargon. If it is necessary for the description of your project, then, of course, you have no choice. But including jargon in your essay just because you are able to will not impress anyone. This applicant, for example, delves into the use of scientific and medical terms, but also also spends enough time away from them to reveal his own personal, non-technical voice.

Even if you have no formal experience, you might still have field experience that counts. Maybe you are an accomplished amateur astronomer or have been researching quantum physics for years before deciding to pursue a PhD. This applicant deals with a fascinating success story: The writer was forced to become a doctor by default in a village in Honduras for a summer, even though she had no formal training, no experience, and her only supply was "a $15 Johnson & Johnson kit."